Technological Feasibility of Couscous-Algae-Supplemented Formulae: Process Description, Nutritional Properties and In Vitro Digestibility

In vitro digestion of beef and vegan burgers cooked by microwave technology: Effects on protein and lipid fractions

Commercial beef burgers and vegan analogues were purchased and, after a microwave treatment, they were submitted to an in vitro digestion (INFOGEST). Vegan cooked burgers showed similar protein content (16-17 %) but lower amounts of total peptides than beef burgers. The protein digestibility was higher in beef burgers. Peptide amounts increased during in vitro digestion, reaching similar amounts in both types of products in the micellar phase (bioaccessible fraction). The fat content in cooked vegan burgers was significantly lower than in beef burgers (16.7 and 21.2 %, respectively), with a higher amount of PUFAs and being the lipolysis activity, measure by FFA, less intense both after cooking and after the gastrointestinal process. Both types of cooked samples showed high carbonyl amounts (34.18 and 25.51 nmol/mg protein in beef and vegan samples, respectively), that decreased during in vitro digestion. On the contrary, lipid oxidation increased during gastrointestinal digestion, particularly in vegan samples. The antioxidant capacity (ABTS and DPPH) showed higher values for vegan products in cooked samples, but significantly decreased during digestion, reaching similar values for both types of products.

Protein Quality and Protein Digestibility of Vegetable Creams Reformulated with Microalgae Inclusion

Microalgae are considered a valuable source of proteins that are used to enhance the nutritional value of foods. In this study, a standard vegetable cream recipe was reformulated through the addition of single-cell ingredients from Arthrospira platensis (spirulina), Chlorella vulgaris, Tetraselmis chui, or Nannochloropsis oceanica at two levels of addition (1.5% and 3.0%). The impact of microalgae species and an addition level on the amino acid profile and protein in vitro digestibility of the vegetable creams was investigated. The addition of microalgae to vegetable creams improved the protein content and the amino acid nutritional profile of vegetable creams, whereas no significant differences were observed in protein digestibility, regardless of the species and level of addition, indicating a similar degree of protein digestibility in microalgae species despite differences in their protein content and amino acid profile. This study indicates that the incorporation of microalgae is a feasible strategy to increase the protein content and nutritional quality of foods.

White and honey Chlorella vulgaris: Sustainable ingredients with the potential to improve nutritional value of pork frankfurters without compromising quality

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the chlorophyll-deficient microalgae mutants, honey (yellow) and white Chlorella vulgaris, (3%) on the nutritional, physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics of frankfurters. The presence of microalgae resulted in increased PUFA content and higher PUFA/SFA ratio, but lower n-6/n-3 ratio and lipid indices (P < 0.05). C. vulgaris inclusion in frankfurters increased (P < 0.05) Na, K, Ca, P, and Zn and improved the Na/K ratio, but lowered Mn, and in the case of white C. vulgaris, Cu content, compared to the control. The higher protein content decreased water release from emulsions elaborated with microalgae. White C. vulgaris inclusion decreased cohesiveness and springiness of the frankfurters. Due to the presence of pigment, microalgae inclusion led to a decrease in redness and an increase in yellowness of frankfurters. The presence of microalgae resulted in lower (P < 0.05) bacterial counts and did not affect TBARs during storage. The addition of microalgae in frankfurters produced acceptable sensory characteristics but resulted in lower scores compared to reference products.

Upcycling Rocha do Oeste Pear Pomace as a Sustainable Food Ingredient: Composition, Rheological Behavior and Microstructure Alone and Combined with Yeast Protein Extract

This work explores the potential of Rocha do Oeste pear pomace to be used as a sustainable and healthy food ingredient. Moreover, the enrichment with yeast protein extract (YPE) may be useful to design innovative food products. The main goals of this study were to assess pear pomace concerning: (i) chemical composition and antioxidant capacity; (ii) rheology, texture, and microstructure characterization (alone or enriched with YPE), before and after heating. The results showed that pear pomace was a rich source of dietary fibers (74.5% DW), with phenolic compounds (3.9 mg chlorogenic acid equivalents/g dry weight), also presenting antiradical activity (3.90 μmol Trolox equivalents/g DW). Pear pomace showed a shear thinning behavior and a typical soft-gel behavior, which was not affected by YPE enrichment, thus suggesting that YPE did not affect pear pomace technological properties. Thermal treatment also did not alter pear pomace rheological properties. YPE addition induced a decrease in the apparent viscosity and a destabilizing effect, compared to the samples that were subjected to thermal processing. These results highlight the importance of pear pomace and the use of YPE for protein enrichment, opening new opportunities for their exploitation.