Japanese researchers from the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine have recently found that green tea can be associated with a reduction in functional disability in people above 65 years old. In this study, functional disability is related to mental performance, heart disease and stroke, osteoporosis, depression and lower muscle strength. Researchers showed that functional disability can be reduced in 33% if drinking five cups of green tea, while consumption of only one to two cups of green tea presented a 10% reduction in disability.

Source:

- http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Research/Green-tea-may-reduce-functional-disability-risk-Study

There are two main questions that need to be asked when formulating the product. First, whether the concept is right or in other words, if the idea is a good one. Also, the product should have a good quality after production, which is achieved by a correct formulation in the first place. This implies dedicating some good time to shelf-life testing. In fact, most functional ingredients may suffer undesirable changes and the success of the functional food as such depends on the preservation of the active compounds. Therefore, the product must be launched only after it is known that the active substance will not loose or change its properties after certain time or conditions.

How do we choose the right base product? According to Crowell, inherently healthy food bases such as milk or bread should work better than those that are associated with poor health habits, such as a high-sugar or high-fat food. In addition, the functional ingredient should be somehow connected to the base, so that the combination of both products seems reasonable to the consumers. For example, calcium enriched orange juice contains food ingredients that may be easily related to breakfast and so it would seem fine to have calcium enriched orange juice for breakfast.

Indulging treats are also an example of how different base products can affect the success of a certain functional food: even though cookies and ice-creams are not the considered to be healthy food products, cookies may be seen as healthier than butter-fat containing ice-creams and so may work better as base products for functional treats.

Another important tip is to keep the formulation simple. Crowell suggests avoiding the use of multiple functional ingredients and also using mainstream base products that consumers are familiar to instead of using new sophisticated ones.

Finally, when getting to packaging and labeling stages, be aware that making too many claims about an ingredient or a functional food may not be a good idea. Too many functional benefits may be not relevant for the product and consumers may even not believe in it.

Source:
- http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/What-makes-a-successful-functional-food-product/?c=mWyVGQyLDCGfMVhaS2iSqg%3D%3D&utm_source=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BWeekly

Scientists from the University of Florida have recently found that pomegranate ellagitannins bind with gelatin to form self-assembled nanoparticles. These bioactive food components encapsulated in nanoparticles may have increased bioavailability and bioactivities.

The study carried out by this group of researchers showed that only punicalagin forms could bind with the gelatin to form nanoparticles, and that self-assembly between ellagitannins and gelatin was due to hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions.

In addition, when the pomegranate-gelatin nanoparticles were submitted to testing against leukemia cells HL-60, it was seen that they were less effective at inducing programmed cell death of the cancer cells, compared to free pomegranate punicalagins that were delivered as a solution. This fact suggests the future application of pomegranate nanoparticles as an anti-cancer agent.

Source:

- http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Nano-pomegranate-shows-anti-cancer-potential

The conversion from ALA to these omega-3 PUFAs involves enzymes such as desaturases and elongases. The conversion rate is small, since only between 8 and 20% of ALA is converted to EPA and between 0.5 and 9% to DHA. This is why it is strongly recommended to obtain EPA and DHA from dietary fish and fish oils and so, people who do not eat fish or fish oil may be at risk of having low levels of these PUFAs.

However, a recent study conducted by researchers from the University of East Anglia in England, showed that blood levels of EPA and DHA in vegans and vegetarians were similar to those of regular fish-eaters. The results suggested that despite vegans and vegetarians had lower intakes of omega-3 compared to fish-eaters, their plasma levels of DHA and EPA were similar to the levels of fish-eaters, showing only a slight decrease in the non-fish-eating levels.

These results may be explained by an increased conversion of the plant-derived ALA to omega-3 PUFAs that takes place when non-fish-eaters do not consume the recommended levels of EPA and DHA through a fish-rich diet.

In conclusion, it was observed than even though there were large differences in the dietary intake of omega-3 PUFAs, the differences in plasma were smaller than what was expected, suggesting that the best conversion rates were found in non-DHA and EPA consumers.

Source:

- “Dietary intake and status of n–3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in a population of fish-eating and non-fish-eating meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans and the precursor-product ratio of {alpha}-linolenic acid to long-chain n–3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: results from the EPIC-Norfolk cohort1,2,3. A.A. Welch, S. Shakya-Shrestha, M.A.H. Lentjes, N.J. Wareham, K-T. Khaw. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November 2010, Volume 92, Number 5, Pages 1040-1051, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2010.29457.

