O. vulgare extracts and essential oil from Portuguese origin are strong candidates to replace synthetic chemicals used by the industry.

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The findings indicate that the bioactive extracts of S. montana have strong potential for use as natural antimicrobials and antioxidants in the preservation of processed food.

Laurus nobilis L. is an aromatic plant frequently used as a spice in Mediterranean cookery and as a traditional medicine for the treatment of several infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to characterise the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of bay laurel essential oil (EO), ethanolic extract (EE) and hot/cold aqueous extract (AE). The major components detected in bay laurel EO were eucalyptol (27.2%), α-terpinenyl acetate (10.2%), linalool (8.4%), methyleugenol (5.4%), sabinene (4.0%) and carvacrol (3.2%). The EO exhibited strong antibacterial activity against all tested foodborne spoilage and pathogenic bacteria, whereas this activity was less pronounced or even nonexistent in the EE and AE. In contrast, EO exhibited low antioxidant activity compared to extracts (EX), and among the EX, the hot AE revealed the highest antioxidant ability. The results show that bay laurel EO and its EX have potential as natural alternatives to synthetic food preservatives, in order to enhance food safety and increase food shelf life.

Summary Two groups of farmed meagre (Argyrosomus regius) sausages were studied regarding quality changes and antioxidant capacity during a 98‐day storage experiment at 2 ± 2 °C. Control sausages contained 3.9% (w/w) of inner pea dietary fibre (IPDF) and the other group contained 0.9% (w/w) IPDF plus 3.0% (w/w) of antioxidant grape dietary fibre (AGDF). The control and AGDF meagre sausages presented a high nutritional value, given their low caloric content, fatty acid profile, amino acid composition and high DF content. Both products were remarkably stable over storage time. The AGDF had an effective antioxidant capacity, proven not only by the radical scavenging activity (90.0–91.0% vs. 82.1–85.4%) and reducing power (8.13–9.10 mg ascorbic acid equivalent g‐1 vs. 4.16–4.24 mg ascorbic acid equivalent g−1) measurements, but also by the lower thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) values (0.78–1.10 vs. 1.50–2.08 mg malonaldehyde kg−1) over storage time. AGDF seemed to present antimicrobial effect, since on the 63rd day (beginning of significant microbial growth), the control sausages had more than 3 log CFU g−1 and AGDF sausages much <3 log CFU g−1. The sensory assessment pointed to some loss of textural quality, more accentuated in the AGDF sausages.

Seed and flour characteristics of 79 chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) accessions from a representative collection of the germplasm used by European breeders were evaluated. The accessions were grouped according to desi or kabuli types and by different seed traits (size, shape, colour, surface). The variation in nutritional composition was assessed by principal component analysis (PCA) of data from 13 quality parameters. The first PCA component discriminated the accessions by basic composition (protein, fibre, fat) plus δ-tocopherol, and the second by carotenoid composition (zeaxanthin). Whereas desi types showed higher protein and fibre, kabuli accessions exhibited higher fat contents. The majority of accessions analysed showed very low (<1%) resistant starch content. Higher carotenoid concentration was obtained in desi-type accessions and it was related to specific seed traits: small seed size, angular shape and black colour. Besides discrimination between desi and kabuli groups, the detected associations of classes of shape, size and colour seed traits can be explored in chickpea-quality breeding programs. Several accessions showed higher concentrations of α-tocopherol (>200 μg g–1). LEGCA728, with green colouring in the seed coat and cotyledons, showed exceptional lutein concentration (28.32 μg g–1). We conclude that the chickpea germplasm in use by European breeders presents high potential for improvement of nutritional and health-benefit components not yet routinely implemented in the breeding of this important pulse crop.

Ceratonia siliqua and some species of Prosopis (Fabaceae family) are commonly known as carob trees. The flours obtained from their pods are used in the food industry, as cocoa substitute in the confectionery and also used in beverages and mixed with products derived from cereals. The aim of this study was to compare and characterize the physical and chemical properties, specially the antioxidant activities, of the two commercial carob flours. Commercial Prosopis spp. (mainly from P. alba) flour exhibited high content of protein, starch and fat, while commercial flour from C. siliqua had a lower content of these compounds, but higher antioxidant activity. By nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) the aqueous extracts of the two carob flours were analysed and concluded that they had similar content of sucrose, but C. siliqua had more monosaccharides and pinitol. This important cyclitol has beneficial physiological effects, improving the glycaemic level and, thus, having a great potential in the food industry. We conclude that the commercial flour of C. siliqua has a better nutritional potential than that of Prosopis spp., owing to dietary fiber, total phenols, pinitol and antioxidant activity. Our results corroborate the nutritional benefits of the commercial supplements already available for healthy food formulations.

Development of food products from legume flours is increasing. Seed and flour characteristics must be analysed for selection of the best screening quality traits. With this purpose, germplasm collections of faba bean (Vicia faba), chickpea (Cicer arietinum), lentil (Lens culinaris) and grass pea (Lathyrus sativus) were evaluated for their physico-chemical, pasting and cooking characteristics. The accessions were grouped accordingly to several seed traits (size, shape, colour, variety and surface) that affected final viscosity, cooking time, hydration capacity and seed weight. In general, seed weight was correlated with hydration capacity. Among species, faba bean revealed higher values of pasting parameters. Cooking time was significantly negatively correlated with final viscosity (–0.298) and positively correlated with seed weight (0.601). The general variance was analysed by using principal component analysis, which allowed identification of specific accessions with important traits such as higher protein or fibre content, hydration capacity or seed weight.