Healthy Food Industry Research Articles

Evaluasi Strategi Bisnis Perusahaan Start Up Menggunakan Bisnis Model Kanvas Pada PT XYZ

With the development of technology, many start-up companies have been established. In November 2022 there were 2,400 startups in Indonesia. This study aims to evaluate the business strategy of start-up companies with the research object PT XYZ. PT XYZ engaged in the healthy food industry. This research is case study research with descriptive qualitative research methods. This research utilized Business Model Canvas as a basic theory and tool to evaluate business strategy. The results showed that PT XYZ implemented a broad differentiation strategy. The current focus of the company's strategy is to promote and introduce products to the public. The promotional strategy succeeded in increasing sales, but was unable to generate profits due to the large cost of promotion. There are several weaknesses in PT XYZ business model that can be improved to be able to generate profits. Adding customer segments in the form of B2B can potentially provide new revenues and bring benefit in promotions using other company resources. Additionally, the application of lean accounting that focused on cost reduction must be carried out for cost efficiency.

The impact of perceived value on brand image and loyalty: a study of healthy food brands in emerging markets.

Food brands that promote a healthy lifestyle are gaining more followers. Healthy food consumers are a conscious and demanding segment that values the quality and benefits they receive from a product and the ethical, environmental, and social impact of their purchasing decisions. The objective of the research is to evaluate the influence of perceived value components on health food brand image and brand loyalty in an emerging market. A cross-sectional and explanatory study was conducted considering 612 consumers of a healthy brand in Peru. The participants included women (65.2%) and men (34.8%), with ages between 18 and 56 (M = 22.56; SD = 5.95). Data were collected using a self-report form and statistically analyzed using PLS-SEM. The study hypotheses confirmed the impact of perceived emotional value, perceived social value, perceived financial value, and perceived quality on brand image and loyalty. However, the proposed model observes that perceived social value has no impact on brand loyalty. Implementing strategies that help build stronger, healthy brands is part of effective management for business leaders. In this context, the findings indicate that brands should effectively communicate their attributes and offer them that meet and exceed consumer expectations to achieve consumer loyalty. This is a mechanism to consolidate a strong and positive image that facilitates customer loyalty based on perceived value. The results obtained can help marketers and decision-makers in the healthy food industry to design more effective brand strategies, which could increase demand for their healthy products.

Screening and Activity Analysis of α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Peptides Derived from Coix Seed Prolamins Using Bioinformatics and Molecular Docking.

Hydrolysates of coix seed prolamins (CHPs) have an excellent hypoglycemic effect and can effectively inhibit α-glucosidase, which is the therapeutic target enzyme for type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, its hypoglycemic components and molecular mechanisms remain unclear, and its stability in food processing needs to be explored. In this study, four potential α-glucosidase inhibitory peptides (LFPSNPLA, FPCNPLV, HLPFNPQ, LLPFYPN) were identified and screened from CHPs using LC-MS/MS and virtual screening techniques. The results of molecular docking showed that the four peptides mainly inhibited α-glucosidase activity through hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions, with Pro and Leu in the peptides playing important roles. In addition, CHPs can maintain good activity under high temperatures (40~100 °C) and weakly acidic or weakly alkaline conditions (pH 6.0~8.0). The addition of glucose (at 100 °C) and NaCl increased the inhibitory activity of α-glucosidase in CHPs. The addition of metal ions significantly decreased the inhibitory activity of α-glucosidase by CHPs, and their effects varied in magnitude with Cu2+ having the largest effect followed by Zn2+, Fe3+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+. These results further highlight the potential of CHPs as a foodborne hypoglycemic ingredient, providing a theoretical basis for the application of CHPs in the healthy food industry.

