Angela Gurev

Cold-pressed seed meals are nutrient-rich agro-industrial by-products with potential food applications, but comparative data under standardized conditions remain limited. This study characterized six cold-pressed seed meals—pumpkin (PSM), grape (GSM), milk thistle (MSM), flax (FSM), hemp (HSM), and sea buckthorn (SSM), procured during a single production run. Proximate composition, water activity, CIELab color, total polyphenol content (TPC), antioxidant activity (DPPH and ABTS), and in vitro antimicrobial activity were evaluated. PSM and HSM had the highest crude protein contents (46.89% and 44.41%), whereas GSM had the highest crude fiber (51.84%), TPC (63.50 mg GAE/g DW), and antioxidant activity in both assays. SSM had the highest ash content (10.19%) and the second-highest antioxidant activity. Water activity was below 0.48 in all samples. SSM was the most active against Staphylococcus aureus (MIC/MBC: 15.63 mg/mL) and Escherichia coli (31.25 mg/mL), whereas HSM was most active against Candida albicans (inhibition zone: 22.30 mm; MIC: 7.81 mg/mL). Exploratory principal component analysis and Pearson correlation described differences among compositional, antioxidant, and color-related profiles. Given the limited number of groups and a single batch per material, findings apply only to these materials. These results provide comparative data to guide further investigation of their potential use as food ingredients within circular bioeconomy strategies.

This study investigated alfalfa protein concentrate (APC) as a functional ingredient for developing protein-enriched apple sorbet. APC obtained by ultrasound-assisted aqueous extraction was characterized for its physicochemical, nutritional, phytochemical, antioxidant, textural, and functional properties and incorporated into sorbet at 2.5–10%. APC contained 86.45% protein (DW), 2297.4 mg GAE/100 g DW total polyphenols, and 983.6 mg QE/100 g DW total flavonoids. APC incorporation increased sorbet protein content from 0.11% in the control sample to 8.05% at 10% APC, while total polyphenols increased from 243.22 to 579.58 mg GAE/100 g DW and ABTS antioxidant activity from 487.41 to 904.49 mg TE/100 g DW. Following simulated gastrointestinal digestion, ABTS activity reached 1110.71 mg TE/100 g DW at 10% APC. Increasing APC concentrations reduced protein digestibility from 74.90% to 55.83%, overrun, hardness, and apparent viscosity and progressively modified sorbet color. Sensory evaluation showed the highest acceptance for formulations containing 2.5–7.5% APC, whereas 10% APC reduced sensory quality. Overall, moderate APC incorporation provided an effective balance between nutritional and functional enhancement and sensory acceptability.

Current research in the food industry highlights the importance of alternative protein sources in the context of global population growth and the need to reduce the negative impact of raising animals, producing animal proteins, on the environment. Plant proteins represent a sustainable, affordable and beneficial option for health, with high potential to replace animal proteins in the food industry. Plant sources rich in protein include legumes, cereals, pseudocereals, oilseeds, green leaves, algae and, more recently, insects. They differ considerably in protein content and amino acid profile, and their strategic combination can ensure a balanced intake of essential nutrients. Legumes offer high protein content, but are deficient in sulfur amino acids. Cereals, although lower in protein, bring technological benefits and can complement the amino acids missing from legumes. Pseudocereals have a higher nutritional value than conventional cereals, while green leaves and algae offer a high proteins intake and compounds with antioxidant potential, although they require advanced technologies to overcome extraction limitations. Extraction methods play a decisive role in the yield and quality of plant proteins. Conventional techniques are efficient but can cause denaturation and provide low yields. On the other hand, emerging methods allow the recovery of proteins in larger quantities, preserving their functional and technological properties.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is an underutilized source of phytonutrients and easily digestible protein, containing all essential amino acids, highlighting its potential for food applications. This study aimed to produce alfalfa protein concentrates (APC) from frozen aerial parts and evaluate how conventional extraction and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) affect the extraction yield, physicochemical properties, functional attributes, color parameters, phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity. The influence of extraction pH and the type of acid used for isoelectric precipitation was also evaluated. Paired t-tests (p ≤ 0.05) showed that UAE (37 kHz, 25 °C, 15 min) increased the extraction yield by 20.5–39.7%, the protein content in APC by 2.5–12.1% and the in vitro protein digestibility by 5.6–11.03%, depending on the extraction conditions. Ultrasound treatment decreased the levels of chlorophyll and carotenoids, modified the color parameters and increased the total polyphenols and flavonoids content. Improvements in the textural, foaming and emulsifying properties of APC were also observed. UAE also reduced the scavenging capacity of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. However, the 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS•⁺) scavenging activity significantly increased in aqueous APC extracts, reaching 3118.8 mg TE/100 g DW. Overall, UAE proved effective in improving the yield and functionality of APC, supporting its application in the development of alfalfa-based protein ingredients.

