ORCID Profile
0000-0001-5834-6141
Current Organisations
Bar-Ilan University
,
Mesosystem
,
Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2021
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2016
DOI: 10.1002/JSFA.7644
Abstract: The growing awareness of the relevance of food composition for human health has increased the interest of the inclusion of high proportions of fruits and vegetables in diets. To reach the objective of more balanced diets, an increased consumption of legumes, which constitutes a sustainable source of essential nutrients, particularly low-cost protein, is of special relevance. However, the consumption of legumes also entails some constraints that need to be addressed to avoid a deleterious impact on consumers' wellbeing and health. The value of legumes as a source of nutrients depends on a plethora of factors, including genetic characteristics, agro-climatic conditions, and postharvest management that modulate the dietary effect of edible seeds and vegetative material. Thus, more comprehensive information regarding composition, especially their nutritional and anti-nutritional compounds, digestibility, and alternative processing procedures is essential. These were the challenges to write this review, which focusses on the nutritional and anti-nutritional composition of Vigna unguiculata L. Walp, an emerging crop all over the world intended to provide a rational support for the development of valuable foods and feeds of increased commercial value. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 02-05-2020
DOI: 10.3390/FOODS9050560
Abstract: Gluten is a fundamental ingredient in breadmaking, since is responsible for the viscoelastic behaviour of the dough. The lack of gluten has a critical effect on gluten-free dough, leading to less cohesive and less elastic doughs, and its replacement represents a challenge for bakery industry. However, dough rheology can be improved combining different ingredients with structural capacity and taking advantage from their interactions. Although acorn flour was used to bake bread even before Romans, nowadays is an underexploited resource. It presents good nutritional characteristics, particularly high fibre content and is naturally gluten free. The aim of this study was to use acorn flour as a gluten-free ingredient to improve dough rheology, following also market trends of sustainability and fibre-rich ingredients. Doughs were prepared with buckwheat and rice flours, potato starch and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose. Two levels of acorn flour (23% and 35% w/w) were tested and compared with control formulation. Micro-doughLAB was used to study mixing and pasting properties. Doughs were characterised using small litude oscillatory measurements (SAOS), with a controlled stress rheometer, and regarding Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) by a texturometer. Dietary fibre content and its soluble and insoluble fractions were also evaluated on the developed breads. Acorn flour showed promising technological properties as food ingredient for gluten-free baking (improved firmness, cohesiveness and viscoelasticity of the fermented dough), being an important fibre source.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 23-02-2020
Abstract: Phaseolus vulgaris L. is the most commonly consumed legume in the world, given its high vegetable protein content, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant properties. It also represents one of the most sustainable, low-carbon and sources of food available at present to man. This study aims to identify the nutrients, antinutrients, phenolic composition, and antioxidant profile of 10 common bean cultivars (Arikara yellow, butter, cranberry, red kidney, navy, pinto, black, brown eyed, pink eyed, and tarrestre) from two harvest years, thereby assessing the potential of each cultivar for specific applications in the food industry. Navy and pink eyed beans showed higher potential for enrichment of foodstuffs and gluten-free products due to their higher protein and amino acid contents. Additionally, red kidney, cranberry and Arikara yellow beans had the highest content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties, which can act as functional ingredients in food products, thus bringing health benefits. Our study highlights the potential of using specific bean cultivars in the development of nutrient-enriched food and as functional ingredients in diets designed for disease prevention and treatment.
