Food Science Commons^™

Ability Of The Gut Microbiota To Produce Pufa-Derived Bacterial Metabolites: Proof Of Concept In Germ-Free Versus Conventionalized Mice, Céline Druart, Laure B. Bindels, Robert Schmaltz, Audrey M. Neyrinck, Patrice D. Cani, Jens Walter, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Nathalie M. Delzenne

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Scope—The gut microbiota is able to modulate host physiology through the production of bioactive metabolites. Our recent studies suggest that changes in gut microbiota composition upon prebiotics supplementation alter tissue levels of PUFA-derived metabolites in mice. However, in vivo evidence that gut microbes produces PUFA-derived metabolites is lacking. This study aimed to decipher the contribution of gut microbes versus that of the host in PUFA-derived metabolite production.

Methods and results—To achieve this goal, we compared the proportion of PUFA-derived metabolites and the expression of fatty acid desaturases in germ-free (GF) and conventionalized (CONV) mice fed either a low …

Simulation And Validation Of Radio Frequency Heating Of Shell Eggs, Soon Kiat Lau

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

Finite element models were developed with the purpose of finding an optimal radio frequency (RF) heating setup for pasteurizing shell eggs. Material properties of the yolk, albumen, and shell were measured and fitted into equations that were used as inputs for the model. When the egg was heated by itself, heating tend to be focused at the air cell to result in a “coagulation ring.” The focused heating near the air cell of the egg prevented satisfactory pasteurization of the egg, but deeper analysis of the simulation results offered a new perspective on how non-uniform RF heating could occur in …

Influence Of Native And Processed Cereal Grain Fibers On Gut Health, Junyi Yang

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

Cereal fibers that can be metabolized by gut microbiota have been shown to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. Increased consumption of cereal fibers may improve host / gut microbiota interactions in obesity and other metabolic diseases by normalizing gut dysbiosis. The present dissertation describes four research projects to assess the impact of cereal dietary fibers on gut microbiota and host metabolism. In the first study, we determined the treatment temperatures for production of soluble, non-digestible, feruloylated oligo- and polysaccharides (FOPS) from maize bran and wheat bran, and determined the fermentation properties of partially purified FOPS from …

Container Vegetable Gardening, Terri James, David Lott

Nebraska Cooperative Extension: Faculty and Staff Publications

If well-managed, vegetables grown in containers can provide high-quality produce in a small space.

Container vegetable gardening is a wonderful option for people who have limited space, impaired physical mobility, or conditions that interfere with in-ground gardening, such as poor garden soil. It also can help avoid problems with soilborne diseases and nematode pests that can exist in the soil in traditional, in-ground gardens. People who do not have access to a garden space, or simply do not want to grow a full-scale garden, may choose container vegetable gardening to provide them with enjoyment and produce. Containers are available in …

Multiphysics Modeling To Enhance Understanding Of Microwave Heating Of Food In Domestic Ovens, Jiajia Chen

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nonuniform heating is the biggest issue in the microwave heating of prepared meals. Multiphysics based models are promising tools to improve microwave heating uniformity by properly designing the food product. However, limited availability of accurate temperature-dependent material properties, inadequate model prediction accuracy, and high computational power and complexity in model development are three gaps that greatly limited the application of these models in the food industry.

To fill in the gaps, firstly, we developed a multitemperature calibration protocol to measure temperature-dependent dielectric properties (dielectric constant and loss factor). The temperature-dependent dielectric and thermal (thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity) properties …

Dietary Microrna Database (Dmd): An Archive Database And Analytic Tool For Food-Borne Micrornas, Kevin Chiang, Jiang Shu, Janos Zempleni, Juan Cui

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

With the advent of high throughput technology, a huge amount of microRNA information has been added to the growing body of knowledge for non-coding RNAs. Here we present the Dietary MicroRNA Databases (DMD), the first repository for archiving and analyzing the published and novel microRNAs discovered in dietary resources. Currently there are fifteen types of dietary species, such as apple, grape, cow milk, and cow fat, included in the database originating from 9 plant and 5 animal species. Annotation for each entry, a mature microRNA indexed as DM0000*, covers information of the mature sequences, genome locations, hairpin structures of parental …

