Extraction of lycopene using a lecithin-based olive oil microemulsion

Incorporation of many water-insoluble nutraceuticals into aqueous formulations can present a real challenge for food industry. Hence, establishment of novel technologies for concurrent extraction and solubilisation of lipophilic compounds might be of a great interest. The main objective of the present study was to prepare olive oil microemulsions using different proportions of lecithin, 1-propanol, olive oil and water to examine their abilities to form microemulsion as well as extraction of lycopene from industrial tomato pomace. Lycopene extraction using 1 g tomato pomace and 4 extraction cycles applying 5 g microemulsion composed of lecithin: 1-propanol: olive oil: water (53.33:26.67:10:10 wt%) resulted in the highest extraction efficiency (88%). Such biocompatible and food-grade microemulsion containing lycopene can be applied in many food formulations where it can present a good solubility in aqueous and non-polar media and can improve the health-promoting properties of both lycopene and olive oil.

Use of a flor velum yeast for modulating colour, ethanol and major aroma compound contents in red wine

The most important and negative effect of the global warming for winemakers in warm and sunny regions is the observed lag between industrial and phenolic grape ripeness, so only it is possible to obtain an acceptable colour when the ethanol content of wine is high. By contrast, the actual market trends are to low ethanol content wines. Flor yeast growing a short time under velum conditions, decreases the ethanol and volatile acidity contents, has a favorable effect on the colour and astringency and significantly changes the wine content in 1-propanol, isobutanol, acetaldehyde, 1,1-diethoxiethane and ethyl lactate. The Principal Component Analysis of six enological parameters or five aroma compounds allows to classify the wines subjected to different velum formation conditions. The obtained results in two tasting sessions suggest that the flor yeast helps to modulate the ethanol, astringency and colour and supports a new biotechnological perspective for red winemakers.

Impact of different cocoa hybrids (Theobroma cacao L.) and S. cerevisiae UFLA CA11 inoculation on microbial communities and volatile compounds of cocoa fermentation

The aim of this work was to study the microbial communities and volatile compounds profile of different fermentations: using four different cocoa hybrids and adding Saccharomyces cerevisiae UFLA CA11 as starter culture. Each hybrid showed particular characteristics: size, peel, seed and pulp. The temperature of the cocoa mass increased during fermentations (24°C to 47°C). The hybrid FA13 inoculated with S. cerevisiae showed the lowest temperatures (26 to 37°C). The pulp's compositions were different between the hybrids, mainly regarding citric acid (0.5 to 3.2g/kg). The carbohydrates were more rapidly (60h) metabolized in inoculated fermentations than in spontaneous fermentations (84h). Thirty-nine volatile compounds were identified by GC-FID for all fermentation processes. Esters (14 compounds) and alcohols (12) were the most important groups. Yeast communities were similar among the different processes while bacterial communities were dependent on the hybrid and process. The inoculation accelerated the fermentation and the hybrid characteristics influenced on the fermentation requiring particular management.