When seeds sown in the soil become wet, their hulls secrete viscous matter that can retain water and thus support germination. Flaxseed mucilage (FSM) is an example of such a material and is attractive for food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical applications due to its suitable rheological properties. FSM consists mainly of two polysaccharides, namely, arabinoxylan and rhamnogalacturonan I, and it also contains some proteins, minerals, and phenolic compounds. The genotype and the year of the flax harvest can significantly affect the composition and functional properties of FSM. In this work, FSM samples were isolated from flax seeds of different cultivars and harvest years, and their structural and rheological properties were compared using statistical methods. The samples showed significant variability in composition and rheological properties depending on the cultivar and storage time. It was found that the ratio of two polysaccharide fractions and the contribution of less-prevalent proteins are important factors determining the rheological parameters of FSM, characterizing the shear-thinning, thixotropic, and dynamic viscoelastic behavior of this material in aqueous solutions. The yield strength and the hysteresis loop were found to be associated with the contribution of the pectin fraction, which included homogalacturonan and rhamnogalacturonan I. In contrast, the shear-thinning and especially the dynamic viscoelastic properties depended on the arabinoxylan content. Proteins also affected the viscoelastic properties and maintained the elastic component of FSM in the solution. The above structural and rheological characteristics should be taken into account when considering effective applications for this material.

Infant feces and breast milk are sources of lactic acid bacteria with interesting functional and technological properties. Therefore, we focused on the isolation and characterization of new potential probiotic strains from infant feces and breast milk. Nine strains were identified based on 16S rRNA sequences of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, Limosilactobacillus reuteri, and Lactobacillus gasseri. Subsequently, these isolates were evaluated for their safety (antibiotic resistance, hemolytic, and enzymatic activity) and functional properties (gastrointestinal condition tolerance, hydrophobicity, auto-aggregation, adhesion to Caco-2/HT-29 cell lines, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, and the production of exopolysaccharides). All the isolates were non-hemolytic and resistant to streptomycin, kanamycin, and vancomycin. They also demonstrated antimicrobial activity against five selected pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., and Enterococcus faecalis) and the production of exopolysaccharides. Isolates Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus S1F and S6C together with Lactobacillus gasseri M8C showed the highest ability to survive 3.0 g/L of bile salts and a good adhesion property, which is important for gastrointestinal tract (GIT) colonization or the inhibition of pathogens. Following in vivo characterization, three strains S1F and S6C from infant feces, and M6C from breast milk, showed probiotic properties with potential applications in the food industry.

Salty wheat crackers prepared from wheat white (WF) and whole grain flour (WG) were enriched with 5, 10, and 15% cricket powder (CRPW). According to the content of dietary fiber and fat, two types of wheat flour and CRPW differed in terms of darkness “100 − L*” and redness a*. The color of the baked products reflected these differences, but the darkening of the whole grain crackers was less intense; the shades of wheat–cricket 90:10 and whole grain 100:0 cracker variants were comparable. Within the WF subset, the hardness diminished insignificantly, with the reverse occurring in the WG group (from 25 to 22 N and from 31 to 35 N, respectively). The flexibility of the crackers was independent on type of wheat flour and the proportion of CRPW, as shown by a 90% confidence interval of 0.97–1.06 mm. By Principal Component Analysis, the primary role of wheat flour type in distinguishing the crackers was confirmed. As expected, the darkness “100 − L*” and the redness a* of the cracker surface could be used to predict the results of the texture breaking test and fragility in general (P = 95%). The 90:10 WF–cricket crackers and 95:5 WG–cricket crackers had similar properties, and both could be adopted in baking practice without modification.

Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is a crop widely cultivated for fiber and oil production. The screening method for flax breeding must effectively address the biochemical characteristics of flaxseeds. In this study, to characterize flax cultivars, we extracted oil, defatted kernel, hull, and mucilage from whole seeds for the ATR-FT-MIR and FT-Raman spectroscopic measurements. In addition, for ATR-FT-MIR analysis, oil samples were obtained by pressing the flaxseed directly onto the crystal surface. After removing any seed residues, a grease stain was used for the measurement, allowing for the acquisition of the oil spectrum from a single seed. This method also enabled the detection of free fatty acids, serving as evidence of seed damage. Both methods effectively estimated the degree of unsaturation as a cultivar marker. The vibrational spectra of defatted kernels showed strong protein features; polysaccharide bands dominated in hull and mucilage spectra. Discrimination of flax cultivars using principal component analysis of vibrational spectra in specific regions was the most promising for flaxseed oil and mucilage. Multivariate analysis of a set of selected variables sensitive to the flaxseed oil composition successfully distinguished all flax cultivars of this study. The strong correlation observed between ATR-FT-MIR and FT-Raman results confirmed that these methods are comparable for characterizing different grades of flaxseed oil.