Effect of high-temperature, short-time cooking conditions on in vitro protein digestibility, enzyme inhibitor activity and amino acid profile of selected legume grains

New Gluten-Free Extruded Snack-Type Products Based on Rice and Chickpea and Fortified with Passion Fruit Skin: Extrusion Cooking Effect on Phenolic Composition, Non-Nutritional Factors, and Antioxidant Properties

The incorporation of pulse flour into gluten-free extruded snacks based on cereals improves the functional properties as well as the nutritional value of these types of products. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes induced by the extrusion process on the functional properties in terms of the concentration of total phenolic compounds (TPC), phenolic families (hydroxybenzoic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, and flavonols), and non-nutritional factors (inositol phosphates and trypsin inhibitors) of extruded snack-type products developed from novel formulations based on rice-chickpea flours and fortified with different percentages of Fibersol® and passion-fruit-skin flour. The in vitro antioxidant activity of the studied formulations was evaluated to explore their potential for developing sustainable snack-type products with added functional value. The results demonstrated that extrusion treatment caused a statistically significant (p < 0.05) decrease (12-30%) in TPC. Despite this reduction, the extruded formulations preserve an interesting content of these compounds, with hydroxybenzoic acids being the majority in the analyzed formulations. The extrusion process maintained or decreased the content of phytate and total inositol phosphates in samples fortified with passion fruit and Fibersol®. A significant reduction (p < 0.05) of trypsin inhibitor activity (between 86.7% and 95.8%) was observed when comparing extruded samples to their raw counterpart. The antioxidant activity in vitro of the formulations was assessed. The results obtained by the Folin-Ciocalteu method indicated that extrusion caused a decrease in the antioxidant activity of 50% of the analyzed samples, while in the others, no changes were observed. DPPH and FRAP assays tended to demonstrate an increase in antioxidant activity. In general, the highest values were obtained by applying the DPPH method. Additionally, the effects of the ingredients used for fortifying the formulations were investigated. The results highlighted the complexity of the analyzed formulations, revealing that their composition is influenced not only by the presence of Fibersol® and passion fruit but also by the interaction between these two ingredients.

Effect of protein texturization on amino acids and protein in vitro bioaccessibility of pea and rice protein

The growing demand for vegetable proteins, driven by population increase and interest in sustainable protein-rich diets, has generated a focus on the use of legumes and cereals as protein sources for the production of meat analogues due to their complementary nutritional profile and lower environmental impact. However, the analogues should not only imitate the nutritional profile of meat, but their texture is also important for good commercialization. One of the processes used to improve these properties is protein texturization by thermoextrusion, which could modify the availability and digestibility of amino acids. Thus, the objective of this work is to evaluate the in vitro bioaccessibility of proteins and amino acids from pea and rice protein isolates (I) and texturized proteins (T). Proteins from pea (PP), rice (RP) and a 50 : 50 mixture (PRP) were processed by extrusion, evaluating the effects on digestibility and bioaccessibility of essential (EAA) and non-essential (NEAA) amino acids. The results showed higher in vitro digestibility and bioaccessibility of NEAA of texturized proteins compared to isolated proteins, although this effect is not significant for PP. However, texturization significantly reduced the bioaccessibility of some EAA such as lysine. Rice protein showed greater stability during the extrusion process, maintaining a more balanced amino acid profile. Texturization can therefore be a useful tool to improve the functionality of vegetable proteins, but it is necessary to optimize the process to minimize nutritional losses.

Prospects on emerging eco-friendly and innovative technologies to add value to dry bean proteins

The world's growing population and evolving food habits have created a need for alternative plant protein sources, with pulses playing a crucial role as healthy staple foods. Dry beans are high-protein pulses rich in essential amino acids like lysine and bioactive peptides. They have gathered attention for their nutritional quality and potential health benefits concerning metabolic syndrome. This review highlights dry bean proteins' nutritional quality, health benefits, and limitations, focusing on recent eco-friendly emerging technologies for their obtaining and functionalization. Antinutritional factors (ANFs) in bean proteins can affect their in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD), and lectins have been identified as potential allergens. Recently, eco-friendly emerging technologies such as ultrasound, microwaves, subcritical fluids, high-hydrostatic pressure, enzyme technology, and dry fractionation methods have been explored for extracting and functionalizing dry bean proteins. These technologies have shown promise in reducing ANFs, improving IVPD, and modifying allergen epitopes. Additionally, they enhance the techno-functional properties of bean proteins, making them more soluble, emulsifying, foaming, and gel-forming, with enhanced water and oil-holding capacities. By utilizing emerging innovative technologies, protein recovery from dry beans and the development of protein isolates can meet the demand for alternative protein sources while being eco-friendly, safe, and efficient.

