Recycling of almond by-products for intestinal inflammation: improvement of physical-chemical, technological and biological characteristics of a dried almond skins extract.

Background: Almond skins are rich in bioactive compounds that undergo oxidation/degradation phenomena and are poorly soluble in water, reducing in vivo absorption and bioavailability, factors that influence the pharmacological activity of an active product. We developed a dried acetonic almond skins extract/cyclodextrin complex to improve extract solubility, dissolution rate and biological activity. Methods: A lyophilized acetonic almond skin extract was produced. To optimize complex formulation, phase solubility studies and complex characterization (absorption studies, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), morphology, solubility studies) were performed. To evaluate a possible use in hea…

An Alginate/Cyclodextrin Spray Drying Matrix to Improve Shelf Life and Antioxidant Efficiency of a Blood Orange By-Product Extract Rich in Polyphenols: MMPs Inhibition and Antiglycation Activity in Dysmetabolic Diseases

Alginate and β-cyclodextrin were used to produce easily dosable and spray-dried microsystems of a dried blood orange extract with antidysmetabolic properties, obtained from a by-product fluid extract. The spray-dried applied conditions were able to obtain a concentrate dried extract without the loss of AOA and with TPC and TMA values of 35–40% higher than that of the starting material. They were also effective in producing microparticles with 80–100% of encapsulation efficiency. The 2% sodium alginate was capable of improving the extract shelf life, while the beta-cyclodextrin (1 : 1 molar ratio with dried extract) prolonged the extract antioxidant efficiency by 6 hours. The good inhibition…

Effects of innovative and conventional sanitizing treatments on the reduction of Saccharomycopsis fibuligera defects on industrial durum wheat bread

Wickerhamomyces anomalus, Hyphopichia burtonii and Saccharomycopsis fibuligera are spoilage yeasts causing chalk mold defects on sliced bread packaged under modified atmosphere. The first objective of this study, carried out in a bread-making company for two consecutive years, was to genetically identify yeasts isolated from spoiled sliced bread in Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) and to determine the dominant species among identified strains. The second objective was to evaluate the effects of hydrogen peroxide and silver solution 12% (HPS) treatment in the leavening cells and cooling chambers, in comparison with the conventional Ortho-Phenylphenol (OPP) fumigating treatment, on the inc…

Formulative and stability studies of a Citrus extract to produce novel “healthy food"

A novel alpha-amylase-lipase formulation as anti-staling agent in durum wheat bread

The aim of this work has been to evaluate the anti-staling effect exerted by a novel α-amylase-lipase enzyme formulation on durum wheat bread, in comparison with four different commercial amylase preparations and with control without added enzymes. Bread-making trials were carried out at industrial level. Sliced bread, packed under modified atmosphere, was analyzed for texture profile, moisture content, and water activity during 90 days. Crumb sections were submitted to environmental scanning electron microscopy at the end of the storage period. The α-amylase-lipase enzyme preparation showed synergistic interactions in preventing staling. In particular, bread added of these two enzymes in m…

Quality Characteristics of Wholemeal Flour and Bread from Durum Wheat (Triticum turgidum L subsp. durum Desf.) after Field Treatment with Plant Water Extracts

The use of selected plant water extracts to control pests and weeds is gaining growing attention in organic and sustainable agriculture, but the effects that such extracts may exert on the quality aspects of durum wheat are still unexplored. In 2014, 5 plant water extracts (Artemisia arborescens, Euphorbia characias, Rhus coriaria, Thymus vulgaris, Lantana camara) were prepared and distributed on durum wheat cv Valbelice to evaluate their potential herbicidal effects. After crop harvesting, the major physicochemical and technological parameters of wholemeal flours obtained from each treatment were measured and compared with those from chemical weeding and untreated controls. A baking test w…

Production of Functional Crackers Enriched with Olive (Olea europaea L.) Leaf Extract

In recent years, considerable interest has been shown in the functional properties of foods, and a relevant role has been played by phenolic compounds, able to scavenge free radicals. A more sustainable agriculture has to emerge to guarantee food supply over the next years. Wheat, corn, and rice are the most common cereals cultivated, but also other cereal species, such as barley can be appreciated for their peculiarities. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is a C3 winter cereal that shows high resistance at drought and salt stresses. There are growing interests in barley as ingredient for the production of functional foods due to its high content of phenolic compounds and Beta-glucans. In this re…

Almond by-products: Extraction and characterization of phenolic compounds and evaluation of their potential use in composite dough with wheat flour

Blanched skins and blanching water, by-products of almond processing, were evaluated as potential ingredients of bakery products. The research included three phases: i) optimization of skin drying; ii) optimization of quali-quantitative determination of phenolic compounds, by comparing three extracting protocols; iii) assessment of the impact of by-products on the rheology of composite meals with wheat flour. Besides being less time-consuming, drying at 60 °C for 30 min lowered effectively skin moisture (7.86 g/100 g) and kept better odor notes (leafy and rancid odor scored 6.1 and 0.2, respectively), as well as higher content of phenolics (813.89 µg/g, with the most effective extracting me…

Development of Durum Wheat Breads Low in Sodium Using a Natural Low-Sodium Sea Salt

Durum wheat is widespread in the Mediterranean area, mainly in southern Italy, where traditional durum wheat breadmaking is consolidated. Bread is often prepared by adding a lot of salt to the dough. However, evidence suggests that excessive salt in a diet is a disease risk factor. The aim of this work is to study the effect of a natural low-sodium sea salt (Saltwell&reg

Shelf life assessment of industrial durum wheat bread as a function of packaging system

This study compared the effect of different packaging systems on industrial durum wheat bread shelf-life, with regard to thermoformed packaging (TF) and flow-packaging (FP). Two TFs having different thickness and one FP were compared by assessing physico-chemical and sensorial properties and volatile compounds of sliced bread during 90 days of storage. Texture, aw and bread moisture varied according to a first-order kinetic model, with FP samples ageing faster than TFs. Sensorial features such as consistency, stale odor, and sour odor, increased their intensity during storage. Furans decreased, whereas hexanal increased. The Principal Component Analysis of the whole dataset pointed out that…

Physico-chemical properties and sensory profile of durum wheat Dittaino PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) bread and quality of re-milled semolina used for its production.

To help future quality checks, we characterized the physico-chemical and sensory properties of Dittaino bread, a sourdough-based durum wheat bread recently awarded with Protected Designation of Origin mark, along with the quality features of re-milled semolina used for its production. Semolina was checked for Falling Number (533–644 s), protein content (12.0–12.3 g/100 g d.m.), gluten content (9.7–10.5 g/100 g d.m.), yellow index (18.0–21.0), water absorption (59.3–62.3 g/100 g), farinograph dough stability (171–327 s), softening index (46–66 B.U.), alveograph W (193 × 10−4–223 × 10−4 J) and P/L (2.2–2.7). Accordingly, bread crumb was yellow, moderately hard (16.4–27.1 N) and chewy (88.2–10…

Use of microbial enzyme on brewing