Search Results (51)

Fatty fish, such as mackerel (Scomber scombrus), are recommended as part of a healthy diet, providing essential fatty acids (FA). Fried fish is appreciated for its attributes, including a crispy texture, golden crust, and pleasant taste. However, frying increases the fat content and the caloric value of food. This study evaluated the use of pre-frying edible coatings on mackerel fillets aiming to: (i) reduce oil absorption, (ii) minimize water loss, preserving fish succulence, and (iii) prevent fat oxidation. For this purpose, alginate- and carrageenan-based coatings were supplemented with extracts of Pelvetia canaliculata (Pc), a seaweed with high potential as a source of bioactive compounds. The fried fillets were analysed for colour, texture, moisture, ash, lipid content, and FA profile. No significant differences were observed for colour and textural parameters. Fillets coated with Pc-supplemented carrageenan showed the highest moisture (an increase of 3%) and the lowest fat content (a decrease of 7,5%) compared to the control (fried uncoated fillets). Coated fillets also exhibited reduced saturated FA and increased monounsaturated FA. In general, linoleic acid (C18:2) decreased markedly, while the values for docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6, n-3) remained stable (11–12% of total FA). Moreover, the n3/n6 ratio and atherogenic indices (AI) were improved in the coated fillets. Full article

Thermal-processed foods like baked, smoked, and fried products are popular for their unique aroma, taste, and color. However, thermal processing can generate various contaminants via Maillard reaction, lipid oxidation, and thermal degradation, negatively impacting human health. This review summarizes the formation pathways, influencing factors, and tracing approaches of potential hazards in thermally processed foods, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs), furan, acrylamide (AA), trans fatty acids (TFAs), advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), sterol oxide. The formation pathways are explored through understanding high free radical activity and multiple active intermediates. Control patterns are uncovered by adjusting processing conditions and food composition and adding antioxidants, aiming to inhibit hazards and enhance the safety of thermal-processed foods. Full article

Background/Objectives: Unhealthy nutritional behaviors and excess body weight constitute a serious challenge for public health in children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine changes in body mass index (BMI), body fat mass (FM), and nutritional behaviors in the same group of children during a 4-year observation between 10 and 14 years of age including the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: BMI and FM using bioelectrical impedance were assessed. To assess nutritional behavior, a questionnaire on eating behavior was used. The study was carried out in a group of 250 children, starting from the age of 10 and finishing at the age of 14. The measurements were collected in the years 2017 and 2021. The results were compared and analyzed. Results: Excessive BMI (overweight and obesity) was more often found in girls (28.29%) than boys (23.63%), while normal body weight was more often found in boys (65.76%) than girls (60.96%). Between the initial and final assessments, the percentage of children with normal body mass decreased from 65.65% to 61.07%. Excessive BMI (overweight and obesity) increased from 27.09% to 29.50% in girls, and from 21.26% to 26.00% in boys. The mean percentage of FM was higher in girls than boys (23.17% vs. 16.20%, respectively). The mean FM decreased from 17.80% to 14.60% in boys and increased from 21.77% to 24.57% in girls. Poor nutritional behaviors were observed in 20.35% of children, more often in boys (22.25%) than in girls (18.50%). Between the initial and final assessments, an increase in the mean consumption of fruit, whole-grain bread, and milk was noted. These were products that should be consumed more often to demonstrate a healthy diet. However, the consumption of products that should be limited for a healthy diet, such as fried flour dishes, fried meat dishes, fatty cheeses, butter, fast food, sweets, and carbonated drinks, also increased. Boys more often than girls consumed red meat and poultry meat, eggs, butter, and fast food, while girls more often than boys consumed fruit, vegetables, yogurts, cottage cheese, wholemeal bread, fruit, and sweets. Conclusions: Children usually showed moderate nutritional behavior. After four years, there was a significant increase in the consumption of fruit and whole-grain bread, i.e., products that should be consumed as part of a healthy diet, as well as fried flour and meat dishes, fatty cheeses, butter, fast food, and sweets, i.e., products whose consumption should be limited. With age, the percentage of children showing unfavorable nutritional behaviors and excessive body weight increased. More extreme levels of overweight and obesity and higher body fat contents were found in girls than boys. Although girls’ nutritional behaviors were healthier, they were at a higher risk of excessive body weight. Increased promotion of a healthy diet and regular monitoring of body fat content in school-aged children is strongly recommended. Full article