Effect of Different Heat Treatments on the Quality and Flavor Compounds of Black Tibetan Sheep Meat by HS-GC-IMS Coupled with Multivariate Analysis

There are limited reports about the effect of different heat treatments on the quality and flavor of Black Tibetan sheep meat. The current study examined the effect of pan-frying, deep-frying, baking, and boiling treatment on the quality of Black Tibetan sheep meat; the amino acid, fatty acid, and volatile flavor compounds (VFCs) were investigated by a texture analyzer, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), gas chromatography (GC), and headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility (HS-GC-IMS). The key VFCs were identified through orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA), and variable importance projection (VIP) values. In addition, Pearson’s correlations between meat quality parameters and key VFCs were examined. The sensory scores, including texture, color, and appearance, of baked and pan-fried meat were higher than those of deep-fried and boiled meat. The protein (40.47%) and amino acid (62.93 µmol/g) contents were the highest in pan-fried meat (p < 0.05). Additionally, it contained the highest amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic, linoleic, and α-linolenic acids (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, pan-fried and deep-fried meat had higher amounts of VFCs than baked meat. The OPLS-DA similarity and fingerprinting analyses revealed significant differences between the three heat treatment methods. Aldehydes were the key aroma compounds in pan-fried meat. Importantly, 3-methylbutyraldehyde and 2-heptanone contents were positively correlated with eicosenoic, oleic, isooleic, linoleic, α-Linolenic, and eicosadiene acids (p < 0.05). To sum up, pan-fried Black Tibetan sheep meat had the best edible, nutritional, and flavor quality.

Production, health-promoting properties and characterization of bioactive peptides from cereal and legume grains

The search for bioactive components for the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals has received tremendous attention. This is due to the increasing awareness of their therapeutic potentials, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, anti-cancer properties, etc. Food proteins, well known for their nutritional importance and their roles in growth and development, are also sources of peptide sequences with bioactive properties and physiological implications. Cereal and legume grains are important staples that are processed and consumed in various forms worldwide. However, they have received little attention compared to other foods. This review therefore is geared towards surveying the literature for an appraisal of research conducted on bioactive peptides in cereal and legume grains in order to identify what the knowledge gaps are. Studies on bioactive peptides from cereal and legume grains are still quite limited when compared to other food items and most of the research already carried out have been done without identifying the sequence of the bioactive peptides. However, the reports on the antioxidative, anticancer/inflammatory, antihypertensive, antidiabetic properties show there is much prospect of obtaining potent bioactive peptides from cereal and legume grains which could be utilized in the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals.

A review of thermosensitive antinutritional factors in plant-based foods

Legumes and cereals account for the vast proportion of people's daily intake of plant-based foods. Meanwhile, a large number of antinutritional factors in legumes and cereals hinder the body absorption of nutrients and reduce the nutritional value of food. In this paper, the antinutritional effects, determination, and passivation methods of thermosensitive antinutritional factors such as trypsin inhibitors, urease, lipoxygenase, and lectin were reviewed to provide theoretical help to reduce antinutritional factors in food and improve the utilization rate of plant-based food nutrition. Since trypsin inhibitors and lectin have been more extensively studied and reviewed previously, the review mainly focused on urease and lipoxygenase. This review summarized the information of thermosensitive antinutritional factors, trypsin inhibitors, urease, lipoxygenase, and lectin, in cereals and legumes. The antinutritional effects, and physical and chemical properties of trypsin inhibitors, urease, lipoxygenase, and lectin were introduced. At the same time, the research methods for the detection and inactivation of these four antinutritional factors were also summarized in the order of research conducted time. The rapid determination and inactivation of antinutrients will be the focus of attention for the food industry in the future to improve the nutritional value of food. Exploring what structural changes could passivation technologies bring to antinutritional factors will provide a theoretical basis for further understanding the mechanisms of antinutritional factor inactivation. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Antinutritional factors in plant-based foods hinder the absorption of nutrients and reduce the nutritional value of the food. Among them, thermosensitive antinutritional factors, such as trypsin inhibitors, urease, lipoxygenase, and lectins, have a high proportion among the antinutritional factors. In this paper, we investigate thermosensitive antinutritional factors from three perspectives: the antinutritional effect of thermosensitive antinutritional factors, determination, and passivation methods. The current passivation methods for thermosensitive antinutritional factors revolve around biological, physical, and chemical aspects, and their elimination mechanisms still need further research, especially at the protein structure level. Reducing the level of antinutritional factors in the future food industry while controlling the loss of other nutrients in food is a goal that needs to be balanced. This paper reviews the antinutritional effects of thermosensitive antinutritional factors and passivation methods, expecting to provide new research ideas to improve the nutrient utilization of food.

