Genaro Gustavo Amador-Espejo

This study evaluates the combined antibacterial activity (AA) of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and UV-C light-activated gallic acid (AGA) against two common enteropathogens (Escherichia coli and S. Typhimurium) in terms of microbial growth and survival during gastrointestinal simulation (GS). The LAB were selected based on their capacity to ferment soy and whey concentrates in monoculture and co-culture. The resulting LAB-fermented medium (LABF) was evaluated for its antibacterial properties against enteropathogens and combined with AGA to determine its effects during the GS. Results indicated that the whey solution supported the highest growth of LAB co-culture (>10⁷ CFU/mL). LABF showed AA in a dose-dependent manner, achieving >2-log reductions. Although AGA exhibited strong AA, when combined with LABF, its antimicrobial activity under GS was null, with a complete microbial recovery after 24 h of GS. Therefore, the application of LABF plus AGA in the in vitro gastrointestinal system needs further study to avoid loss of antibacterial activity during gastric transit.

Ricotta cheese is produced following a simple procedure for recovering proteins from both acid and sweet whey; however, its yield is relatively low, and the process is considered energy‐intensive. Consequently, alternatives to increase its efficiency are actively sought after. High‐intensity ultrasound (HIUS) is an emerging nonthermal, cavitation‐based technology that has been recently explored to improve protein recovery from whey streams, reducing processing time and using selected coagulation‐inducing chemical additives. The addition of micellar casein to whey could further improve protein recuperation via coprecipitation, but it could be valuable to explore more cost‐effective alternatives such as whey protein (WP) isolate‐kappa carrageenan complex coacervates. The influence of HIUS (24 kHz, 400 W, E = 42.2 W s/mL), complex coacervation (16% v/v), and coprecipitation processes with micellar casein concentrate (MCC) (0.5% w/w) on yield, processing time, and physicochemical characteristics of whey ricotta cheese from both acid and sweet whey were evaluated. A completely randomized design was implemented with whey treatment (untreated, CC‐added, CC‐added + HIUS‐treated, CC/MCC added, CC/MCC added + HIUS‐treated) as the independent variable. All sonicated samples did not require a pH adjustment to induce protein precipitation, while acid whey products exhibited lower yields and softer textures than their sweet whey counterparts. The use of complex coacervation improved Ricotta cheese yield (1.9‐ to 2.4‐fold) because of an increased water‐holding capacity of the cheese matrix; meanwhile, applying sonication, coprecipitation, and complex coacervation processes induce a 1.9‐ to 2.0‐fold increase in cheese yield, producing yellower, firmer cheese, allowing the manufacture of ricotta cheese‐type products with unique technological features.

Complex coacervation is a widely used method for bioactive compound microencapsulation. Red cabbage extract is a natural pigment that contains anthocyanins, which provide attractive and bright colors with no reported toxicity and associated healthy properties. These types of pigments have led to a deep interest in developing natural colorants to at least partially replace their synthetic counterparts in the food industry. The present study aimed to encapsulate red cabbage extract using a complex coacervation system comprising gum arabic:inulin (GA:In) and pea protein (PP) as wall materials. A total of four treatments were tested, maintaining a consistent pea protein concentration (1%), and the concentrations of GA:In (1 and 3%) and red cabbage extract (1 and 10%) were varied. The results showed high encapsulation efficiency values, with all treatments achieving encapsulation levels above 95%. The total monomeric anthocyanin concentration was 6.7 μg anthocyanin Eq. C3G/mg of flour, and to explore bioactivity of the extract, α-amylase inhibition was analyzed, with an inhibitory percentage of 22.48% at a concentration of 0.5 mg/mL. The solubility of the coacervates ranged from 70.12 to 75.84% in water, and their morphology revealed irregular and porous shapes. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis confirmed the formation of the coacervate-encapsulation complex. Characteristic bands showed the presence of functional groups from the wall materials and the encapsulated anthocyanins. These findings showed that the use of GA, In and PP as wall materials in complex coacervation can develop natural colorants with improved stability and functionality.

Plant-based beverages are water-soluble extracts of cereals, pseudocereals, seeds and legumes that resemble milk in appearance. However, these products have important differences compared to normal liquid milk, such as nutritional composition, sensorial properties and shelf-life stability. Increasing number of consumers are opting for these beverages due to lactose intolerance, milk protein allergies or lifestyle. In this regard, different emerging technologies have been investigated to solve problems such as shelf life, nutritional and emulsion stability as well as sensory acceptability, without using high temperatures since heat treatments decrease the content of some bioactive compounds. Ultrasound technology alone or combined with temperature (thermosonication) could be a valuable tool to improve the properties of plant-based beverages. Therefore, this review provides a detailed analysis of the effect of ultrasound and thermosonication on the physical, bioactive, microbiological and sensory properties of almond-, soybean-, coconut-, hazelnut- and peanut-based beverages, among others.

Encapsulation by coacervation has received interest in the last few years because of its low cost. Ultrasound (US) processing has proven to be an adequate technology for protein denaturation, increasing coacervation yield. There is a lack of information regarding its effects on encapsulation yield. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of US treatments on calcium caseinate (CaCN)–kappa carrageenan (KC) coacervates and the improvements in encapsulation efficiency (EE) of ascorbic acid (AA). US‐treatments (50% and 100% amplitude, 2 and 4 min) were applied to a 2% CaCN solution. Caseinate solution was mixed with a soy oil–AA (25%) W/O emulsion to form a second emulsion W/O/W. Finally, the second emulsion was employed for complex coacervation with KC (2% solution). The results showed a 10% increase in EE in the US‐treatments, with better stability and release profiles compared to the control. Sonication proved to be effective for coacervation improvement.Practical Applications: Ultrasound pretreatment of calcium caseinate for coacervation along with kappa carrageenan showed an increase in the coacervation yield. This result was mainly attributed to the structural protein modification obtained after ultrasound (US) treatment. These coacervates can be employed to encapsulate bioactive compounds, such as ascorbic acid (AA), which is one of the most labile vitamins. In this sense, the US application leads to increases in encapsulation efficiency (around 10%) with a better stability and release profile than the capsules without treatment. These results create an opportunity to encapsulate AA and use the capsules in systems with a wide range of pH, increasing the chances of having functional products on the market.

Insects from the Orthoptera order possess important biological activities such as wound healing and represent a therapeutic resource in traditional medicine worldwide. Hence, this study addressed the characterisation of lipophilic extracts from Brachystola magna (Girard), identifying compounds with potential healing properties. For that, four extracts were obtained from sample 1 (head-legs) and sample 2 (abdomen): extract A (hexane/sample 1), extract B (hexane/sample 2), extract C (ethyl acetate/sample 1) and extract D (ethyl acetate/sample 2). All extracts were analysed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detection (GC-FID) and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Compounds identified were squalene, cholesterol and fatty acids, having a higher concentration of linolenic acid in extracts A and B, while extracts C and D had a higher content of palmitic acid. Additionally, FTIR detected characteristic peaks of lipids and triglycerides. Components of the lipophilic extracts suggested that this product could be used for skin illnesses treatment. Graphical Abstract