Recent Patents on Food, Nutrition & Agriculture - Volume 7, Issue 1, 2015

The agro-food industries are one of the biggest manufacturing sectors worldwide with a turnover of US$4 trillion per year. Within the last decades, nanoscience has opened-up fantastic ways to challenge new sub-universes for exploring the interactions between physical, chemical and biological systems as well as agro-food and nutrition sectors. Among these potentials, there is the enhancement of food properties and constituents such as nanoparticulate delivery systems, food safety and food biosecurity. In the recent years, many patents were launched for edible coating agents, essential oils and emulsifiers, including agrochemical active ingredients, nanomaterials for agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, and smart packaging materials. The aim of this review was to search for the recent applications of nanoscience in the agro-food science and nutrition area, including the launched patents in this field.

This study was done to isolate Lactobacillus species from curd, amla/Indian gooseberry and orange and to assess their antagonistic ability against selected food spoilage bacteria, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spp. isolated from natural food sources. In the approaches used, native Lactobacillus spp. were isolated from amla, orange and curd and identified by standard microbiological methods. Their antagonistic affect was tested by disc diffusion tests against three selected test isolates, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas and Bacillus spp. isolated from tomato, pumpkin, cauliflower, lady’s finger, carrot, and milk. There are recent patents also suggesting use of novel strains of Lactobacillus for microbial antagonism. In our present work, the lactobacilli isolated from different food sources showed varied ability to inhibit the growth of test isolates. The growth of test isolates was inhibited by Lactobacillus isolates with one of the Lactobacillus isolate from amla being the most potent inhibitor.

Overcoming food and nutritional insecurity among the elderly, pregnant women and children under five years, remains a big challenge to human and sustainable development in many resourse- poor communities in developing countries, where over 57% of the people go to bed hungry. Diversification of dietary habit to include derelict plant genetic resources which are cheap, readily available and affordable, could contribute to the daily dietary requirements of these resource poor people. This work was initiated to explore the nutritional values of some Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS) from Nigeria, as an innovative approach of reducing food and nutrition insecurity in this country. Multidimensional Analysis (MDA) for decision making tool was used to pool the desirable nutrients in each of these species and rank them. These were then compared with Lactuca sativa var. longifolia L (exotic). Results from these analyses showed that these NUS are endowed with appreciable levels of nutrients. MDA showed that S. occidentalis ranked 1st with a WF of (4.16), followed by T. occidentals 2nd with WF of (3.75) when all desirable nutrient values of high moisture, carbohydrate, protein content, low fat and better energy calorie (kcal) nutrients were pooled together amongst these species. It implies that these NUS could contribute to the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR) for micronutrient as recommended US8053007B2 and could help in reducing malnutrition as entrenched in the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs). There is a need for expanded policy programmes for sustainable enlightenment on their nutritional benefits in order to promote their selection as part of cooked food, cultivation and green job creation.

The phytochemical composition and antioxidant capacities of 6 new NRCRI turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) accessions (39, 35, 60, 30, 50 and 41) were determined using standard techniques. The moisture contents of the tumeric samples ranged from 15.75 to 47.80% and the curcumin contents of the turmeric samples fell within the range of curcumin obtained from turmeric in other countries of the world. Furthermore, the turmeric accessions contained considerable amounts of antioxidants (measured using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and reducing power assays), alkaloids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and phenolics. There was significant correlation between the anthocyanin contents of the tumeric accessions versus their alkaloid (0.744) and flavonoid contents (0.986) suggesting an additive effect between the anthocyanins and alkaloids in turmeric; significant correlation between the inhibition of the turmeric accessions on DPPH radical versus their flavonoid (0.892) and anthocyanin (0.949) contents and significant correlation between the reducing power of the turmeric accessions versus their flavonoid (0.973) and anthocyanin (0.974) contents suggesting that anthocyanins as flavonoids largely contribute to the antioxidant activities of turmeric. The positive regression recorded between inhibition of DPPH radical by the turmeric accessions and quercetin versus reducing power (R2 = 0.852) suggest that any of these methods could be used to assess the antioxidant activities of tumeric. Finally, the study indicated the potentials of the turmeric accessions especially accessions 30 and 50 as promising sources of antioxidants.