Publisher: MDPI
Date: 11-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.SAA.2022.121544
Abstract: n-Alkanes and long-chain alcohols (LCOH) have been used as faecal markers to assess the feeding behaviour of both wild and domestic herbivore species. However, their chemical analysis is time-consuming and expensive, making it necessary to develop more expeditious methodologies to evaluate concentrations of these markers. This work aimed to evaluate the use of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) technology in the near infrared (NIR) and mid infrared (MIR) intervals, for the determination of n-alkane and LCOH concentrations of different plant species and faecal s les of domestic herbivores. Spectra of 33 feed s les, namely L. perenne, T. repens, U. gallii, short heathers (mixture of Erica spp. and Calluna vulgaris), improved pasture grasses (mixture of L. perenne and A. capillaris), heath grasses (mixture of P. longifolium and A. curtissii), improved pasture species (mixture of L. perenne, T. repens and A. capillaris) and herbaceous species (mixture of all herbaceous species found in the plot)) and 181 faecal s les (cattle and horses) were recorded. In order to develop calibrations for the prediction of n-alkanes and LCOH concentrations, partial least squares (PLS) regression was used. Regarding the models developed for plant species, the best results were observed for the calibrations using NIR. The best external validation coefficients of determination (R
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.FOODCHEM.2019.125509
Abstract: Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), represent the most consumed legume worldwide and constitute an important source of protein, being also known to contain antinutritional compounds, which compromise nutrients' bioavailability. However, the standard methodologies to assess these constituents are time-consuming and complex. Therefore, the present study evaluated the suitability of near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopies for the development of simple and reliable methods to assess protein, lipids, tannins and phytic acid contents, besides specific amino acids, in whole bean flours. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was used to develop analytical models, and external validation was performed. NIR displayed better performance for the evaluation of protein, lipids, tannins and phytic acid contents, and MIR, for the assessment of specific amino acids. In both techniques, the use of the 1st derivative was the best data treatment. Overall, both techniques represent reliable methods to evaluate the proximate and antinutritional composition of bean flours.
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 19-10-2007
Abstract: Hundreds of species of reef-building corals spawn synchronously over a few nights each year, and moonlight regulates this spawning event. However, the molecular elements underpinning the detection of moonlight remain unknown. Here we report the presence of an ancient family of blue-light–sensing photoreceptors, cryptochromes, in the reef-building coral Acropora millepora . In addition to being cryptochrome genes from one of the earliest- erging eumetazoan phyla, cry1 and cry2 were expressed preferentially in light. Consistent with potential roles in the synchronization of fundamentally important behaviors such as mass spawning, cry2 expression increased on full moon nights versus new moon nights. Our results demonstrate phylogenetically broad roles of these ancient circadian clock–related molecules in the animal kingdom.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 05-07-2022
DOI: 10.3390/APP12136800
Abstract: This work aimed to evaluate the potential of three fungi strains, Lentinula edodes, Pleurotus eryngii, and Pleurotus citrinopileatus, to degrade lignin and enhance the nutritive value of grape stalks (GS). The GS was inoculated with the fungi and incubated under solid-state fermentation at 28 °C and 85% relative humidity for 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 days, in an incubation chamber. The influence of the treatments was evaluated by analyzing the potential modifications in the chemical composition, in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) and enzymatic kinetics. An increase (p 0.001) in the crude protein content was observed in the GS treated with L. edodes and P. citrinopileatus at 42 days of incubation (50 and 75%, respectively). The treatment performed with L. edodes decreased (p 0.001) lignin content by 52%, and led to higher (p 0.001) IVOMD values at 42 days of incubation. By contrast, P. eryngii did not affect lignin content and IVOMD. A higher activity of all enzymes was also detected for the treatment with L. edodes. Results indicated that L. edodes has a great potential to enhance the nutritive value of GS as an animal feed, due to its lignin degradation selectivity.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2022
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 24-02-2023
