Food & Function Blog

Excess salt in the diet can lead to serious health conditions such as heart attack or stroke. Image © Shutterstock.

Salt (NaCl) is an important ingredient in many foods as it increases microbial stability, enhances flavour, and can influence the structure of macromolecules. However, consuming too much salt can lead to various health conditions such as hypertension (which can lead to a stroke or heart disease), and increase in calcium excretion (leading to osteoporosis and kidney stones). Manufacturers have attempted to create low sodium foods by substituting NaCl with other molecules such as potassium chloride (KCl), NaGlu or yeast extracts. However, in order to design palatable foods with lower salt contents it is necessary to understand the phenomena occurring during the oral processing of salt.

In this paper, Serafim Bakalis and co-workers from University of Birmingham, UK, have investigated salt release from food using a gustometer-type model system. The results show that if salt can be released in pulses, via controlled destructuring during oral processing, then tasty and healthier low salt foods can be developed. This is easier to achieve in solid foods such as bread and cheese where salt can be partitioned between different regions due to the slow diffusion kinetics. However, it is still a challenge for liquid and soft solid foods, as the interfaces have to be specifically tailored to ensure that partitioning is maintained over time.

Modelling the human response to saltiness, Benjamin J. D. Le Reverend, Ian T. Norton and Serafim Bakalis, Food Funct., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/c3fo30106k

Lipids are important compounds in foods and influence many factors from nutrition to mouth-feel. However, lipid compounds readily undergo oxidation reactions, which negatively effect the texture, odour and colour of foods, which in turn lead to a reduced shelf-life. In fact, some previous research has shown that oxidized lipids from the diet could directly contribute to major illnesses in humans, such as cancers and heart disease.

In order to prevent lipid oxidation, active packaging systems containing antioxidant agents, radical scavengers, metal chelators and ultraviolet (UV) absorbers have been introduced into the food industry with the aim to increase the safety and quality of packaged foods. Active packaging goes goes beyond the traditional role of packaging by imparting specific, intentional functionality to the packaging system and is discussed in depth in this recent Food & Function review. Here, Fang Tian, Eric Decker and Julie Goddard, from Massachusetts, USA, discuss the recent advances in antioxidant active packaging and highlight the development and application of active packaging systems. The opportunity to apply these antioxidant active packaging systems commercially is also discussed, with a focus on maintaining safety, quality and nutrition of packaged foods.

To find out more, click the link below to read the full article. It’s free until the 15th May:

Controlling lipid oxidation of food by active packaging technologies, Fang Tian, Eric A. Decker and Julie M. Goddard, Food Funct., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/c3fo30360h

Energy drinks could help enhance memory and attention. Image © Shutterstock’

Glucose is very important for healthy brain function as it modulates mental alertness and cognition. However, glucose cannot be easily stored and the brain requires a constant supply of glucose for fuel. Previous work has shown that consuming a glucose drink can enhance mental alertness, however the precise cognitive abilities that are susceptible to glucose remain unclear.

To investigate this further, Louise Brown and Leigh Riby from Nottingham Trent University and Northumbria University, UK, have examined the effects of glucose on episodic memory and attention processes. 35 participants performed an old/new recognition memory task and a Stroop colour naming task. The results showed that glucose enhances the neuro-cognitive processes related to verbal episodic memory and recollection, which was consistent with earlier work. However, there was also some evidence of enhanced attention during the task under difficult conditions. Therefore, the results suggest that glucose drinks may facilitate attention as well as memory.

To find out more, read the article in full by clicking the link below:

Glucose enhancement of event-related potentials associated with episodic memory and attention, Louise A. Brown and Leigh M. Riby, Food Funct., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3FO30243A