The implementation and management of disease risk reduction claims in the European Union and the United States

The improvement of food labeling can improve consumers' health awareness, reduce the burden of chronic diseases on the health and economy, and promote the development of the healthy food industry. Disease Risk Reduction Claim has been developed in European Union and the U.S. for over 20 years, with mature management methods and experience, but it is still lacking in China. Learning and drawing on the international management experience of food disease risk reduction claims can assist China to establish food disease risk reduction claims and improve the food health claims and labeling system.

Functional properties of the dietary fibers and their using in the manufacturing technology of fish products

This review presents the up-to-date scientific ideas about the role of dietary fibers of plant origin (fiber and hydrocolloids) and animal origin (chitosan and collagen) in the food systems. The main attention is focused on their significance and methods of their using in the manufacturing technology of fish products. Dietary fibers are considered as important components of a diet; the dietary fibers prevent certain disorders and regulate the physical and mental health of the population. Consuming of fish products contributes both to the enrichment of raw materials with functional ingredients, as well as to the increasing in the efficiency of processing of raw materials, including underestimated and underutilized aquatic biological resources. The review shows the influence of dietary fibers on the restructuring of fish muscles systems, their ability to hold water and fats, to stabilize emulsions, to change their sensory characteristics, to increase the yield of the finished food products, and also their ability to influence the shelf life of the finished food product. The mechanisms of involving the certain groups of dietary fibers into the physicochemical and biochemical processes of interaction with the components of fish raw materials are considered; the influence of various conditions of processing on gelation and emulsification is studied. The factors that provide antimicrobial and antioxidant effects of various dietary fibers are given. The properties and examples of using the commercial fiber preparations obtained from various sources are analyzed separately, and the significance of the molecular structure of chitosan and collagen for ensuring the specified technological parameters is considered. It is concluded that using the dietary fiber in the manufacturing process of fish products increases the economic efficiency of production and contributes to the development of the healthy food industry.

Study on extraction and characterization of new antibiotics violacein from engineered Escherichia coli VioABCDE-SD.

To better understand the characteristic properties of violacein biosynthesized by engineered Escherichia coli VioABCDE-SD, a convenient and simplified method was designed to extract violacein and its stability, antimicrobial activity, and antioxidant capacity were analyzed. Different fromthetraditional extraction methods, ournew method is easierandlesstime consuming and can directly obtain violacein dry powder product with a higher extraction rate. Low temperature, darkcondition, neutral pH, reducing agents, Ba2+ , Mn2+ , Ni2+ , Co2+ , and some food additives of sucrose, xylose, and glucose were conducive tomaintainingitsstability. The violacein also exhibited surprisingly high bacteriostatic action against Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis, Deinococcus radiodurans R1, and Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Pseudomonasaeruginosa, but no effect on E. coli. The violacein of VioABCDE-SD exhibited strong antioxidant activity, with the scavenging rate of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radicals reaching 60.33%, the scavenging efficiency of hydroxyl radical scavenging reaching 56.34%, and the total antioxidant capacity reaching 0.63U/mL. Violacein from VioABCDE-SD can be synthesized directionally with better stability, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties compared with that from the original strain Janthinobacterium sp. B9-8. Therefore, our study indicated that violacein from engineered E. coli VioABCDE-SD was a kind of new antibiotic with potential biological activities, which may havepotentialutilityinmultiple areas such as pharmacological, cosmetics, and healthy food industries.

Marketing Communication Tools, Emotional Connection, and Brand Choice: Evidence from Healthy Food Industry

This research examines the effects of information sharing, peer pressure, and entertainment on attitude towards a brand. In addition, this research also examines the effects of entertainment on emotional connection, emotional connection on purchase intention, and attitude towards a brand on purchase intention. This research uses SEM (Structural Equation Modelling) method and LISREL version 8.80 as tools for data analysis. The population is people in the city of Jakarta. The number of respondents in this research amounts to 165 people. The respondents taken in this research are those familiar with healthy food of FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) type and have seen healthy food advertisements on social media. Then, this study uses quantitative methods and a hypothesis-testing approach. Firstly, information sharing has no significant effect on attitude towards a brand, unlike peer pressure having a significant effect on attitude towards a brand. Furthermore, entertainment also considerably affects the attitude towards a brand as much as it does emotional connection. Finally, attitude towards a brand has a significant effect on purchase intention. The research findings indicate that peer pressure and entertainment influence the attitude toward a brand, while information sharing does not significantly influence the attitude toward a brand. The effects of entertainment on emotional connection, emotional connection on purchase intention, and attitude towards a brand on purchase intention are significant. To reinforce purchase intention, it is suggested that entertainment and emotional marketing be maximally utilized due to the amount of influence these could generate.

