01
Functional foods
1. Regarding functional foods
In the past two years, functional foods have become a new trend in the industry. You may not be clear about what "functional foods" are, but it is undeniable that functional foods have become increasingly abundant in the market How to define functional foods According to the provisions of the Food Safety Law, food categories in China can be divided into two categories: ordinary food and special food. Special food includes health food, but there is no name for "functional food" in the classification. So what is this widely mentioned functional food in the industry? Lu Wenwei, Deputy Director of the National Center for Functional Food Engineering Technology and Professor at the School of Food Science, Jiangnan University, stated that functional food is not a legal concept in China. In specific terms, functional food refers to food with specific nutritional and health functions. Functional foods serve as a bridge between food and medicine in the industry, meeting individual health needs. This type of food is actually called Dietary supplements or functional foods in foreign countries. In the view of nutrition experts, there is currently no accurate definition of functional foods, but in most cases, they refer to foods with specific nutritional and health functions, which are suitable for specific populations, have the function of regulating the body, and are not intended for therapeutic purposes.
02
Production Technology of Functional Food
The development of functional foods provides consumers with the best way to choose healthy foods. The substances that play a functional role in functional foods are called bioactive substances, which have functions such as delaying aging, improving the body's immune system, anti-tumor, and radiation resistance. Most bioactive substances have thermal sensitivity, and it is crucial to retain their biological activity and stability in the extraction and separation of bioactive substances. The production technology of functional foods mainly includes biotechnology (including fermentation engineering, enzyme engineering, genetic engineering, cell engineering, etc.), separation and purification technology, ultrafine crushing technology, freeze-drying technology, microcapsule technology, and cold sterilization technology. Currently, research on functional foods focuses on: Active polysaccharides and their processing techniques, including dietary fiber, fungal active polysaccharides, and plant active polysaccharides; Active peptides and their processing technology, casein phosphopeptides (enzymatic precipitation method, enzymatic ion exchange method), glutathione (extraction method, fermentation method), blood pressure lowering peptide functional oils and their processing technology; Polyunsaturated fatty acids, phospholipid active trace elements and their processing techniques; Free radical scavengers and their processing technologies (superoxide dismutase, prepared by precipitation method, ion exchange chromatography); Active fungi and their processing techniques; Functional sweeteners and their processing techniques. 1. Traditional separation technology
1. Preliminary separation and purification
The extracted liquid after solid-liquid separation needs to be preliminarily separated and purified to further remove impurities. The commonly used preliminary separation and purification techniques mainly include extraction separation, precipitation separation, adsorption clarification, molecular distillation technology, membrane filtration method, resin separation method, etc. 1.1 Extraction separation Extraction separation is not only an important extraction method, but also an important commonly used separation method for preliminary separation and purification from mixtures. This is because solvent extraction has the advantages of fast mass transfer speed, short operation time, convenient continuous operation, easy automation control, and high separation and purification efficiency. Extraction separation method: One is water organic solvent extraction, which uses an organic solvent to extract the target product from the aqueous solution, achieving the purpose of concentration and purification; The second is two-phase extraction, which is a recently emerging, eye-catching, and highly promising new separation and purification technology. When two water-soluble polymers with different properties and immiscibility are mixed and reach a certain concentration, two phases will be formed, and the two polymers will dissolve in the immiscible phases. The commonly used two-phase extraction system is polyethylene glycol (PEG) - glucan (eD x t ar n) system. 1.2 Precipitation separation and purification The precipitation separation and purification method, which uses the addition of reagents or changes in conditions to generate insoluble particles of functional active ingredients (or impurities) and settles them, is the most commonly used and simplest separation and purification method. Due to its concentration effect often greater than purification effect, it is usually used as a preliminary separation method. The main methods for precipitation separation and purification include salt precipitation, isoelectric point precipitation, organic solvent precipitation, non-ionic polymer precipitation, polyelectrolyte precipitation, high valence metal ion precipitation, and other precipitation methods. 1.3 Adsorption clarification technology Adsorption clarification is achieved through the adsorption, bridging, and flocculation effects of adsorption clarifying agents, as well as the flocculation effects of inorganic salt electrolyte particles and surface charges, which cause many unstable particles to form flocs and continuously grow and become larger, in order to increase the particle radius, accelerate its sedimentation rate, and improve filtration rate. 1.4 Molecular Distillation Technology Molecular distillation is the process of using a liquid mixture where each molecule is heated and escapes from the liquid surface. A condensation surface is set at a point where the distance from the liquid surface is less than the average free path of light molecules but greater than the average free path of heavy molecules, allowing light molecules to continuously escape while heavy molecules cannot reach the condensation surface, thereby breaking the dynamic equilibrium and separating the light and heavy molecules in the mixture. 1.5 Membrane filtration method Membrane filtration is a method of material separation and purification driven by pressure and relying on the selective permeability of membranes, including microfiltration, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and electrodialysis. The membrane filtration method has more prominent advantages than ordinary separation methods. During separation, the feed liquid is neither heated nor undergoes phase changes, and the functional active ingredients are not lost or damaged, making it easy to maintain the original functions of the active ingredients.