Genetically modified food is able to oppose the world’s hunger and preserve the environment, even if the patents in this matter are symptomatic of several doubts. And also, transgenic consumption causes problems and skepticism among consumers in several European countries, but above all in Italy, where there is a strong opposition over recent years. So, the present study conducted a research to study the consumption of genetically modified food products by Italian young generation. This research presented the following purposes: firstly, to analyze genetically modified products’ consumption among a particular category of consumers; secondly, to implement a quantitative model to understand behaviour about this particular kind of consumption and identify the factors that determine their purchase. The proposed model shows that transgenic consumption is especially linked to knowledge and impact on environment and mankind’s health.

Melanoidins are colored products that can be found in food and drinks, formed by Maillard reactions. Sometimes these compounds are considered undesirable in certain food products, because they impart a brownish color and must be removed. An overview of recent patents related to melanoidin removal indicates that it can be performed by chemical/biological degradation or by adsorption processes. Therefore, in the present study, the adsorption mechanism for synthetic melanoidin removal from aqueous solutions was studied using different Raphanus sativus press-cake sorbents, with the precursor material being carbonized in a microwave oven, either with direct heating or after a chemical activation process with phosphoric acid, nitric acid or potassium hydroxide. Physical and chemical modifications were evaluated by FTIR, pHPZC, thermogravimetry and BET. The adsorption kinetics was better described by a pseudo-second order model for all activated carbons (ACs). Evaluation of the diffusion process showed dependence on the initial melanoidin concentration due to the wide range of sizes of the adsorbed molecules. The equilibrium data were best fitted by the Langmuir model for the acid-treated AC and by the Freundlich model for the base-treated and non-chemically treated ACs. Melanoidin adsorption was characterized as a spontaneous, favorable and endothermic process involving hydrogen bonds and π-π interactions between the adsorbents surfaces and the adsorbed molecules.

Cold pressed oil extraction is the preferred method for seeds with high contents of oil, such as colza. Generally speaking, expeller pressing is less complex, more cost efficient and safer than solvent extraction. Moreover, cold pressed oils retain their natural properties better. Cold pressed colza oil has been found to have numerous health benefits. This was an original and unique study conducted as part of the research for the international Codex standard for cold pressed fats and oils, and aims to examine the chemical properties of two varieties of Iranian colza seed, Hyola and Okapi. The studied factors included (a) chemical properties, and (b) physicochemical and quality characteristics. Based on our findings, both varieties of colza seeds in this study had satisfactory levels of oleic and linoleic acid, and no trans-fatty acids. Although both samples had good nutritional properties, the Hyola variety was higher in oleic acid, indicating better oxidative stability. Due to the considerable amounts of β-sitosterol in both varieties, they may be effective in reducing cholesterol and preventing cancer.

The antimicrobial activity of twelve essential oil (pine oil, eucalyptus, thyme, sage tea, lavender, orange, laurel, lemon, myrtle, lemon, rosemary and juniper) was tested by a disc diffusion method against food borne pathogens (Escherichia coli, Salmonella paratyphi A, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Yersinia enterocolitica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aeromonas hydrophila, Campylobacter jejuni, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus). The major components in essential oils were monoterpenes hydrocarbons, α-pinene, limonene; monoterpene phenol, carvacrol and oxygenated monoterpenes, camphor, 1,8-cineole, eucalyptol, linalool and linalyl acetate. Although the antimicrobial effect of essential oils varied depending on the chemical composition of the essential oils and specific microorganism tested, majority of the oils exhibited antibacterial activity against one or more strains. The essential oil with the lowest inhibition zones was juniper with the values varied from 1.5 to 6 mm. However, the components of essential oil of thyme and pine oil are highly active against food borne pathogen, generating the largest inhibition zones for both gram negative and positive bacteria (5.25-28.25 mm vs. 12.5-30 mm inhibition zones). These results indicate the possible use of the essential oils on food system as antimicrobial agents against food-borne pathogen. The article also offers some promising patents on applications of essential oils on food industry as antimicrobial agent.

Experiments were conducted to determine the respiration rate of tomato at 10, 20 and 30°C using closed respiration system. Oxygen depletion and carbon dioxide accumulation in the system containing tomato was monitored. Respiration rate was found to decrease with increasing CO2 and decreasing O2 concentration. Michaelis-Menten type model based on enzyme kinetics was evaluated using experimental data generated for predicting the respiration rate. The model parameters that obtained from the respiration rate at different O2 and CO2 concentration levels were used to fit the model against the storage temperatures. The fitting was fair (R2 = 0.923 to 0.970) when the respiration rate was expressed as O2 concentation. Since inhibition constant for CO2 concentration tended towards negetive, the model was modified as a function of O2 concentration only. The modified model was fitted to the experimental data and showed good agreement (R2 = 0.998) with experimentally estimated respiration rate.