The jostaberry (Ribes × nidigrolaria) hybrid is a rich source of phytochemicals with high antioxidant activity (AA). However, due to the thick skin and seeds, the whole fruits are rejected by some consumers, and their incorporation into food products may negatively affect the sensory properties. Furthermore, after drying, including freeze-drying, jostaberries become sticky and gummy, making them unsuitable for grinding into powder. In this context, the present study aims to improve the handling properties and evaluate the biological value, antioxidant potential, physicochemical characteristics, and color parameters of biopolymer microparticles enriched with biologically active compounds (BACs) from jostaberry during freeze-drying and subsequent storage in the dark under ambient conditions (22 ± 1 °C, relative humidity ≤ 75%). For this, jostaberry extract (JE) was encapsulated using combinations of biocompatible carriers: maltodextrin-nutriose (resistant dextrin)-pectin and maltodextrin-nutriose-sodium alginate. The encapsulated products were freeze-dried to obtain microparticles (MNPJ and MNAJ) with yields of 87.7% and 88.9%, respectively. It was found that the biopolymer matrix provided superior protection for the encapsulated BACs during freeze-drying compared to the fruit matrix. The AA determined in MNPJ and MNAJ microparticles by DPPH and ABTS assays decreased only 1.1 and 1.5 times, respectively, while in freeze-dried jostaberry, AA showed a decrease of 3.7 times (DPPH) and 2.3 times (ABTS), respectively. Tukey’s post hoc HSD analysis revealed multiple significant differences (p < 0.05) between storage intervals for all measured parameters. While DPPH and ABTS values progressively decreased, total polyphenols (TPC) and anthocyanins concentration (TAC) and their retention efficiency showed changes after specific storage intervals (3, 6 and 12 months). After 12 months of storage, TPC and TAC decreased by 8.2% and 12.2% in MNPJ and by 3.3% and 3.9% in MNAJ, respectively. Therefore, microparticles containing sodium alginate showed the lowest BAC loss during storage. The obtained results reveal that after 12 months of storage, the color and physicochemical properties of the microparticles remained largely stable.

This study investigated meat analogs produced by high-moisture extrusion from mixtures of pea protein isolate and soryz flour, and chickpea flour and hazelnut meal in a 1:1 ratio, at two distinct heating temperature profiles: 40-60-80-100 °C and 60-80-100-120 °C. Physicochemical indicators, texture and chromatic parameters, protein digestibility, and antioxidant activity of the meat analogs were assessed, and antioxidant activity of the product in terms of simulating gastrointestinal digestibility in vitro was performed. The results obtained for the analyzed meat analog indicators were greatly influenced by the type of plant-based raw material used and the heating temperature profiles. A higher temperature regime leads to a slight decrease in the content of nutritive compounds in the final products. All meat analog samples showed good water and oil holding capacity. A decrease in hardness was observed for the mixtures compared to pea protein isolate, which can be attributed to protein content. The digestibility of the processed meat analog proteins ranged between 86.84% and 69.37%. PCA was applied to illustrate the relationships between physicochemical characteristics, protein digestibility, antioxidant activity, texture profile analysis, and CIELab color parameters in high-moisture meat analogs.