2. Highly isolated and purified
After preliminary separation and purification, the functional active ingredients may not meet the purity requirements and may contain some impurities. Further high separation and purification are needed to meet the research on the properties, structure, and activity of the functional active ingredients. The methods for highly separation and purification generally include crystallization separation and purification, as well as chromatographic separation and purification. 2.1 Crystallization separation and purification Crystallization is the process in which solutes precipitate from a solution in a crystalline state. Due to the fact that the initial crystallization always carries some impurities, it is necessary to repeatedly crystallize in order to obtain a purer product. The process of refining from impure crystals to purer crystals through crystallization is called recrystallization. The regular structure inside a crystal stipulates that the formation of the crystal must be of the same ions or molecules in order to be periodically oriented and arranged at a certain distance. Therefore, substances that can form crystals are relatively pure. 2.2 Chromatography Separation and purification paper chromatography is a liquid chromatography method using paper and adsorbed water as stationary phases, mainly used for the separation of hydrophilic compounds. The usual paper chromatography is normal phase chromatography, but sometimes filter paper is treated with a less polar liquid as the stationary phase and a more polar aqueous solvent as the mobile phase, which is called reverse phase paper chromatography. The sample size of paper chromatography is small, and the amount of pure product after separation is small, making it difficult to collect a large amount for further research on functional active ingredients. Thin layer chromatography is a liquid chromatography method in which an adsorbent is coated on a thin plate as a stationary phase. The sample size of thin-layer chromatography is larger than that of paper chromatography, and the separation and purification effect is also better than that of paper chromatography, which can be used for purity identification; The separated spots can also be scraped off, dissolved and collected as pure samples, but the amount collected is still too small. Unless in special circumstances, the method of collecting pure samples is generally not necessary. 2. Modern extraction technology
Separation is a major operation in food processing, which separates different components from an intermediate product based on certain physical and chemical principles. When producing functional foods, functional animal and plant substrates with high content of functional ingredients are often used, such as ginkgo leaves, lotus leaves, tea leaves, tea tree flowers, yam, etc., to extract functional active ingredients such as flavonoids, phenols, alkaloids, polysaccharides, etc. The classic extraction method is mainly organic solvent extraction, which often does not require special instruments and is therefore widely used. Modern extraction methods are new extraction methods developed based on advanced instruments, mainly including steam distillation technology, ultrasonic extraction technology, microwave extraction technology, biological enzymatic extraction technology, and solid-phase extraction technology. 1. Steam distillation technology
Steam distillation is the process of using a substance that is not miscible with water, allowing the separated substance to boil at a temperature lower than its original boiling point. The resulting vapor and water vapor escape together, and are then condensed, cooled, and collected in an oil-water separator. By utilizing the insoluble nature of the extract and its relative density difference with water, it is separated to achieve the purpose of separation. 2. Ultrasonic extraction technology Most natural plant active ingredients exist within the cell wall, and the structure and composition of the cell wall determine that it is the main obstacle to extracting plant cell active ingredients. Existing mechanical or chemical methods sometimes struggle to achieve ideal fragmentation effects. Ultrasonic extraction technology utilizes the mechanical, cavitation, and thermal effects of ultrasound to enhance the release, diffusion, and dissolution of intracellular substances, accelerate the leaching of effective ingredients, and greatly improve extraction efficiency. 3. Microwave extraction technology Microwave extraction technology is a new technique that utilizes microwave energy to improve extraction efficiency. During the microwave extraction process, microwave radiation causes polar substances, especially water molecules, in plant cells to absorb microwave energy, generating a large amount of heat and rapidly increasing the temperature inside the cells. The pressure generated by the vaporization of liquid water breaks through the cell membrane and walls, forming tiny pores; Further heating leads to a decrease in internal and cell wall moisture, cell contraction, and surface cracks. The presence of pores and cracks makes it easy for extracellular solvents to enter the cell, dissolve and release intracellular products. 4. Biological enzymatic extraction technology Biological enzymatic extraction technology is a new extraction method that utilizes the highly specific characteristics of enzyme reactions. Based on the composition of plant cell walls, corresponding enzymes are selected to hydrolyze or degrade the components of the cell wall, destroy the structure of the cell wall, fully expose the effective components, dissolve, suspend or gel in solvents, and thus achieve the extraction of effective components within cells. Due to the disruption of the barrier cell wall during plant extraction, enzymatic extraction is beneficial for improving the efficiency of extracting effective ingredients. In addition, due to the presence of proteins in many plants, conventional extraction methods are used. During the boiling process, proteins coagulate when exposed to heat, which affects the dissolution of effective ingredients. 5. Solid phase extraction technology Solid phase extraction (SPE) is based on the principle of liquid chromatography, using the process of selective adsorption and elution of components between solvents and adsorbents to achieve the purpose of extraction, separation, and enrichment. That is, after the sample passes through a small column containing an adsorbent, the target product is retained on the adsorbent. Impurities are first washed off with appropriate solvents, and then different solvents are selected under certain conditions to elute the target product. 3.Membrane separation technology