Background: The growing consumption of snack foods such as chips driving demand for healthier, more nutritious alternatives. This study investigated the effect of frying temperature on oil absorption, oil binding capacity, and fatty acid composition of fish-based snacks made from a 1:1 ratio of tapioca starch and carp meat obtained after the separation of the remains of its industrial filleting. Methods: The snacks were deep-fried at 160 °C, 170 °C, and 180 °C, and analyzed for expansion, oil absorption, oil binding capacity, fatty acid profiles, and nutritional indices. Oxidation levels and free fatty acids were also measured, ensuring compliance with legal limits. Results: Deep-frying at 180 °C resulted in significantly higher snack expansion (95.20%) than the 50% expansion observed at 160 °C and 170 °C. However, snacks deep-fried at 180 °C absorbed the most oil (29.07%) and exhibited the lowest oil binding capacity (8.84%), whereas deep-frying at 160 °C and 170 °C led to oil binding capacities of 15.83% and 18.58%, respectively. Fatty acid profiles also showed temperature-dependent changes, with increased oil absorption reducing omega-3 to omega-6 ratios. Importantly, deep-frying for 45 s at all temperatures did not lead to excessive oxidation or free fatty acid levels beyond regulatory thresholds. Nutritional indices of the deep-fried product were comparable to those of vegetable oils, while before deep-frying, they resembled those of seafood products like shellfish and seaweed. Conclusions: While higher frying temperatures improve the texture and expansion of fish-based snacks, they also increase oil absorption and reduce oil binding. Based on these findings, deep-frying at 180 °C was suggested as the optimal condition to balance product texture, oil absorption, and nutritional quality, making the snacks a healthier alternative to conventional deep-fried products. Full article

This review provides an overview of the main vegetable oils of different botanical origin and composition that can be used for frying worldwide (olive and extra-virgin olive oil, high-oleic sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil and coconut oil) and their degradation during this process. It is well known that during this culinary technique, oil’s major and minor components degrade throughout different reactions, mainly thermoxidation, polymerization and, to a lesser extent, hydrolysis. If severe high temperatures are employed, isomerization to trans fatty acyl chains and cyclization are also possible. The factors conditioning frying medium degradation are addressed, including oil composition (unsaturation degree, fatty acyl chain length and “free” fatty acid content, and presence of beneficial and detrimental minor components), together with frying conditions and food characteristics. Likewise, this review also tackles how the frying oil and other processing conditions may impact on fried food quality (oil absorption, texture, flavor and color). Finally, potential health implications of fried food consumption are briefly reviewed. Full article

Excessive consumption of vegetable oils such as soybean and canolla oils containing ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids is considered one of the most important epidemiological factors leading to the progression of lifestyle-related diseases. However, the underlying mechanism of vegetable-oil-induced organ damage is incompletely elucidated. Since proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the hypothalamus are related to the control of appetite and energy expenditure, their cell degeneration/death is crucial for the occurrence of obesity. In patients with metabolic syndrome, saturated fatty acids, especially palmitate, are used as an energy source. Since abundant reactive oxygen species are produced during β-oxidation of the palmitate in mitochondria, an increased amount of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) is endogenously generated from linoleic acids constituting cardiolipin of the inner membranes. Further, due to the daily intake of deep-fried foods and/or high-fat diets cooked using vegetable oils, exogenous 4-HNE being generated via lipid peroxidation during heating is incorporated into the blood. By binding with atheromatous and/or senile plaques, 4-HNE inactivates proteins via forming hybrid covalent chemical addition compounds and causes cellular dysfunction and tissue damage by the specific oxidation carbonylation. 4-HNE overstimulates G-protein-coupled receptors to induce abnormal Ca²⁺ mobilization and µ-calpain activation. This endogenous and exogenous 4-HNE synergically causes POMC neuronal degeneration/death and obesity. Then, the resultant metabolic disorder facilitates degeneration/death of hippocampal neurons, pancreatic β-cells, and hepatocytes. Hsp70.1 is a molecular chaperone which is crucial for both protein quality control and the stabilization of lysosomal limiting membranes. Focusing on the monkey hippocampus after ischemia, previously we formulated the ‘calpain–cathepsin hypothesis’, i.e., that calpain-mediated cleavage of carbonylated Hsp70.1 is a trigger of programmed neuronal death. This review aims to report that in diverse organs, lysosomal cell degeneration/death occurs via the calpain–cathepsin cascade after the consecutive injections of synthetic 4-HNE in monkeys. Presumably, 4-HNE is a root substance of lysosomal cell death for lifestyle-related diseases. Full article

