Claudio Corradini

Background: “FODMAPs” (fermentable-oligo-, di-, monosaccharides, and polyols) are a group of fermentable carbohydrates and polyols largely diffused in food products. Despite their beneficial effects as prebiotics, people affected by irritable bowel syndrome manifest symptoms when eating these carbohydrates. A low-FODMAP diet seems to be the only possible therapy proposed for symptom management. Bakery products are a common source of FODMAPs, whose pattern and total amount can be affected by their processing. This work aims at studying some of the technological parameters that can influence the FODMAPs pattern in bakery products during the production process. Methods: high-performance anion exchange chromatography coupled to a pulsed amperometric detector (HPAEC-PAD) was used as a highly selective system for carbohydrates evaluation analyses on flours, doughs, and crackers. These analyses were performed using two different columns, the CarboPac PA200 and CarboPac PA1, which are selective for oligosaccharide and simple sugar separation, respectively. Results: emmer and hemp flours were selected to prepare doughs as they contained low oligosaccharide content. Two different mixes of ferments were used at different times of fermentation to evaluate the best conditions to achieve low-FODMAP crackers. Conclusion: the proposed approach allows carbohydrate evaluation during crackers processing and permits the selection of opportune conditions to obtain low-FODMAP products.

Functional foods are one of the most interesting areas of research and innovation in the food industry. A functional food or functional ingredient is considered to be any food or food component that provides health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Recently, consumers have shown interest in natural bioactive compounds as functional ingredients in the diet owing to their various beneficial effects for health. Water-soluble fibers and nondigestible oligosaccharides and polysaccharides can be defined as functional food ingredients. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and inulin are resistant to direct metabolism by the host and reach the caecocolon, where they are used by selected groups of beneficial bacteria. Furthermore, they are able to improve physical and structural properties of food, such as hydration, oil-holding capacity, viscosity, texture, sensory characteristics, and shelf-life. This article reviews major innovative analytical developments to screen and identify FOS, inulins, and the most employed nonstarch carbohydrates added or naturally present in functional food formulations. High-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed electrochemical detection (HPAEC-PED) is one of the most employed analytical techniques for the characterization of those molecules. Mass spectrometry is also of great help, in particularly matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), which is able to provide extensive information regarding the molecular weight and length profiles of oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. Moreover, MALDI-TOF-MS in combination with HPAEC-PED has been shown to be of great value for the complementary information it can provide. Some other techniques, such as NMR spectroscopy, are also discussed, with relevant examples of recent applications. A number of articles have appeared in the literature in recent years regarding the analysis of inulin, FOS, and other carbohydrates of interest in the field and they are critically reviewed.

A new method for qualitative and quantitative analysis of furosine in food products by capillary electrophoresis coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (CE‐MS²) has been optimized and validated. In analytical conditions, the pH value of the run buffer was similar to that of the hydrolyzed samples, which helps in avoiding interactions of the analyte with silanol groups of the inner wall of the fused silica capillary. In all previous CE methods proposed in literature, no SPE treatment has been used. The method has been applied to the analysis of food products, such as flour, having low amounts of furosine. Flour samples of different origin (wheat, chestnut, lupin, einkorn, chickpeas) have been investigated. Different food products such as pasta, milk, and tigelle bread (a typical Italian unleavened bread) were also analyzed. Some of the samples have also been analyzed by reversed‐phase HPLC, and when compared to CE‐MS, data obtained showed good agreement. CE‐MS, in comparison to HPLC, showed advantages in terms of time of analysis and cost. The validation procedure provided good values for LOD and LOQ (respectively 0.07 and 0.25 mg L⁻¹), recovery (77 and 97%), and precision investigated in terms of intraday repeatability (RSD%: 4–6% for peak areas; 1–2% for migration times) and intermediate precision (below 16% for peak areas, and below 7% for migration times). Therefore, the technique reported can be proposed as a powerful analytical method and a valid alternative to common traditional analytical techniques.

With the increased interest in the possible link between fructooligosaccharides (FOS) intake from functional foods and health, the need for reliable data on the individual FOS content of those foods has become very important. In this study a new high‐performance anion‐exchange chromatography coupled to pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC‐PAD) method is described for the selective determination of short‐chain FOS and inulooligosaccharides (IOS) present in the investigated prebiotic food ingredients. Response factor of PAD was investigated in relationship with degree of polymerization and isomers. The developed HPAEC‐PAD method has been applied to characterize short‐chain oligosaccharides of the inulin series with DP ranging from DP3 to DP7 and IOS from DP2 to DP7. Their quantification in commercial water‐soluble fibers of relevant importance as prebiotic food ingredient added in fermented milks has been performed. In order to evaluate the reliability of the proposed method, results have been compared with those obtained by the official enzymatic method. Furthermore, this new HPAEC‐PAD method may contribute to clarify the real importance, prebiotic effectiveness and biological role of these carbohydrates.

The aim of this work was to develop and validate a specific reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic method (HPLC) using diode array detection (DAD) for the determination of flavanones, which is the dominant flavonoid class in the genus citrus. The procedures and criteria used for validation of the method including sensitivity, linearity, repeatability, recovery, and robustness were carried out following the EURACHEM guidelines. The validated RP-HPLC-DAD method was applied for the determination of the mainly flavanone glycosides contained in dried blood orange peel and dried lemon peel, and for the quantitation of flavanone glycosides and hesperetin in nutraceutical products.