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Innovative Food Processing Technologies: Molecular Mechanism and Applications

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 14231

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Innovative Food Physical Processing Technology, School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Interests: innovative food physical processing technologies; microwave-assisted technology; IR processing technology; spectral and imaging technologies; multispectral for food quality and safety; biological functional materials in antibacterial applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Lab of Innovative Food Physical Processing Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Interests: rapid detection of food quality and safety; aggregation-induced emission-based sensors; spectral imaging technology; microwave-assisted technology in food processing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is entitled “Innovative Food Processing Technologies: Molecular Mechanisms and Applications”, and the deadline is 31 December 2021. The food industry is an increasingly competitive and dynamic arena, with consumers more aware of what they eat and, more importantly, what they want to eat. In order to deliver higher quality and better consumer-targeted food products and to improve or replace the conventional processing technologies, a number of innovative technologies—also referred to as ‘emerging’ or ‘novel’ technologies—have been proposed, investigated, developed and, in some cases, commercialized. This Special Issue aims to publish high-quality contributions on new developments in innovative food processing technologies for extraction, separation, component modification, and process intensification as well as for making foods safe, extending their shelf-life and retaining more fresh-like sensory and nutritional attributes. The described work should be innovative in its approach and/or in the methods used with advancement of current scientific knowledge and high technical relevance.

Dr. Junhu Cheng
Dr. Ji Ma
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • process-structure-function relationships at macro-, micro-, or nanoscale
  • food science-molecular nutrition interaction
  • nutrition and health food manufacturing
  • harmful microorganism inactivation and disinfection
  • hazardous materials, such as mycotoxins, and pesticide reduction
  • food storage and preservation
  • food quality and safety monitoring
  • thermal/non-thermal innovative food processing technologies