The essential alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is the precursor molecule of the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). ALA is an essential nutrient since humans do not have the biochemical pathways required to synthesize it. On the other hand, linoleic acid (LA) is the precursor of arachidonic acid (AA), an omega-6 PUFA. At the same time, these omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are the precursors of a family of eicosanoids that mediate the beneficial effects conferred by these PUFAs.

LA and ALA compete for the same elongase and desaturase enzymes in a slow desaturation-elongation enzymatic process, which leads to the formation of EPA, DHA and also AA. Because of the dietary excess of LA, there is a greater formation of AA compared to omega-3 fatty acids, and thus human conversion from ALA to EPA and DHA is relatively inefficient. This is why these omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential and must be obtained from dietary sources or supplements. In fact, the ingestion of fish or fish oil provides directly omega-3 PUFAs, and this way the competition for enzymes in the conversion pathway is avoided.

Sources:

- Colussi,L.; Catena,C.; Baroselli,S.; Nadalini,E.; Lapenna,R.; Chiuch,A.; Sechi,L.A. Omega-3 fatty acids: from biochemistry to their clinical use in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Recent Patents on Cardiovascular Drug Discovery 2007, (2): 1.13-21.  1574-8901.

- http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/othernuts/omega3fa/

Caseins comprise about 80% of cow-milk proteins and consist of four main proteins: α_s1-, α_s2-, β- and κ-casein. Caseins are excellent natural vehicles since their biological function is to transport calcium, protein and phosphate from the mother to the neonate. In fact, caseins have a very strong tendency to associate into colloidal particles known as micelles and it was this special feature that inspired the idea of entrapping hydrophobic molecules in casein micelles.

DHA-loaded reassembled-casein micelles were formed according to a method developed previously in this same laboratory, which included the addition of calcium and phosphate. At a 1:1 (caseinate:DHA) molar ratio, stable nanoparticles presented a particle size of 50-60 nm.

A different process was also investigated, where calcium and phosphate were not added, which led to the formation of 90 and 300 nm particles. This system conferred excellent protection to DHA against its degradation.

In conclusion, this research suggested that nanovehicles made of milk proteins, possibly with the addition of polysaccharides, present an innovative technology to enrich non- or low-fat clear beverages with hydrophobic functional ingredients such as DHA, an omega-3 compound of growing relevance in human nutritional needs.

Source:

- P. Zimet, D. Rosenberg , Y.D. Livney. Assembled Casein Micelles and Casein Nanoparticles as Nano-Vehicles for ω-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids. Food Hydrocolloids.

Flavonoids

Flavonoids are a broad class of low molecular weight, secondary plant phenolics characterized by the flavan nucleus. In plants, these compounds protect against ultraviolet radiation, pathogens, and herbivores. Most of the beneficial health effects of flavonoids are attributed to their antioxidant and chelating abilities. Antioxidant activity confers a positive role to flavonoids regarding human nutrition and disease prevention.

Flavonoids are benzo-γ-pyrone derivatives consisting of phenolic and pyrane rings. In food, flavonoids exist primarily as 3-O-glycosides and polymers, differing in the arrangements of hydroxyl, methoxy, and glycosidic side groups, and in the conjugation between the A- and B-rings.

Dietary flavonoids can be classified according to their structure in flavanols, flavones, flavonols, flavanones, isoflavones and anthocyanidins. In fact, the antioxidant activity of flavonoids and their metabolites depends on the arrangement of functional groups about the nuclear structure.

The Trolox equivalent antioxidant activity value (TEAC value) reflects the antioxidant capability of a compound: higher TEAC values imply higher antioxidant capability. Quercetin, is a flavonol found in mate tea, shows one of the highest TEAC values of 4.7. Quercetin is usually found in lettuce, broccoli, onion, tomato, tea, red wine, berries, olive oil and apple skin.

Other flavonoids can also be found in mate, namely rutin and myricetin. Rutin is a flavone with a TEAC value of 2.4 and is also present in red wine, buckwheat, citrus and tomato skin. Myricetin is a flavonol found in cranberry, grapes and red wine and has a TEAC value of 3.1. However, it has been reported that multiple hydroxyl groups may also present a pro-oxidant activity and it has been suggested that this may intensify oxidative stress and damage to functional and structural cellular molecules.

