Effect of biotic stress on the presence of secondary metabolites in field pea grains.

BACKGROUND: The presence of secondary metabolites responsible for off-flavours in peas may influence consumers' acceptance. These undesirable compounds may increase due to biotic stress or cultivar. Therefore, grains from two pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivars (Crécerelle and Firenza) exposed to biotic stress were studied in terms of protein content, electrophoretic polypeptide profile, lipoxygenase activity, saponin content and volatile compounds. RESULTS: No differences were observed in the electrophoretic polypeptide profile of pea samples across cultivar or biotic stress. The cultivar noticeably affected the volatile compounds and lipoxygenase activity. The biotic stress significantly increased the saponin content. CONCLUSION: The cultivar showed more noticeable impact on the presence of off-flavour compounds than the biotic stress. The development of pea protein ingredients needs the thorough choice of raw materials in terms of cultivar and control of biotic stress in order to ensure acceptance by consumers. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Protein Extraction Conditions Affect Extraction Yield and Protein Quality.

The purpose of this paper was to study the extraction conditions of hemp proteins from undelipidated press-cakes. The effects of different hydration conditions on protein recovery yield and polypeptide profile were evaluated: pH (2 to 12), ionic strength (0 to 500 mM NaCl) and press-cake/liquid weight ratio (2% to 22%). pH was the most impacting factor. At acidic pH (2 to 7) the extraction yields were low and quite constant (<7%), corresponding mainly to hemp albumins solubilization. The extraction of globulins started to increase significantly from pH 8, with protein extraction yield varying from 8.3% at pH 8 to 67.1% at pH 12 for a 10% press-cake/liquid weight ratio. The addition of NaCl in press-cake suspensions did not increase the total nitrogen content in aqueous extracts at alkaline pH while the lowest press-cake/liquid weight ratios (5% to 10%) were revealed optimal regarding protein recovery rate. The intense coloration observed on the aqueous extracts above pH 8 was assigned to solubilization and oxidation of phenolic compounds whose concentration increased about sevenfolds from pH 2 to 12. At the highest applied pH (11 to 12), the formation of covalent complexes between phenolic compounds and some hemp polypeptides was hypothesized. Aqueous extraction at strong alkaline pH (>9) without salt addition and respecting a 10% press-cake/liquid weight ratio should be retained to optimize protein extraction yield. However, further purification steps are required to evaluate the nutritional, organoleptic, and techno-functional properties of hemp proteins extracted in such conditions. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The traditional extraction process of hemp proteins by alkaline solubilization and isoelectric precipitation, mostly from delipidated hemp press-cake, leads to limited quantity and poor solubility of extracted proteins, and data related to extraction conditions are insufficiently available to optimize this process. This article aims to find optimal hydration conditions (pH, ionic strength, press-cake to liquid ratio) for protein extraction from undelipidated hemp press-cake, allowing high protein recovery and preserving protein quality. The results obtained represent very useful data for developing an economically viable and sustainable extraction process of proteins from raw hemp press-cake.

Water and temperature contribution to the structuration of starch matrices in the presence of flavour.

The effect of modulating the gelatinisation extent by hydration (50/50 and 80/20 water to starch ratio) and temperature (65 or 85 °C) on various properties of wheat starch in presence of flavours has been studied. The hydrothermal treatments resulted in samples with different properties. The lowest residual flavour content was found in samples treated at the highest hydration and temperature (85 °C) while the other treatment conditions led to samples with similar residual flavour content. Ethyl hexanoate significantly increased the characteristic pasting viscosities compared to starch±2-hexanone; suggesting a greater structuration with ethyl hexanoate. Heating starch in excess water caused amylopectin melting, but promoted an incomplete granular swelling as revealed by RVA. This study suggested that lowering the hydration upon treatment could limit both crystal melting (with a residual crystalline content up to 38% in the most extreme conditions) and granular swelling but increased granule organisation like following annealing.

Proposed alternative phase ratio variation method for the calculation of liquid-vapour partition coefficients of volatiles.

The phase ratio variation PRV method is a classical way to determine the partition coefficients of volatile compounds between their solution and vapour phases in a variety of circumstances. However, some results obtained by this method can be disappointing. A new PRV equation in which the initial liquid-phase solute concentration is replaced by the liquid-phase solute concentration at equilibrium is proposed. This proposed PRV equation is a second-order polynomial equation. To thoroughly examine the possible modes of calculation, noisy dummy data were generated using both the classical, first-order PRV model (PRV(1)) and the proposed, second-order model (PRV(2)). Thus, pseudo-data obtained from simulations were compared to published experimental data. We observed that the second-order model, PRV(2), produces a lower variability, allowing improved K precision. Moreover, the obtained K(PRV(2)) values are very close to those obtained by classical equilibrium headspace analysis (EHSA). The PRV(2) model we propose responds to the demand for a simple, reliable method and is a useful alternative for the calculation of liquid-vapour partition coefficients.

