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Special Issue "Advances and Trends of Alternative Nutrients in Food"

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Dr. Roberta Cruz Silveira Thys
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Institute of Food Science and Technology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (ICTA-UFRGS). Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre 91501-970, RS, Brazil
Interests: edible insects; sourdough bread; gluten-free bread; pasta; cookies; gluten-free pasta; gluten-free cookies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite cultural and regulatory barriers, the demand for nutrients from alternative food sources is growing, mainly due to the current concerns about food security, climate change, and the sustainability of the global food system. The diversity of nutrients present in conventional and unconventional raw materials, or even residues from the food industry, combined with recent forms of extraction and application of these compounds in human food, make the subject an interesting and important research object. Some examples are the exploitation of insects, algae, fungi, and non-conventional plants, in addition to by-products of the conventional food industry and fermented foods. These resources are rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds and have a lower environmental impact compared to meat and dairy production. For this reason, a Special Issue entitled the Advances and Trends of Alternative Nutrients in Food is being released, focused on exploring new nutrient sources with potential for application in food products.

Dr. Roberta Cruz Silveira Thys
Guest Editor

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Keywords

plant-based protein
edible fungi
edible insects
fermented foods
algae-based products
meat substitutes
meat analogs
unconventional vegetables
by-products

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Research

16 pages, 344 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nutritional Value of Banded Cricket and Mealworm Larvae

Jagoda Kępińska-Pacelik

and

Foods 2023, 12(22), 4174; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12224174 - 20 Nov 2023

Viewed by 576

Abstract

Insect farming is more ecological than traditional animal farming, as it requires less water and contributes to lower greenhouse gas emissions. In our study, banded cricket (BC) and mealworm larvae (ML) were analyzed. The proximate composition was determined according to Association of Official Analytical Chemists. The mineral content was determined by colorimetry and mass spectrometry. Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were obtained from the samples and separated using a gas chromatography apparatus, coupled with a mass spectrometer. Our research confirmed that insects are a rich source of protein, with ML containing significantly more protein than BC (74.41 and 65.66 g/100 g dry matter (DM), respectively). In terms of the content of macrominerals, ML was significantly richer than BC, especially in terms of magnesium content (8.75 g/100 g DM). In terms of the content of saturated fatty acids, BC contained almost twice as much as ML (40.05 and 24.74% of the sum of fatty acids, respectively). EPA and DHA were only detected in the fat of BC. The presented results prove that both ML and BC can be good sources of protein both in human and companion animal diets. The component that is predominantly high in insects is fat, with a favorable fatty acid profile, especially in terms of polyunsaturated fatty acids. This study contributes new knowledge on the nutritional value of edible insects. In this research, we included three different nitrogen conversion factors for crude protein content. Our results partially confirm previous studies by other authors, although they provide new information on the content of fatty acids. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Trends of Alternative Nutrients in Food)

20 pages, 7237 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nutritional, Physico-Chemical, Phytochemical, and Rheological Characteristics of Composite Flour Substituted by Baobab Pulp Flour (Adansonia digitata L.) for Bread Making

and

Foods 2023, 12(14), 2697; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12142697 - 13 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 987

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to improve the nutritional quality of bakery products by replacing wheat flour (WF) with different proportions (10%, 20%, and 30%) of baobab flour (BF). The composite flours and bread obtained were evaluated from nutritional, physical-chemical, phytochemical, organoleptic, and rheological points of view. The results obtained show that BF is a rich source of minerals (K: 13,276.47 ± 174 mg/kg; Ca: 1570.67 ± 29.67 mg/kg; Mg: 1066.73 ± 9.97 mg/kg; Fe: 155.14 ± 2.95 mg/kg; Na: 143.19 ± 5.22 mg/kg; and Zn: 14.90 ± 0.01 mg/kg), lipids (1.56 ± 0.02 mg/100 g), and carbohydrates (76.34 ± 0. 06 mg/100 g) as well as for the phytochemical profile. In this regard, the maximum contents for the total polyphenols content (TPC) were recorded in the case of bread with 30% BF (297.63 ± 1.75 mg GAE/100 g), a total flavonoids content (TFC) of 208.06 ± 0.002 mg QE/100 g, and 66.72 ± 0.07% for antioxidant activity (AA). Regarding the physical-chemical, rheological, and organoleptic analysis, the bread sample with 10% BF (BWB1) was the best among the samples with different proportions of BF. It presented a smooth, porous appearance (73.50 ± 0.67% porosity) and an elastic core (85 ± 0.27% elasticity) with a volume of 155.04 ± 0.95 cm³/100 g. It had better water absorption (76.7%) than WF (55.8%), a stability of 5.82 min, and a zero-gluten index. The scores obtained by BWB1 for the organoleptic test were as follows: Appearance: 4.81; color: 4.85; texture: 4.78; taste: 4.56; flavor: 4.37; and overall acceptability: 4.7. This study shows that BF improved the nutritional quality of the product, organoleptic properties, α-amylase activity, viscosity, and phytochemical profile, resulting in composite flour suitable for the production of functional bread. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Trends of Alternative Nutrients in Food)

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