Abstract: In recent times, less-known fruit species have increasingly attracted worldwide attention and their health benefits are at the forefront. The fruits of plants from the genus Prunus are good sources of nutrients due to their economic, agronomic, and healthy values. However, Prunus lusitanica L., commonly known as Portuguese laurel cherry is considered an endangered species. Thus, the present work aimed to monitor the nutritional components of P. lusitanica fruits grown in three locations in northern Portugal for four consecutive years (2016–2019), using AOAC (Association of Official Analytical Chemists), spectrophotometric, and chromatographic analysis. The results evidenced the abundance of phytonutrients in P. lusitanica, such as proteins, fat, carbohydrates, soluble sugars, dietary fibre, amino acids, and minerals. It was also highlighted that the variation of nutritional components was relatively linked to the year factor, being especially relevant in the frame of the current changing climate, among others. These findings suggest that P. lusitanica L. deserves to be conserved and planted because of its food and nutraceutical applications. However, more detailed information on this rare plant species, such as phytophysiology, phytochemistry, bioactivity, pharmacology, etc., is certainly required for the design and development of appropriate uses and valorization alternatives for this species.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2016
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 05-01-2023
Abstract: Seed hydropriming or nutripriming has been used for wheat biofortification. Previously, the untreated S1 offspring of bread wheat S0 seeds hydro- and nutriprimed with FeSO4.7H2O and/or ZnSO4.7H2O showed improved yield relative to the offspring of untreated S0 seeds. We hypothesize that such improvement would have its origin in the higher quality of S1 seeds resulting from plants whose seeds were primed. In this work, we characterised biochemically the whole-wheat flour of unprimed S1 offspring whose S0 seeds were hydro- and nutriprimed with Fe and/or Zn and compared it to the offspring of untreated S0 seeds (control). We identified and quantified 16 free amino acids and five soluble sugars per offspring using high-performance liquid chromatography and the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) methods. The most abundant amino acids were glutamic acid and glutamine, proline, and glycine, presenting their highest contents in the offspring of seeds nutriprimed with 8 ppm Zn (0.351 mmol∙g−1), 8 ppm Fe + 8 ppm Zn (0.199 mmol∙g−1), and (0.135 mmol∙g−1), respectively. The highest contents of glucose (1.91 mg∙g−1 s le), ash (24.90 g∙kg−1 dry matter, DM), and crude protein (209.70 g∙kg−1 DM) were presented by the offspring resulting from 4 ppm Fe + 4 ppm Zn, 8 ppm Zn, and 8 ppm Fe + 8 ppm Zn, respectively. The highest total starch content (630.10 g∙kg−1 DM) was detected in the offspring of seeds soaked in 8 ppm Fe. The nutritional value of the flour of the S1 offspring resulting from nutripriming was significantly higher than the control. Overall, the novelty of our research is that seed priming can improve the quality of the wheat grain and flour, at least till the first offspring, without the need to repeat the presowing treatment. Beyond the study of subsequent generations, the unravelling of transgenerational mechanisms underlying the biochemical improvement of the offspring is approached.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 11-10-2022
Abstract: Baking bread without gluten presents many challenges generally related with poor sensorial and nutritional characteristics, and strategies to overcome this issue are needed. Despite many gluten-free (GF) bread studies, to the best of our knowledge, few are dedicated to sweet GF bread. Sweet breads have traditionally been an important type of food and are still frequently consumed worldwide. Apple flour is naturally GF, and is obtained from apples which do not accomplish market quality requirements and are being wasted. Apple flour was, therefore, characterized in terms of nutritional profile, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant capacity. The aim of this work was to develop a GF bread with incorporation of apple flour, in order to study its effect on nutritional, technological, and sensory characteristics of sweet GF bread. Additionally, in vitro starch hydrolysis and glycemic index (GI) were also analyzed. Results demonstrated the influence of apple flour in dough’s viscoelastic behavior, increasing G’ and G’’. Regarding bread characteristics, apple flour led to better acceptance by the consumer, with firmness increasing (21.01 26.34 23.88 N), and consequently specific volume decreasing (1.38 1.18 1.13 cm3/g). In addition, an increase of bioactive compounds content and antioxidant capacity of the breads were revealed. As expected, the starch hydrolysis index increased, as well as GI. Nevertheless the values were really close to low eGI (56), which is a relevant result for a sweet bread. Apple flour showed good technological and sensory properties as a sustainable and healthy food ingredient for GF bread.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2009
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIORTECH.2009.04.036
Abstract: The potential of crude enzyme extracts, obtained from solid state cultivation of four white-rot fungi (Trametes versicolor, Bjerkandera adusta, Ganoderma applanatum and Phlebia rufa), was exploited to modify wheat straw cell wall. At different fermentation times, manganese-dependent peroxidase (MnP), lignin peroxidase (LiP), laccase, carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase), avicelase, xylanase and feruloyl esterase activities were screened and the content of lignin as well as hydroxycinnamic acids in fermented straw were determined. All fungi secreted feruloyl esterase while LiP was only detected in crude extracts from B. adusta. Since no significant differences (P>0.05) were observed in remaining lignin content of fermented straw, LiP activity was not a limiting factor of enzymatic lignin removal process. The levels of esterified hydroxycinnamic acids degradation were considerably higher than previous reports with lignocellulosic biomass. The data show that P. rufa, may be considered for more specific studies as higher ferulic and p-coumaric acids degradation was observed for earlier incubation times.
No related grants have been discovered for Ana Novo Barros.