Symbiosis culture of probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG using lactate utilization protein YkgG

The abundance and biodiversity of intestinal bacteria play a critical role in immune system. Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN), a tractable probiotic cell has emerged as a ‘smart microbe’ that can provide therapeutic modalities at the sites of disease. Additionally, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) represents one of the key probiotics in clinical studies with the ability to enhance intestinal immunity in symbiosis with other cells. To fully exploit the advantages of EcN and LGG, we optimized the commensal culture medium for LGG and EcN, succeeded by the establishment of a novel fluorescence-based colony quantification. From the metabolite analysis, more lactate was consumed when LGG is co-cultured with EcN; thus, YkgG was further explored as it was foreseen to be the enzyme responsible for lactate conversion to pyruvate. The YkgG enzyme from EcN has Vmax of 64.5 mM min-1 and catalytic ability kcat/Km of 2055 mM-1 min-1, that is 6-fold compared to E. coli MG1655. Co-culture strategy of EcN with LGG in the mimic gastrointestinal tract increased the CFU by 50 % and 40 % within 5 mins and 10 mins, respectively. This practical, feasible, and promising symbiosis system aims to accelerate the application of probiotic in healthy food industries.

Recent advances in the bio-application of microalgae-derived biochemical metabolites and development trends of photobioreactor-based culture systems.

Microalgae are microscopic algae in sizes ranging from a few micrometers to several hundred micrometers. On average, half of the oxygen in the atmosphere is produced by the photosynthetic process of microalgae, so the role of these microorganisms in the life cycle of the planet is very significant. Pharmaceutical products derived from microalgae and commercial developments of a variety of supplements extracted from them originate from a variety of their specific secondary metabolites. Many of these microalgae are a reservoir of unique biological compounds including carotenoids, antioxidants, fatty acids, polysaccharides, enzymes, polymers, peptides, pigments, toxins and sterols with antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, antiparasitic, anticoagulant, and anticancer properties. The present work begins with an introduction of the importance of microalgae in renewable fuels and biodiesel production, the development of healthy food industry, and the creation of optimal conditions for efficient biomass yield. This paper provides the latest research related to microalgae-derived substances in the field of improving drug delivery, immunomodulatory, and anticancer attributes. Also, the latest advances in algal biocompounds to combat the COVID-19 pandemic are presented. In the subject of cultivation and growth of microalgae, the characteristics of different types of photobioreactors, especially their latest forms, are fully discussed along with their advantages and obstacles. Finally, the potential of microalgae biomass in biotechnological applications, biofuel production, as well as various biomass harvesting methods are described.

ANALISA PENGARUH CONSUMPTION VALUES DAN TRUST TERHADAP MINAT KONSUMEN UNTUK MEMBELI HEALTHY FAST FOOD

Abstract - The increase in fast food consumption in Indonesia is contrary to the changing lifestyle of Indonesian people who began to lead healthy lifestyles due to the outbreak of covid-19. However, there are positives from these circumstances that lead to business opportunities for the healthy food industry. FastFit is one of those fast food restaurants that offers low calorie fast food. However, the knowledge about FastFit is still lacking because the total search for FastFit keywords is still small. This can lead to low purchase interest because consumers tend to buy products from brands they know. This study aims to help FastFit to know what are the factors - factors seen by prospective consumers to choose healthy food products that will eventually lead to a buying interest in FastFit products. Research method in this research using conclusive research design with descriptive research method. Data analysis techniques use Structural Equation Model (SEM) which produces 4 out of 5 supporting hypotheses. The managerial implication that can be applied is to improve the quality and create a tester to prospective consumers.
 Keywords: Theory of Consumption Value; Trust; Purchase Intention; Healthy Fast Food

Effect of High-Humidity Hot Air Impingement Steaming on Cistanche deserticola Slices: Drying Characteristics, Weight Loss, Microstructure, Color, and Active Components.