A Prototype On-Line Aotf Hyperspectral Image Acquisition System For Tenderness Assessment Of Beef Carcasses, Govindarajan Konda Naganathan, Kim Cluff, Ashok Samal, Chris Calkins, David D. Jones, Carol Lorenzen, Jeyamkondan Subbiah

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

A prototype on-line acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF)-based hyperspectral image acquisition system (λ = 450– 900 nm) was developed for tenderness assessment of beef carcasses. Hyperspectral images of ribeye muscle on stationary hanging beef carcasses (n = 338) at 2-day postmortem were acquired in commercial beef slaughter or packing plants. After image acquisition, a strip steak was cut from each carcass, vacuum packaged, aged for 14 days, cooked, and slice shear force tenderness scores were collected by an independent lab. Beef hyperspectral images were mosaicked together and principal component (PC) analysis was conducted to reduce the spectral dimension. Six different textural …

Fungi Inhabiting The Healthy Human Gastrointestinal Tract: A Diverse And Dynamic Community, Heather E. Hallen-Adams, Stephen D. Kachman, Jaehyoung Kim, Ryan Legge, Inés Martínez

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Fungal DNA was selectively amplified, and the ITS region sequenced, from fecal samples taken from 45 healthy human volunteers at one (21 volunteers) or two (24 volunteers) time points. Seventy-two operational taxonomic units, representing two phyla and ten classes of fungi, were recovered. Candida yeasts, notably C. tropicalis (present in 51 samples), and yeasts in the Dipodascaceae (39 samples), dominated, while 38 OTUs were detected in a single sample each. Fungi included known human symbionts (Candida, Cryptococcus, Malassezia and Trichosporon spp.), common airborne fungi (Cladosporium sp.) and fungi known to be associated with food ( …

Characterization And Investigation Of Fungi Inhabiting The Gastrointestinal Tract Of Healthy And Diseased Humans, Mallory J. Suhr

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

Gastrointestinal microbiome studies have failed to include fungi in total community analyses. As a result, their diversity and function in the gut is poorly understood. Recent work has begun to uncover the role intestinal fungi play in diet, immune system development, interactions with other microorganisms in the gut, and pathogenesis of diseases. Advances in sequencing technologies allow for the ability to profile the fungal gut microbiome (“mycobiome”) in healthy and diseased states. This thesis explores the mycobiome in 1) healthy humans with a vegetarian diet and 2) pediatric small bowel transplant recipients that develop fungal bloodstream infections.

The gut mycobiome …

The Influence Of The Bovine Fecal Microbiota On The Shedding Of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli (Stec) By Beef Cattle, Nirosh D. Aluthge

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

During the past three decades, Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC) have emerged as an important food safety concern. Although initially E. coli O157 was the main focus, recent outbreaks and resulting investigations have shown that certain non-O157 STEC are as much a threat to food safety as their O157 counterparts. To the beef industry, STEC have been of particular concern due to the frequent association of beef and beef products as vehicles of STEC infection. As a result, along with E. coli O157, six non-O157 STEC serogroups (known as the ‘big six’) are now regulated as adulterants in certain raw beef …

Corn Characterization And Development Of A Convenient Laboratory Scale Alkaline Cooking Process, Shreya N.O. Sahasrabudhe

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

Nixtamalized (alkaline cooked) corn (Zea mays L.) products are increasing in popularity due to their affordable cost, ease of production, and the diversity of products that can be made using similar unit operations. The nixtamal produced after alkaline cooking depends on the processing parameters used during cooking and steeping, as well as the physicochemical properties of the corn hybrids used. Processors incur high costs in narrowing down hybrids suitable for a given process, or they must be able to adjust cooking conditions to obtain the desired end-product characteristics. Improper processing generates large quantities of waste. Researchers have developed small …

Effects Of Blanching On Color, Texture And Sodium Chloride Content During Storage Time Of Frozen Vegetable Soybean Modeling For Commercial Scale, Pimsiree Suwan

