Food & Function Blog

US scientists have encapsulated a nutraceutical – a dietary supplement with medicinal benefits – inside hydrocolloids to deliver it intact into the human body in food.

Currently, nutraceuticals’ applications in food are ‘limited by poor water solubility and instability under normal processing and storage conditions’, says Srinivas Janaswamy from Purdue University. To address this problem, Janaswamy and his team encapsulated curcumin molecules (a plant phenol found in turmeric with anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-obese properties) inside water pockets in crystalline hydrocolloid fibres.

Hydrocolloids – in which the colloid particles are dispersed in water – are already used as thickeners and gelling agents in food. The hydrocolloid Janaswamy’s team used was a sodium salt of iota-carrageenan, which is cheap and holds a generally recognised as safe (GRAS) status. It belongs to a family of polysaccharides extracted from marine algae for use in food and pharmaceutical applications.

Schematic encapsulation of curcumin in the hydrocolloid matrix. The filled circles are cations (black), water molecules (green) and sulfate groups (red and blue)

Read the full article in Chemistry World

Link to journal article
Hydrocolloid-based nutraceutical delivery systems
Srinivas Janaswamy and Susanne R. Youngren
Food Funct., 2012, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C2FO10281A

Scientists from Finland have shown that a spread containing milk peptides and plant sterols could lower systolic blood pressure and LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol levels.

Cardiovascular disease rates are increasing around the world and its prevention is therefore becoming more pressing, particularly as the disease is typically at an advanced stage when symptoms appear. The spread was developed by Anu Turpeinen at Valio, a company that manufactures dairy products in Helsinki, and colleagues. It offers an economical option in which only a small lifestyle change is required to enjoy the benefits and side-effects are minimal.

The milk peptides are thought to be responsible for the antihypertensive – blood pressure reducing – effects by inhibiting a blood pressure regulator called angiotensin converting enzyme. The lowered LDL cholesterol levels are attributed to the plant sterols preventing intestinal cholesterol absorption, but further research is required on the precise mechanisms of action.

The spread combines the blood pressure reducing effect of milk and the cholesterol lowering effect of plant sterols

Read the full article in Chemistry World

Link to journal article
A spread containing bioactive milk peptides Ile–Pro–Pro and Val–Pro–Pro, and plant sterols has antihypertensive and cholesterol-lowering effects
Anu M. Turpeinen ,  Mikko Ikonen ,  Anne S. Kivimäki ,  Hannu Kautiainen ,  Heikki Vapaatalo and Riitta Korpela
Food Funct., 2012, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C2FO10286B

Scientists in Canada have shown that sausages can be made using vegetable oil and a gelling agent instead of animal fat, without altering the texture. With the continual push for healthy eating and eliminating saturated fat from our diets, this novel use of an ethylcellulose organogelator (oleogel) could be applied to substantially reduce the amount of saturated fat in foods.

According to the World Health Organisation, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and there is evidence that links the disease with high saturated fat consumption. Scientists have been investigating alternatives to hard fats (such as saturated and trans fats) to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. But, it is very difficult to find replacements, says lead researcher Alejandro Marangoni from the University of Guelph. ‘You are left with oil, which does not have any structuring ability,’ he adds.

Marangoni’s team made their oleogel using the gelling agent ethylcellulose, a known organogelator for vegetable oils. ‘We had to heat ethylcellulose up quite a bit to go in to triglyceride oils but once that happened, upon cooling, we found that a network formed and we had something almost as hard as a rubber ball!’ says Marangoni.

An oleogel (middle) was used to replace hard fat in a frankfurter. The image on the right is a scanning electron micrograph showing the texture of a soybean oil organogel

Read the full story in Chemistry World

Link to journal article
Mechanical properties of ethylcellulose oleogels and their potential for saturated fat reduction in frankfurters
Alexander K. Zetzl ,  Alejandro G. Marangoni and Shai Barbut
Food Funct., 2012, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C2FO10202A