Betaine as a Functional Ingredient: Metabolism, Health-Promoting Attributes, Food Sources, Applications and Analysis Methods.

Betaine is a non-essential amino acid with proven functional properties and underutilized potential. The most common dietary sources of betaine are beets, spinach, and whole grains. Whole grains-such as quinoa, wheat and oat brans, brown rice, barley, etc.-are generally considered rich sources of betaine. This valuable compound has gained popularity as an ingredient in novel and functional foods due to the demonstrated health benefits that it may provide. This review study will provide an overview of the various natural sources of betaine, including different types of food products, and explore the potential of betaine as an innovative functional ingredient. It will thoroughly discuss its metabolic pathways and physiology, disease-preventing and health-promoting properties, and further highlight the extraction procedures and detection methods in different matrices. In addition, gaps in the existing scientific literature will be emphasized.

Bioactive, Mineral and Antioxidative Properties of Gluten-Free Chicory Supplemented Snack: Impact of Processing Conditions.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of chicory root addition (20-40%) and extrusion conditions (moisture content from 16.3 to 22.5%, and screw speed from 500 to 900 rpm) on bioactive compounds content (inulin, sesquiterpene lactones, and polyphenols) of gluten-free rice snacks. Chicory root is considered a potential carrier of food bioactives, while extrusion may produce a wide range of functional snack products. The mineral profiles were determined in all of the obtained extrudates in terms of Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu contents, while antioxidative activity was established through reducing capacity, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) tests. Chicory root addition contributed to the improvement of bioactive compounds and mineral contents, as well as antioxidative activities in all of the investigated extrudates in comparison to the pure-rice control sample. An increase in moisture content raised sesquiterpene lactones and minerals, while high screw speeds positively affected polyphenols content. The achieved results showed the important impact of the extrusion conditions on the investigated parameters and promoted chicory root as an attractive food ingredient in gluten-free snack products with high bioactive value.

Development of a Novel Rice-Based Snack Enriched with Chicory Root: Physicochemical and Sensory Properties.

A novel rice-based snack enriched with chicory root flour (CRF) was developed by twin-screw extrusion. Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is one of the promising medicinal plants for the development of innovative food and may be considered a functional food ingredient. Central composite design (CCD) was employed to generate snack formulations by varying feed moisture (M, 16.3-22.5%), screw speed (SS, 500-900 rpm) and CRF content (20-40%). The optimization according to artificial neural network modeling and a genetic algorithm was applied to define optimal process conditions (17.6% moisture, 820 rpm and 24.1% of CRF) for obtaining the product with the highest expansion (3.34), crispiness (3.22 × 10-3), volume (2040 m3), degree of gelatinization (69.70%) and good color properties. Bulk density (110.33 g/L), density (250 kg/m3), and hardness (98.74 N) resulted in low values for the optimal sample. The descriptive sensory analysis evaluated low hardness and bitterness, with high crispiness for the optimal extrudate. This study points to the possibility of a novel chicory enriched extrudate production with desirable physicochemical and sensory properties.

Textural, Color and Sensory Features of Spelt Wholegrain Snack Enriched with Betaine.

The influence of different extrusion parameters, including screw speed (250-750 rpm), feed rate (15-25 kg/h) and feed moisture content (15-25%), on the textural and color properties of spelt wholegrain snack products produced on a co-rotating twin-screw extruder with added betaine was investigated. In order to determine the relative influence of input variables in the artificial neural network (ANN) model, Yoon's interpretation method was used, and it was concluded that feed moisture content has the greatest influence on L* values, while screw speed has the greatest influence on a* and b* values. The softest samples were obtained at the lowest moisture content. Sensory analysis was carried out on selected samples, and it showed that betaine addition did not intensify the bitter taste. The sample with the largest expansion exhibited the lowest hardness and chewiness before and after immersion in milk, and this sample is the most suitable for enrichment with betaine.

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) as a food ingredient - Nutritional composition, bioactivity, safety, and health claims: A review.

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is a perennial herb from the Cichorium genus, Asteraceae family, and is worldwide cultivated. So far, chicory has been used mainly in animal feed, but also in several cases in the food industry: as salad, for teas and tea blends, for coffee supplementation, and as a source for the inulin production. Nowadays there is an increasing interest in chicory utilization for food production and supplementation. Some compounds present in chicory, such as polyphenols, inulin, oligofructose and sesquiterpene lactones may be considered as potential carriers of food functionality. This review describes nutritional, mineral and bioactive composition of the chicory plant and summarized the main biological activities associated with the presence of bioactive compounds in the different plant parts. Finally, the review explores possibilities of uses of chicory and its implementation in food products, with intention to design new functional foods.

