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Topic Review
Encapsulation Techniques for Probiotics
Probiotic encapsulation techniques can be categorized into two types: chemical (coacervation, ionic gelation, and molecular inclusion), and physical (spray drying, freeze drying, spray chilling, spray cooling, extrusion, fluidized bed drying, electrospraying, and electrospinning). Probiotic cells are between 1 and 5 μm in size and their viability must be maintained during the encapsulation process. The main encapsulation processes for probiotics are freeze drying, spray drying, ionic gelation, complex coacervation, electrospraying, and electrospinning.
  • 1.5K
  • 05 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Cow’s Milk
Cow’s milk (CM) is a healthy food consumed worldwide by individuals of all ages. Unfortunately, “lactase-deficient” individuals cannot digest milk’s main carbohydrate, lactose, depriving themselves of highly beneficial milk proteins like casein, lactoalbumin, and lactoglobulin due to lactose intolerance (LI), while other individuals develop allergies specifically against these proteins (CMPA). 
  • 1.5K
  • 08 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Ellagic Acid
Polyphenol ellagic acid (EA) possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic and cardio protection activities, making it an interesting multi-targeting profile. EA also controls the central nervous system (CNS), since it was proven to reduce the immobility time of mice in both the forced swimming and the tail-suspension tests, with an efficiency comparable to that of classic antidepressants. The proposed mechanism revealed that EA mimics clonidine at the presynaptic release-regulating α2 autoreceptors in hippocampal noradrenergic nerve endings.
  • 1.5K
  • 24 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Flavonoids as α-Glucosidase Inhibitors
Flavonoids are found ubiquitously in plants and represent ~60% of all dietary (poly)phenolic compounds. Flavonols, a sub-class of flavonoids, are present in onions, kale, apples, berries, leeks and broccoli. Some flavonols excreted in urine can be used as biomarkers of flavonol intake and are significantly associated with a lower T2D risk. Many flavonoids extracted from plants inhibit α-amylase and α-glucosidase activities in vitro, and improve postprandial glycaemia in diabetic animal models and limited human studies. Very few studies have reported on the inhibition of isomaltase, however. The disaccharide isomaltose is rarely present in nature but is commonly added as low-caloric food sweeteners in industrial-scale production, or produced from amylopectin hydrolysis to α-limit dextrins. Studies assessing the isomaltase inhibitory potential by flavonoids and acarbose are therefore of interest.
  • 1.5K
  • 28 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Astaxanthin as a Novel Mitochondrial Regulator
Astaxanthin is a member of the carotenoid family that is found abundantly in marine organisms. It has been reported that astaxanthin functions both as a pigment, and as an antioxidant with superior free radical quenching capacity.
  • 1.5K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Cereal’s Bran
Cereal bran has functional components with high nutritional quality and immense nutritional characteristics. Despite its nutritional benefits, cereal bran is underutilized in food processing.
  • 1.5K
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Auricularia auricula’s Separation and Purification
Auricularia auricula polysaccharides (AAP) have been widely studied in the field of medicine and healthcare because of their unique structure and physiological activity. Many species of Auricularia auricula polysaccharides have been extracted, isolated, and purified by different methods, and their structures have been analyzed. Auricularia auricula polysaccharides have been proven to have beneficial effects on the human body, including slowing the aging process, controlling the intestinal system, and treating cardiovascular disorders.
  • 1.5K
  • 19 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed
In the European Union (EU), the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) is in place to provide information on risks in the food chain. The largest number of notifications in this system concerns plants, followed by products of animal origin and other products.
  • 1.5K
  • 01 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Worldwide Flor Yeasts Screening Conception for Sherry Wines
The manufacturing of sherry wines is a unique, carefully regulated process, from harvesting to quality control of the finished product, involving dynamic biological aging in a “criadera-solera” system or some other techniques. Specialized “flor” strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae play the central role in the sherry manufacturing process. As a result, sherry wines have a characteristic and unique chemical composition that determines their organoleptic properties (such as color, odor, and taste) and distinguishes them from all other types of wine.
  • 1.5K
  • 06 Sep 2022
Topic Review
DNA-Based Methods for Cheese Origin Authentication
Metabolic activities of cheese microbiota play a crucial role in the development of cheese typicity. For geographical origin authentication, microbiota fingerprinting is therefore of high interest as traditional and artisanal cheeses are produced with a more diversified microbiota associated with the cheese-making process (e.g., use of raw milk, starter, brine, equipment and materials, and ripening rooms). While cheese microbial diversity was traditionally investigated using culture-dependent methods, hence overlooking unculturable or subdominant species, nowadays, culture-independent methods (HTS) have unravelled this diversity and provided further means to connect microbiota composition to cheese quality and typicity, but also origin. This success is due to the availability of new sequencing platforms, bioinformatic pipelines, and a continuous decrease in cost. While complete microbial genome sequencing (i.e. metagenomics) can be used, metabarcoding (also known as metagenetics and corresponding to the selective amplification of taxonomically relevant followed by NGS sequencing) is the most widely reported in the scientific literature. Herein researchers report recent scientific literature about metabarcoding analysis of cheese microbiota, highlighting what factors contribute to its formation and how it could be used to authenticate cheese origin.
  • 1.5K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Peach Palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth.)
A pre-Columbian staple, Bactris gasipaes Kunth. is a palm tree domesticated around 4000 years ago, so appreciated that a Spanish chronicler wrote in 1545, “only their wives and children were held in higher regard” by the Mesoamerican natives. The peach palm is an integral part of the foodways and gastronomy of Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, and other tropical American countries; meanwhile, it is almost unknown in the rest of the world, except for hearts of palm. Although abundant, the species faces anthropogenic threats. 
