Carotenoids, orange-coloured pigments found in vegetables, fruit, eggs and dairy foods, act as antioxidants and vitamin A precursors in the human body. Skin carotenoid concentration is a biomarker of vegetable and fruit intake. The aim was to identify determinants of skin carotenoid concentration by measuring “Veggie Meter™” carotenoid reflection spectroscopy scores (CRS) from the fingertip of adults with a range of ages, ethnicity and body size. Frequencies of daily intake of vegetables and fruit and weekly intake of pumpkin and carrot, dark green leafy vegetables (DGLV), eggs (yolk), and dairy were determined from a self-completed food-frequency-questionnaire. A total of 571 (324 Women, 247 Men) adults, aged 16 to 85 years, completed measurements. The CRS ranged from 83 to 769, with a median of 327. Women and men did not score differently. For all participants there were negative correlations of CRS with weight (r = −0.312) and BMI (r = −0.338) and positive correlations with weekly intakes of DGLV (r = 0.242) and carrots and pumpkin (r = 0.202). Based on a review of health outcomes associated with plasma carotenoids, 82% of the participants in the current study are at moderate risk, or more, of negative health outcomes. Determinants of carotenoid status were body size, intake of DGLV, carrots and pumpkin, and ethnicity.
The industrial and small-scale processing of plant-based food materials is associated with by-products that may have a negative impact on the environment but could add value to bread-based products. The bioactivity of plant-based food by-products, their impact on the properties of functional bread, and their bioavailability/bioaccessibility leading to potential health effects when consumed was reviewed. Plant-based food by-products which may be added to bread include rice bran, wheat bran, corn bran, grape pomace/seed extract, tomato seed/skin, and artichoke stems/leaves. These by-products contain high concentrations of bioactive compounds, including phenolics, bioactive peptides, and arabinoxylan. Pre-treatment procedures, including fermentation and thermal processing, impact the properties of plant-based by-products. In most cases, bread formulated with flour from plant-based by-products demonstrated increased fibre and bioactive compound contents. In terms of the sensory and nutritional acceptability of bread, formulations with an average of 5% flour from plant-based by-products produced bread with acceptable sensory properties. Bread enriched with plant-based by-products demonstrated enhanced bioavailability and bioaccessibility and favourable bioactive properties in human blood, although long-term studies are warranted. There is a need to investigate the bioactive properties of other underutilised plant-based by-products and their potential application in bread as a sustainable approach towards improving food and nutrition security.
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