Blackberries are very perishable with a limited shelf life due to a high metabolic activity and susceptibility to mechanical damage and microbial attack. The effect of edible coatings (EC) based on candelilla wax (CW) and guar gum (GG) on the quality, shelf life, bioactive-compounds content and antioxidant activity of blackberries stored at 25 ± 2 °C for 6 days, was evaluated. All EC contained GG (0.4%) and gallic acid (GA)(0.06%); EC1 contained CW (0.2%), glycerol (GL)(0.2%); EC2 contained CW (0.4%) and GL (0.2%); EC3 contained CW (0.2%) and GL (0.3%) and EC4 contained CW (0.4%) and GL (0.3%). The decay percentage (Decay%), physiological weight loss (%PWL), firmness, pH, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), total phenolic content (TPC), total anthocyanin content (TAC) and antioxidant activity were analyzed. EC3 showed potential for prolonging the shelf life of blackberry by reducing Decay% (47%) and %PWL (64%) on day 6, while 86% of uncoated blackberries were decayed on day 4. Fruit coated with EC3 maintained pH, gradually reduced firmness, increased the TSS and decreased the TA. In addition, EC3 maintained the TAC and decreased the TPC in blackberries, while preventing a rapid increase in antioxidant capacity. Thus, EC3 showed to be a promising alternative in prolonging shelf life and preserving the quality of blackberries.

Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seeds contain antioxidants with great benefits for health and are widely used in the food industry. Antioxidants can be degraded by environmental factors, decreasing their biological activity. Their encapsulation in chitosan (CH) particles represents an alternative to protect them and increases their application. The encapsulation efficiency (EE) of the antioxidants in the CH particles depends on the synthesis conditions. In this study, two methods for encapsulation of chia extract in chitosan particles were evaluated: method A, 0.05 CH in 1 acetic acid was mixed with 0.07 of tripolyphosphate (TPP) and method B, 0.3 CH in 2 acetic acid was mixed with 1 TPP. The results showed that the EE decreased with the concentration of the extract, and the FTIR analysis suggested that the compounds of the extract were adsorbed on the surface of the particles. Dynamic light scattering and zeta potential analysis showed that the particles of method A are unstable and with a tendency to agglomerate, and the particles of method B are stable. The highest EE was obtained with 0.2mg·mL⁻¹ (method A) and 1.0mg·mL⁻¹ (method B) of the extract. The higher loading capacity (LC) (1672) was exhibited by the particles of method A. The best particle yield (6269) was observed for method B. The particles with the extract adsorbed showed antioxidant activity (560) at 25°C; however, in the particles with the extract encapsulated, the activity increased after subjecting to acidic conditions at 40°C due to the breakdown of the particles. The results obtained will allow choosing the appropriate conditions for the synthesis of chitosan particles loaded with chia extracts with specific characteristics (EE, LC, size, and type) according to their future applications. The particles could be used in food and pharmaceutical industries and even in edible films for food packaging.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a widely consumed fruit all around the world. The industrial exploitation of tomato generates a lot of waste. Most of the utilization of tomato seeds waste is focused on animal feeding, as well as a food ingredient aimed to increase the protein content, and raw material for some organic bioactive component extraction. The aim of this work was to evaluate the techno-functional properties of tomato seed meal (TSM) and its nutraceutical properties after applying defatting processing (TSMD), and to evaluate the nutraceutical properties after a fermentation processing (TSMDF) by Lactobacillus sp. The results showed that, at alkaline conditions (pH 8–9), the techno-functional properties for TSM and TSMD improved. In comparison with TSM, TSMD showed higher water holding capacity (WHC ≈32%), higher oil holding capacity (OHC ≈13%), higher protein solubility (49–58%), more than 10 times foaming activity (FA), more than 50 times foam stability (Fst), as well as an improved emulsifying activity (EA) and emulsion stability (Est) wich were better at pH 9. Regarding the nutraceutical properties, after 48 h of fermentation (TSMDF), the antioxidant activity was doubled and a significant increase in the iron chelating activity was also observed. During the same fermentation time, the highest angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition (ACEI) was achieved (IC50 73.6 μg/mL), more than 10 times higher than TSMD, which leads to suggest that this fermented medium may be a powerful antihypertensive. Therefore, the strategy proposed in this study could be an option for the exploitation of tomato wastes.

Protein concentrates obtained from discarded grain flours of white chickpea Sinaloa (Cicer arietinum) (CC), “Azufrazin” bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) (BC), and white corn (Zea mays) (MC), were characterized biochemically through bromatological analyses (protein, lipid, fiber, moisture, ashes, and nitrogen free extract), HPLC techniques (amino acids content), and spectrophotometry (anti-nutrients: phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors, and saponins). The percentage of protein obtained from CC, BC, and MC was 71.23, 81.10, and 55.69%, respectively. Most peptides in the BC and CC flours had a molecular weight of <1.35 kDa, meanwhile, MC peptides were heavier (1.35 to 17 kDa). The amino acids (AA) profile of flours and protein concentrates were similar; however, all the protein concentrates showed an increased AA accumulation (300 to -400%) compared with their flours. The protein concentrates from BC registered the highest AA accumulation (77.4 g of AA/100 g of protein concentrates). Except for the phytic acid in CC and trypsin inhibitor in CC and MC, respectively, the rest of the protein concentrates exhibited higher amounts of the anti-nutrients compared with their flours; however, these levels do not exceed the reported toxicity for some animals, mainly when used in combination with other ingredients for feed formulations. It is concluded that CC and BC protein concentrates showed better nutritional characteristics than MC (level of protein, size of peptides, and AA profile). After biochemical characterization, protein concentrates derived from by-products have nutritional potential for the animal feed industry.

Some studies aimed at revealing the relationship between protein structure and their functional properties. However, the majority of these reports have been carried out using protein isolates. There are limited reports on the possible relationship between the functional properties and the structure of a purified protein. In this work the amaranth 11S globulin acidic subunit (AAC) and five mutations of the same protein that were modified in their variable regions with antihypertensive peptides (VYVYVYVY and RIPP), were analyzed at two ionic strength (2.9 and 17.6 g/L NaCl) and pH (3.0–7.0). Results revealed better solubility for the proteins mutated at the terminal ends (AACM.1 and AACM.4) and lower solubility for the protein inserted with RIPP peptide. Spectroscopy studies revealed an increase of β-sheet structure at high salt concentration for all proteins. It was also observed that salt concentration acted as a modulator, which allowed a better foam features for all modified proteins limiting movement of side chains and reducing red-shifted displacement of λmax. All proteins showed foam capacity ranging from 76 to 93% although foam stability was twofold better for modified proteins than for AAC at high salt concentration. This study allowed better understanding about the structural changes that influence the foaming properties of engineered proteins.