Overview of membrane separation technology Membrane separation technology has been applied in desalination of seawater since 1950 and has become one of the most promising high-tech technologies. It is widely used in fields such as chemical, pharmaceutical, biological, and food industries. Membrane separation technology uses selective membrane as the separation medium and utilizes external driving forces to classify, separate, and enrich two or more components. Compared with other separation technologies, membrane separation is a physical process that does not require the introduction of external substances, saving energy while reducing environmental pollution; Secondly, membrane separation is carried out at room temperature without phase change, making it suitable for the separation and concentration of bioactive substances in the food industry. Applying membrane separation technology to concentration, clarification, and separation in the food industry can effectively maintain the original color, aroma, taste, and multiple nutritional components of the product. In addition, membrane separation equipment has the characteristics of simple structure, easy operation, and easy maintenance, making it more widely used in fields such as chemical, pharmaceutical, biological, and food industries. 2. Application of membrane separation technology in functional foods The development of functional foods provides consumers with the best way to choose healthy foods. The substances that play a functional role in functional foods are called bioactive substances, which have functions such as delaying aging, improving the body's immune system, anti-tumor, and radiation resistance. Most bioactive substances have thermal sensitivity, and it is crucial to retain their biological activity and stability in the extraction and separation of bioactive substances. Membrane separation technology operates at room temperature and is an ideal separation technique for bioactive substances. Loginov et al. used ultrafiltration membranes to separate proteins and polyphenols from flaxseed husk extract. By adjusting the pH value to 4.4, the proteins were agglutinated and centrifuged. The supernatant was filtered using a polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membrane with a molecular weight of 30 KDa. Through protein agglutination, the purity of polyphenols increased from 33.5% to 56 0%, the purity of polyphenols further increased to 76% after ultrafiltration 6%. Xu Fuping et al. combined membrane separation with alcohol precipitation method to purify soy isoflavones. The experiment used membranes with two pore sizes of 20 nm and 50 nm to ultrafiltration the ethanol extraction solution of defatted soybean meal. 4. Ultra fine crushing technology
1. Overview of Ultrafine Grinding Technology Micro crushing technology has emerged in recent years with the continuous development of high-tech such as modern chemical, electronics, biology, materials, and mineral development. It is a high-tech cutting-edge technology in food processing both domestically and internationally. Abroad, fruit flavored herbal teas, Freeze-dried Fruit powder, ultra-low temperature frozen turtle powder, kelp powder, pollen, and placenta powder sold in the United States and Japan are mostly processed using ultra-fine crushing technology; In the 1990s, China also applied this technology to pollen wall breaking, followed by the emergence of some functional foods with good taste, reasonable nutritional ratio, and easy digestion and absorption (such as hawthorn powder, konjac powder, shiitake mushroom powder, etc.). Ultra fine crushing technology is the process of using mechanical or fluid dynamic methods to crush material particles into micrometer or even nanometer sized micro powders. Micropowder is the final product of ultrafine grinding, which has some special physicochemical properties that ordinary particles do not possess, such as good solubility, dispersion, adsorption, chemical reaction activity, etc. There is currently no unified standard for its particle size limit, and it is generally believed that the particle size of micro powder is defined as less than 75 μ M is more reasonable. The principle of ultrafine grinding is the same as ordinary grinding, but it requires higher fineness. It uses external mechanical force to convert the mechanical force into free energy, partially disrupting the cohesion between material molecules, in order to achieve the purpose of grinding. Ultra fine crushing technology utilizes various special crushing equipment to grind, impact, shear and other materials through a certain processing process, crushing materials with a particle size of over 3mm to a particle size of 10 μ The process of using fine particles below m to give the product interfacial activity and exhibit special functions. Compared with traditional processing techniques such as crushing, crushing, and grinding, the particle size of ultra-fine crushing products is even smaller. Ultra fine grinding is based on the principle of micrometer technology. With the ultrafine transformation of substances, their surface molecular arrangement, electronic distribution structure, and crystal structure all undergo changes, resulting in surface effects, small-sized effects, quantum effects, and macroscopic quantum tunneling effects that block (particle) materials do not possess. As a result, ultrafine products have a series of excellent physical, chemical, and interfacial properties compared to macroscopic particles.
