Native to South America, the Sicana sp. fruits, known in Paraguay as “kurugua”, belongs to the Cucurbit family and is almost extinct in the region. The aim of this study was to determine the physicochemical characteristics, composition and antioxidant activity of “kurugua” with reddish peel color. The determinations were made by official and regional standardized methodologies on fresh weight (FW). The pulp has an alkaline pH (7.41 ± 0.11), and its main components are carbohydrates (9.44 ± 0.45 g·100 g⁻¹), followed by dietary fiber (1.74 ± 0, 04 g·100 g⁻¹), as minor proteins (0.53 ± 0.05 g·100 g⁻¹) and lipids (0.08 ± 0.01 g·100 g⁻¹). On the evaluated antioxidants compounds, they were higher in peel than in pulp as; total phenols (279.2 ± 12.1, 55.7 ± 10.3 mg of GAE·100 g⁻¹), Vitamin C (9.67 ± 0.09, 7.84 ± 1.71 mg·100 g⁻¹) and beta-carotene (0.37 ± 0.03, 0.19 ± 0.01 mg·100 g⁻¹), respectively. Fresh seeds have a high moisture content (38.8%), dietary fiber (40.2%) and lipids (11.74%), they mineral composition showed a high content of Mg and Ca and a high content of micronutrients such as Cu, Mn, Fe and Zn, which can represent a great contribution to the daily requirements of the diet. The red kurugua fruits are a natural source of nutritious and bioactive compounds beneficial to health, with multiple potential applications in foodstuff, which should be promoted in healthy dietary guidelines for the benefit of the populations. Full article

Sicana odorifera seeds, from an ancestral Cucurbita growing in Paraguay, possess important biowaste after fruit pulp use. However, there are reports that its infusions can reduce and cure the symptoms of viral diseases such as hepatitis, denoting its medicinal properties. The recovery of nutrients and bioactive molecules from its bio-residues has potential uses in the industrial sector with high added value as functional food ingredients. In S. odorifera species, although it is not a fruit for mass consumption, it is precisely the lack of a market for its biowaste that has limited its integral use. Based on this, the centesimal composition, oil characterization, and fatty acids profile of the kurugua seeds from two accessions (atropurpurea (black) and reddish) were studied. Kurugua seeds have been subjected to a cold extraction with a hydraulic press from dried whole seeds, and ISO and AOCS standard methods were used for analytical determinations. The major components in the centesimal composition of kurugua seeds were lipids, dietary fiber, and proteins. The oils presented iodine, saponification, and refractive indices characteristic of preferentially polyunsaturated oils. The major component in the fatty acid profile was linolenic acid, an important essential fatty acid in the diet. Although the characteristics of kurugua oil, demonstrate its potential application in the food industry as a polyunsaturated oil, source of essential fatty acids, future studies on stability and sensory analysis for food applications are suggested, with great possibilities for the food safety framework. Full article

Worldwide, around a third of loss and waste is generated at different stages of the food transformation chain, generating relevant economic, social, and environmental impacts, and increases in the water footprint, emission of greenhouse gases, pressure on the use of arable land, production costs, and decrease in the availability of food for the population. These reasons make imperative the implementation of strategies that minimize the generation of these losses. The Chilean “Technology Center for Food Innovation” (Centro Tecnológico para la Innovación Alimentaria—CeTA), aware of this problem, is contributing to the development of innovative products where materials that are considered waste or by-products from processes in the food, agriculture, cattle raising, and aquaculture industry are reused, or raw materials that do not meet commercial standards, taking advantage of their properties and bioactive compounds, turning them into value propositions that have circular economy components. Examples of these products developed in CeTA include soups, fruit purees, snacks, baked products, food ingredients, and breakfast cereals that contain valued raw materials such as barley bagasse, defatted coconut flour, fruit pomaces, discarded meats, quinoa grown in lagging areas of Chile, as well as stems, leaves, and fruit and vegetable peels, thus generating an environmental, economic, and social impact. Full article

