Foodborne pathogens are the main factors behind foodborne diseases and food poisoning and thus pose a great threat to food safety.

Zein/pectin core-shell nanoparticles with average diameter of about 235 nm and polydipersity index (PDI) of 0.24 were developed to encapsulate, protect and deliver resveratrol. Biopolymer nanoparticles could be formed containing up to 10.2% (w/w) resveratrol, with a particle yield of 91.7% and a resveratrol loading efficiency of 77.9%. The nanoparticles formed were spherical and had good redispersibility in aqueous solutions. The encapsulated resveratrol had a higher in vitro antioxidant activity than free resveratrol as determined by DPPH•, ABTS• + scavenging ability, and iron (III) reducing power. The encapsulated resveratrol also exhibited higher antiproliferative activity when tested using human hepatocarcinoma Bel-7402 cells than free resveratrol, with IC 50 values of 17.6 µg/mL (77.2 µM) and 25.6 µg/mL (112.0 µM) respectively. The colloidal form of resveratrol developed in this study may be particularly useful for application in functional foods and beverages, as well as in dietary supplements and pharmaceutical products.

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The present study was aimed at selecting an efficient binary solvent mixture for monoacylglycerol (MAG) synthesis by enzymatic glycerolysis of soybean oil. Solvent combinations of tert-butanol/isopropanol (v/v) at different ratios were studied. Of the investigated cases, tert-butanol:isopropanol at ratio 80:20 was the most suitable organic medium. The optimum conditions for MAG synthesis under the selected mixture were: water 10 wt% based on glycerol, Lipozyme TL IM 15 wt% based on oil and glycerol, weight ratio of solvent to oil 4:1, and molar ratio of glycerol to oil 3.5:1. Under these conditions with a 4-h reaction, the yield of MAG was 72.0% where the triacylglycerol (TAG) content was reduced to only 1.0% (based on acylglycerols). Fatty acid ester (FAE) formation from the solvents was very low in the final product (1.3% based on reaction mixture). The selected binary solvent mixture has good physical properties with low melting point (-26.5°C), which can avoid the risk of crystallization in practical operations.

BackgroundPure 1, 3-diacylglycerols (1, 3-DAG) have been considered to be significant surfactants in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, as well as the effect on obesity prevention.MethodsIn this study, a vacuum-driven air bubbling operation mode was developed and evaluated for the enzymatic synthesis of 1, 3-DAG of saturated fatty acids, by direct esterification of glycerol with fatty acids in a solvent-free system. The employed vacuum-driven air bubbling operation mode was comparable to vacuum-driven N2 bubbling protocol, in terms of lauric acid conversion and 1, 3-dilaurin content.ResultsSome operation parameters were optimized, and 95.3% of lauric acid conversion and 80.3% of 1, 3-dilaurin content was obtained after 3-h reaction at 50°C, with 5 wt% of Lipozyme RM IM (based on reactants) amount. Of the lipases studied, both Lipozyme RM IM and Novozym 435 exhibited good performance in terms of lauric acid conversion. Lipozyme TL IM, however, showed low activity. Lipozyme RM IM showed good operational stability in this operation protocol, 80.2% of the original catalytic activity remained after 10 consecutive batch applications. Some other 1, 3-DAG were prepared and high content was obtained after purification: 98.5% for 1, 3-dicaprylin, 99.2% for 1, 3-dicaprin, 99.1% for 1, 3-dilaurin, 99.5 for 1, 3-dipalmitin and 99.4% for 1, 3-disterin.ConclusionThe established vacuum-driven air bubbling operation protocol had been demonstrated to be a simple-operating, cost-effective, application practical and efficient methodology for 1, 3-DAG preparation.