During defatted Tenebrio molitor (TM) larvae powder production, oil is obtained as a by-product, mainly intended for feed enrichment or as a biofuel component. In 2021, EFSA authorized TM as the first insect to be a novel food. Thus, the study aimed to assess the composition, including fatty acids (FAs), tocopherols, carotenoids, phenolics, volatiles, antioxidant capacity, sensory aroma attributes, physical properties, and oxidative and hydrolytic stability of TM oil. The FAs profile was dominated by oleic—C18:19c (36.8%) and linoleic—C18:29c12c (32,4%) acids, resulting in a PUFA/SFA ratio similar to vegetable oils. Thus, TM oil was characterized by a beneficial Health Promoting Index (HPI) (2.42), which was 10-fold higher than the HPI of common animal fats. TM oil contained bioactive compounds such as carotenoids (13.65 mg/kg), tocopherols (105.8 mg/kg), and phenolic compounds (74 mg GAE/kg). A noticeable amount of apigenin was also noted among nine detected phenolic compounds. The substantial presence of lipophilic and phenolic compounds contributed to antioxidative potential. Sensory estimation revealed the dominance of fried and nutty aromas, probably because of the abundance of Strecker aldehydes and pyrazines in their volatile profile. The results indicated that the technological process needs modification to limit the formation of lipid oxidation volatile compounds such as aldehydes and eliminate some differences between batches. This preliminary study on the composition and properties of TM oil encourages its use as an ingredient for food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics purposes. Full article

(1) Background: Prediabetes represents reversible glycemic abnormalities between normal glucose regulation and diabetes. Indonesia has a high burden of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes. This study aims to evaluate the impact of lifestyle changes on prediabetes and diabetes in rural and urban populations. (2) Methods: This is a repeated cross-sectional study, and data were obtained from Basic Health Research (RISKESDAS) in 2013 and 2018. (3) Results: The study found that urban populations who ate >3 days/week of vegetables had a lower proportion of prediabetes and diabetes. Rural populations with 2 days/week of vegetable consumption had a higher risk of prediabetes in 2018. From 2013 to 2018, urban and rural populations consumed excessive amounts of sweet food/drink, salty food, fatty/cholesterol/fried food, and meat/chicken/fish-based food with preservatives. In 2018, urban and rural populations who consumed sweet food/drink more than once daily had a higher risk of prediabetes and diabetes. The prevalence of active physical activity declined in normoglycemic individuals, while it increased in prediabetes and diabetes in urban and rural areas. In 2013, physical activity was a protective factor for prediabetes. (4) Conclusions: Lifestyle changes impacted prediabetes and diabetes prevalence. Further research is needed to promote healthy diets and lifestyle modifications. Full article

The global market for potato and corn chips is rapidly expanding due to the modern fast-paced lifestyle. However, the high fat content, especially saturated fats in these deep-fried snacks, poses significant health risks such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, and diabetes. In this study, fatty acid profiles of commercially available corn and potato chips are analyzed and their impacts on consumer preferences in Turkey is examined. The findings reveal notable differences in the nutritional content between potato and corn chips, with potato chips generally having higher fat and protein content. The survey results indicate that consumer preferences are significantly influenced by age, education level, and occupation. The factor analysis identified three main components affecting purchasing decisions: nutritional value and additives, hygiene and brand quality, and price and affordability. Considering these insights, manufacturers should be encouraged to reformulate their products to meet the increasing demand for healthier options, emphasize food safety standards, and balance product quality with affordability to appeal to a broader range of consumers. Full article