Moringa oleifera is a foliated tree widely cultivated in tropical latitudes, which is highly adaptable to climatic conditions and dry soils. Every part of the plant has nutritional, therapeutic or industrial benefits. This is due to its phytochemicals such as glucosinolates, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, terpenoids and tannins, high values of crude protein, carbohydrates, starch and lipids. In addition, the use of the leaves has increased considerably by the agro-food and biochemical industries since they are a valuable source of dietary proteins and essential amino acids. This work aimed to characterize three types of leaf from Moringa oleifera seeds with different origins (Thai (C1), Ghana (C2) and India (C3)), grown in the same plot, but with different cultural practices (intended for leaf production (C1 and C2) or sheath production (C3). For this, water content and optical properties were determined in the fresh leaves. Later the leaves were dried (50 °C for 8 h) and pulverized, analyzing their water content, antioxidant capacity, color and amino acid content. No significant differences were observed in fresh leaves in terms of humidity and color. In dry powder, a higher antioxidant capacity was registered in moringa type C2, with a% DPPH inhibition of 83.7%, although in all cases, it exceeded 60%, showing the high persistence of the antioxidants after drying. Serine, glutamic acid and alanine were the major amino acids with values of 373 ± 78, 301 ± 51 and 248 ± 9 mg/100 g of powder, respectively, without influencing the applied field treatment or origin. Full article

Andean maize can be safely used in gluten-free bread formulation. Extrusion is a technology capable of promoting changes in the techno-functional properties of gluten-free flours, modifying their breadmaking properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of extrusion on the physical and physicochemical properties of Andean maize whole-grain flours (bolita race) and to determine the relationship between the changes to the textural properties of gluten-free dough and bread with the addition of extruded flours. The Andean maize whole-grain flours were extruded in a single-screw extruder. The moisture, temperature and screw speed were varied through an incomplete orthogonal design. The expansion degree of extruded products, the total soluble carbohydrates, and the gelatinization degree of the flours varied mainly with moisture and temperature extrusion. Flours with high, medium, and low degrees of gelatinization treatments were added at 20 % to native flours to make gluten-free dough and bread. The dough made with the addition of extruded flours increased their firmness and adhesiveness in relation to the control made with native flour alone. Bread made with extruded flours generally increased their hardness, gumminess, chewiness, and cohesiveness. Springiness only increased under conditions of high and low degrees of gelatinization. The dough made with extruded flour at the extruded condition of 100 °C-25%H-120 rpm, with the lowest degree of gelatinization, were the least firm and adhesive, which could lead to better dough machinability. Additionally, the bread made with this flour presented high cohesiveness and springiness. Full article

Food composition data have a fundamental function in studies on nutrition, health, and agriculture, among others. Many factors affect the nutrient content of food, and for this reason, it is essential to have updated and reliable data on the composition of the main foods consumed. The objective of this work was to develop a food composition database (FCDB) that compiles the composition of native foods of Latin America, mainly grains/seeds, tubers, and derivatives. An interdisciplinary work group of compilers was formed. A search of various sources was carried out (scientific publications, laboratory and technical reports, and theses), and a total of 78 publications were collected. For compilation, a form composed of eight worksheets was prepared. The initial sheet contains general data and food identification; the remaining ones contain information on the proximal composition, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. Each section has an evaluation of data quality, which determines whether it will be included in the FCDB or not. After an exhaustive analysis based on compliance with the minimum requirements previously established, 58 publications and laboratory reports were selected. The main reason for rejection was the lack of moisture information (60%), followed by low data quality (30%). Information is available on the composition of at least 26 grains and derived products (i.e., quinoa, amaranth, and kañiwa) and five tubers and roots (Andean potatoes and ocas), which are currently being uploaded to the website (http://insibio.org.ar, accessed on 16 December 2021) for user availability. This database will provide information on the composition of regional foods generated and compiled using international standards. Full article

