Addition of phenolic compounds to bread: antioxidant benefits and impact on food structure and sensory characteristics

The use of flours or phenolic extracts obtained from non-traditional sources or agri-food industry by-products has been a strategy used to formulate new bakery products with characteristics of a functional food. However, phenolic compounds present great structural diversity, as well as the ability to interact in a complex way with the macromolecules that constitute the bread matrix. Therefore, the addition of these flours, extracts or pure compounds produces various effects on the microstructure of bread, and several of its sensory properties. This is mainly due to interactions between phenolic compounds and gluten proteins. The objective of this review is to analyze some of the most recent published works on the addition of phenolic compounds in wheat bread to identify the type of positive and negative effects that have been observed and how they can be related to the physicochemical interactions between phenolic compounds and the macromolecules that constitute the food matrix, mainly gluten. The effect of monomeric and polymeric phenolic compounds on the strength of these interactions and on the properties of dough and bread are discussed. Graphical Abstract

Nonlinear (Large-Amplitude Oscillatory Shear) Rheological Properties and Their Impact on Food Processing and Quality

Large-amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) testing has been increasingly used over the past several decades to provide a fuller picture of food rheological behavior. Although LAOS is relatively easy to perform on a wide variety of foods, interpretation of the resulting data can be difficult, as it may not be possible to link the results to food components, microstructural features or changes, or physicochemical properties. Several analysis methods have been developed to address this issue, but there is currently no standard method for foods. In food research, LAOS has mainly been used to investigate connections between food microstructures and rheological behaviors, although there have been some studies on connections between food LAOS behaviors and processing or sensory behaviors. LAOS has the potential to be a valuable tool for investigating food structure–function–texture relationships, but much work remains to develop these relationships, particularly in the area of connecting LAOS to sensory attributes.

Actual Nutrition of First-Year Students Living in Dormitory

Problem and Aim. When socializing first-year students for independent living, there are difficulties in planning financial expenses, including for rational food, which often leads to its violation. The purpose of the article is to assess the actual nutrition of first-year students adapting to living in a dormity, and to propose a methodology for calculating the budget of students to solve their social and daily issues. Methodology. The work uses methods of empirical research of actual nutrition (macronutrient composition of daily diet), statistical and comparative methods of analysis. Results. The actual nutrition of first-year students living in the dormitory is characterized by a shortage of consumed calories, fats, including polyunsaturated fatty acids, and insufficient consumption of carbohydrates, including dietary fibers. This insufficiency is more pronounced among girls who also have deficient protein intake, especially of animal origin. A methodology for calculating the budget of students is proposed, which will help them determine the costs of basic necessities, including for full nutrition, and develop skills in compiling a daily food diet taking into account the needs of the body. Conclusion. The actual nutrition of freshmen living in the dormitory is characterized by a shortage of calories, fats and carbohydrates consumed, which is more pronounced among girls who also have a deficiency in protein consumption. A methodology for calculating the budgeting of students’ expenses has been proposed, which will allow them to improve the food structure.

Determining the glycemic responses of foods: Conventional and emerging approaches

A low-glycemic diet is crucial for those with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Information on the glycemic index (GI) of different ingredients can help in designing novel food products for such target groups. This is because of the intricate dependency of material source, composition, food structure, and processing conditions, among other factors, on the glycemic responses. Different approaches have been used to predict the GI of foods, certain discrepancies exist because of factors including the inter-individual variation among human subjects. Besides other aspects, it is important to understand the mechanism of food digestion because an approach to predict GI must essentially mimic the complex processes in the human gastrointestinal tract. The focus of this work is to review the advances in various approaches for predicting the glycemic responses of foods. This has been explained by detailing conventional approaches, their merits and limitations, and the need to focus on emerging approaches. Given the fact that no single approach can be generalized for all applications, the review emphasizes the scope of deriving insights for improvements in methodologies. Reviewing the conventional and emerging approaches for the determination of GI in foods, this detailed work is intended to serve as a state-of-the-art resource for food and nutritionists who work on developing low GI foods.