2. Application of ultra-fine crushing technology in functional foods
Zhu et al. prepared Momordica charantia superfine powder and used it for the treatment of patients with diabetes. It was found that the blood sugar of patients dropped from 21.40 mmol/L to 12.54 mmol/L after one week of consumption, indicating that Momordica charantia superfine powder has a good ability to inhibit diabetes and can be developed and utilized as a hypoglycemic functional food. Sun et al. prepared ultra-fine powder of Pleurotus eryngii and studied its immune regulation and antioxidant effects in mice. The results showed that the ultra-fine powder of Pleurotus eryngii had good antioxidant, antiviral, and anti-tumor functions Kurek et al. added oat fiber ultrafine powder in a certain mass ratio to wheat flour dough. As the proportion of ultrafine powder increased, the dough volume decreased, the water content and elasticity increased, providing a reference for the development of bread with high dietary fiber content. 3. Prospects for the application of ultrafine crushing technology Research on the application of ultrafine grinding technology in functional health foods is ongoing both domestically and internationally, but the research is still preliminary. With the deterioration of human living environment, water resources and air pollution have intensified. The rise of incidence rate of various malignant diseases has stimulated people to pay more attention to their own health. Therefore, people have great hopes for functional health foods. Various new food processing technologies, including ultra-fine crushing technology, will be more deeply and widely applied in functional health foods. In short, with the continuous development of modern food industry, more and more advanced high-tech will inevitably emerge. The application of ultra-fine powder technology in food processing is still in its early stages. Due to its advantages and characteristics that other general crushing methods do not have, ultra-fine powder technology will definitely play a more prominent role in the production of soup and medicinal materials in the future. It is believed that in the near future, this energy-saving, efficient, and high-quality new technology will become more perfect. 5. Microcapsule technology
1. Overview of Microcapsule Technology Nanocapsules refer to microcapsules with nano size, which have small particles that are easily dispersed and suspended in water, forming a homogeneous and stable colloidal solution, and have good targeting and sustained release effects. In the field of functional foods, the use of nanocapsule technology to embed functional factors in functional foods can not only reduce the loss of functional factors during processing or storage, but also effectively transport functional factors to the gastrointestinal tract of the human body. The specific targeting properties of nanocapsules can alter the distribution of functional factors and concentrate them in specific target tissues, achieving the goal of reducing toxicity and improving efficacy. By controlling the release of functional factors, their bioavailability can be improved while maintaining the texture, structure, and sensory appeal of food. Therefore, nano microcapsule technology provides a new theoretical and application platform for the research and development of functional foods, which is very conducive to the development of functional foods. Microencapsulation technology refers to the use of natural or synthetic polymer encapsulation materials to encapsulate solid, liquid, or even gas core materials, forming a diameter of 1-5000 μ The technology of microcapsules with semi permeable or sealed membranes within the range of m. Nano microcapsule technology refers to a new type of technology that uses nanocomposition, nanoemulsification, and nanostructure to encapsulate the core material in the nanoscale range (1-1000nm) to form microcapsules. Among them, the encapsulated material is called the core material of microcapsules, and the material used for encapsulation is called the wall material of microcapsules. 2. Application of microcapsule technology in functional foods
2.1 Nanoencapsulation of functional oils and fats Zambrano Zaragoza et al. prepared food grade oils (safflower oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil β- Carotenoids α- The properties of nanocapsules with tocopherol as the core material were studied, and the optimal conditions for preparing nanocapsules were determined. The average particle size of the food grade oil produced was about 300nm. This study has certain significance for the preservation and storage of oil based foods. Zimet et al. adopted β- Lactoglobulin and low methoxy pectin were used as carriers to prepare ω- The nanocapsules of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the 3 series of polyunsaturated fatty acids have an average particle size of 100nm. The nanocapsules exhibit good colloidal stability and can effectively inhibit the oxidation and decomposition of DHA. When the DHA product is placed in a 40 ℃ environment for 100 hours, only 5% to 10% of DHA that has been nanocapsulated is oxidized and decomposed, while untreated DHA loses 80%. This study has certain guiding significance for the nanocapsulation of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and their application in clarifying acidic beverages. Gkmen et al. used spray drying method to ω- Three series of unsaturated fatty acid flaxseed oil were microencapsulated and added to the dough in different amounts to study their impact on bread quality. 