Mejoras tecnológicas para el aumento de la funcionalidad de antioxidantes y probióticos. Contribución a la sostenibilidad de la industria agroalimentaria

Abstract

In the current system of intensive food production, there is the need to consider sustainability in agri-food industries. In this thesis, the way in which some technologies can improve the functionality of food with a high content of antioxidants and probiotics are studied. This is addressed from two approaches: on the one hand, the application of existing technologies for the improvement of food functionality, either through the incorporation of ingredients or from the formation of structures; and, on the other hand, the use of alternative food ingredients sources with high content in bioactive compounds. The technologies studied in this thesis have been the treatment with high homogenization pressures (HPH), encapsulation by HPH, vacuum impregnation (VI) and hot air drying. Combined effect of HPH treatment (20, 50, 100 and 150 MPa) and the addition of trehalose (10, 20 and 30 g / 100 g) in mandarin juice with and without Lactobacillus salivarius spp. salivarius on the main physicochemical and functional properties were studied. It was obtained that HPH treatment reduced the particle size distribution of suspended particles in juice, improved cloud stability and increased total phenols content and flavonoids. Trehalose addition in the amount of 20 g / 100 g increased the antioxidant activity determined by the ABTS method. Results of the mandarin juice with L. salivarius evidenced that both the application of homogenization pressures and the addition of trehalose improved the hydrophobicity of the probiotic and its survival after storage. Additionally, microbial cells encapsulation by means of homogenization pressures improved the L. salivarius survival in mandarin juice. In apple discs impregnated with mandarin juice including microbiane cells encapsulated, it was not observed an improvement in probiotic survival after vacuum impregnation and air drying at 40 oC, although encapsulation does improve the resistance to in vitro digestion. Mandarin juice and apple discs storage was studied, determining in both the effect of the encapsulation on L. salivarius survival and on its resistance to in vitro digestion. Results obtained in the mandarin juice show that the encapsulated probiotic had a greater survival than non- encapsulated one. In apple discs, the encapsulation had no effect on probiotic survival after IV and air drying at 40 °C, although it improved its resistance to the in vitro digestion process. In relation to the use of other sources to obtain new food ingredients with high content of bioactive compounds, 11 non-refined sugar cane were selected as alternatives to white sugar and their physicochemical and antioxidant properties were analyzed. It was confirmed that the no refined sugar cane presented compounds with antioxidant activity and that their content was related to the degree of refining of the product. Finally, the use of by-products to obtain powders from blueberry pomace by using hot air drying and subsequent grinding is considered. The effect of the drying temperature (60 and 70 °C) and grinding intensity on the physicochemical and functional properties was analyzed. Drying decreased the antioxidant capacity of the blueberry pomace regardless the temperature. The mechanical action of the grinding significantly reduced the fibre content of the powder. In addition, it was demonstrated that particle size and fibre content of powders had a decisive influence on interaction with water and oil properties, which largely conditioned its stability and its application as an ingredient for food formulations.