Retention/release equilibrium of aroma compounds in fat-free dairy gels.

BACKGROUND: The replacement of fat by thickeners in fat-free yogurts leads to an important modification of aroma compound partitioning, with an impact on aroma perception. Investigation of retention/release equilibria allows a good understanding of aroma compound behaviour depending on food composition. RESULTS: Vapour/liquid equilibria of ten aroma compounds (two esters, two ketones, three aldehydes and three alcohols) in several media were studied to investigate the influence of pectin addition to fat-free dairy gel on the retention/release equilibrium. The partition coefficient of each aroma compound was measured by headspace analysis at equilibrium in six media (pure water, low-methoxylated pectin gels and dairy gels with or without added pectin). The release of aroma compounds was similar in the aqueous media (pure water and pectin gels) on the one hand and in the dairy gels on the other hand. However, a trend to greater release occurred with the addition of pectin in both cases. Four aroma compounds were more retained in dairy gels than in water and pectin gels. No relationship appeared between retention and either the chemical function or hydrophobicity (logP values) for the entire set. However, several subsets showed a linear correlation between K and logP values. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that other structural properties than hydrophobicity are probably involved, changing the retention/release behaviour of aroma compounds according to the matrix composition. In order to probe the interactions, further experiments with a larger set of aroma compounds followed by molecular modelling interpretation are needed.

Effect of thickeners on aroma compound behavior in a model dairy gel.

The effects of thickeners on the headspace release of aroma compounds from a model dairy gel were investigated. Starch, pectin, and locust bean gum (LBG) were introduced separately to the fat-free dairy gel via sugar syrups. The release of nine aroma compounds was analyzed by solid-phase microextraction (SPME), and the partition coefficients of retention were calculated. For an increase in starch concentration, there was an overall decrease in aroma release. Pectin concentrations in gel higher than 0.04% caused an increase in aroma release. For LBG no major effect was observed. A quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) approach was used to propose which types of interactions were involved between aroma molecules and thickener macromolecules in the complex foodstuff. Twenty molecular descriptors of volatile compounds appeared to be significant in correlation with the partition coefficients of retention. The surface-weighted negatively charged partial surface area seemed to play a critical role in the behavior of aroma compound.

Flavor release and rheology behavior of strawberry fatfree stirred yogurt during storage.

The influence of storage on the aroma release in headspace and rheological properties in strawberry-flavored fatfree stirred yogurts was determined. Three periods of storage at 10 degrees C were chosen for analysis: 7, 14, and 28 days. The headspace composition was assessed in a flask in static mode. The SPME fiber was carefully chosen, and results are presented in detail (choice and degradation). The flow properties of the final product were measured in order to follow n (flow behavior index) and K (consistency index), and the apparent viscosity was determined (eta in Pa.s). The quantity of flavors in the headspace of products at the 28 days of aging was significantly weaker for methyl 2-methyl butanoate, ethyl hexanoate, and hexyl acetate. The decrease was half of that in comparison with the seventh day. It was supposed that modification in rheological parameters can partly explain these results. Indeed, the apparent viscosity of the products significantly increased during the three times of storage. The composition of the flavored yogurt, proteins, exopolysaccharides, and fruit preparation, seemed to have a great impact on the release of aroma compounds. The aroma compound amount in the headspace decreased when the matrix changed from water to yogurt. With the fruit preparation, the headspace amounts for esters were significantly lower than in water alone, respectively, 23, 27, 29, and 17% less for methyl 2-methylbutanoate, ethyl hexanoate, hexyl acetate, and benzyl acetate. In flavored yogurt, the amount of aroma compounds in the headspace decreased again in comparison with the result obtained with the fruit preparation. Ethyl hexanoate and hexyl acetate presented the higher decreases of 48 and 53%, respectively.

Influence of aroma compounds on the mechanical properties of pectin gels.

A detailed study of the rheological behavior of pectin gels, in the presence of aroma compounds in food concentration is reported. In high methoxylated pectin (HMP) gels, it has not yet been shown if aroma compounds can be responsible for modifications in rheology. Two rheological techniques were used to measure the impact of aroma substances on rheological properties of HMP-based systems. Maximum strain to fracture (sigma F) was compared between flavored and unflavored gels on stress-displacement curve, which was obtained with uniaxial compression until fracture. An oscillatory rheometer was applied to determine the gelation time (Tgel). It appeared that all the aroma compounds studied increased significantly sigma F. It is generally acknowledged that hydrophobic interactions are the main interactions leading to HMP gelation, and the more hydrophobic interactions there are, the higher the sigma F. It is assumed that esters might increase sigma F through the increase of hydrophobic interactions in HMP network. For solvents (ethanol, propylene glycol), a cosolute effect could explain the increase in firmness for HMP-based gels.