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

Vegetable soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] are a green stage of soybeans, which have become increasingly popular among health-conscious Americans as an alternative low-fat and heart-healthy food. Vegetable soybeans (VSB) are also an excellent source of protein and fiber. However, the vast majority of the VSB consumed are imported, as they are not extensively grown and processed in the United States. The situation results in short supply and limited processing information.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of water blanching (at 86, 92, 98 °C for 1m30s, 2m, 2m30s) and steam blanching (at 86, 92, …

Viability Of Lactobacillus Acidophilus Dds 1-10 Encapsulated With An Alginate-Starch Matrix, Liya Mo

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

L. acidophilus DDS1-10 was encapsulated using an alginate, potato starch and type 4 resistant starch (RS4) matrix. The wall material was optimized by varying levels of alginate (1.6 to 4.4%), while maintaining potato starch and RS4 ratio fixed at 2, and the total solid content at 5%. Particles were prepared using an emulsion and an extrusion method. Particles obtained from the emulsion method were smaller with a non-uniform distribution in size while those obtained by the extrusion method were bigger and uniform in size. The emulsion method did not seem to offer protection to the probiotic cells against pH, bile …

Transport Of Bovine Milk Exosomes By Human Colon Carcinoma Caco-2 Cells And Rat Small Intestinal Iec-6 Cells, Tovah Wolf

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

We have reported that microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) in bovine milk regulate human genes. In milk, many miRNAs are encapsulated in exosomes, thereby conferring protection against degradation and a pathway for intestinal transport of miRNAs. We hypothesized that the uptake of bovine exosomes in human intestinal colon carcinoma Caco-2 cells and rat primary small intestinal IEC-6 cells is mediated by endocytosis. Transport studies were carried out using fluorophore-labeled exosomes purified from bovine milk. The transport of bovine exosomes exhibited saturation kinetics at 37°C (K_m= 55.5±48.6 µg/200 µL, V_max= 0.083±0.057 ng exosomal protein x 81,750 cells⁻¹ x …

A Finite Element Method Based Microwave Heat Transfer Modeling Of Frozen Multi-Component Foods, Krishnamoorthy Pitchai

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

Microwave heating is fast and convenient, but is highly non-uniform. Non-uniform heating in microwave cooking affects not only food quality but also food safety. Most food industries develop microwavable food products based on “cook-and-look” approach. This approach is time-consuming, labor intensive and expensive and may not result in optimal food product design that assures food safety and quality. Design of microwavable food can be realized through a simulation model which describes the physical mechanisms of microwave heating in mathematical expressions. The objective of this study was to develop a microwave heat transfer model to predict spatial and temporal profiles of …

The Gut Microbiota Of Rural Papua New Guineans: Composition, Diversity Patterns, And Ecological Processes, Ines Martinez, James C. Stegen, Maria X. Maldonado-Gomez, A. Murat Eren, Peter M. Siba, Andrew R. Greenhill, Jens Walter

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Although recent research revealed an impact of westernization on diversity and composition of the human gut microbiota, the exact consequences on metacommunity characteristics are insufficiently understood, and the underlying ecological mechanisms have not been elucidated. Here, we have compared the fecal microbiota of adults from two non-industrialized regions in Papua New Guinea (PNG) with that of United States (US) residents. Papua New Guineans harbor communities with greater bacterial diversity, lower inter-individual variation, vastly different abundance profiles, and bacterial lineages undetectable in US residents. A quantification of the ecological processes that govern community assembly identified bacterial dispersal as the dominant process …

Micrornas Are Absorbed In Biologically Meaningful Amounts From Nutritionally Relevant Doses Of Cow’S Milk And Chicken Eggs And Affect Gene Expression In Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells, Cell Cultures, And Mouse Livers, Scott Baier

