Browsing by Author "Gomes, Ana"
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- Advancing solar cooking: challenges, innovations, and future directionsPublication . Araújo, Ana C.; Gomes, Ana; Rodrigues, Pedro M.; Silva, Cristina L. M.
- Anti-hypertensive activity of horse mackerel pulverized with three different extracts from marine originPublication . Nova, Paulo; Cunha, Sara A.; Barros, Diana; Ramos, Carlos; Castro, Inês; Vaz-Velho, Manuela; Pintado, Manuela; Gomes, AnaHypertension is a serious risk factor and the most prevalent trigger to fatal cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and myocardial infarction. The marine environment is a unique source of molecules with biological activity such as antioxidant, anti-coagulant and anti-hypertensive activities. In this study, the anti-hypertensive activity of horse mackerel fillets (HMF) pulverized with each of the following marine extracts (derived from enzymatic hydrolysis) were determined: microalgae (Tetraselmis sp. incubated with subtilisin and cellulase), Mussel_Sub (Mytilus galloprovincialis minced and incubated with subtilisin protease) and Mussel_ Pro+Alc (Mytilus galloprovincialis boiled and incubated with Protamex and Alcalase). Horse mackerel fillets were evenly sprayed with each extract and frozen until subsequent analyses. Non-sprayed HMF were used as control. Aqueous extracts were prepared from HMF by sonication. Anti-hypertensive activity was determined by the angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity method. Data are presented in Table.1 as average±standard deviation of two replicates. Table 1. Anti-hypertensive activity of Horse Mackerel fillets sprayed with Extracts from Marine Origin. Horse mackerel fillet showed by itself an interesting anti-hypertensive profile. Notwithstanding, the tested marine-derived extracts effectively increased its biological potential(up to four-fold), with the best anti-hypertensive profile being achieved with microalgae and Mussel_Pro+Alc extracts. These extracts have an enormous potential to be used in the development of innovative food products that emphasize functionality, convenience, nutrition and health – goal of the project VALORMAR (POCI-024517-FEDER)(PPS1).
- Anti-hypertensive activity of horse mackerel pulverized with three different extracts from marine originPublication . Nova, Paulo; Cunha, Sara A.; Barros, Diana; Ramos, Carlos; Castro, Inês; Vaz-Velho, Manuela; Pintado, Manuela; Gomes, Ana
- Antibacterial activity of different water based seaweeds extracts against human pathogenic bacteriaPublication . Rodrigues, Dina; Pereira, Leonel; Rocha-Santos, Teresa A. P.; Freitas, Ana C.; Gomes, Ana; Duarte, Armando C.
- Antioxidant properties of sterilized yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) tuber flourPublication . Sousa, Sérgio; Pinto, Jorge; Rodrigues, César; Gião, Maria; Pereira, Cláudia; Tavaria, Freni; Malcata, F. Xavier; Gomes, Ana; Pacheco, M. T. Bertoldo; Pintado, ManuelaThe objective of this research work was to investigate the antioxidant properties of sterilized yacon tuber flour. The results revealed for the first time the high antioxidant activity of sterilized yacon flour. The best extract obtained by boiling 8.9% (w/v) of yacon flour in deionised water for 10 min exhibited a total antioxidant capacity of 222 ± 2 mg (ascorbic acid equivalent)/100 g DW and a total polyphenol content of 275 ± 3 mg (gallic acid equivalent)/100 g DW associated to the presence of four main phenolic compounds: chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, coumaric acid and protocatechuic acid, as well as the amino acid tryptophan. The most abundant was chlorogenic acid, followed by caffeic acid. Biological assays revealed that the extract had indeed antioxidant protection, and no pro-oxidant activity. In conclusion, sterilized yacon tuber flour has the potential to be used in the food industry as a food ingredient to produce functional food products.
- Bacterial diversity and probiotic activity in sole aquaculturePublication . Cunha, Sofia; Carvalho, Ana; Barros, Rui; Gomes, Ana; Manaia, C. M.