The effect of storage temperature and water activity on aflatoxin B1 accumulation in hull-less and hulled spelt grains.

BACKGROUND: In concomitance with shifts in climate conditions in recent years, an increasingly frequent emergence of Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxins in cereals has been observed. In this study the effects of temperature (15, 23, 30 and 37 °C) and water activity (aw ) (0.85, 0.90, 0.95 and 0.99) on aflatoxin B1 (AFB1 ) production by A. flavus isolate inoculated on hull-less and hulled spelt grains were investigated. RESULTS: The optimal conditions for AFB1 biosynthesis were reached at 30 °C and aw value of 0.99 in the all tested samples (hull-less grains, dehulled spelt grains and hulls). The AFB1 accumulation was significantly higher in hull-less than in dehulled grains, that implicated a protective effect of spelt hulls. The levels of AFB1 were about 10-170 times higher in hulls than in grains. In order to determine the possibility of predicting the occurrence of AFB1 under different storage conditions mathematical models [second order polynomial (SOP) and artificial neural network (ANN)] were applied. CONCLUSION: The achievement of such estimation facilitates further decisions on continuous monitoring of the potential hazard related to AFB1 contamination of stored spelt-based food. The knowledge of the storage temperature and aw effects on the AFB1 content in spelt during the postharvest phase is of great practical importance. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Betaine in Cereal Grains and Grain-Based Products.

Betaine is a non-essential nutrient which performs several important physiological functions in organisms. Abundant data exist to suggest that betaine has a potential for prevention of chronic diseases and that its dietary intake may contribute to overall health enhancement. Several studies have pointed out that the betaine status of the general population is inadequate and have suggested nutritional strategies to improve dietary intake of betaine. Cereal-based food has been implicated as the major source of betaine in the Western diet. This review summarizes the results on the betaine content in various cereals and related products. Attention has been given to the betaine content in gluten-free grains and products. It also discusses the stability of betaine during processing (cooking, baking, extrusion) and possibilities to increase betaine content by fortification.

Aflatoxins contamination of maize in Serbia: the impact of weather conditions in 2015.

In recent years climate changes recorded in temperate regions of Europe have led to aflatoxin (AF) contamination of maize. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of weather conditions on levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin B2 (AFB2), aflatoxin G1 (AFG1) and aflatoxin G2 (AFG2) in 180 maize samples collected from the main maize-growing regions (Western Backa, North Banat, South Banat and Central Serbia) in Serbia after harvest in 2015. The concentrations of AFs were determined by a validated HPLC method with post-column derivatisation and fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD). The presence of AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2 was detected in 57.2%, 13.9%, 5.6% and 2.8% of maize samples in the concentration ranges of 1.3-88.8 µg kg-1, 0.60-2.8 µg kg-1, 1.8-28.5 µg kg-1 and 2.1-7.5 µg kg-1 respectively. The recorded smaller amount of precipitation and especially higher air temperatures during the summer of 2015 were favourable for AF production, which resulted in 32.2% and 21.1% of samples being unsuitable for human consumption, since AFB1 and the sum of AFs concentrations were above 5.0 and 10.0 µg kg-1 respectively. Furthermore, the findings in this study indicate that the microclimate conditions in the investigated regions had a great influence on the contamination frequency of maize with AFs. The highest percentage of samples unsuitable for human consumption, considering both AFB1 and total AFs content were 72.5% and 51.5% respectively from Central Serbia, whilst the lowest percentages of 15.6% and 6.2% respectively were found in Western Backa. These findings confirmed that maize should be continuously monitored in order to protect human and animal health from the harmful effects caused by AFs contamination.

Extraction methods of Amaranthus sp. grain oil isolation.

BACKGROUND: Amaranthus sp. is a fast-growing crop with well-known beneficial nutritional values (rich in protein, fat, dietary fiber, ash, and minerals, especially calcium and sodium, and containing a higher amount of lysine than conventional cereals). Amaranthus sp. is an underexploited plant source of squalene, a compound of high importance in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. RESULTS: This paper has examined the effects of the different extraction methods (Soxhlet, supercritical fluid and accelerated solvent extraction) on the oil and squalene yield of three genotypes of Amaranthus sp. grain. The highest yield of the extracted oil (78.1 g kg(-1) ) and squalene (4.7 g kg(-1) ) in grain was obtained by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) in genotype 16. Post hoc Tukey's HSD test at 95% confidence limit showed significant differences between observed samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were used for assessing the effect of different genotypes and extraction methods on oil and squalene yield, and also the fatty acid composition profile. Using coupled PCA and CA of observed samples, possible directions for improving the quality of product can be realized. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that it is very important to choose both the right genotype and the right method of extraction for optimal oil and squalene yield. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.