Autoclaved and Extruded Legumes as a Source of Bioactive Phytochemicals: A Review

Legumes have been consumed since ancient times all over the world due to their easy cultivation and availability as a low-cost food. Nowadays, it is well known that pulses are also a good source of bioactive phytochemicals that play an important role in the health and well-being of humans. Pulses are mainly consumed after processing to soften cotyledons and to improve their nutritive and sensorial characteristics. However, processing affects not only their nutritive constituents, but also their bioactive compounds. The final content of phytochemicals depends on the pulse type and variety, the processing method and their parameters (mainly temperature and time), the food matrix structure and the chemical nature of each phytochemical. This review focuses on the changes produced in the bioactive-compound content of pulses processed by a traditional processing method like cooking (with or without pressure) or by an industrial processing technique like extrusion, which is widely used in the food industry to develop new food products with pulse flours as ingredients. In particular, the effect of processing methods on inositol phosphates, galactosides, protease inhibitors and phenolic-compound content is highlighted in order to ascertain their content in processed pulses or pulse-based products as a source of healthy phytochemicals.

Effect of cooking in whey on the biological value of beans

Beans are an essential food and the primary protein source for many people worldwide, and there is a need to develop affordable and nutritious bean-based food products, particularly for individuals who are unable to consume animal protein due to financial or health constraints. This study aimed to investigate how cooking beans in whey can affect the biological value and the activity of protease inhibitors (TIA) of the bean puree obtained. Bean seeds were soaked in water for (5–6) hours, then cooked in the whey after discarding water. Boiled beans were then coarsely ground and followed by fine grinding after removing cooking liquid; the obtained bean puree was cooled to 20 °C. Following the same method, the control sample was prepared using water as a cooking liquid. Bean puree obtained from whey-cooking (BPCW) was compared to control (bean puree obtained from water-cooking (BPW)) in terms of trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) and the relative biological value (RBV%) using the test organism (Tetrahymena Pyriformis). TIA in BPCW decreased by (6,7 %; 3,8 % – for water soluble and salt soluble TIA respectively). RBV % showed a significant increase (25 %) after treating samples with whey compared to control, demonstrating the efficacy of incorporating bean puree obtained by this method to develop highly nutritious bean-based foodstuffs for specialized and functional purposes.

Influence of extrusion cooking on physicochemical properties and starch digestion kinetics of Sphenostylis stenocarpa, Cajanus cajan, and Vigna subterranean grains

Thermal degradation of sugars and amino acids, and depolymerization of macromolecules such as starch, proteins and fibre occasioned by high-temperature short-time extrusion cooking modify the physicochemical and functional properties of raw materials. High-temperature short-time extrusion cooking holds promise for the expanded use of non-conventional ingredients as food/feed due to its practicality, increased productivity and efficiency, and ability to retain thermally degradable nutrients during cooking. However, little is known about the effect of the high-temperature short-time extrusion cooking process on the physicochemical properties and starch digestibility of lesser-known grain legumes such as African yam beans (Sphenostylis stenocarpa), Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), and Bambara peanut (Vigna subterranean). In this study, we investigate the effect of high-temperature short-time extrusion cooking and extrusion cooking temperature; low (100°C) vs high (140°C) temperatures in a single screw extruder, on hydration characteristics, viscoamylolytic properties, in vitro starch digestibility and digestion kinetics of these grain legumes. We show that water holding capacity and swelling power increased (p < 0.05) with increasing extrusion temperature for Sphenostylis stenocarpa and Vigna subterranean but not Cajanus cajan extrudates. Significant effects of extrusion cooking (i.e unextruded vs 100°C and unextruded vs 140°C) and extrusion temperatures (i.e. 100°C vs 140°C) were observed in peak, trough, final and setback viscosities of all extrudates. Starch digestibility and digestion characteristics were modified with increase in extrusion temperature, however, no effect of extrusion temperatures (i.e. 100°C vs 140°C) on starch digestion kinetics was observed for Sphenostylis stenocarpa and Vigna subterranean except for hydrolysis index (34.77 vs 40.77%). Nutritional and physiological implications of extruded grain legumes in monogastric animal feeding were also highlighted. The Information presented herein will influence expanded use of extruded grain legumes as feed ingredients for intensive monogastric animal feeding.