The quality of fried products greatly depends on the changes occurring during frying. The purpose of this work was to study the lipid quality changes taking place in selected frozen foods after domestic deep-frying. Conventional, high-linoleic sunflower oil (HLSO) and high-oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) were used, and the frozen foods selected were French fries, croquettes, and nuggets. The foods were fried in domestic fryers under discontinuous conditions. Analyses included fatty acid composition, sterols, tocopherols, squalene, and lipid alteration levels. In all fried foods, the content of lipids increased after frying, which is consistent with previous findings. However, the lipid exchange between the food and the oil greatly depended on the food characteristics. Specifically, the levels of frying oil in the food lipids were about 90, 40, and 58% for French fries, croquettes, and nuggets, respectively. The main results obtained showed that lipid alteration levels considerably decreased and amounts of sterols and tocopherols significantly increased in French fries’ lipids after frying. In both chicken products, croquettes and nuggets, the best quality improvement observed was a significant decrease in cholesterol in food lipids due to the lipid exchange. Overall, frying with HLSO and HOSO improved the quality and nutritional properties of all products tested. Full article

Cold-pressed oils are rich sources of bioactive substances, which may protect triacylglycerols from degradation during frying. Nevertheless, these substances may decompose under high temperature. This work considers the content of bioactive substances in blends and their changes during high-temperature heating. Blends of refined rapeseed oil with 5% or 25% in one of three cold-pressed oils (rapeseed, coriander and apricot) were heated at 170 or 200 °C in a thin layer on a pan. All non-heated blends and cold-pressed oils were tested for fatty acid profile, content and composition of phytosterols, tocochromanols, chlorophyll and radical scavenging activity (RSA) analyzed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) assays. Moreover, the stability of phytosterols, tocochromanols, DPPH and ABTS values was determined in heated blends. All tocochromanols were lost during the heating process, in particular, at 200 °C. However, there were some differences between homologues. α-Tocopherol and δ-tocopherol were the most thermolabile and the most stable, respectively. Phytosterols were characterized by very high stability at both temperatures. We observed relationships between ABTS and DPPH values and contents of total tocochromanols and α-tocopherol. The obtained results may be useful in designing a new type of fried food with improved health properties and it may be the basis for further research on this topic. Full article

Background: Disorders of gut–brain interaction are chronic or recurrent symptoms originating in the gastrointestinal tract that cannot be substantiated by the results of standard clinical tests, such as radiologic studies, morphologies, or endoscopic examination. The diagnosis of these disorders is mainly based on symptoms and the standardized Rome IV criteria. These criteria classify functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract according to anatomical location and define each disorder according to a set of symptoms. Methods: This study was conducted between October 2021 and February 2022. Participants in the study were patients of a gastroenterology outpatient clinic with a functional disease diagnosed by a gastroenterologist. A questionnaire was used to conduct the study, with questions regarding perceived functional discomforts of the gastrointestinal tract, dietary changes to alleviate discomforts, and frequency of consumption of various food groups. Results: Based on the study, statistical significance was demonstrated between the gender of the respondents and the severity of gastrointestinal complaints after the consumption of legumes and alcohol. The analysis performed confirmed the correlation between the age of the respondents and the severity of complaints when consuming raw vegetables and fruits, brassica vegetables, legumes, fried products, and spicy products. There was also a significant correlation between the body mass index (BMI) of the respondents and the severity of complaints after alcohol consumption. Conclusions: The results identify abdominal pain, bloating, and constipation as the most commonly reported gastrointestinal symptoms among participants. The association between the consumption of certain foods, such as milk and dairy products, as well as fried and fatty foods, and the severity of disorders of gut–brain interaction symptoms was confirmed. Despite this, the majority of respondents did not eliminate any food products to alleviate the discomfort. Full article