Cistanche deserticola is one of the most precious herbal medicines and is widely used in the pharmaceutical and healthy food industries. Steaming is an important step prior to drying in the processing of C. deserticola. This research investigated the effects of high-humidity hot air impingement steaming (HHAIS) parameters such as temperature, time, and relative humidity (RH) on drying characteristics, weight loss, color, microstructure, and active components of C. deserticola slices. The results showed that the steaming process caused a weight loss in C. deserticola; however, increasing the RH reduced the weight loss. Starch gelatinization observed from the microstructure of the steamed samples explained their long drying time. The Page model can well fit the drying process with a high R2 (>0.956) under the drying conditions of 60°C and 6 m/s. Steaming increased the content of phenylethanoid glycosides, and the highest content was obtained at 95°C and 60% RH for 20 min, 75°C and 70% RH for 20 min, and 75°C and 60% RH for 30 min. The steamed samples appeared in an oil black color. When the color difference (ΔE) values were in the range of 16.79–20.12, the contents of echinacoside and acteoside reached the maximum. Steaming at 95°C and 60% RH for 20 min, 75°C and 70% RH for 20 min, and 75°C and 60% RH for 30 min are the optimum process conditions. The results from this work provide innovative steaming technology and suitable processing parameters for producing C. deserticola decoction pieces with a high quality, which will broaden its potential application in the functional health food industry.

Cytotoxicity and 1H NMR metabolomics analyses of microalgal extracts for synergistic application with Tamoxifen on breast cancer cells with reduced toxicity against Vero cells

This study evaluated the cytotoxic activity of Tamoxifen (TMX), an anti-estrogen drug, with microalgal crude extracts (MCEs) in single and synergistic application (TMX-MCEs) on MCF-7 and 4T1 breast cancer cells, and non-cancerous Vero cells. The MCEs of Nannochloropsis oculata, Tetraselmis suecica and Chlorella sp. from five different solvents (methanol, MET; ethanol, ETH; water, W; chloroform, CHL; and hexane, HEX) were developed. The TMX-MCEs-ETH and W at the 1:2 and 1:3 ratios, attained IC50 of 15.84–29.51 μg/mL against MCF-7; 13.8–31.62 μg/mL against 4T1; and 24.54–85.11 μg/mL against Vero cells. Higher late apoptosis was exhibited against MCF-7 by the TMX-N. oculata-ETH (41.15 %); and by the TMX-T. suecica-ETH (65.69 %) against 4T1 cells. The TMX-T. suecica-ETH also showed higher ADP/ATP ratios, but comparable Caspase activities to control. For Vero cells, overall apoptotic effects were lowered with synergistic application, and only early apoptosis was higher with TMX-T. suecica-ETH but at lower levels (29.84 %). The MCEs-W showed the presence of alanine, oleic acid, linoleic acid, lactic acid, and fumaric acid. Based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA), the spectral signals for polar solvents such as MET and ETH, were found in the same cluster, while the non-polar solvent CHL was with HEX, suggesting similar chemical profiles clustered for the same polarity. The CHL and HEX were more effective with N. oculata and T. suecica which were of the marine origin, while the ETH and MET were more effective with Chlorella sp., which was of the freshwater origin. The synergistic application of microalgal bioactive compounds with TMX can maintain the cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells whilst reducing the toxicity against non-cancerous Vero cells. These findings will benefit the biopharmaceutical, and functional and healthy food industries.