Cold-pressed chia seed oils (ChO) are known for their health-promoting characteristics due to their high content of omega-3 α-linolenic acid (ω-3 ALA). We investigated the influence of ChO supplementation as a functional food on animal models of the cardiovascular risk factors hypercholesterolemia and metabolic syndrome (MS). Dietary intervention with ChO (equivalent to 4.8 g ALA per day) was found to improve vascular dysfunction and mitigate the rise in plasma triglyceride (TG) levels under hypercholesterolemic conditions. However, impaired glucose tolerance was found in control ChO-treated animals. In order to verify whether the effects of chia seed are the same as that of ChO, we replaced ChO with an equivalent amount of seed. Glucose intolerance was found once again. For this reason, we carried out a new study in which ChO intake was reduced to 3 g ALA per day, and no alterations were observed in such conditions. Thus, dietary intervention with ChO equivalent to 3 g ALA intake per day was chosen to analyze the effects on the alterations that characterize high-fat diet-induced MS. ChO supplementation lowered the ω-6/ω-3 ratio, TG, blood pressure and improved endothelial function. Nevertheless, ChO worsened the high-fat diet’s deleterious effects on visceral abdominal fat, fasting glucose and glucose tolerance. Our results support the view that dietary guidelines for treating patients with hypercholesterolemia or MS must be carefully planned in such a way that the incorporation of ChO into the diet should be controlled and nutritional background be considered. Full article

Small-scale food producers have been negatively impacted by the present pandemic and have been forced to use innovations with low-risk products as a means to increase sales. The object was to determine variations in the nutrient profile of peach jam with the introduction of amaranth or quinoa seeds, the latter having been rinsed beforehand to reduce saponin content. Three varieties of the jam were made, and these were subjected to a sensory evaluation by a panel of 30 untrained judges (consumers) and analysed to determine the variation in their composition as a result of the addition of the seeds. To the basic preparation, which consisted of peaches and sugar (PJ), 20% of quinoa seeds were added (QJ) at the bottling stage. To the third jam preparation, amaranth seeds were added in the same proportion (AJ). Official analytical techniques were used to determine their nutrient profile. The protein content increased from 0.23 g% (PJ) to 2.52 g% (QJ) and 3.38 g% (AJ). Total fat increased from 0.35 g% (PJ) to 0.74 g% (QJ) and 1.72 g% (AJ). Fibre increased from 2.13 g% (PJ) to 4.24 g% (QJ) and 2.86 g% (AJ). The incorporation of amaranth and quinoa improved protein profile, fibre and total fat intake and also resulted in a jam with a better nutrient profile, although there was only a slight reduction in carbohydrates, from 68 g% to 66 g%, after the seeds were added. Plum and apricot jam were also tested, and in all instances, the results were similar. Full article

A technology used to protect chia oil from lipid oxidation during processing and storage is microencapsulation. Thus, microcapsules containing chia oil could be applied as an ingredient to develop enriched foods with ω-3 fatty acids. The objective of this technology is to achieve high microencapsulation efficiency and provide greater oxidative stability to the chia oil. This work compares microcapsules obtained by different methods such as spray-drying and freeze-drying. To establish relationships between the microencapsulated chia oil using both methodologies and some of the characterization parameters studied, a multivariate analysis was carried out considering the microcapsules obtained from the parental emulsions with 10 or 15% w/w of chia oil, 10% w/w of lactose, and 10% w/w of sodium caseinate, whose aqueous phases were or not heat-treated at 60 or 100 °C, 30 min. The results show that the main components 1 (CP1) and 2 (CP2) explain 46.7 and 38.1% of the observed variability, respectively, totaling around 85%. The CP1 allowed separation of the microcapsules obtained by spray-drying from the freeze-drying ones, while the CP2 permitted to discriminate within the chia oil microencapsulated by freeze-drying, the systems whose aqueous phases were treated or not at 100 °C, 30 min from the rest of the microcapsules. The multivariate analysis made it possible to differentiate the microcapsules obtained by spray-drying and the freeze-drying ones. The former being associated with greater luminosity and microencapsulation efficiency, as well as a lower level of moisture content, water activity, and b* (blue-yellow component of the CIELab system) values. Full article

There is growing interest in the development of edible delivery systems to enrich, protect and release bioactive compounds within foods. Emulsion-based systems are a good strategy for this purpose. Considering that chia oil (high levels of omega-3 fatty acids) is very susceptible to lipid oxidation, conventional and bilayer O/W emulsions were studied as a function of refrigerated storage. Monolayer emulsions were stabilized with deoiled sunflower lecithin while, in the case of bilayer ones, chitosan was also added by applying the electrostatic deposition technique. Bilayer emulsions presented a monomodal droplet size distribution while a shoulder towards larger particle sizes appeared for the conventional systems. Some signs of destabilization by the creaming process were recorded for monolayer emulsions, instead of the high stability associated with the other ones. The presence of chitosan significantly affected the rheological characteristics of emulsions by increasing their viscosity and modifying their flow behavior. In terms of oxidative stability, bilayer emulsions recorded the lowest PV values during the refrigerated storage and represent a better protective system than other ones included in the bulk oil. Thus, bilayer emulsions are a suitable option for the delivery of chia omega-3 and other PUFAs, with potential application in the food industry. Full article