2.2 Nanoencapsulation of Antioxidants Antioxidants applied in functional foods mainly include phenolic substances, flavonoid compounds (mainly flavonols, flavonoids, flavanones, flavanones, alkaloids, etc.), as well as edible pigments β- Carotenoids, lycopene, lutein, curcumin, etc. are all natural antioxidants. The use of nanocapsules for embedding antioxidants can improve their stability in food applications and bioavailability in the human body, enhancing their health benefits. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a catechin monomer isolated from tea, and it is also the most effective water-soluble polyphenolic antioxidant with biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-mutation. In 2010, Shpigelman et al β- Lactoglobulin was used to embed EGCG in nanocapsules, resulting in nanoparticles with a size of less than 50nm. The product has a good protective effect on EGCG and can effectively prevent its oxidation and decomposition, providing good guidance for the development of fortified foods such as clarified beverages. In 2012, Shpigelman et al β- The ratio of lactoglobulin and EGCG was determined, and the nanoparticles were further modified using freeze-drying method. The stability, size change, embedding rate, sensory properties, and simulated gastrointestinal digestion of the colloidal solution composed of nanoparticles were studied. 2.3 Nanoencapsulation of vitamins and minerals Vitamins are essential nutrients in maintaining normal physiological functions and promoting various metabolic processes in the human body. Vitamins cannot be synthesized by the human body and must be obtained from food, mainly including water-soluble vitamins (VC, VB series, folic acid, pantothenic acid, etc.) and fat soluble vitamins (VA, VD, VE, etc.). Making microcapsules of vitamins can greatly improve their stability. The minerals that serve as functional ingredients in functional foods mainly include calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, etc. Microcapsulation of minerals mainly solves the instability of minerals themselves, the tendency to produce adverse flavors in food, and the reduction of toxic side effects. Semo et al. used rCM as the wall material to embed lipid soluble VD2 and successfully prepared nano microcapsules of VD2 with an average particle size of around 150nm. This study indicates that the concentration of VD2 in microcapsules is 5.5 times higher than in serum, and the morphology and average particle size of rCM microcapsules are similar to naturally formed casein. rCM microcapsules can partially protect VD2 from degradation caused by ultraviolet light irradiation. CM can serve as a nanocarrier for embedding, protecting, and transmitting sensitive hydrophobic nutrients, which is of great significance for the development and production of enriched or low-fat foods. Based on the above research, Haham et al. prepared VD3 nanocapsules (VD3-rCM) with rCM as the wall material and an average particle size of (91 ± 8) nm. They studied the effect of ultra-high pressure homogenization on the properties of the microcapsules, evaluated the protective effect of rCM/CM on the thermal and photodegradation of VD3, and evaluated the bioavailability of VD3 through clinical experiments.
03
Outlook on the Application Prospects of Microcapsule Technology
Nano microcapsule technology involves multiple interdisciplinary fields such as physics and colloid chemistry, polymer physics and chemistry, dispersion and drying technology, nanomaterials and nanoprocessing in nanotechnology. As the development and extension of microcapsule technology, the application of nano microcapsule technology in the processing and production of functional foods has received increasing attention, especially the attention paid to the maintenance and bioavailability of functional ingredients in functional foods. In response to the low solubility, poor functional targeting, low biological activity, and poor bioavailability of functional ingredients in functional foods during application, nano microcapsule technology is used to embed various functional ingredients, enhance their targeted release performance in vivo, improve bioavailability, and extend storage stability. As a composite functional material, the development trend of nanocapsules will be towards small particle size, narrow distribution, good dispersion, high selectivity, and wide application range of capsules. The application and development of nano microcapsule technology in the field of functional food have made some progress, but for the nano microcapsule technology itself, it is still in its early stages in both theory and application, and more in-depth research is needed.
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2024-04-25
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