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- SousChef System for Personalized Meal Recommendations: A Validation StudyPublication . Ribeiro, David; Barbosa, Telmo; Ribeiro, Jorge; Sousa, Filipe; Vieira, Elsa F.; Silva, Marlos; Silva, AnaNutrition is an essential part of our life. A healthy diet can help to prevent several chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases, being influenced by social, cultural, and economic factors. Meal recommender systems are a trend to assist people in finding new recipes to cook and adopt healthier eating habits. However, food choice is complex and driven by multiple factors which need to be reflected in the personalization process of these systems to ensure their adoption. We present SousChef, a meal recommender system that can help to plan multiple meals considering an individual’s food preferences, restrictions, and nutritional needs. Our approach uses recipes rather than individual food items, limiting recommendations to tasteful and culturally acceptable food combinations. Several experiments were performed to evaluate the system from different perspectives: nutritional, food preferences, and restrictions, and the recommendations’ variability. Our results highlight the importance of using extensive and diverse content in recommendations to meet food preferences, restrictions, and nutritional needs of people with different characteristics.
- Development and Characterization of Functional Cookies Enriched with Chestnut Shells Extract as Source of Bioactive Phenolic CompoundsPublication . Pinto, Diana; Moreira, Manuela M.; Vieira, Elsa F.; Švarc-Gajić, Jaroslava; Vallverdú-Queralt, Anna; Brezo-Borjan, Tanja; Delerue-Matos, Cristina; Rodrigues, FranciscaChestnut (Castanea sativa) shells (CSs), an undervalued agro-industrial biowaste, have arisen as a source of bioactive compounds with promising health-promoting effects. This study attempted, for the first time, to develop a functional food, namely cookies, using a CS extract obtained by an eco-friendly technology (subcritical water extraction). The cookies were characterized regarding their nutritional composition, total phenolic and flavonoid contents (TPC and TFC, respectively), antioxidant/antiradical activities, phenolic profile, and sensory evaluation. The results demonstrated that the CS-extract-enriched cookies were mainly composed of carbohydrates (53.92% on dry weight (dw)), fat (32.62% dw), and fiber (5.15% dw). The phenolic profile outlined by HPLC-PDA revealed the presence of phenolic acids, flavonoids, and hydrolysable tannins, attesting to the high TPC and TFC. The in vitro antioxidant/antiradical effects proved the bioactivity of the functional cookies, while the sensory evaluation unveiled excellent scores on all attributes (≥6.25). The heatmap diagram corroborated strong correlations between the TPC and antioxidant/antiradical properties, predicting that the appreciated sensory attributes were closely correlated with high carbohydrates and phenolic compounds. This study encourages the sustainable recovery of antioxidants from CSs and their further employment as an active nutraceutical ingredient in functional cookies.
- Green-Sustainable Recovery of Phenolic and Antioxidant Compounds from Industrial Chestnut Shells Using Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction: Optimization and Evaluation of Biological Activities In VitroPublication . Lameirão, Fátima; Pinto, Diana; F. Vieira, Elsa; F. Peixoto, Andreia; Freire, Cristina; Sut, Stefania; Dall’Acqua, Stefano; Costa, Paulo; Delerue-Matos, Cristina; Rodrigues, FranciscaChestnut processing industry generates large amounts of by-products, including leaves, burs and shells that are a source of bioactive compounds. The purpose of this study was to establish an ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of phenolic and antioxidant compounds from industrial chestnut shells. A central composite design (CCD) was conducted to analyze the effects of time (4–46 min) and temperature (34–76 °C) in the antioxidant activity (2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP)) and total phenolic compounds (TPC) of chestnut shells extracts. The optimal extraction conditions were obtained at 70 °C for 40 min. The optimal extract was characterized regarding phenolic profile, radical scavenging capacity, and effects on intestinal and dermal cell lines. The optimal extract revealed high amounts of ellagic acid (40.4 µg/mg dw), followed by caffeic acid derivative (15.4 µg/mg dw) and epigallocatechin (15.3 µg/mg dw). Indeed, the extract exhibited the highest scavenging efficiencies against NO● (IC50 = 0.1 µg/mL) and HOCl (IC50 = 0.7 µg/mL) and did not conducted to a decrease on HaCaT and HFF-1 viability up to 100 μg/mL. Oppositely, a decrease on Caco-2 and HT29-MTX viability was observed. This study suggests that UAE could be a sustainable option to valorize chestnut shells as raw material for different industries.
