Characterization of tomato processing by-product for use as a potential functional food ingredient: nutritional composition, antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds.

Tomato pomace, a by-product generated during tomato processing, was collected at a large tomato processing industry. The by-product was mainly constituted of tomato skin (61.5%), and presented high moisture content (66.58 g.100g-1 wet basis). Among the nutrients, the highest content was of dietary fibre, followed by proteins and fat (50.74, 20.91, 14.14 g.100g-1 d.w., respectively). The pomace has high in vitro antioxidation capacity, especially when measured with the TEAC assay (224.81 µmol Trolox equivalent 100g-1 d.w.). This is due especially to the high amount of lycopene remaining in the by-product after processing (446.9 µg.g-1 d.w). The waste was fractioned into skin and seed fractions by sedimentation, resulting in the increase of lycopene yield by 55%, when using skin fraction as the source material in place of the whole pomace. This by-product shows great potential for being used as a source of the ingredients of high nutritional value, especially dietary fibre and lycopene.

Impact of extraction and processing conditions on betalains and comparison of properties with anthocyanins - A current review.

The search for natural pigments has been driven by growing evidence indicating that synthetic colorants can cause deleterious health effects. Betalains, in addition to anthocyanins, have been proposed as an alternative to address this need. However, the incorporation of natural pigments poses some challenges to the food industry, such as reduced stability in comparison to their synthetic counterparts. Moreover, betalains are not well studied in comparison to anthocyanins and information about the effects of processing on their physicochemical properties and stability is scattered. Thus, this review will provide an overview of the recent research on the extraction and processing of betalains from natural sources, and comparison of their colorant and physicochemical properties with anthocyanins.

A theoretical physiologically based pharmacokinetic approach for modeling the fate of anthocyanins in vivo.

Recent studies on the pharmacokinetics of anthocyanins (ACNs) and their metabolites have uncovered evidence for hitherto unknown physiological effects affecting the fate of these compounds in vivo. In particular, it has been shown that the stomach, in addition to the small intestine, has an important role in absorption. Most studies still use a noncompartmental or one-compartmental approach to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of ACNs, which does not represent the anatomical and physiological conditions that a compound is subject to in the organism. Thus, the objective of this study was to review the current knowledge of the different processes involved in the metabolism of ACNs once ingested and, based on this information, propose a theoretical physiologically based, multicompartmental pharmacokinetic (PBMK) model to describe their fate in vivo. This is the first study that reports a PBMK model for ACNs; the model provides a more physiologically representative approach for ANC metabolism, which could be used as a basis for experimental designs and interspecies scale-up.

Gastroretentive systems - a proposed strategy to modulate anthocyanin release and absorption for the management of diabetes.

Several reports have indicated a positive correlation between the consumption of anthocyanins (ACN) and biomarkers relating to the improvement of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the results from in vitro studies often do not translate into clinical evidence. Potential causes of these discrepancies are experimental conditions that lack physiological relevancy; extensive degradation of these compounds in vivo due to changes in pH and metabolism; and a short residence time in the absorption window in relation to the absorption rate. Here, gastroretentive systems (GRS) are proposed as a strategy to overcome the limitations in ACN delivery and to reduce the existing bench-to-subject gap. This review summarizes recent literature on the use of ACN for the management and control of T2D, followed by GRS platforms to promote a sustained release of ACN for increased health benefits.

Refractance Window™ drying of haskap berry--preliminary results on anthocyanin retention and physicochemical properties.

The goal of this work was to determine the anthocyanin retention and physicochemical properties of haskap powder prepared by Refractance Window™ (RW) drying. In general, the RW-dried powder particles had a smooth surface with similar thickness, consistent with the preparation method, and had a solubility of 75.63% in water. The RW-dried powder (consisting of 98% haskap berries) retained approximately 93.8% of anthocyanins from the original frozen fruits, as assessed by the pH-differential method. This result is in good agreement with HPLC analysis that indicated 92.9% retention. Three anthocyanins were identified in frozen berries and RW-dried powder: cyanidin 3-glucoside, cyanidin 3-rutinoside, and peonidin 3-glucoside. Surprisingly, cyanidin 3-rutinoside exhibited the lowest retention.

Medical waste management - A review.

This paper examines medical waste management, including the common sources, governing legislation and handling and disposal methods. Many developed nations have medical waste legislation, however there is generally little guidance as to which objects can be defined as infectious. This lack of clarity has made sorting medical waste inefficient, thereby increasing the volume of waste treated for pathogens, which is commonly done by incineration. This review highlights that the unnecessary classification of waste as infectious results in higher disposal costs and an increase in undesirable environmental impacts. The review concludes that better education of healthcare workers and standardized sorting of medical waste streams are key avenues for efficient waste management at healthcare facilities, and that further research is required given the trend in increased medical waste production with increasing global GDP.

Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of anthocyanins from haskap berries (Lonicera caerulea L.) using Response Surface Methodology.

Haskap berries (Lonicera caerulea L.) are a rich source of bioactive molecules. As such, the extraction of anthocyanins is important for the development of many value-added products and functional food ingredients. In this paper, the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of anthocyanins from haskap berries was investigated. Significant independent variables were screened and optimized using Plackett-Burman (PB) and Box-Behnken (BB) designs, respectively. The mathematical model showed a high coefficient of determination (R(2)=0.9396) and the optimum conditions for the extraction were as follows: liquid/solid ratio 25:1 (mL/g), solvent composition of 80% ethanol, addition of 0.5% formic acid, ultrasound bath temperature of 35°C for 20 min. Under these conditions, the total anthocyanin content of 22.73 mg cyaniding 3-glucoside equivalents (C3G)/g dry weight (DW) was consistent with the predicted response of 22.45 mg C3G/g DW from the model (mean error of 1.28%). Five anthocyanins were identified in the optimized extract, namely cyanidin 3,5-diglucoside, cyanidin 3-glucoside, cyanidin 3-rutinoside, pelargonidin 3-glucoside, and peonidin 3-glucoside. Thus, UAE is a suitable technique for the extraction of anthocyanins from haskap berries.

Chitosan nanoparticles as adenosine carriers.

The objective of this research project was to evaluate the potential use of chitosan (CS) nanoparticles (NPs) as a drug delivery system for the molecule adenosine. Adenosine is an essential drug used for treating several health issues especially irregular heart rhythm. However, due to its extremely short half-life in vivo (<10 s), the effective delivery of adenosine in clinical applications is a significant challenge. In this research, adenosine was encapsulated into NPs formed by ionic gelation of CS. The encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity of 20% and 3% were obtained, respectively, by forming a complex between CS NPs and adenosine. The obtained CS NPs had a spherical shape in the size range of 260.6 ± 20.1 nm. Spectrophotometry analysis of the adenosine released in vitro showed an initial burst release phase, a plateau phase, followed by a steady release over a week.