  • 1.5K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Vaccinium Species: Composition and Activity
The genus Vaccinium L. (Ericaceae) includes more than 450 species, which grow mainly in cooler areas of the northern hemisphere. Vaccinium species have been used in the traditional medicine of different cultures and the berries are widely consumed as food. Indeed, Vaccinium supplements-based herbal medicine and functional food, mainly from V. myrtillus and V. macrocarpon, are used in Europe and North America. Biological studies support traditional uses since for many of Vaccinium components important biological functions have been described, including antioxidant, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and endothelium protective activities. Vaccinium components, such as polyphenols, anthocyanins, and flavonoids, are widely recognized as modulators of cellular pathways involved in pathological conditions, thus indicating that Vaccinium may be an important source of bioactive molecules. 
  • 1.5K
  • 14 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Bio-Based Edible Films and Coatings for Fruit Applications
Films and coatings have principal functionalities that are fundamental for increasing the shelf lives of food products. They need to achieve protection against UV light and the transfer of compounds (e.g., solutes, water vapor, organic vapors, and gases) between the food and the surrounding atmosphere. They also need to act as a barrier against mechanical damage. The addition of functional/bioactive compounds, such as nutrients, antioxidants, and antimicrobials, against bacterial and fungal proliferation can be performed. The nutritional value can be enhanced with microorganisms that confer health benefits, such as probiotics. Aromatic compounds and flavors can also be added as enhancing agents. Additionally, the final package should be biodegradable and utilize biological materials.
  • 1.5K
  • 23 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Brassica Bioactives May Ameliorate Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a chronic, inflammatory, hormone-dependent disease characterized by histological lesions produced by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. Despite the fact that an estimated 176 million women are affected worldwide by this gynecological disorder, risk factors that cause endometriosis have not been properly defined and current treatments are not efficient. Although the interaction between diet and human health has been the focus of many studies, little information about the correlation of foods and their bioactive derivates with endometriosis is available. In this framework, Brassica crops have emerged as potential candidates for ameliorating the chronic inflammatory condition of endometriosis, due to their abundant content of health-promoting compounds such as glucosinolates and their hydrolysis products, isothiocyanates.
  • 1.4K
  • 22 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Applications of Nanotechnology in Food & Cosmetics Preservation
Cosmetic and food products containing water are prone to contamination during the production, storage, and transit process, leading to product spoilage and degraded organoleptic characteristics. The efficient preservation of food and cosmetics is one of the most important issues the industry is facing today. The use of nanotechnology in food and cosmetics for preservation purposes offers the possibility to boost the activity of antimicrobial agents and/or promote their safer distribution into the end product upon incorporation into packaging or film constructions.
  • 1.4K
  • 22 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Prebiotic Potential of Dietary Beans and Pulses
Dietary pulses, including dry beans, lentils, chickpeas, and dry peas, have the highest proportion of fiber among different legume cultivars and are inexpensive, easily accessible, and have a long shelf-life. The inclusion of pulses in regular dietary patterns is an easy and effective solution for achieving recommended fiber intake and maintaining a healthier gut and overall health. Dietary pulses-derived resistant starch (RS) is a relatively less explored prebiotic ingredient. Several in vitro and preclinical studies have elucidated the crucial role of RS in fostering and shaping the gut microbiota composition towards homeostasis thereby improving host metabolic health. 
  • 1.4K
  • 05 May 2022
Topic Review
Synthetic Biology Applications in Food Safety and Security
With an ever-growing global population, issues of food safety and security, as well as addressing pollution and striving for sustainability are of the utmost importance. Synthetic biology offers a unique, exciting range of solutions to address these urgent and growing challenges.
  • 1.4K
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
3D Printing of Agri-Food Processing Wastes
With increasing evidence of their relevance to resource recovery, waste utilization, zero waste, a circular economy, and sustainability, food-processing waste streams are being viewed as an aspect of both research and commercial interest. Accordingly, different approaches have evolved for their management and utilization. With excellent levels of customization, three-dimensional (3D) printing has found numerous applications in various sectors. The focus of this work is to explain the state of the art, innovative interventions, and promising features of 3D printing technology for the valorization of agri-food processing waste streams. Based on recent works, this article covers two aspects: the conversion of processing waste streams into edible novel foods or inedible biodegradable materials for food packing and allied applications. However, this application domain cannot be limited to only what is already established, as there are ample prospects for several other application fields intertwining 3D food printing and waste processing. In addition, this entry presents the key merits of the technology and emphasizes research needs and directions for future work on this disruptive technology, specific to food-printing applications.
  • 1.4K
  • 31 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Microbial Detoxification of Residual Pesticides in Fermented Foods
The treatment of agricultural areas with pesticides is an indispensable approach to improve crop yields and cannot be avoided in the future. At the same time, significant amounts of pesticides remain in food and their ingestion causes serious damage such as neurological, gastrointestinal, and allergic reactions; cancer; and even death. However, during the fermentation processing of foods, residual amounts of pesticides are significantly reduced thanks to enzymatic degradation by the starter and accompanying microflora. 
  • 1.4K
  • 24 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Organosulfur Compounds from Allium cepa
Species belonging to the genus Allium contain many organosulfur compounds (OSCs) that have been widely studied showing their biological properties and beneficial effects on intestinal health and gut microbiota (GM). 
  • 1.4K
  • 03 Sep 2021
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