Caffeoyl derivatives

Another class of phenolic compounds arehydroxycinnamic acids, found in almost every plant. The major representative of hydroxycinnamic acids is caffeic acid, which occurs in foods mainly as an ester with quinic acid called chlorogenic acid (5-caffeoylquinic acid).

The caffeoyl derivatives found in mate include caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid and 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid.

In conclusion, when compared to other beverages, Ilex paraguariensis extracts, as usually brewed and drunk in South America, have the highest concentration of polyphenols, followed by red wines and green tea.

Sources:

- Heim,K.E.; Tagliaferro,A.R.; Bobilya,D.J. Flavonoid antioxidants: chemistry, metabolism and structure-activity relationships. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry 2002, (13): 10.572-584.  0955-2863.

- Filip,R.; Lotito,S.B.; Ferraro,G.; Fraga,C.G. Antioxidant activity of Ilex paraguariensis and related species. Nutrition Research (New York) 2000, (20): 10.1437-1446.  0271-5317.

- Heck,C.I.; de Mejia,E.G. Yerba Mate Tea (Ilex paraguariensis): A Comprehensive Review on Chemistry, Health Implications, and Technological Considerations. Journal of Food Science 2000.

- Carini,M.; Facino,R.M.; Aldini,G.; Calloni,M.; Colombo,L. Characterization of phenolic antioxidants from mate (Ilex paraguayensis) by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 1998, (12): 22.1813-1819.  0951-4198.

- Bravo,L.; Goya,L.; Lecumberri,E. LC/MS characterization of phenolic constituents of mate (Ilex paraguariensis, St. Hil.) and its antioxidant activity compared to commonly consumed beverages. Food Research International40): 3.393-405.  0963-9969. 2007, (

- Cardozo,E.L., Jr.; Ferrarese-Filho,O.; Cardozo Filho,L.; Ferrarese,M.d.L.L.; Donaduzzi,C.M.; Sturion,J.A. Methylxanthines and phenolic compounds in mate (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil.) progenies grown in Brazil. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 2007, (20): 7.553-558.  0889-1575.

- Olthof,M.R.; Hollman,P.C.H.; Katan,M.B. Chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid are absorbed in humans. Journal of Nutrition 2001, (131): 1.66-71.  0022-3166.

- Bixby,M.; Spieler,L.; Menini,T.; Gugliucci,A. Ilex paraguariensis extracts are potent inhibitors of nitrosative stress: A comparative study with green tea and wines using a protein nitration model and mammalian cell cytotoxicity. Life Sci. 2005, (77): 3.345-358.  0024-3205.

- Mazzafera,P. Mate drinking: caffeine and phenolic acid intake. Food Chemistry 1997, (60): 1.67-71.  0308-8146.

Several active phytochemicals have been identified in mate that may be responsible for its reported health benefits, such as polyphenols, xanthines, saponins, amino acids, minerals and vitamins.

Polyphenolic compounds are usually referred to as a diverse group of naturally occurring compounds, commonly found in higher plants, which contain multiple phenolic functionalities. The major polyphenols in mate tea are flavonoids and caffeoyl derivatives.

In addition, xanthines such as caffeine, theophylline and theobromine have also been found in yerba mate. Xanthines are a class of purine alkaloids found in many different plants, which confer stimulant and diuretic effects.  Among the xanthines found in yerba mate, caffeine is present in the highest concentration.

Apart from the above mentioned components, the leaves of Ilex paraguariensis also contain a significant amount of triterpenoid saponins. Saponins are bitter and highly-soluble compounds which are believed to be partially responsible for the taste and also for the foaming observed in the mate. Some of the therapeutic properties of mate, such as its potential anti-inflammatory and hypocholesterolemic uses, may be attributed to the presence of saponins.

Lastly, several minerals have been also been identified in mate, such as aluminium, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, potassium and zinc, which are in fact of particular importance in human metabolism and development.

Sources:

-Heck,C.I.; de Mejia,E.G. Yerba Mate Tea (Ilex paraguariensis): A Comprehensive Review on Chemistry, Health Implications, and Technological Considerations. Journal of Food Science 2000.

