Location: Healthy Processed Foods Research
2015 Annual Report
Objectives
The overall goal of this research project is to make food production more sustainable by using food processing technologies to add value to the byproducts generated from the harvest of specialty crops and production of processed foods. We will focus on the following three objectives over the next five years:
Objective 1: Increase the commercial value of plant-based, postharvest waste materials, high in dietary fiber and/or polyphenols (grape, berries, tomato, carrot, and olive pomace, olive leaves and water, mushroom byproducts), by reprocessing into healthful food ingredients.
1.1: Screen processing wastes for nutritional properties of the whole pomace, seeds, skins, and the extractable and nonextractable (high fiber) fractions using appropriate animal models.
1.2: Increase value by developing healthful ingredients with improved bioaccessibility to bioactive polyphenols by process treatments such as extrusion, thermal, chemical and enzymatic processing of the whole waste.
Objective 2: Enable new, commercial functional foods from high protein–based waste materials (nuts, legumes, rice, fish).
2.1: Analyze nutrient content of processed farm waste (soybean, peanut, rice and salmon) for functional properties and nutritional quality of protein fraction.
2.2: Formulate and test high protein gluten free health promoting products for consumer acceptability.
Objective 3: Enable value-added commercial applications of nanofibers from specialty crop waste materials to deliver bioactives in new functional foods.
Approach
Objective 1: The goal of this objective is to determine if processed food wastes or their components from regional fruit and vegetable food processing have health promoting properties by using animal models of obesity and related metabolic diseases to evaluate bioactivity. Animal models are necessary since many bioactive compounds are not absorbed directly but are mediated by gut bacteria. Some waste materials may require fractionation, for example seeds from peels, in order to concentrate bioactive components to a useful level. Bioavailability and bioactivity of more bioactive compounds such as polyphenolics and plant sterols may be increased by removing and modifying dietary fibers that block accessibility to enzymes and gut bacteria. Bioactive food wastes such as mushrooms with high vitamin D content will be processed into films or coatings.
Objective 2: The goal of this objective is to develop new healthy and flavorful foods from high protein waste materials. Processing wastes from soybeans, peanuts, rice and salmon will be analyzed for protein composition and food related physico-chemical properties. The waste materials will be formulated into foods to increase protein content and improve protein quality. Waste ingredients are often high in insoluble fibers that reduce functionality and may require fractionation from fiber to improve useful properties.
Objective 3: The goals of this objective are to develop blow spinning technology to efficiently produce natural nanofibers for controlled release applications and to evaluate potential pulmonary toxicity effects of nanofibers in mice after intratracheal instillation of nanofibers. Using blow spinning processes nanofibers will be created from food ingredients such as gelatin, chitosan, and fruit and vegetable pomaces (grape, carrot, tomato and olive) in order to eliminate or reduce potential inhalation inflammation or toxicity. Although the nanofibers will be used for encapsulation of bioactive compounds for oral delivery the potential for inhalation during process requires toxicity testing. The ingredients as well as the nanofibers will be evaluated for inflammation and toxicity in a mouse model to determine degree and persistence of inflammation or toxicity if any. Ingredients that are most biocompatible will be used in subsequent studies.
Progress Report
This is a new project replacing project 2030-41440-006-00D, "Processing Technologies to Prevent Weight Gain and Obesity Related Metabolic Diseases." See the report for the previous project for additional information.
One of our major findings in the previous reporting period was that the seeds of the white grape, Chardonnay, had greater effects on plasma and liver cholesterol and weight maintenance, than seeds from red grapes in hamsters and mice fed high fat diets. Seeds from red wine grapes are fermented with the juice and skin, whereas only the juice of white wine grapes are fermented. In this reporting period, we evaluated the bioactivity of seeds from fermented and nonfermented white wine grapes and red wine grapes. All four grape seed treatments reduced plasma cholesterol compared to the control but there were no significant differences due to processing or variety.
The major component of grape seeds is insoluble dietary fiber. Extrusion may change the physical properties of dietary fibers. Extruded grape seeds and lentils were fed to mice on high fat diets. Diets high in grape seed increased weight gain compared to the control diet and a reference diet high in resistant starch. Analysis of blood and tissues are in progress.
Accomplishments
Review Publications
Rimando, A.M., Khan, S.I., Mizuno, C., Ren, G., Mathews, S.T., Kim, H., Yokoyama, W.H. 2015. Evaluation of PPARa activation by known blueberry constituents. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 96(5):1666-1671. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.7269.
Kahlon, T.S., Chiu, M.M. 2015. Whole grain gluten-free pastas and flatbreads. Agricultural Research Journal. 52:116-120.