Emphasizing appeal over health promotes preference for nutritious foods in people of low socioeconomic status

People of low socioeconomic status (SES) have disproportionately poorer dietary health despite efforts to improve access and highlight the health benefits of nutritious foods. While health-focused labels and advertisements make healthier options easier to recognize, they can prime a number of negative associations about healthy foods (e.g., taste, satiety, cost), which may be particularly aversive for low SES groups. This within-subjects study recruited people of low and high SES (those without and with a college degree) and compared their product expectations, experiences, satiety, and choice when consuming a bottled fruit and vegetable smoothie promoted as pleasurable (“Crave”) or as healthy (“Nutralean”). Relative to Nutralean, Crave improved product expectations and behavioral measures of satiety across all participants. However, Crave enhanced expectations, experiences, and product choice more for low SES than high SES participants. Importantly, improvements were achieved without deception of nutritional facts and without decreasing perceived healthiness or increasing perceived cost. These findings identify SES as an important moderator in health-focused promotion and suggest how the rapidly growing healthy food industry can more effectively appeal to low SES groups, contexts which the majority of Americans navigate.

Widely Targeted Metabolomics Analysis to Reveal Transformation Mechanism of Cistanche Deserticola Active Compounds During Steaming and Drying Processes.

Cistanche deserticola is one of the most precious plants, traditionally as Chinese medicine, and has recently been used in pharmaceutical and healthy food industries. Steaming and drying are two important steps in the processing of Cistanche deserticola. Unfortunately, a comprehensive understanding of the chemical composition changes of Cistanche deserticola during thermal processing is limited. In this study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS)-based widely targeted metabolomics analysis was used to investigate the transformation mechanism of Cistanche deserticola active compounds during steaming and drying processes. A total of 776 metabolites were identified in Cistanche deserticola during thermal processing, among which, 77 metabolites were differentially regulated (p < 0.05) wherein 39 were upregulated (UR) and 38 were downregulated (DR). Forty-seven (17 UR, 30 DR) and 30 (22 UR, 8 DR) differential metabolites were identified during steaming and drying, respectively. The most variation of the chemicals was observed during the process of steaming. Metabolic pathway analysis indicated that phenylpropanoid, flavonoid biosynthesis, and alanine metabolism were observed during steaming, while glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, thiamine metabolism, and unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis were observed during drying. The possible mechanisms of the chemical alterations during thermal processing were also provided by the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Furthermore, the blackening of the appearance of Cistanche deserticola mainly occurred in the steaming stage rather than the drying stage, which is associated with the metabolism of the amino acids. All results indicated that the formation of active compounds during the processing of Cistanche deserticola mainly occurred in the steaming stage.

Comparative biological analyses on kenger and kenger coffee as novel functional food products.

The current research was conducted to investigate neuroprotective, anticancer, antiproliferative and apoptotic DNA fragmentation potentials of the extracts obtained from aerial-parts, raw-fruits, and coffee samples (prepared by roasting and boiled-roasting) of kenger (Gundelia tournefortii var. armata). Neuroprotection capacities of the samples were screened against enzymes that are linked to the progression of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Since the oxidative damage is closely related to the development of neurodegeneration and cancer, the extracts were also analyzed for their antioxidant activities. Anticancer and antiproliferative activities of the samples were evaluated towards A549, MCF-7, and HeLa cells, and they exhibited remarkable anticancer activities in dose-and time-dependent manners. Furthermore, the apoptotic activity regarding DNA fragmentation was also imaged. The extracts obtained from the aerial-parts and raw-fruits of kenger possessed the highest anticancer and antiproliferative activities on HeLa cells with the IC50 values varied from 290.71 ± 0.69 to 342.46 ± 0.42, whilst kenger coffee samples had the weakest activity on the cell death towards MCF-7. However, the tested extracts exhibited strong antioxidant activities, in which the best reducing antioxidant capacity was defined in the raw-fruits and aerial-parts of the extracts. The roasted-coffee samples had the best inhibition on tyrosinase (88.26 ± 0.15%, p < 0.05), while the raw fruit-EtOH extract showed the highest inhibition on AChE and BChE enzymes (39.10 ± 2.01%, p < 0.01 and 72.69 ± 0.16%, p < 0.016, respectively). Consequently, research outputs provide noteworthy data on the usage of kenger for the nutraceutical and the healthy food industries. Enhanced light harvesting, higher donor density, appropriate band bending, lowest charge transfer radius of C-Ag-ZnO hybrid signifies that efficient charge transfer and restriction to charge recombination leading to the enhanced PEC performance.

