Food & Function Blog

The texture and melting behaviour of chocolate are key factors for determining chocolate quality. Textural characteristics such as bite, firmness, melting properties, stickiness and smoothness are important, however, perhaps the most important factor is melting behaviour. It must be solid at room temperature (about 20 ºC) and melt at body temperature (37 ºC). When consumed it melts in the mouth, mixes with saliva and the phase inverts from a fat continuous product into an oil-in-water emulsion upon chewing. It is at this point that levels of mouth-coating can be perceived.

In this work, Bettina Wolf and co-workers from Nottingham, UK, have studied the microstructure of two chocolate samples following oral processing in order to understand the textural behaviour. Two milk chocolate samples with the same composition and viscosity in the melted state were manufactured differently to give differences in textural properties. The microstructureof the chocolate samples following oral processing resembled an emulsion as the chocolate phase inverts in-mouth and was clearly different and between the two samples. The sample that was found to be more mouth-coating appeared less flocculated after 20 chews. The team also performed tribological studies to measure friction properties. The research showed correlations between the sensory behaviour and the physical material properties relating to melting and friction behaviour.

To read the full article (free until the 13th February 2013) click the link below:

Oral processing of two milk chocolate samples, Ana Margarida Carvalho-da-Silva, Isabella Van Damme, Will Taylor, Joanne Hort and Bettina Wolf, Food Funct., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/c2fo30173c

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Recently there has been considerable debate on what is the most appropriate and accurate method to predict the available energy to humans from food, particularly relating to factorial models vs.empirical models.  An alternative approach would be to calculate the physiologically available energy of food at the cellular level (ATP, or adenosine-5′-triphosphate), based on stoichiometric relationships and predictive uptakes of nutrients from the digestive tract. 

In this work, Leah Coles and colleagues from the Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute (Australia) and the Riddet Institute, Massey University (New Zealand) have developed just such a model. The model takes ‘energetic costs’ into account when considering the ATP yield, such as the energetic cost of digesting, absorbing and transporting nutrients in the body. The model is potentially a valuable tool for the development of certain food products which need to provide accurate quantities of energy intake, such as specialised weight-loss products. 

Read the full article for free until the 7th Feburary 2013!

A model to predict the ATP equivalents of macronutrients absorbed from food, Leah Coles,  Shane Rutherfurd and Paul Moughan, Food Funct., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2FO30239J

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Colorectal cancer is one of the major causes of cancer-related mortalities in humans across the world.  The disease is one influenced by several factors including diet, environment and smoking.  Previous studies into the effects of diet on this disease have indicated an inverse relationship between consumption of fruits and vegetables and the risk of developing colon cancer. 

In this study, Andriana Kaliora and colleagues from Harokopio University and Corinthian Raisins Cooperative SKOS A.S.E., Greece, have looked at the impact of the total phenolic content from raisins and sultanas on colon cancer cells.  Extracts from both raisins and sultanas showed DPPH scavenging activity in a dose-dependent manner, and both suppressed cell proliferation.  Methanol extracts of the sultanas and raisins exhibited anti-radical activity in vitro and cancer preventative efficacy on colon cancer cells, with sultanas having slightly higher activity.

The authors attribute the beneficial properties of the raisins and sultanas from this region to their high phenolic content.

This article is free to access until the 4th February 2013!

Chemopreventive properties of raisins originating from Greece in colon cancer cells, Aggeliki M. Kountouri, Aristea Gioxari, Evangelia Karvela, Andriana C. Kaliora, Michalis Karvelas and Vaios T. Karathanos, Food Funct., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2FO30259D

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