A Network-based Analysis of Ingredients Lists in Nutrient Profile Systems

It is well-established that diseases can be prevented or mitigated through dietary intervention, yet proper nutrition is one aspect consumers struggle to manage. Recent studies have shown that there are barriers to understanding the nutrition facts component of a food label which can be linked to dietary choices. In this work, we demonstrate reproducibility and replicability of a network-based method for automating the analysis of ingredients on a food product label en masse using the Open Food Facts Database and the USDA FoodData Central Branded Foods database in February 2020. Our results, which analyze the co-occurrence of 72,754 ingredients across show some consensus in labeling across FALCPA-regulated ingredients in food product labels across databases but highlight potential areas for discrepancy in consumer understanding and labeling practices for terms not subject to strict regulations. The key findings or contributions of this work include the provision of a reproducible method for quantifying the ingredients of packaged food in the United States across two nutritional profiling systems, and have identified 17 total ingredients that appear in the top 20 most co-occurring ingredients for both databases examined. We compare how of 8 FALCPA-regulated ingredients are represented in ingredients lists versus a common, but non-FALCPA regulated ingredient (corn), to demonstrate how one could examine differences between ingredient labeling between products. These findings suggest more research is needed in developing information systems to increase information available for consumers.

Nutritional Profiling and Preliminary Bioactivity Screening of Five Micro-Algae Strains Cultivated in Northwest Europe

This study aimed to map the nutritional profile and bioactivities of five microalgae that can be grown in Northwest Europe or areas with similar cultivation conditions. Next to the biochemical composition, the in vitro digestibility of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids was studied for Chlamydomonas nivalis, Porphyridium purpureum, Chlorella vulgaris, Nannochloropsis gaditana, and Scenedesmus species biomass. These microalgae were also assessed for their ability to inhibit the angiotensin-1-converting enzyme (ACE-1, EC 3.4.15.1), which is known to play a role in the control of blood pressure in mammals. Large differences in organic matter solubility after digestion suggested that a cell disruption step is needed to unlock the majority of the nutrients from N. gaditana and Scenedesmus species biomass. Significant amounts of free glucose (16.4–25.5 g glucose/100 g dry algae) were detected after the digestion of C. nivalis, P. purpureum, and disrupted Scenedesmus. The fatty acid profiles showed major variations, with particularly high Ω-3 fatty acid levels found in N. gaditana (5.5 ± 0.5 g/100 g dry algae), while lipid digestibility ranged from 33.3 ± 6.5% (disrupted N. gaditana) to 67.1 ± 11.2% (P. purpureum). C. vulgaris and disrupted N. gaditana had the highest protein content (45–46% of dry matter), a nitrogen solubility after digestion of 65–71%, and the degree of protein hydrolysis was determined as 31% and 26%, respectively. Microalgae inhibited ACE-1 by 73.4–87.1% at physiologically relevant concentrations compared to a commercial control. These data can assist algae growers and processors in selecting the most suitable algae species for food or feed applications.

PHYTO-CHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL PROFILING OF TENDU FRUIT (DIOSPYROS MELANOXYLON ROXB.) AND EVALUATION OF ITS SHELF STABILITY

Tendu fruit is one of the important forest fruit found in major part of India. Originally, plant is well known for its leaves as Bidipatta for making bidi in tribal areas of India. Since, the tendu fruit supposedly have very short shelf-life, therefore, the present study has been undertaken to evaluate the shelf stability as well as the nutritional and phytochemical potential of the fruit.The complete proximate analysis including the mineral and vitamin profiling of the pulp, skin and seeds were done. The fruit pulp was found to be especially rich in calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorous, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin C, with potassium being as high as 305.52±8.94 mg/100 gm (wet basis) . The fruit skin was found to have high amounts of crude fibre, potassium, calcium, phosphorous& magnesium, whereas for seeds, the values of protein, crude fibre and oil were 7.02±0.53 % 25.13±0.41 and 5.54±0.07 % respectively. The storage stability of the fresh fruit was found to be 5 days at 25°C and 65 % R.H. During storage, pH of fruit reduced drastically with an increase in acidity value from 0.12±0.00% to 2.09±0.01 %. The reading of Browning index (A420nm) also gradually increased from 0.2257 to 0.4766. The DPPH scavenging activity, Hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity,Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, and Reducing power assay of fruits were observed to be very high. Gallic acid and Tannic acid content in fruits was reported as 28.43% and25.74 % respectively on dry basis.