Separation and purification of polyprenols from Ginkgo biloba L. leaves by bulk ionic liquid membrane and optimizing parameters

Polyprenols extracted from Ginkgo biloba L. leaves (GBL) are known for their biological functions (antioxidant, antimicrobial, antivirus, hepatoprotective, and antitumor properties). Nevertheless, the conventional methods of polyprenol separation lack selectivity and has a low separation efficiency. As a result, effective methods for separating and purifying polyprenols have become a major research focus in the pharmaceutical and healthy food industries. In this study, the separation and purification of GBL’s polyprenols were performed. The transport of polyprenols from GBL via a bulk liquid membrane containing AgBF4 as a carrier was examined. The optimization parameters were: 1-hexene, 308 K, 500 rpm, 1% wt %, 72 h for the stripping phase, system temperature, stirring speed, the carrier concentration in membrane phase, and transport time, respectively. Additionally, the purity of polyprenols increased from 48.2% to 78.1%, recovery was 73.5 %, and a permeability coefficient of 0.24 cm/h was obtained under these conditions. The kinetic parameters (k1, k2, tmax, Rlmax, Jfmax, Jsmax) at 308 K were determined for the interface reactions assuming two consecutive irreversible first-order reactions as: 2.36 × 10−2, 0.87 × 10−2 (h−1), 68.64 (h), 0.57, −0.47 × 10−2 (h−1) and 0.47 × 10−2 (h−1), respectively. These values indicated that the polyprenols' transport process combines two processes: complex diffusion in the membrane phase and chemical reactions at two independent and possibly different interfaces. The experiments demonstrated that the bulk liquid membrane system significantly affected the separation and enrichment of polyprenols. The study provided an effective polyprenol separation and purification approach, and the basis for potential polyprenol-based medications, cosmetics, and health products.

Оценка функциональных свойств и показателей безопасности зернового хлеба с амарантовой мукой

Introduction. Various formulations of sprouted grain breads, including those with amaranth flour, were developed to combat food-related diseases. Healthy food industry requires thorough assessment procedures and hygienic practices. The research objective was to assess the functional properties and safety indicators of amaranth bread made from sprouted wheat grain.&#x0D; Study objects and methods. One day old grain bread was tested for antioxidant activity using amperometric method. Its glycemic index was determined according to the ratio of the area under the glycemic curve per bread sample to the area under the glycemic curve for pure glucose, expressed as a percentage. Crumb proteins digestibility was measured in vivo using ciliates Paramecium caudatum. Phytin content was measured by the colorimetric method, while safety indicators were compared to the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union No. 021/2011. Bound moisture content was determined with a refractometer after three days of storage according to the change in sucrose concentration. The number of mesophilic aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms (NMAFAnM) was described based on State Standard 10444.15-94.&#x0D; Results and discussion. The amaranth flour slightly affected the antioxidant activity of the grain bread. It decreased the glycemic index by 8.3% and increased the microbiological purity by 1.4 times, raised the crumb proteins digestibility by 3.0%, reduced the phytin content by 7.0%, and slowed down the staleness process by 12 h. In terms of safety indicators, the obtained sample of amaranth grain bread met the TR CU 021/2011 requirements “On food safety”. The decrease in the glycemic index values could be explained by the lower activity of amylolytic enzymes in amaranth flour compared to sprouted wheat. The low digestibility of carbohydrates resulted from their effect on starch. The increase in digestibility and the decrease in phytin content were caused by the lower amount of dietary fiber. The high content of bound moisture explains the longer shelf life. Amaranth flour had lower microbiological contamination compared to wheat, which decreased the NMAFAnM.&#x0D; Conclusion. Amaranth flour had a positive effect on the functional properties of grain bread safety indicators, which makes it possible to include it into sprouted wheat grain products.