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1829 KiB  
Article
Responses of Issatchenkia terricola WJL-G4 upon Citric Acid Stress
by Xinyi Liu, Ying Tang, Weiyu Ning, Yihong Bao, Ting Luo and Jinling Wang
Molecules 2022, 27(9), 2664; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27092664 - 21 Apr 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1775
Abstract
This study aimed to elucidate the responses of a novel characterized Issatchenkia terricola WJL-G4 against citric acid stress by performing physiological analysis, morphology observation, and structural and membrane fatty acid composition analysis. The results showed that under citric acid stress, the cell vitality [...] Read more.
This study aimed to elucidate the responses of a novel characterized Issatchenkia terricola WJL-G4 against citric acid stress by performing physiological analysis, morphology observation, and structural and membrane fatty acid composition analysis. The results showed that under citric acid stress, the cell vitality of I. terricola WJL-G4 was reduced. The cell morphology changed with the unclear, uncompleted and thinner cell wall, and degraded the cell structure. When the citric acid concentration was 20 g/L, I. terricola WJL-G4 could tolerate citric acid and maintain the cell structure by increasing the intracellular pH, superoxide dismutase activity, and contents of unsaturated fatty acids. As the citric acid concentration was ≥80 g/L, the stress has exceeded the cellular anti-stress ability, causing substantial cell damage. The cell membrane permeability, the content of membrane lipids, malondialdehyde and superoxide anion increased, but the intracellular pH and superoxide dismutase activities decreased, accompanying the increase of citric acid concentrations. The findings of this work provided a theoretical basis for the responsive mechanism of I. terricola WJL-G4 under high concentrations of citric acid, and can serve as a reference for biological acid reduction in fruit processing. Full article
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14 pages, 3135 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the Effects of Cold Plasma on Cell Membrane Lipids and Oxidative Injury of Salmonella typhimurium
by Xiaoye Lv and Jun-Hu Cheng
Molecules 2022, 27(3), 640; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27030640 - 19 Jan 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2075
Abstract
Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium) is a major causative agent of foodborne illness worldwide. Cold plasma (CP) was used to inactivate S. typhimurium and to investigate the effect of CP on cell membrane lipids and oxidative injury of cells. Results indicated that the [...] Read more.
Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium) is a major causative agent of foodborne illness worldwide. Cold plasma (CP) was used to inactivate S. typhimurium and to investigate the effect of CP on cell membrane lipids and oxidative injury of cells. Results indicated that the inactivation effect of CP on S. typhimurium was positively correlated with the treatment time and voltage. S. typhimurium was undetectable (total number of surviving colonies <2 log CFU/mL) after 5 min treatment with the voltage of 50 V. CP treatment caused damage to the cell membrane of S. typhimurium and the leakage of cell contents, and the relative content of unsaturated fatty acids in cell membrane decreased. Cell membrane lipids were oxidized; the malondialdehyde content increased from 0.219 nmol/mL to 0.658 nmol/mL; the catalase activity of S. typhimurium solution increased from 751 U/mL to 2542 U/mL; and the total superoxide dismutase activity increased from 3.076 U/mL to 4.54 U/mL, which confirmed the oxidative damage in S. typhimurium cell membrane caused by CP treatment. It was demonstrated that the potential application of plasma-mediated reactive oxygen species is suitable for destroying the structures of the cell membrane and ensuring the microbial safety of fresh food samples. Full article
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12 pages, 1245 KiB  
Article
High Hydrostatic Pressure Treatment of Oysters (Crassostrea gigas)—Impact on Physicochemical Properties, Texture Parameters, and Volatile Flavor Compounds
by Yuyang Ma, Runfang Wang, Tietao Zhang, Yunsheng Xu, Suisui Jiang and Yuanhui Zhao
Molecules 2021, 26(19), 5731; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26195731 - 22 Sep 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2661
Abstract
High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment is a non-thermal processing technology, which is widely used in the food processing field at present. In this study, the effects of HHP treatment (100~500 MPa for 5 min) on the physicochemical properties, texture parameters, and volatile flavor [...] Read more.
High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment is a non-thermal processing technology, which is widely used in the food processing field at present. In this study, the effects of HHP treatment (100~500 MPa for 5 min) on the physicochemical properties, texture parameters, and volatile flavor compounds of oysters were investigated. The results showed that HHP treatment increased the water content while reducing the crude protein and ash content of the oyster. Texture parameters showed that HHP treatment improved the hardness, springiness, chewiness, and cohesiveness of oysters, compared with the control group. In addition, the saturated fatty acid (SFA) content was slightly increased after HHP treatment, while the difference in monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content was not significant. Furthermore, HHP increased hexenoic aldehyde, 2,4-heptadienal, 1-octene-3-ol, and 2-octen-1-ol and decreased the contents of 3. 6-nadien-1-ol, 3-octanone, and 2-undecanone, suggesting that HHP might inhibit the fishiness of oyster and showed a positive effect on its flavor. Based on the above results, HHP improved the edible qualities such as texture properties and volatile flavor of oysters. This meets the requirements of consumers on the edible quality of seafood and provides new ideas for the development of seafood. Full article
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13 pages, 2628 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Different Methods for Extracting the Astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis: Chemical Composition and Biological Activity
by Yicheng Tan, Zhang Ye, Mansheng Wang, Muhammad Faisal Manzoor, Rana Muhammad Aadil, Xinghe Tan and Zhiwei Liu
Molecules 2021, 26(12), 3569; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26123569 - 11 Jun 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4046
Abstract
In this study, the impact of different cell disruption techniques (high-pressure micro fluidization (HPMF), ionic liquids (ILs), multi-enzyme (ME), and hydrochloric acid (HCl)) on the chemical composition and biological activity of astaxanthin (AST) obtained from Haematococcus pluvialis was investigated. Results indicated that all [...] Read more.
In this study, the impact of different cell disruption techniques (high-pressure micro fluidization (HPMF), ionic liquids (ILs), multi-enzyme (ME), and hydrochloric acid (HCl)) on the chemical composition and biological activity of astaxanthin (AST) obtained from Haematococcus pluvialis was investigated. Results indicated that all cell disruption techniques had a significant effect on AST composition, which were confirmed by TLC and UPC2 analysis. AST recovery from HCl (HCl-AST) and ILs (ILs-AST) cell disruption techniques was dominant by free and monoesters AST, while AST recovery from HPMF (HPMF-AST) and ME (ME-AST) cell disruption techniques was composed of monoesters, diesters, and free AST. Further biological activity analysis displayed that HCl-AST showed the highest ABTS and DPPH activity, while ILs-AST showed better results against the ORAC assay. Additionally, ILs-AST exhibits a stronger anti-proliferation of HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner, which was ascribed to AST-induced ROS in to inhibit the proliferative of cancer cells. Full article
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9 pages, 2767 KiB  
Article
Inactivation and Membrane Damage Mechanism of Slightly Acidic Electrolyzed Water on Pseudomonas deceptionensis CM2
by Xiao Liu, Mingli Zhang, Xi Meng, Xiangli He, Weidong Zhao, Yongji Liu and Yu He
Molecules 2021, 26(4), 1012; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26041012 - 14 Feb 2021
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 2333
Abstract
Pseudomonas is considered as the specific spoilage bacteria in meat and meat products. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the inactivation efficiency and mechanisms of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) against Pseudomonas deceptionensis CM2, a strain isolated from spoiling chicken breast. [...] Read more.
Pseudomonas is considered as the specific spoilage bacteria in meat and meat products. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the inactivation efficiency and mechanisms of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) against Pseudomonas deceptionensis CM2, a strain isolated from spoiling chicken breast. SAEW caused time-dependent inactivation of P. deceptionensis CM2 cells. After exposure to SAEW (pH 5.9, oxidation–reduction potential of 945 mV, and 64 mg/L of available chlorine concentration) for 60 s, the bacterial populations were reduced by 5.14 log reduction from the initial load of 10.2 log10 CFU/mL. Morphological changes in P. deceptionensis CM2 cells were clearly observed through field emission-scanning electron microscopy as a consequence of SAEW treatment. SAEW treatment also resulted in significant increases in the extracellular proteins and nucleic acids, and the fluorescence intensities of propidium iodide and n-phenyl-1-napthylamine in P. deceptionensis CM2 cells, suggesting the disruption of cytoplasmic and outer membrane integrity. These findings show that SAEW is a promising antimicrobial agent. Full article
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