In sports nutrition, protein intake is essential to stimulate protein synthesis and repair muscle damage caused by exercise. The search for non-traditional protein sources has increased in recent years. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Wild) and broad beans (Vicia faba L.) grains could be used in the production of protein products. Broad beans are an introduced and widely expanded crop in South America; it is part of the Argentine Northwest Andean population diet. The aim of this work was to evaluate the functional and nutritional properties of hydrolyzed quinoa (HQF) and broad bean (HBF) flours for their use in the elaboration of protein foods for athletes. Both hydrolyzed flours were obtained using Flavourzyme at 50 °C and pH 8 for 3 and 1 h, respectively. HQF presented a higher degree of hydrolysis (21.79%), while HBF had higher protein content (57.31%), yield (32.14%), and protein recovery (71.31%). In HBF and HQF, Na and K were the most abundant minerals, both necessary for the replacement of electrolytes lost during physical training. HBF and HQF presented 5909.63 and 2708.91 mg/100 g of properties, respectively, and HQF presented higher emulsifying branched amino acids content, essential in sports nutrition. Regarding technological activity (61.30 m²/g), stability indexes (158.6 min), and foaming capacity (131%); HBF shows a wider range of solubility in function of pH, and good foaming stability (68–92%). These results indicate that HQF and HBF could be potential ingredients for athletes’ protein supplements formulation. Full article

Complex interactions between innate and adaptive immune effectors are an important component in the induction of obesity. Particularly, different subsets of myeloid cells play key roles in metabolic liver diseases and, therefore, are promising targets for intervention strategies. Chenopodium quinoa seeds constitute a good source of immunonutritional compounds, which help prevent high-fat, diet-enhanced innate immune signaling via TLR4/MyD88 that boosts inflammation. Herein, two metabolic mouse models—wild type (WT) and tributyltin treated (TBT)—were used to examine the effects associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); mice were fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) and administered with wheat or C. quinoa bread. Variations in myeloid cells were obtained from a hemogram analysis, and rt-qPCR (mRNA) served to evaluate macrophage markers (i.e., CD68/CD206 ratio) as well as liver inflammation (i.e., Lyve-1) to gain insights into their selective functional differentiation into metabolically injured livers. Only administration of C. quinoa bread prevented alterations in the liver/body weight ratio either in WT animals or those treated with TBT. These effects were associated with significantly increased variations in the peripheral myeloid cell population. Hepatic mRNA markers revealed that C. quinoa enables a selective functional differentiation and function of intrahepatic monocyte-derived macrophages preserving tissue integrity and function. Full article

Quinoa, kañiwa, kiwicha and tarwi are ancient native crops from the Andes highlands of South America. Due to their remarkably high nutritional value, they offer major promise as ingredients in various food products. The aims of this study were to determine the nutritional value of certain varieties of quinoa, kañiwa, kiwicha and tarwi and to use these grains to develop novel, nutritious prototypes of products such as a malted beverage, extruded porridge, gluten-free bread and culinary dishes. The proximate, mineral and phenolic compound contents were evaluated in the Andean grains and final products. Two gluten-free breads were prepared, one made with quinoa and another made with kañiwa. An instant porridge prototype for child nutrition was developed. It had a protein content of 16% and it could, therefore, be considered to be a source of protein. The protein had a high in vitro digestibility (96.3%) and the chemical score was 0.92. The malted beverage prepared with quinoa and kiwicha had a protein content of 7.7%, which represents a value of 1.5 to 2 times more protein than dairy milk. The quinoa-amaranth beverage developed in this study is an excellent locally grown alternative to commercially available plant-based beverages usually made with soy, almond or oat, all of which are imported into Peru. Quinoa, kañiwa, kiwicha and tarwi are innovative, nutritious and tasty alternatives for restaurants seeking new ingredients for their recipes. Full article