Effects of Social Media Marketing Activities Toward Purchase Intention Healthy Food in Indonesia

With easier and faster internet access nowadays, social media has become an important means of online marketing activities. Both individuals and companies carry out activities on online platforms and develop business opportunities using social media. Meanwhile, there has been a lot of research on social media and discussing the effects of social media marketing activities. Researchers want to see the effect of social media marketing activities on purchase intentions by mediation of brand equity and customer trust in the healthy food industry. To empirically test the effect of marketing activities on social media, researchers conducted a survey of 151 social media users to perform data analysis. The results of data analysis shows that social media marketing indirectly affect the buying interest through brand equity and customer trust. At the same time, brand equity and customer trust influence buying interest. In the end, the academic and management implications based on the empirical results of this study serve as a reference for healthy food to increase the social media marketing activities.

Metabolite changes and anti-inflammatory effects of Astragalus membranaceus Radix by fermentation with Aspergilus strains

Abstract Astragalus membranaceus (AM) is an edible medicinal resource in Korea, which has been traditionally used for cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory and longevity effects. This study was conducted to investigate metabolic changes and anti-inflammatory effects of AM by fermentation. AM was fermented with three microorganisms of Aspergilus strains isolated from Nuruk at 30□ for 6 days (FAM). The metabolites changes in pre and post fermentation of AM were analyzed by LC-MS. The pro-inflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and nitric oxide (NO) were measured in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 cell line. As a result, the 28 identified metabolites in AM between pre and post fermentation process were detected in this study. The data revealed that the levels of sucrose and astraglaloside IV and calycosin decreased throughout the process while LPC and huangqiyenin B levels increased as expected and were the highest among the metabolites after the fermentation. The FAM reduced IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and NO production without cytotoxicity. The results suggest that the fermentation process with Aspergilus strains can increase the functional metabolites and control the inflammatory factors in FAM. We expect the biotransformation technique of flavonoids in Astragalus membranaceus Radix may be used in the field of a healthy food industry.

Analysis of taste, cordycepin, phenolic compounds, and water distribution of radio frequency heated Cordyceps militaris combined with electronic tongue and NMR

AbstractRadio frequency (RF) was applied to heat Cordyceps militaris for the purpose of quality evaluation and microorganism control. RF heating caused gradual temperature increases ranging from 59.6 to 63.8°C, resulting in good heating uniformity and uniform temperature distribution. Compared with conventional high pressure steam (HPS), RF heating resulted in significant (p &lt; .05) higher total phenolic, flavonoids, and cordycepin contents of C. militaris. In addition to higher reduction of total aerobic bacteria counts, bitterness taste value increased from 2.35 (unpasteurized) to 4.79 (HPS). Umami value significantly decreased from 13.58 (unpasteurized sample) to 12.13 (HPS treated sample). Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis showed that 20 min of RF significantly reduced the loss of water mobility than HPS. Principal component analysis of taste characteristics indicated distinct differences between RF and HPS treated samples. Hierarchical clustering analysis also revealed higher similarity between RF heated samples and the unpasteurized one.Practical applicationsCordyceps militaris is an edible and medicinal mushroom with high nutritional quality. Results of the present study indicate that radio frequency (RF) contributed to higher umami taste, higher retention of bioactive compounds, and higher water mobility of C. militaris. Therefore, this process can be used to develop a promising alternative to conventional thermal method for the processing of C. militaris. It is highly possible that RF could be applied to healthy food industries.