THE USE OF EOS NANOEMULSION TO DEVELOP ACTIVE EDIBLE FILMS OFFERS A NEW WAY TO MODIFY TRANSPORT PROPERTIES AND TO RELEASE ACTIVE COMPOUNDS WHILE IMPROVING MECHANICAL RESISTANCE, TRANSPARENCY, AND ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO STUDY THE INFLUENCE OF HOMOGENIZATION CONDITIONS AND CARVACROL CONTENT ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF EDIBLE NANOEMULSIFIED CHITOSAN FILMS. FILM-FORMING EMULSIONS (FFE) WERE PREPARED WITH CHITOSAN (1.5%), TWEEN 80 (0.5%), AND CARVACROL (0.25%, 0.5%, AND 1.0%); TWO HOMOGENIZATION METHODS WERE USED (ROTOR-STATOR AND ROTOR-STATOR FOLLOWED BY HIGH-PRESSURE HOMOGENIZATION). FILM INTERNAL AND SURFACE MICROSTRUCTURE WAS CHARACTERIZED BY SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (SEM) AND FILM PHYSICAL PROPERTIES, SUCH AS MECHANICAL, OPTICAL, AND WATER BARRIER, WERE EVALUATED. RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE HIGH-PRESSURE HOMOGENIZATION METHOD PROMOTED A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE ON FILM MICROSTRUCTURE, LEADING TO IMPROVED PROPERTIES. CARVACROL DROPLETS WERE SMALLER AND HOMOGENEOUSLY DISTRIBUTED IN THE FILM WHEN 0.5% (V/V) CARVACROL WAS INCORPORATED (1:1 TWEEN 80: CARVACROL RATIO). AS A CONSEQUENCE, EMULSIFIED FILMS OBTAINED AT HIGH PRESSURE WERE LESS OPAQUE, HAD GREATER ELONGATION, AND HAD A LOWER PERMEABILITY TO WATER VAPOR THAN THOSE OBTAINED BY THE ROTOR-STATOR METHOD. THEREFORE, HIGH-PRESSURE HOMOGENIZATION IS A GOOD METHOD TO OBTAIN EDIBLE EMULSIFIED FILMS WITH DESIRABLE PROPERTIES FOR FOOD PRESERVATION.

THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF FRESH MUSHROOMS HAS EXPERIENCED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN RECENT DECADES. THIS TREND HAS BEEN DRIVEN MAINLY BY THEIR NUTRITIONAL VALUE AND BY THE PRESENCE OF BIOACTIVE AND NUTRACEUTICAL COMPONENTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH HEALTH BENEFITS, WHICH HAS LED SOME TO CONSIDER THEM A FUNCTIONAL FOOD. MUSHROOMS REPRESENT AN ATTRACTIVE FOOD FOR VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN CONSUMERS DUE TO THEIR HIGH CONTENTS OF HIGH-BIOLOGICAL-VALUE PROTEINS AND VITAMIN D. HOWEVER, DUE TO THEIR HIGH RESPIRATORY RATE, HIGH WATER CONTENT, AND LACK OF A CUTICULAR STRUCTURE, MUSHROOMS RAPIDLY LOSE QUALITY AND HAVE A SHORT SHELF LIFE AFTER HARVEST, WHICH LIMITS THEIR COMMERCIALIZATION IN THE FRESH STATE. SEVERAL TRADITIONAL PRESERVATION METHODS ARE USED TO MAINTAIN THEIR QUALITY AND EXTEND THEIR SHELF LIFE. THIS ARTICLE REVIEWS SOME PRESERVATION METHODS THAT ARE COMMONLY USED TO PRESERVE FRESH MUSHROOMS AND PROMISING NEW PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES, HIGHLIGHTING THE USE OF NEW PACKAGING SYSTEMS AND REGULATIONS AIMED AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING.

AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY METHOD FOR THE RELEASE OF COCOA BEAN SHELL (CBS) EXTRACTS IS PROPOSED IN THIS PAPER. THIS WORK AIMS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF PULSED ELECTRIC FIELD (PEF) PRE-TREATMENT ON SUBSEQUENT SOLID-LIQUID EXTRACTION (SLE) OF METABOLITES WITH CHOLINE CHLORIDE-LACTIC ACID NATURAL DEEP EUTECTIC SOLVENT (NADES) AND BIOACTIVITY OF COCOA BEAN SHELL (CBS) EXTRACT. TWO DIFFERENT MEDIA FOR PEF APPLICATION WERE EVALUATED: WATER AND CHLORINE CHLORIDE-LACTIC ACID. TOTAL POLYPHENOLS (TPC), TOTAL FLAVONOIDS (TFC), INDIVIDUAL MAJOR COMPOUNDS, AND ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF CBS EXTRACTS WERE ASSESSED. THE PERFORMANCE OF PEF-ASSISTED EXTRACTION WAS COMPARED WITH SLE AND ULTRASOUND-ASSISTED EXTRACTION (UAE). THE PROPOSED METHOD IMPROVED THE RELEASE OF TPC UP TO 45% AND TFC UP TO 48% COMPARED WITH THE CONVENTIONAL EXTRACTION. THE CBS EXTRACT SHOWED MEDIUM GROWTH INHIBITION OF ESCHERICHIA COLI AND HIGH GROWTH INHIBITION OF SALMONELLA SP, LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES, AND STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS. THUS, AN EXTRACT WITH ENHANCED ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES WAS OBTAINED.

CURCUMIN IS A STRONG NATURAL ANTIOXIDANT COMPOUND, BUT ITS USE AS A NUTRACEUTICAL INGREDIENT IS LIMITED DUE TO ITS LOW WATER SOLUBILITY AND POOR CHEMICAL STABILITY. THIS STUDY AIMS TO ELUCIDATE THE KEY COLLOIDAL ASPECTS DETERMINING THE PHYSICAL STABILITY AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF EMULSIFIED CURCUMIN, SPECIFICALLY FOCUSING ON THE EFFECT OF THE INTERFACIAL STRUCTURE OF CURCUMIN MULTILAYER EMULSIONS. CURCUMIN DISSOLVED IN COCONUT OIL WAS ENCAPSULATED IN MULTILAYER EMULSIONS PREPARED BY LAYER-BY-LAYER (LBL) DEPOSITION USING GELATIN (PRIMARY EMULSION), GUM ARABIC (SECONDARY EMULSION) AND TANNIC ACID (TERTIARY EMULSION) AS WALL MATERIALS. THE PRIMARY EMULSION EXHIBITED STABILITY AT HIGHER GELATIN CONCENTRATIONS (?0.5% W/V) DUE TO THE DROPLETS WERE COMPLETELY COATED BY THE BIOPOLYMER (MEAN DIAMETER, 377 NM). THE SECONDARY EMULSION WAS STABLE ONLY AT LOW GUM ARABIC CONCENTRATIONS (01% W/V, MEAN DIAMETER, 412 NM). THE TERTIARY EMULSION WAS MORE STABLE AT AN INTERMEDIATE CONCENTRATION OF TANNIC ACID (0.0004% W/V, MEAN DIAMETER, 470 NM). THE ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF EMULSIFIED CURCUMIN WAS WELL PRESERVED DURING EXPOSURE TO LIGHT FOR 6 DAYS, WHILE IT SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN FREE CURCUMIN BEGINNING FROM DAY 0. IN CONCLUSION, THE CONTROL AND MODULATION OF THE INTERFACIAL LAYER PROPERTIES SEEM TO PLAY A KEY ROLE IN REGULATING THE PHYSICAL STABILITY AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF EMULSIFIED CURCUMIN.

