Preparation and Quality Evaluation of Cookies prepared from a blend of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) Flour, Rolled Oatmeal (Avena sativa) and Bean (Phaseolus vulgaricus) Powder

Cookies are made in many wide ranges of processing and product characteristics. These cookies are made from Quinoa flour which are grounded into fine powder. Cookies had been made by different methods using different ingredients by different cultures. The main aim for this prepared cookie was to developed a cookie using Quinoa flour with Bean powder supplemented with Rolled Oatmeal. The Quinoa flour and the Bean powder are being treated at different levels. (T0) is made as normal cookie found in market with white wheat flour by using 65.2g of white wheat flour and other ingredients i.e., Extra virgin olive oil, Brown sugar and baking powder as (65.2:14:20:0.8) which is served as control, in (T1) with 35.2g of Quinoa flour and 15g of Bean powder i.e., (35.2:15), in (T2) with 30.2g of Quinoa flour and 20g of Bean powder i.e., (30.2:20), in (T3) with 25.5g Quinoa flour and 25g Bean powder i.e., (25.2:25). The study was conducted to developed cookies fortified with Quinoa flour, Bean powder and Rolled Oatmeal. Trials were conducted to adjust the most acceptable levels of Quinoa flour (35.2g, 30.2g and 25.2g) and Bean powder (15g, 20g and 25g) on the basis of physio-chemical analysis of the product. The Final optimized product contains 1 which was highly acceptable and can be used to develop a product without adversely affecting the sensory attributes. The cookies prepared without addition of Quinoa flour and Bean powder supplemented with Rolled Oatmeal was treated as Control. The optimized product contains 4.13% Vitamin C, 5.13% Antioxidant and 5.92% Dietary Fiber. The product possesses good level of Vitamin C, Dietary fiber and Antioxidant. Keywords: Quinoa flour, bean powder, Rolled oatmeal, Extra virgin olive oil, Baking powder, White wheat flour, Sugar, Cookies, Physico -chemical analysis, Vitamin C, Antioxidant, Dietary fiber.

Influence of Olive Oil and Its Components on Breast Cancer: Molecular Mechanisms

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignant neoplasia and a leading cause of mortality in women worldwide. The Mediterranean diet has been proposed as a healthy dietary pattern with protective effects in several chronic diseases, including breast cancer. This diet is characterized by the consumption of abundant plant foods and olive oil as the principal source of fat, which is considered one of the main components with potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects. Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) has several bioactive compounds, mainly including monounsaturated fatty acids, triterpenes and polyphenols, such as phenolic alcohols (e.g., hydroxytyrosol), secoiridoids (e.g., oleuropein and oleocanthal), lignans (e.g., pinoresinol) or flavonoids (e.g., luteolin). While epidemiological evidence is still limited, experimental in vivo and in vitro data have shown a protective effect of this oil and its compounds on mammary carcinogenesis. Such effects account through complex and multiple mechanisms, including changes in epigenetics, transcriptome and protein expression that modulate several signaling pathways. Molecular targets of EVOO compounds have a role in the acquisition of cancer hallmarks. Although further research is needed to elucidate their beneficial effects on human prevention and progression of the disease, evidence points to EVOO in the context of the Mediterranean diet as a heathy choice, while EVOO components may be promising adjuvants in anticancer strategies.

Synergistic Effect of Squalene and Hydroxytyrosol on Highly Invasive MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells

Several studies relate Mediterranean diet and virgin olive oil (VOO) intake with lower risk of several chronic diseases, including breast cancer. Many of them described antitumor properties of isolated minor compounds present in VOO, but beneficial properties of VOO arise from the effects of all its compounds acting together. The aim of the present study was to test the antitumor effects of two minor compounds from VOO (hydroxytyrosol (HT) and squalene (SQ)) on highly metastatic human breast tumor cells (MDA-MB-231) when acting in combination. Both isolated compounds were previously analyzed without showing any antitumoral effect on highly invasive MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, but the present results show that HT at 100 µM, combined with different concentrations of SQ, could exert antitumor effects. When they are combined, HT and SQ are able to inhibit cell proliferation, promoting apoptosis and DNA damage in metastatic breast cancer cells. Therefore, our results suggest that the health-promoting properties of VOO may be due, at least in part, to the combined action of these two minor compounds.

A Mixture of Pure, Isolated Polyphenols Worsens the Insulin Resistance and Induces Kidney and Liver Fibrosis Markers in Diet-Induced Obese Mice

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic with severe metabolic consequences. Polyphenols are secondary metabolites in plants and the most abundant dietary antioxidants, which possess a wide range of health effects. The most relevant food sources are fruit and vegetables, red wine, black and green tea, coffee, virgin olive oil, and chocolate, as well as nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices. The aim of this work was to evaluate the ability of a pure, isolated polyphenol supplementation to counteract the pernicious metabolic effects of a high-fat diet (HFD). Our results indicated that the administration of pure, isolated polyphenols under HFD conditions for 26 weeks worsened the glucose metabolism in diet-induced obese mice. The data showed that the main target organ for these undesirable effects were the kidneys, where we observed fibrotic, oxidative, and kidney-disease markers. This work led us to conclude that the administration of pure polyphenols as a food supplement would not be advisable. Instead, the ingestion of complete “whole” foods would be the best way to get the health effects of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols.

Biochemical characterization of olive oil samples obtained from fruit mixtures and from oil blends of four cultivars grown in Central Tunisia

Blends of olive oils obtained from four cultivars (Olea europaea L. cv. Chemlali, Chetoui, Oueslati and Koroneiki) were produced by two different methods of blending: processing fruit mixtures or mixing monovarietal oils, using the same proportions of selected cultivars. The obtained blends were biochemically characterized to evaluate quality, and the two methods were compared. The results indicated that the most successful formulations are mainly F8 (60% Chemlali × 20% Oueslati × 20% Koroneiki) characterized by the highest contents of phenols and an elevated oxidative stability, and F5 (50% Chemlali × 50% Koroneiki) containing the highest MUFA level and the highest oxidative stability. The effect of the blending process on pigments and volatiles cannot be easily regulated, unlike phenols, fatty acid composition and OS, all of which positively correlated to the fruit mass ratio in the blend. Results suggest that processing fruit mixtures of different cultivars resulted in a better oil quality than that of oils obtained by the common oil blending method. This blending procedure offers a possibility to modulate the contents of antioxidants, fatty acids and volatile compounds in virgin olive oil, and therefore, its quality and sensorial characteristics.

Geographical Origin Assessment of Extra Virgin Olive Oil via NMR and MS Combined with Chemometrics as Analytical Approaches

Geographical origin assessment of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is recognised worldwide as raising consumers’ awareness of product authenticity and the need to protect top-quality products. The need for geographical origin assessment is also related to mandatory legislation and/or the obligations of true labelling in some countries. Nevertheless, official methods for such specific authentication of EVOOs are still missing. Among the analytical techniques useful for certification of geographical origin, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectroscopy (MS), combined with chemometrics, have been widely used. This review considers published works describing the use of these analytical methods, supported by statistical protocols such as multivariate analysis (MVA), for EVOO origin assessment. The research has shown that some specific countries, generally corresponding to the main worldwide producers, are more interested than others in origin assessment and certification. Some specific producers such as Italian EVOO producers may have been focused on this area because of consumers’ interest and/or intrinsic economical value, as testified also by the national concern on the topic. Both NMR- and MS-based approaches represent a mature field where a general validation method for EVOOs geographic origin assessment could be established as a reference recognised procedure.