Food Science Commons^™

Improving The Health Impacts Of Whole Grains Through Processing: Resistant Starch, Dietary Fiber Solubility, And Mineral Bioaccessibility, Jennifer A. Arcila Castillo

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Whole grains are good sources of starch, dietary fiber, and mineral elements. Starch is an important source of energy but also can be transformed to resistant starch to impart lower caloric value and increase total dietary fiber. Dietary fibers impart physiological benefits to human body once they are fermented by the gut microbiota. Mineral elements are important co-factors of a wide range of enzymes involved for instance in glucose and lipid metabolism. In general human body is capable of absorbing only 21-28% of most mineral elements, and gut bacteria are only able to ferment 34% of the dietary fiber from …

Characterization Of Commercial Probiotics: Antibiotic Resistance, Acid And Bile Resistance, And Prebiotic Utilization, Carmen Lucia Cano Roca

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Probiotics, live microorganisms that beneficially affect the health of their host, must undergo extensive research to ensure they are safe for consumption and possess certain functional properties. Antibiotic resistance in probiotics has raised concern due to the possibility of its transfer to pathogens. Acid and bile tolerance ensures that organisms will survive passage into the intestines. Prebiotic utilization indicates ability to ferment specific carbohydrates for enhanced growth. The objective of this study was to characterize a group of commercial probiotics for their suitability as probiotics.

Nine commercial probiotic strains (7 Lactobacillus, 1 Lactococcus lactis, and 1 Bifidobacterium longum …

Adherence Inhibition Of Human Pathogens Campylobacter Jejuni And Campylobacter Coli By Non-Digestible Oligosaccharides, Alejandra Ramirez-Hernandez

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Adherence is the first and one of the most important steps of bacterial pathogenesis. Natural derived components that inhibit the adherence of pathogens to the surface of epithelial cells have received considered interest. The goal of this research was to assess the anti-adherence activity of mannan oligosaccharides (MOS), pectic oligosaccharides (POS) and cranberry high molecular weight component (HMW) against Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. First the anti-adherence activity of MOS and their purified fraction (pMOS) was tested against three strains of C. jejuni and two strains of C. coli. Results shown significant reductions in adherence (up to 70%) …

Non-Digestible Oligosaccharides: Anti-Adherence And Other Biological Properties, Maria I. Quintero-Villegas

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Bacterial adherence is the first and one of the most important steps in bacterial pathogenesis. Adherence to host cell surfaces requires that the bacteria recognize specific receptors in the surface of epithelial cells. Therefore, agents that act as molecular decoys to interfere with adherence could be useful prophylactic treatments to prevent or mitigate the onset of infections. The goal of this research was to assess the ability of several food grade non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDOs) to act as molecular decoys and prevent bacterial adherence in vitro as well as in vivo. First, the antiadherence effect of specific species chitooligosaccharides (CHOS) …

Understanding The Factors Affecting Microbiological Quality Of Wheat Milled Products: From Wheat Fields To Milling Operations, Luis E. Sabillón Galeas

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Although regarded as a low-risk commodity, wheat flour-based mixes have been implicated in several food safety incidents. The present thesis is a compilation of five scientific manuscripts on the effect of weather variation, milling steps and implementation of pre-milling interventions on the microbiological quality and safety of wheat and milled products. The first manuscript is a review of the microbiological quality and safety of wheat-based products. Despite the low water activity, wheat flour may harbor dormant but viable microorganisms, which could lead to safety concerns when flour is used to produce refrigerated dough products. The second manuscript illustrates the effect …

Starch-Pectin Matrices For Encapsulation Of Ascorbic Acid, Yiwei Liu

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Starch and pectin are two food-grade carbohydrates widely utilized in the food industry. Starch and pectin polymers have been investigated in encapsulating functional food ingredients and in pharmaceutical applications. Resistance to enzyme hydrolysis, differential solubilities, depending on the pH, and the ability to ‘protect’ unstable molecules are considered some of the beneficial properties of starch and pectin polymers, for encapsulation applications. Food ingredients could be delivered in a controlled manner to a specific target by encapsulating in micro-scale particles, i. e., microencapsulation. Two studies were conducted to investigate the ability of selected starch-pectin blends in microencapsulating ascorbic acid (vitamin C) …

Tracking Heat-Resistant, Sporeforming Bacteria In The Milk Chain: A Farm To Table Approach, Maricarmen Estrada Anzueto

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Sporeforming bacteria (such as Bacillus and Paenibacillus spp.) can survive pasteurization conditions (Collins, 1981) and grow in pasteurized fluid milk during refrigerated storage (Huck et al., 2008; Ivy et al., 2012), causing fluid milk spoilage and limiting the further extension of fluid milk’s shelf life (Fromm and Boor, 2004; Durak et al., 2006). Moreover, Bacillus and related genera have been found in raw milk, pasteurized milk and environmental samples from dairy farms, indicating that these organisms are ubiquitous in nature and can enter the milk chain from different sources (Huck et al., 2007b; Huck et al., 2008; Ranieri and Boor, …

Characterization Of Extraction Methods To Recover Phenolic Rich Extracts From Pinto Beans That Exert High Antioxidative Activities Using Response Surface Approach, Mohammed Aldawsari

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The pinto bean has been linked to the prevention of multiple diseases due in large part to the presence of phenolic antioxidants, which are higher in beans than in many fruits and vegetables. These components deliver health properties beyond basic nutritional characteristics by scavenging free oxygen radicals. However, these benefits are most likely due to the ability of these chemically diverse phenols to impart greater protective properties as additives or synergists acting in combination. However, optimal parameters to isolate these compounds (in terms of ratios and types) from a given natural source are not known. Without this knowledge, understanding the …

Debaryomyces Hansenii: A Foodborne Yeast That Produces Anti-Candida Killer Toxin, Nabaraj Banjara

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Candida yeasts are commensal members of the gastrointestinal, mucosal, oral and vaginal microbiota. Candida albicans and C. tropicalis can be found as a part of the normal human commensal flora, especially in all sections of the gastrointestinal tract. However, when the host defense system and microbiota are disturbed, Candida can become pathogenic and cause severe infection or candidiasis. Antifungal drugs used to treat candidiasis have been shown to result in treatment failures due to drug toxicity and/or development of resistance during long term antifungal therapy and, in recent years, the incidence of Candida infections has increased dramatically due to the …