AN EFFECTIVE ENCAPSULATION SYSTEM IS NECESSARY TO PROTECT LACTOBACILLUS CASEI AGAINST HARSH CONDITIONS DURING FOOD PROCESSING AND GASTROINTESTINAL PASSAGE. IN THIS STUDY, L. CASEI WAS ENCAPSULATED BY DOUBLE EMULSION COATED WITH AN OUTER LAYER OF CROSS-LINKED ALGINATE; THE EFFECT ON ITS VIABILITY AFTER FREEZE DRYING, THERMAL TREATMENT, IN VITRO DIGESTION, AND DURING STORAGE WAS EVALUATED. THE INTERFACIAL STRUCTURE OF THE MICROCAPSULES PRODUCED BY THE FORMATION OF DOUBLE EMULSION AND ALGINATE COATING IMPROVED THE PROTECTIVE FUNCTION OF L. CASEI UNDER STRESS CONDITIONS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE ALGINATE OUTER LAYER WAS SUBJECTED TO IONIC GELATION. MICROENCAPSULATED L. CASEI ACHIEVED 97.3% ENCAPSULATION EFFICIENCY AND 98% SURVIVAL RATE AFTER THE FREEZE?DRYING PROCESS, WHILE MAINTAINING COUNTS ABOVE 107 CFU/G AT 50 AND 70 °C FOR 20 MIN. THE MICROCAPSULES PROVIDED HIGH VIABILITY IN THE INTESTINAL PHASE (106 CFU/G) AND GREATER STABILITY DURING STORAGE AT 4 °C (107 CFU/G, 17 WK). GREATER MICROCAPSULE PROTECTIVE CAPACITY CAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED GLASS TRANSITION AND MELTING TEMPERATURES OF THE ENCAPSULATING MATRIX AND FORMATION OF A MORE COMPACT ALGINATE LAYER. THE PROPOSED ENCAPSULATION TECHNOLOGY REPRESENTS AN ALTERNATIVE TO IMPROVE L. CASEI VIABILITY UNDER STRESS CONDITIONS AND IT COULD BE USED TO DEVELOP FUNCTIONAL FOODS.

THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF NANOEMULSIONS CONTAINING CINNAMALDEHYDE (CIN) AT DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS (0.025 %, 0.05 %, AND 0.1 %, V/V) AND TWEEN 80 (0.05 %, V/V) WERE INVESTIGATED. ADDITIONALLY, THE EFFECT OF ALGINATE-BASED COATINGS [1.0 %, (W/V), GLYCEROL 0.125 (ML/G ALGINATE)] INCORPORATED WITH CIN NANOEMULSIONS ON THE QUALITY ATTRIBUTES AND SHELF LIFE OF BUTTON MUSHROOMS (AGARICUS BISPORUS) DURING 16 DAYS OF STORAGE AT 4 °C WAS EVALUATED. NANOEMULSIONS WITH A CIN:TWEEN 80 RATIO OF 1:1 REACHED THE SMALLEST DROPLET SIZE (183 NM) AND WERE THE MOST STABLE. THE QUALITY OF THE MUSHROOMS WAS REMARKABLY IMPROVED BY THE INCORPORATION OF CIN NANOEMULSIONS INTO COATINGS, DECREASING THE RESPIRATION RATE, WEIGHT LOSS, PPO ACTIVITY, AND PSEUDOMONAS COUNTS AND INCREASING RETENTION OF FIRMNESS, COLOR, TOTAL POLYPHENOLS, AND ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY OF MUSHROOMS COMPARED TO THOSE IN THE CONTROL GROUP. THESE RESULTS CAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SMALL DROPLET SIZE OF CIN AND ITS RELATIVELY UNIFORM DISPERSION IN THE COATING. NANOEMULSIFIED COATINGS REPRESENT A PROMISING ALTERNATIVE TO MAINTAIN THE QUALITY OF MUSHROOMS AND EXTEND THEIR SHELF LIFE.