Sound could keep healthy foods longer naturally

Researchers at Penn State claim that a natural antioxidant found in grain bran could keep foods longer and replace the synthetic antioxidants currently used by the food industry.

"Currently, the food industry is seeking to replace synthetic ingredients with natural alternatives, which is driven by consumers," said Andrew S. Elder, Ph.D. candidate in Food Science.

"Consumers want clean labels, they want synthetic, chemically sound ingredients to be eliminated because they do not recognize them and some of them (the ingredients) have an alleged toxicity."

The researchers studied a class of compounds called alkylresorcinols (AR). Plants such as wheat, rye and barley naturally produce side effects to prevent the growth of mold, bacteria and other organisms on the grains.

The researchers wondered whether chemical agents could also preserve food in the same way from a chemical point of view.

In addition to using more natural ingredients, the food industry also complements more foods with healthy oils rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Adding these healthy oils to foods that do not normally contain them could enhance the health benefits of these foods for consumers. However, omega-3-rich oils have a shorter shelf life, which could result in faster deterioration of these foods.

"Most people eat omega-3s from marine sources," Elder said. "By decomposing, they can give the product a smell and a taste of fish. Consumers then discard these products and no longer buy them, resulting in economic loss. "

Antioxidants are compounds that slow down the rate of degradation of omega-3 fatty acids, thereby preserving their health benefits and preventing foods from spoiling so quickly.

While consumers are demanding more natural ingredients, the food industry is struggling to find natural antioxidants that are as effective as synthetic ones.

"There are not many natural alternatives for synthetic antioxidants," Elder said. "Our work is focused on identifying new natural antioxidants in order to extend the shelf life of foods and meet consumer demands."

Adverse drug reactions also have beneficial effects on human health and can contribute to cancer protection, according to a study published in European Food Research and Technology, making them ideal natural additives.

ARs also come from the layer of cereal plant bran that the food industry eliminates or usually uses for animal feed.

"The sound is often a waste stream," said Elder. "We take something that is usually thrown into a waste stream and turn it into something useful."

The team has developed a technique to extract and purify the adverse effects of rye bran, and to investigate the extent to which resistant agents can retain omega-3-rich oils in emulsions when two fluids are present. do not mix completely, for example vinegar and oil.

The researchers chose to study the action of RAs in emulsions because most people consume oils in the form of emulsions, such as salad dressings. The researchers reported their findings online in food chemistry.

The researchers found that antioxidants act as antioxidants in an emulsion, preventing omega-3 oils from spoiling as quickly as in non-antioxidant emulsions. They then compared the adverse effects to two antioxidants widely used in the food industry: alpha-tocopherol or vitamin E, a natural antioxidant; and butylated hydroxytoluene, a synthetic antioxidant. However, the side effects were not as effective as the natural or synthetic antioxidant.

Although the side effects did not work as well as other antioxidants in this series of experiments, the researchers noted that their side effects extracts were not completely pure, which could have reduced the effectiveness of these effects. In addition, researchers used a mixture of different ARs with different molecular structures. Future work on different types of RA will determine whether an individual RA type is more or less effective than conventional antioxidants.

"We are trying to identify natural antioxidants that are user-friendly, safe and effective for the consumer," said Elder. "We hope that one day, thanks to this work, the RAs will be available on the market and will offer more options to the food industry."

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the US Department of Agriculture funded this work.