At present, “mechanochemistry” is synonymous with “grinding,” according to the views of a significant number of scientists and technologists. Often, one comes across the opinion that “the less the particle size, the better.” The cases of considering chemical reactions occurring during pretreatment, as well as considering changes in the ultrastructure of cell walls are extremely rare. Also, the wrong choice of the type of mechanical impact and the equipment used in most cases leads to excessive consumption of electrical energy and reduce economic efficiency. The review presents the currently available published data on mechanically activated processes for the pretreatment of plant materials and shows that when using mechanical treatment, it is necessary to look more closely at the phenomena occurring, rather than reducing everything to the production of fine and ultrafine powders. As a result of mechanical action, active surface radicals can form, hydrothermal chemical processes can occur, and mechanocomposites can form. The role of interphase processes, changes in surface chemistry, related dimensional effects, and the disordering of the crystal structure and amorphization should be taken into account. In addition, the physicochemical insights in mechanical pretreatment make it possible to more efficiently use the energy delivered to the material, and, consequently, increase the economic efficiency of the activation process.
This paper presents the data on nutritional value of food products obtained from plant-based feedstock. Purées made from apples, cranberries, red beets, and horseradish roots were used as study objects. The pre-made purées were found to be a valuable source of dietary fiber as the contents of pectic substances and fibers in them are rather high. The hydropectin/protopectin ratio in the study objects was evaluated. The protopectin content was the highest in the purée made from horseradish roots, while the lowest protopectin content was observed in cranberry purée. The degree of pectin methylation was determined experimentally. The cranberry and apple purées contain high-methoxy pectin, while the beet purée and the purée made from horseradish roots contain low-methoxy pectin. Information about the degree of pectin methylation is needed to understand the processing features of the ingredients. The data on antioxidant capacity of the samples are reported. Cranberry purée has pronounced antioxidant properties. The mineral composition of the samples was determined. Beet purée is rich in Na, K and Fe; the purée made from horseradish roots is rich in K, Ca and Fe; apple purée contains a sufficiently high amount of Fe. The analyzed plant-based purées can be used to design functional food products characterized by good processing properties, longer shelf life, and high nutritional value.
A poor consumption of important nutrients triggered a public interest in functional foods that contain easy-to-digest proteins. The present research features fractionation, mechanical activation, and enzymatic hydrolysis of pea protein. According to modern chemical methods, the protein content in the original pea biomass was 24.3% and its molecular weight distribution (MWD) was 5–135 kDa. Fractionation, or protein displacement, resulted in four fractions of biopolymers with different chemical composition, i.e. a different content of protein and carbohydrate molecules. The paper introduces some data on the enzymatic transformations of the substrate. A set of experiments made it possible to define the optimal conditions for the mechanical activation of pea biomass with proteolytic enzymes. The enzymes were obtained from Protosubtilin G3x, a complex enzyme preparation. When the substrate and the enzymes were mechanically activated together, it produced mechanocomposite, an intermediate product with increased reactivity. It increased the specific surface area by 3.2 times and doubled the crystallinity of the substrate. As a result, the rate and yield of the subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis increased from 18% to 61%. The study determined the capacity of the substrate in relation to the enzyme preparation. Under optimal conditions, the pea hydrolysis destroyed protein molecules within two hours. After four hours of hydrolysis, no changes were detected. A polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed non-hydrolysed protein molecules with MW ≈ 20 kDa. Presumably, they corresponded with legumin, which is resistant to neutral and alkaline proteases. The resulting hydrolysates were spray-dried to test their potential use as a food component. The product obtained by spray-drying had a monomodal distribution of particle sizes of spherical shape with adiameter of 5–20 μm.
This study presents findings on the biological action of an integrated supplement containing the following components involved in osteogenesis and mineralization: vitamin D and silicon in the bioavailable and soluble form. A hypothesis that these components potentiate one another’s action and make calcium absorption by the body more efficient was tested. Biological tests of the effect of vitamin D and silicon chelates on bone fracture healing and bone turnover were conducted using ICR mice and albino Wistar rats. Radiographic and biochemical studies show that the supplement simultaneously containing silicon chelates and vitamin D stimulates bone tissue regeneration upon mechanical defects and accelerates differentiation of osteogenic cells, regeneration of spongy and compact bones, and restoration of bone structure due to activation of osteoblast performance. Bone structure restoration was accompanied by less damage to skeletal bones, apparently due to better absorption of calcium from food. The studied supplement has a similar effect when used to manage physiologically induced decalcification, thus holding potential for the treatment of osteomalacia during pregnancy or occupational diseases (e.g., for managing bone decalcification in astronauts).
Regular exposure to adverse environmental factors on the body is the main cause of the accumulation of free radicals that damage cells and provoke the development of non-infectious diseases (oncological, cardiovascular and others). The development and evaluation of the quality of food products with high antioxidant activity (AOA) is appropriate. In order to obtain an effective result, a systematic sequential approach to the design of a new product is important. At the initial stage, it is advisable to study the methodology for the formation of the quality of a functional food product with a high AOA. The article presents the basic principles of the development of food products in the composition with antioxidants and suggests an algorithm for their formation. There is a variety of ways to extract antioxidants from plant raw materials. When choosing the optimal technology for obtaining antioxidant substances, one should be guided by the most effective scientifically based methods that reveal the full potential of the initial components. Microencapsulation and mechanochemical activation technologies have been selected for the production of biologically active additives (dietary supplements) of high AOA. The article presents algorithms for the development of a high-quality food additive according to selected technological solutions. In order to implement a method for obtaining a food product with a high AOA, it is also necessary to provide a scientific justification for the direction of the choice of food products and public food products for enrichment. Minimal heat treatment or its absence, the presence of bitter, viscous, tart foods in the composition, short shelf life and favorable conditions of sale provide higher indicators of antioxidant activity and bioavailability of phenolic components in the finished food product. The developed principles, algorithms and mechanisms for the development of a food product with antioxidants provide an integrated approach to development, allow us to systematize knowledge and guarantee a high level of productivity of a new development.
The paper addresses the problem of production of foodstuffs for people suffering from diagnosed celiacia. There are no ways of pharmacological treatment of this group of people. The only possibility to maintain their optimal living standards is a life-long gluten-free diet. Grain-based proteins (wheat gliadins, rye secalines, barley hordeins, and oat avenines) and products of their processing are the disease triggers. Most often one generally accepted term “wheat gluten” is used instead of all these species. Celiacia is one of the urgent social problems in many countries which can be explained by its wide morbidity rate, difficulties in its diagnostics and a lack of experience of its prophylaxes and treatment. Strict requirements to the chemical composition of gluten-free flour-based foodstuffs dictate their high retail prices. Market analysis has shown that gluten-free flour-based products on average are 240% more expensive than usual flour-based products. So crackers, butter biscuits, pizzas and pasta made from gluten-free flour are the most expensive products. However the market of gluten-free flour-based products is one of the most fast growing markets. In this connection there is a need to provide people suffering from diagnosed celiacia with inexpensive domestic gluten-free products of high quality including products suited for public catering facilities such as pre-school, school and higher education institutions, military army facilities, canteens and sanatorium-and-spa resorts. Developing specialized foodstuffs based on nontoxic raw materials having a positive effect on human organisms and able to decrease risks of disease recurrence is a challenge to the scientific community.
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