-Dellacassa,E.; Cesio,V.; Vázquez,A.; Echeverry,S.; Soule,S.; Menéndez,P.; Ferreira,F.; Heinzen,H. Yerba mate: history, uses and properties. Asociación de Química y Farmacia del Uruguay 2007.

-Mazzafera,P. Mate drinking: caffeine and phenolic acid intake. Food Chemistry 1997, (60): 1.67-71. 0308- 8146.

-Cardozo,E.L., Jr.; Ferrarese-Filho,O.; Cardozo Filho,L.; Ferrarese,M.d.L.L.; Donaduzzi,C.M.; Sturion,J.A. Methylxanthines and phenolic compounds in mate (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil.) progenies grown in Brazil. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 2007, (20): 7.553-558. 0889-1575.

-Athayde,M.L.; Coelho,G.C.; Schenkel,E.P. Caffeine and theobromine in epicuticular wax of Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil. Phytochemistry 2000, (55): 7.853-857. 0031-9422.

-Gnoatto,S.C.B.; Schenkel,E.P.; Bassani,V.L. HPLC method to assay total saponins in Ilex paraguariensis aqueous extract. Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society 2005, (16): 4.723-726. 0103-5053.

-Martinet,A.; Ndjoko,K.; Terreaux,C.; Marston,A.; Hostettmann,K.; Schutz,Y. NMR and LC-MSn characterisation of two minor saponins from Ilex paraguariensis. Phytochemical Analysis 2001, (12): 1.48-52. 0958-0344.

-Kraemer,K.H.; Taketa,A.T.C.; Schenkel,E.P.; Gosmann,G.; Dominique,G. Matesaponin 5, a highly polar saponin from Ilex paraguariensis. Phytochemistry 1996, (42): 4.1119-1122. 0031-9422.

In fact, a recent study presented by the University of Tennessee suggests that whey protein microemulsions may lead to the production of clear beverages. What is more, these particles showed improved stability to heat treatments that may be part of the processing of beverages. The nanoscale particles were formed by incorporation of whey protein solutions in water/oil microemulsion.

Whey proteins have been always been a secondary product of the diary industry and its disposal has been an issue in the manufacture of dairy products. However, apart from the recent growth of the whey-based drinks industry, several studies have revealed lately the potential use of whey proteins for delivery of nutraceuticals and this could bring a major change in the dairy industry.

Source:

- Weinong Zhang, Qixin Zhong. Microemulsions as nanoreactors to produce whey protein nanoparticles with enhanced heat stability by thermal pretreatment. Food Chemistry Volume 119, Issue 4, Pages 1318-1325.

The overall goal of a research study carried out at the Israel Institute of Technology, was to develop stable nanovehicles that would solubilize, protect and possibly improve the bioavailability of DHA. For enrichment of clear, acid, aqueous foodstuffs with hydrophobic DHA, a system comprised of  β-Lactoglobulin (β-Lg) and low methoxyl pectin was designed.

Beta-Lg is a small whey protein that can bind certain hydrophobic molecules. The ability of binding DHA to β-Lg was researched on this study, and in fact it provided the first evidence for the spontaneous binding (K_b= (6.75±1.38)*10⁵ M^-1) of DHA to β-Lg.

Following this, dispersions containing entrapped DHA within β-Lg and pectin were formed. Generally, attractive biopolymer interactions may occur between positively charged proteins (pH<pI) and anionic polysaccharides. By adding an excess of low methoxyl pectin to DHA-loaded β-Lg, negatively charged particles were formed at pH=4.5, containing ~167 times higher DHA concentration than the surrounding serum. This enabled the formation of nanoparticle dispersions, which upon dilution, formed transparent solutions with 0.05% β-Lg and DHA at a 1:2 (β Lg:DHA) molar ratio. These nanoparticles presented a very good colloidal stability (zeta potential below -50mV) and had an average particle size of ~100nm.

Finally, a stress test was performed in order to assess the protection conferred by these nanocomplexes to the entrapped DHA against its oxidation. During this accelerated shelf-life test, only 5-10% DHA were lost when nanoencapsulated, compared to about 80% loss of unprotected DHA.

In conclusion, the results of this study present a new way to nanoencapsulate long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, useful for omega-3 enrichment of clear acid drinks.

Source:

- P. Zimet, Y.D. Livney. Beta-lactoglobulin and its nanocomplexes with pectin as vehicles for ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Food Hydrocolloids Volume 23, Issue 4, pages 1120-1126.