Pasta Enriched with Carrot and Olive Leaf Flour Retains High Levels of Accessible Bioactives after In Vitro Digestion

The dichotomy between functional and functionalized foods - A critical characterization of concepts

Diet is one of the main drivers of non-communicable chronic diseases (NCD). Modifying the food supply may be an attractive strategy for promoting health and reducing NCD risk. The intentional modification, processing, enrichment, or fortification of foods to produce "functional foods" currently varies according to legal definitions and existing regulatory frameworks, initially intended function, and production methods. This review critically appraises the existing definitions and concepts applied to functional foods, proposing a new concept of "functionalized foods". The conceptual difference between the two categories is that the term "functional foods" is used for products validated for human health through controlled trials, while "functionalized foods" is used for food products obtained through enrichment or (bio)fortification that lack such a validation, yet. Consequently, the review aims to establish a framework for better understanding the range of existing products, enhancing communication, and promoting a more accurate interpretation of the functional food landscape.

Antioxidant Bioaccessibility of Cooked Gluten-Free Pasta Enriched with Tomato Pomace or Linseed Meal

Gluten-free products lack bioactive compounds, while vegetable wastes from food manufacturing are still rich in nutrients. This study compared the antioxidants of gluten-free pastas enriched with vegetable by-products: the control formulation (66.7% rice and 33.3% fava bean flours) was enriched with 10% or 15% of tomato waste (TO) or defatted linseed cake (LI). Carotenoids, tocols, phenolics, and antioxidant capacity (ABTS and FRAP) were determined in the cooked pasta as well as in the soluble and insoluble fractions after in vitro gastro-intestinal digestion. The cooked enriched pastas showed higher levels of carotenoids (1.36-1.53 vs. 1.02 mg/kg DM), except for the LI-added samples, tocols (8.83-21.70 vs. 7.01 mg/kg DM), free polyphenols (218.1-258.6 vs. 200.9 mg/kg DM), bound polyphenols (132.7-177.6 vs. 101.9 mg/kg DM), and antioxidant capacity. Cooking augmented the carotenoids and free polyphenols in the enriched pastas, tocols in LI pastas and bound flavonoids in TO pastas. After digestion, the recoveries for soluble and insoluble fractions were 53% and 35% for carotenoids, 52% and 43% for tocols, 109% for free phenolic acids, 97% for free flavonoids, 93% for bound phenolic acids, and 100% for bound flavonoids. Bioaccessibility was the highest for free phenolic compounds, whereas carotenoids and tocols were partially available.

Development of edible nanoemulsions containing vitamin E using a low-energy method: Evaluation of particle size and physicochemical properties for food and beverage applications

Pasta, a globally popular dish, serves as a complete meal around the world. This research aims to improve the nutritional value of pasta by enriching it with vitamin E. Firstly, vitamin E and sesame oil were mixed in different ratios (1:10, 1:5, 10:10) and dissolved in an aqueous medium at 50 °C with different concentrations of Tween 80 (10 %, 20 %, 30 %). Coarse emulsions were formed by gradual addition of the oil phase to the aqueous phase, followed by equilibration using an Ultratrax mixer at 15,000 rpm for 5 min. The target nanoemulsions were then produced using an ultrasonic system. After 30 days of storage, the most stable nanoemulsions containing 10 % Tween 80 and a 1:10 ratio of vitamin E to sesame oil showed minimal changes. In addition, nanoemulsions with 10 % Tween 80 and a 10:10 ratio of vitamin E to sesame oil showed less turbidity than those with 20 % and 30 % Tween 80. Evaluation of enriched pasta for physical, chemical and sensory properties compared to non-enriched samples showed no significant differences in properties such as pH, ash, total solids, texture and colour characteristics (P < 0.05). Enriched pasta samples showed an increase in moisture content of 0.94 % and a decrease in weight loss of 2.13 % compared to the control, with improved brightness (L) and yellowness (b) due to the addition of nanoemulsion. Sensory evaluation showed higher scores for pasta samples enriched with nanoemulsions containing vitamin E compared to control samples. This pioneering study introduces nanoemulsion technology to improve the nutritional profile of pasta by enriching it with vitamin E. The research demonstrates the successful formulation of stable nanoemulsions and their positive effects on pasta properties, suggesting promising avenues for improving public health through innovative pasta enrichment methods.

Enhancing Nutritional Profile of Pasta: The Impact of Sprouted Pseudocereals and Cushuro on Digestibility and Health Potential

We hypothesized that optimizing the formulation of pasta by incorporating sprouted pseudocereal flours, specifically quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) or kiwicha (Amaranthus caudatus L.) and cushuro (Nostoc sphaericum Vaucher ex Bornet & Flahault) flours, could offer the potential to simultaneously enhance nutritional quality and health-promoting properties in pasta. In this study, our objective was to optimize the formulation of composite flour (a ternary blend of wheat, sprouted pseudocereal, and cushuro flours) using a mixture composite design to maximize total soluble phenolic compounds (TSPC), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), antioxidant activity, and mineral bioaccesilability by reducing phytic acid (PA) content. Two optimal formulations were identified: one consisting of 79% wheat flour (WF), 13% SQF, and 8% CuF (oPQC), and the other composed of 70% WF, 15% SKF, and 15% CuF (oPKC). These optimized pastas exhibited reduced starch content and notably higher levels of total dietary fiber (1.5-3.61-fold), protein (1.16-fold), fat (1.3-1.5-fold), ash (2.2-2.7-fold), minerals (K, Na, Fe, Zn, Mg, Mn, and Ca), PA (3-4.5-fold), TSPC (1.3-1.9-fold), GABA (1.2-2.6-fold), and ORAC (6.5-8.7-fold) compared to control pasta (100% WF). Notably, the glycemic index of oPQC (59.8) was lower than that of oPKC (54.7) and control pasta (63.1). The nutritional profile of the optimized pasta was largely retained after cooking, although some significant losses were observed for soluble dietary fiber (18.2-44.0%), K (47.5-50.7%), Na (42.5-63.6), GABA (41.68-51.4%), TSPC (8-18%), and antioxidant activity (45.4-46.4%). In vitro digestion of cooked oPQC and oPKC demonstrated higher bioaccessible content of GABA (6.7-16.26 mg/100 g), TSPC (257.7-261.8 mg GAE/100 g), Ca (58.40-93.5 mg/100 g), and Fe (7.35-7.52 mg/100 g), as well as antioxidant activity (164.9-171.1 µmol TE/g) in intestinal digestates compared to control pasta. These findings suggest that the incorporation of sprouted pseudocereals and cushuro flour offers a promising approach to enhance the nutritional quality and bioactive content of wheat-based pasta, potentially providing health benefits beyond traditional formulations.