- New insights of phytochemical profile and in vitro antioxidant and neuroprotective activities from optimized extract of Horned Melon fruitPublication . Vieira, Elsa F.; Podlasiak, Martyna; Moreira, Manuela M.; Grosso, Clara; Rodrigues, Francisca; Fernandes, Virgínia Cruz; Delerue-Matos, CristinaThis study aimed the optimization of antioxidant activity, total phenolic compounds (TPC) and total carotenoids of Horned Melon fruit submitted to maceration extraction, using ethanol as solvent. Optimization was performed by Box–Behnken design on three levels and three variables: extraction temperature (25 °C, 55 °C, and 85 °C), extraction time (0.5, 2.0, and 3.5 h) and ethanol concentration (10%, 50%, and 90%). The optimal conditions to improve the carotenoids extraction was 55 °C, 1.5 h and 86% ethanol, whereas the antiradical/antioxidant activity (ABTS and FRAP assays) and TPC were enhanced at 45 °C for 2.0 h and 40% ethanol. The optimal antioxidant extract was characterized regarding the phenolic composition and in vitro neuroprotective activities. The phenolic composition revealed the presence of high amounts of gallic acid (11.7 ± 0.6 mg/100 g dw) and protocatechuic acid (7.69 ± 0.38 mg/100 g dw). However, this extract presented a weak activity against Monoamine oxidase A (11.8 ± 2.3% inhibition at 2.7 mg/mL) and did not display anti-cholinesterase activity at the maximum concentration tested (1.3 mg/mL). Maceration was an efficient extraction technique to recover polyphenols and carotenoids from Horned Melon fruit. The optimized model can be very useful for food and pharmaceutical industries
- Formulation Strategies for Improving the Stability and Bioavailability of Vitamin D-Fortified Beverages: A ReviewPublication . Vieira, Elsa F.; Souza, SueneVitamin D is a lipophilic bioactive that plays an important role in bone health. Fortification of beverages, such as milk, fruit juices, teas, and vegetable drinks, could be an efficient strategy to prevent vitamin D deficiency and its associated effects on health. This review summarizes the current understanding of beverage fortification strategies with vitamin D and the resulting effects on the stability, bioaccessibility, and sensory properties of the formulated products. The direct addition technique has been the conventional approach to fortifying beverages. In addition, encapsulation has been pointed out as a desirable delivery approach to increase stability, preserve bioactivity, and enhance the absorption of vitamin D in beverage systems. The literature reports the potential applicability of several methods for encapsulating vitamin D in beverages, including spray drying, micro/nanoemulsions, nanostructured lipid carriers, liposomes, and complexation to polymers. Some of these delivery systems have been assessed regarding vitamin D stability, but there is a lack of kinetic data that allow for the prediction of its stability under industrial processing conditions. Moreover, in some cases, the applicability of some of these delivery systems to real beverages as well as the in vivo efficacy were not evaluated; thus, fortification strategies with a global outreach are lacking
- Valorization of Phenolic and Carotenoid Compounds of Sechium edule (Jacq. Swartz) Leaves: Comparison between Conventional, Ultrasound- and Microwave-Assisted Extraction ApproachesPublication . Vieira, Elsa F.; Souza, Suene; Moreira, Manuela M.; Cruz, Rebeca; Silva, Aline Boatto da; Casal, Susana; Delerue-Matos, CristinaChayote leaves are known for culinary and traditional medicine applications. This work intended to recover carotenoids and phenolic compounds from chayote leaves using the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). A Box–Behnken design was employed to investigate the impact of extraction time, temperature, and ultrasonic power on the recovery of total carotenoids, total phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activities. For comparative purposes, chayote leaf extracts were prepared by maceration (ME) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), using the same time and temperature conditions optimized by UAE. Extraction at 50 °C and 170 Watts for 30 min provided the optimal UAE conditions. UAE showed better extraction efficacy than ME and MAE. The HPLC analysis of the extracts showed that the xanthophyll class was the main class of carotenoids, which constituted 42–85% of the total carotenoid content, followed by β-carotene and tocopherol. Moreover, 26 compounds, classified as phenolic acids, flavonols, flavonoids and other polar compounds, were identified in the chayote leaf extracts. Flavonols accounted for 55% of the total compounds quantified (the major compound was myricetin) and phenolic acids represented around 35%, mostly represented by ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid and (+)-catechin. This study revealed the potential of UAE as an effective green extraction technique to recover bioactive compounds from chayote leaves, for food, and for pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications
- Development of New Canned Chub Mackerel Products Incorporating Edible Seaweeds—Influence on the Minerals and Trace Elements CompositionPublication . Vieira, Elsa F.; Soares, Cristina; Machado, Susana; Oliva-Teles, MT; Correia, Manuela; Ramalhosa, Maria João; Carvalho, A.; Domingues, Valentina; Antunes, Filipa; Morais, Simone; Delerue-Matos, CristinaThis study aimed to develop new canned chub mackerel products incorporating edible seaweeds (Ascophyllum nodosum, Fucus spiralis, Saccorhiza polyschides, Chondrus crispus, Porphyra sp. and Ulva sp.) harvested in the Portuguese North-Central coast, with simultaneous sensory improvement and minerals enrichment. Two processes were compared, namely the addition of seaweeds in i) the canning step and ii) in the brining step (as the replacement for salt). The concentrations of four macrominerals (Na, K, Ca and Mg), chloride, and twelve trace elements (Co, Cu, Fe, I, Li, Mn, Mo, Rb, Se, Sr, V and Zn) were determined by high-resolution continuum source flame atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS-FAAS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), respectively. Results showed that canned chub mackerel incorporating C. crispus and F. spiralis was found to be the preferred sensory option, also exhibiting contents enriched with Cl, Co, Cu, Fe, I, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Rb, Se, and Sr. This effect was more pronounced when both seaweed species were added to replace the salt added in the brining step.