- Caracterização do teor em polifenóis e capacidade antioxidante de chocolates negro existentes no mercado PortuguêsPublication . Ribeiro, Vânia; Carvalho, Ana; Gomes, Ana
- Cereal bars functionalized through Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 and inulin incorporated in edible coatings of whey protein isolate or alginatePublication . Pereira, Joana Odila; Soares, José; Monteiro, Maria J. P.; Amaro, Ana; Gomes, Ana; Pintado, ManuelaCurrently, cereal bars are gaining interest globally because of their nutritionally balanced and convenient nature. One healthy strategy is to add probiotics to cereal bars, to make them a functional food product. So, in this study a cereal bar functionalized with edible coatings of whey protein isolate (WPI) and alginate (ALG) incorporated with Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 and inulin was developed and evaluated for its consumer acceptability and physicochemical and microbiological properties, throughout 90 days of storage. WPI-coated cereal bars were shown to be the solution that better maintained the level of the incorporated probiotic strain when compared to the ones coated with ALG, throughout storage and throughout in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. The physicochemical properties of the bars, namely aw, moisture content, color and texture, were not altered during the storage period. The sensory evaluation showed that coated bars were accepted as well as control bars. Moreover, the consumers appreciated better the odor and flavor of WPI-coated bars than those of ALG-coated bars.
- Characterization of edible films based on alginate or whey protein incorporated with Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 and prebioticsPublication . Pereira, Joana Odila; Soares, José; Costa, Eduardo; Silva, Sara; Gomes, Ana; Pintado, ManuelaRecently, edible films were shown to be an effective strategy for the delivery of functional ingredients, such as probiotics and prebiotics. With that in mind, two soluble fibres (inulin and fructooligosaccharides) were selected as prebiotic elements, in whey protein isolate (WPI) and alginate (ALG) matrices plasticized with glycerol and used for the incorporation of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12. The results obtained showed that the viability of the B. animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 probiotic strain was maintained within the minimum threshold (10(6) CFU/g) necessary to act as a probiotic throughout 60 days of storage at 23 degrees C. The incorporation of prebiotic compounds improved B. animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 viability, with inulin showing the best performance, as it maintained the viability at 7.34 log CFU/g. The compositional characteristics (biopolymer type and prebiotics addition) of the film forming solutions had no significant impact upon the viability of the probiotic strain. The incorporation of probiotics and prebiotics did not modify the infrared spectra, revealing that the molecular structure of the films was not modified. The moisture content and water solubility decreased positively in WPI- and ALG-based films with the addition of prebiotics compounds. Overall, the results obtained in this work support the use of WPI films containing inulin as a good strategy to immobilize B. animalis subsp. lactis BB-12, with potential applications in the development of functional foods.
- Chlorogenic acids composition and the impact of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on espresso coffee from single-dose capsulePublication . Vilas-Boas, Armando; Oliveira, Ana; Jesus, Diva; Rodrigues, Carla; Figueira, Cláudia; Gomes, Ana; Pintado, ManuelaThe single-dose coffee capsule is the most successful technology used to prepare espresso coffee (EC). However, the characterization of ECs extracted using this technology, regarding chlorogenic acids (CGAs) composition, antioxidant activity and stability during gastrointestinal digestion (GID), are still limited. The aim of this research work was: (i) to characterize the phenolic profile and antioxidant activity of 11 commercial ECs from single-dose capsule system and (ii) to evaluate the impact of the in vitro GID on the stability of CGAs. Within all the ECs analysed it was detected the presence of 4 caffeoylquinic acids (CQAs), 1 feruloylquinic acids, 2 caffeoylshikimic acids and 3 diCaffeoylquinic acids (di-CQAs). The major compound in all ECs was 5-CQA, followed by 4-CQA and 3-CQA. The di-CQAs were found in lower concentration than CQAs (4,5-diCQA > 3,4-diCQA > 3,5-diCQA). The total CQAs and diCQAs content of the ECs analyzed ranged from 1.86 ± 0.19 to 2.42 ± 0.28 and 0.26 ± 0.02 to 0.42 ± 0.06 mg/mL of EC, respectively. The high antioxidant activity of the ECs is related with the high CGAs concentration, which ranged from 4.92 ± 0.29 to 7.28 ± 0.25 mg AAE/mL of EC and from 6.13 ± 0.37 to 10.07 ± 0.17 mg TE/mL of EC for ABTS° and DPPH° methods, respectively. The principal component analysis showed that the coffee variety used in ECs preparation explained 74.8% of the results’ variation and that 6 of the total number of ECs were related with high CGAs contents and antioxidant activity. The GID induced a decrease in most CGAs, which had a direct impact on the antioxidant activity, therefore concerning EC ingestion the CGAs bioaccessible concentration decreased in comparison with a non-digested EC. Nevertheless, the CGAs concentration available after GID is still sufficiently high to exert antioxidant activity (measured in vitro) that may exert a potential beneficial effect on humans health.