Algae as a Source of Natural Flavors in Innovative Foods.

As a result of their nutritive values, algae have been used as a food resource for centuries, and there is a growing interest to use them as enrichment ingredients in food products. However, food product acceptance by consumers is strongly linked to their organoleptic properties, especially the aroma, taste, and a combination of the two, flavor. With regard to edible algae, "fresh seashore", "seafood-like", "cucumber green", and "earthy" are descriptors commonly used to define their aromas. Several families of molecules participate in the diversity and peculiarities of algal aromas: pungent sulfur compounds and marine halogenated components but also herbaceous fatty acid derivatives and fruity-floral terpenoids. In both macroalgae (seaweeds) and microalgae, these compounds are studied from a chemistry point of view (identification and quantification) and a sensorial point of view, involving sensorial evaluation by panelists. As a whole food, a food ingredient, or a feed, algae are valued for their nutritional composition and their health benefits. However, because the acceptance of food by consumers is so strongly linked to its sensorial features, studies have been performed to explore the aromas of algae, their impact on food, their evolution through processing, and their ability to produce selected aromas using biotechnology. This review aims at highlighting algal aromas from seaweed and microalgae as well as their use, their handling, and their processing in the food industry.

Valorization of snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) cooking effluents for food applications.

BACKGROUND: Seafood processing generates significant amounts of solid and liquid waste in the environment. Such waste represents a potential source of high-value biomolecules for food, pharmaceutic and cosmetic applications. There are very few studies on the valorization of wastewaters compared to solid by-products. However, cooking waters are characterized by a high organic polluting load, which could contain valuable molecules such as proteins, pigments and flavor compounds. Snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) processing is included among the most important processes in Canadian fisheries, although its cooking effluent composition is not well characterized. RESULTS: The present study concentrated and valorized the biomass in snow crab cooking wastewaters for the development of products for food applications. A membrane process was designed and optimized to concentrate the effluents. The chemical composition of the concentrates was analyzed, including characterizing the flavor profile compounds. The extracts were mainly composed of proteins (592 g kg-1 ) and minerals (386 g kg-1 ) and contained desirable flavor compounds. Their functional properties (solubility, water-holding capacity, oil-holding capacity) and antioxidant activities were also assessed, and their safety was verified. CONCLUSION: The cooking effluents generated by snow crab processing facilities, usually considered as waste, can be concentrated and turned into a natural aroma for the food industry. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Racemic and enantioselective metal-catalyzed synthesis of SF5-containing diarylmethanols.

The racemic and enantioselective metal-catalyzed addition of arylboronic acids to 4- and 3-(pentafluorosulfur)benzaldehydes is reported. The racemic synthesis was accomplished using a Pd-based system and a wide range of arylboronic acids could be used, resulting in yields of 42 to 98% of the corresponding SF5-containing diarylmethanols. A ruthenium-based system, along with (R,R)-Me-BIPAM as the chiral ligand, was investigated and optimized for the enantioselective version. In this case, while the chiral SF5-containing diarylmethanols were generally obtained in good yields (up to 94%) and enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee), limitations were also observed. For instance, 4-(pentafluorosulfur)benzaldehyde generally provided slightly better yields than 3-(pentafluorosulfur)benzaldehyde. In addition, lower yields and enantioselectivities were observed when using either 4- and 3-substituted arylboronic acids bearing electron-withdrawing (e.g., CO2Et, NO2, CF3) or 2-substituted arylboronic acids (regardless of the nature of the substituent). Overall, the SF5-containing diarylmethanols described herein represent novel and potentially useful fluorinated building blocks for the synthesis of biologically active compounds.