Background and objectives: Fish should be an important part of a properly balanced diet because of their nutritional value. Sprats and sardines are rich sources of protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially n-3, and other nutrients. Unfortunately, fish consumption is too low among almost all European countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of sprats and sardines subjected to thermal treatment: boiling, steaming, baking, and frying. Materials and methods: Samples of sprats and sardines were purchased from markets selling sea food. Based on the distributor information, the sprats were caught in the Baltic Sea and the sardines were caught in the Mediterranean Sea. After removing the inedible parts and washing the fish, the fish were cooked, steamed, baked, or fried. Thus, the prepared samples were freeze-dried. Next, a methanolic extract was prepared for an antioxidant activity analysis. The antioxidant activity was measured using the ABTS•+, DPPH as well as FRAP methods. Data were statistically evaluated using a two-way factorial analysis of variance (MNOVA), and Scheffe’s post hoc analyses with a significance level of α = 0.05. Results: The higher antioxidant activity measured with the ABTS method was determined in raw sprats as compared to thermally treated both types of fish. The highest antioxidant activity measured with the ABTS method was found in the steamed and baked sprats as compared to other samples of fish. The fried and baked sardines had the highest antioxidant activity measured via the FRAP method. The raw sprats and the raw and fried sardines had the highest antioxidant activity measured with the DPPH method. Discussion: Based on these obtained results, it can be suggested that generally, sprats have better antioxidant activity than sardines. This can be explained by the different living conditions that affect the content of various antioxidant compounds. Furthermore, the type of thermal treatment used for the sprats and sardines can strongly affect their antioxidant activity. Using traditional cooking methods that cause compounds soluble in water to be removed from food products can also affect the antioxidant activity of fish. Steaming and baking are processes in which the antioxidant activity became higher. Full article

Background: Vegan diets have recently gained popularity in Switzerland and abroad. A method to evaluate the diet quality of the vegan population for research and clinical practice is currently not available. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to develop a diet quality score for vegans (DQS-V) based on the Swiss dietary recommendations for vegans. Methods: The dataset included 52 healthy vegan adults. Dietary intake data were assessed using three-day weighed food records. Body weight and height were measured, and a venous blood sample for the analysis of vitamin and mineral status was collected. Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used due to the presence of not-normally distributed data. Dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis (PCA). Results: The DQS-V score (mean ± SD) was 48.9 ± 14.7. Most vegans adhered to the recommended portions of vegetables, vitamin C-rich vegetables, fruits, omega 3-rich nuts, fats and oils, and iodised salt. However, the intake of green leafy vegetables, vitamin C-rich fruits, wholegrains, legumes, nuts and seeds, selenium-rich nuts, zero caloric liquid, and calcium-fortified foods was suboptimal. The intake of sweet-, salty-, fried foods and alcohol was higher than reccomended. The DQS-V had a significantly positive correlation with intakes of fibre, polyunsaturated fatty acids, potassium, zinc, and phosphorus (p’s < 0.05) but was negatively correlated with vitamin B12 and niacin intakes (p’s < 0.05). Two dietary patterns were derived from PCA: (1) refined grains and sweets and (2) wholegrains and nuts. The correlation between the DQS-V and the first dietary pattern was negative (−0.41, p = 0.004), but positive for the second dietary pattern (0.37, p = 0.01). The dietary pattern of refined grains and sweets was inversely correlated with the beta-carotene status (−0.41, p = 0.004) and the vitamin C status (r = −0.51, p = 0.0002). Conclusion: The newly developed DQS-V, based on the Swiss dietary recommendations for vegans, provides a single score for estimating the diet quality among vegan adults. Further validation studies examining the correlation of DQS-V with an independent dietary assessment method and with the biomarkers of nutritional intake and status are still needed before the general use of the DQS-V score. Full article

Oil oxidation products can react with food substrates to produce harmful substances, and oil saturation is closely related to oil oxidation in the process of frying. Therefore, the influence of the composition of fatty acids in oil on the formation of harmful substances in fried pork balls was explored. The five frying oils with the lowest unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) content, ranked in ascending order, were palm oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, corn oil, and colza oil (64.94%, 79.94%, 82.65%, 83.07%, and 92.26%, respectively). The overall levels of four harmful substances (acrylamide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic amines, and trans fatty acids) found in the oil used to fry pork balls followed a descending order: canola oil, corn oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, and palm oil (33.66 μg/kg, 27.17 μg/kg, 23.45 μg/kg, 18.67 μg/kg, and 13.19 μg/kg, respectively). This order was generally consistent with the trend in the content of UFAs. Therefore, the formation of harmful substances is closely related to the saturation of oil. Compared with other frying oils, soybean oil as a household oil produces relatively low amounts of harmful substances and has less negative impact on the quality (oil content, moisture content, and higher protein digestibility) of fried products. Full article