- Vitamin d-fortified bread: Systematic review of fortification approaches and clinical studiesPublication . Souza, Suene V.S.; Borges, Nuno; Vieira, Elsa F.Vitamin d-fortified bread has been proposed as a strategy to increase the average daily intake and serum status of this nutrient. This review aimed to bring together the different types of scientific articles on vitamin d-fortified bread. The databases used for the research were PUBMED, WEB of SCIENCE and SCOPUS; all original indexed studies written in English, published between January 2000 and March 2021, were considered. Three important points were identified: i) theoretical models of fortification; ii) stability, bioaccessibility, and bioavailability studies of vitamin d-fortified breads; and iii) clinical effects of vitamin d-fortified breads. This review showed that vitamin d-fortified bread is a promising vehicle for fortification strategy effects, leading to increased serum concentrations of 25(OH)D and decreased parathyroid hormone. However, further studies are needed to elucidate the effects and effectiveness of this fortification strategy in the prevention/treatment of vitamin D deficiency.
- Reinforcement of starch film with Castanea sativa shells polysaccharides: Optimized formulation and characterizationPublication . Amaral, Leonardo; Rodrigues, Francisca; Silva, Aurora; Costa, Paulo; Delerue-Matos, Cristina; Vieira, Elsa F.Chestnut (Castanea sativa) shells, generated from the peeling process of the fruit, contains appreciable amounts of lignin and cellulose. In this work, a starch-based film reinforced with these polysaccharides was developed. Response Surface Methodology was employed to optimize the composition of the film with improved elongation, tensile strength, and elasticity modulus properties. The optimal film was characterized regarding structural, optical barrier and thermal properties. The optimum composition was obtained with 10% (w/w) fibers and 50% (w/w) glycerol; the elongation responses, tensile strength and modulus of elasticity reached values of 34.19%, 7.31 N and 4.15 N, respectively. The values of tension strength and modulus of elasticity were approximately 3.5 times higher than those obtained for the control film. The reinforced film was opaque and exhibited improved water solubility, UV-barrier capacity, and thermal stability compared to control. The optimized starch film based on chestnut shells fibers’ has the potential to produce biodegradable food packaging with improved properties.
- Chayote (Sechium edule): A review of nutritional composition, bioactivities and potential applicationsPublication . Vieira, Elsa F.; Pinho, Olívia; Ferreira, Isabel M.P.L.V.O.; Delerue-Matos, CristinaChayote (Sechium edule) has gained widespread consuming acceptance and recognized by its nutritional and bio-functional properties. The present review surveys and describes the current findings about the nutritional, phytochemical and pharmacological properties of chayote and identifies opportunities for further research. It also discusses chayote's versatile utility in nutrition, as a functional ingredient in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, as well as in nanotechnology and biotechnological processes. It was concluded that although the pharmacological properties of chayote are currently well-established, only a few reports have been conducted on the isolation and identification of individual chemical constituents, and similarly, only a few in vivo studies have been conducted to assess their biological efficacy. In addition, the valorisation of the underutilized chayote by-products can be an important aspect in waste management from both economic and environmental standpoints. Thus, the recovery and utilization of valuable compounds from chayote is an important challenge for scientists.