The method for preparing fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) from lipids for gas-liquid chromatography, developed by K. Ichihara and Y. Fukubayashi, was optimized as a result of research on the influence of mild (45 ℃, for 14 h) and fast (100 ℃, for 1 h) methanolysismethylation conditions on the FAMEs yield. Based on the minor impact on the final products and the good FAMEs yields, the optimized mild methanolysis/methylation method was applied to eight vegetable oil samples and two types of fish oil dietary supplements. The FAMEs compositions were analyzed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC/FID). On the recorded chromatograms, 16 types of fatty acids with majority content were identified and their mass fractions were calculated. The modified Ichihara-Fukubayashi method allowed the conversion of ester-bound fatty acids and free acids to FAMEs in a single step. The accuracy, accessibility and convenience of the method, the use of low concentrations of samples and reagents were noted.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the characteristics of different plant-based sources rich in protein, chickpea flour (CPF), hazelnut oil cake (HOC), soy protein isolate (SPI) and concentrate (SPC), and pea protein isolate (PPI) for their subsequent use in the manufacture of meat analogs. The protein sources were analyzed for dry matter, ash, protein, fat, starch, dietary fiber, water holding capacity, granulosity, color parameters (L*, a*, b*, C*, YI), antioxidant activity before and after gastrointestinal in vitro digestion, and amino acid and mineral compositions. The highest dry matter content was determined in hazelnut oil cake and pea protein isolate. For the protein content, maximum values were obtained for the protein isolate and concentrate samples, from 52.80% to 80.50%, followed by hazelnut oil cake and chickpea flour. The water-holding capacity of all plant sources was directly influenced by the values of protein content, dietary fiber, and granulosity. The results obtained after gastrointestinal digestion also showed quite significant antioxidant activity, which is due to the process of hydrolysis and denaturation of plant-based protein sources in the gastrointestinal tract. Major amino acids identified in the analyzed samples were glutamic acid, leucine, arginine, phenylalanine, serine, valine, alanine, and tyrosine from minerals P, Na, Mg, and Ca. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to illustrate the relationship between physicochemical characteristics, amino acid composition, mineral composition, and antioxidant activity determined in the plant-based materials.

This paper analyzes the possibility of using pomace powder of musky squash (PPMS, 10–30% of the formulation) for the manufacture of foamy confectionery products based on Jerusalem artichoke syrup, which is a natural substitute for sugar syrup used in the food industry. The content of biologically active compounds (polyphenols, carotenoids) as well as the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of pumpkin powder were evaluated. Sensory analysis was applied to measure the degree of product acceptance and the analysis revealed that the optimal amount of PPMS accepted by the tasters was 15%. The addition of PPMS increased pH and free water retention, color, and lightness intensification. During the storage period (40 days), the hardness and gumminess showed an essential increase and the cohesion of the samples gradually decreased. The addition of PPMS led to the improvement of textural parameters, thus contributing to the extension of the shelf life of products by 10 days, compared to the control sample. Mutual information analysis was applied to determine the influence of PPMS concentration and storage time of foamy confectionery products on mean total score, mean sensory profile score, moisture content, water activity, antioxidant activity, hardness, cohesiveness, and gumminess. The results of this research indicate that the use of pumpkin pulp in the manufacture of foamy confectionery products can significantly increase their biological value and sensory characteristics and ensure an extension of the products’ shelf life.

In this paper, the qualitative and quantitative profile is evaluated of the bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity (AA), microbiostatic properties, as well as the color parameters of jostaberry extracts, obtained from frozen (FJ), freeze-dried (FDJ), and oven-dried berries (DJ). The optimal extraction conditions by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) were selected after determination of the total polyphenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), total antocyanin content (TA), AA by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH), and the free radical cation 2,2-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonates (ABTS). Non-conventional extraction methods are less destructive to anthocyanins, while drying the berries reduced TA, regardless of the extraction method. The oven-drying process reduced the concentration of TA in DJ extracts by 99.4% and of ascorbic acid by 92.42% compared to FJ. AA was influenced by the jostaberry pretreatment methods. The DPPH and ABTS tests recorded values (mg Trolox equivalent/g dry weight) between 17.60 and 35.26 and 35.64 and 109.17 for FJ extracts, between 7.50 and 7.96 and 45.73 and 82.22 for FDJ, as well as between 6.31 and 7.40 and 34.04 and 52.20 for DJ, respectively. The jostaberry pretreatment produced significant changes in all color parameters. Mutual information analysis, applied to determine the influence of ultrasound and microwave durations on TPC, TFC, TA, AA, pH, and color parameters in jostaberry extracts, showed the greatest influence on TA (0.367 bits) and TFC (0.329 bits). The DPPH and ABTS inhibition capacity of all FJ’ extracts had higher values and varied more strongly, depending on pH, heat treatment, and storage time, compared to the AA values of FDJ’ and DJ’ extracts. A significant antimicrobial effect was observed on all bacterial strains studied for FJP. FDJP was more active on Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. DJP was more active on Salmonella Abony and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antifungal effect of DJP was stronger compared to FDJP. Jostaberry extracts obtained under different conditions can be used in food production, offering a wide spectrum of red hues.