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Throughout the twenty-first century, evidence has been continually increasing to show the importance of epigenetic regulation in health. While the term “epigenetics” can be applied to many different processes, the focus of this dissertation will be on microRNAs and chromatin structure. Ultimately, both of these forms of epigenetic regulation can be used to fine tune gene expression based on environmental cues. The first three chapters of the dissertation focus on microRNA bioavailability, stability, and function from two commonly consumed food products: cow’s milk and chicken eggs. This important work has been the first of its kind to demonstrate the bioavailability …

Diversity Of Yeast And Mold Species From A Variety Of Cheese Types, Nabaraj Banjara, Mallory J. Suhr, Heather E. Hallen-Adams

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

To generate a comprehensive profile of viable fungi (yeasts and molds) on cheese as it is purchased by consumers, 44 types of cheese were obtained from a local grocery store from 1 to 4 times each (depending on availability) and sampled. Pure cultures were obtained and identified by DNA sequence of the ITS region, as well as growth characteristics and colony morphology. The yeast Debaryomyces hansenii was the most abundant fungus, present in 79 % of all cheeses and 63 % of all samples. Penicillium roqueforti was the most common mold, isolated from a variety of cheeses in addition to …

Concomitant Uptake Of Antimicrobials And Salmonella In Soil And Into Lettuce Following Wastewater Irrigation, J. Brett Sallach, Yuping Zhang, Laurie Hodges, Daniel D. Snow, Xu Li, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

The use of wastewater for irrigation may introduce antimicrobials and human pathogens into the food supply through vegetative uptake. The objective of this study was to investigate the uptake of three antimicrobials and Salmonella in two lettuce cultivars. After repeated subirrigation with synthetic wastewater, lettuce leaves and soil were collected at three sequential harvests. The internalization frequency of Salmonella in lettuce was low. A soil horizon-influenced Salmonella concentration gradient was determined with concentrations in bottom soil 2 log CFU/g higher than in top soil. Lincomycin and sulfamethoxazole were recovered from lettuce leaves at concentrations as high as 822 ng/g and …

Food Fish Identification From Dna Extraction Through Sequence Analysis, Heather E. Hallen-Adams

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

This experiment exposed third and fourth year undergraduates and graduate students taking a course in advanced food analysis to DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and DNA sequence analysis. Students provided their own fish sample, purchased from local grocery stores, and the class as a whole extracted DNA, which was then subjected to PCR, gel electrophoresis and Sanger sequencing. Students retrieved their sequences and identified their fish using the NCBI BLAST nucleotide database. Slightly more than half of the samples yielded sequences identical or close to expected (based on the identification of the fish on the packaging); some other samples …

Sourdough Lactic Acid Bacteria As Antifungal And Mycotoxin-Controlling Agents, Yousef I. Hassan, Ting Zhou, Lloyd B. Bullerman

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Sourdough starter cultures are rich sources of endogenous lactic acid bacteria. The extended shelf lives of sourdough breads are attributed to a large array of organic acids and low-molecular-weight metabolites produced during the fermentation process. Different species belonging to the lactic acid bacteria group of microorganisms, mainly Lactobacillus and Leuconostoc, are increasingly gaining the attention as possible means for inhibiting mold growth in animal feed and human food chains. In addition, certain lactic acid bacteria strains isolated from sourdough starters were also shown to reduce mycotoxins concentrations in contaminated products either by binding or degradation. This short review will …

Processing Effects On Four Prebiotic Carbohydrates Supplemented In An Extruded Cereal And A Low Ph Drink, Rebbeca M. Duar, Pei Tze Ang, Michelle Hoffman, Randy Wehling, Robert W. Hutkins, Vicki Schlegel

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Prebiotic carbohydrates are added as functional ingredients to a variety of processed foods. Data on the stability of prebiotics during food processing in complex matrices remain limited. The objective of this project was to determine the stability of fructooligosaccharides (FOS), inulin, galactooligosaccharides (GOS), and resistant starch (RS₂), when added as ingredients (1% w/w) to an extruded cereal and a low pH drink. The cereal was prepared using different screw speeds and barrel temperatures. GOS was not affected by any of the extrusion conditions, whereas inulin decreased significantly at 140 and 170°C. FOS levels decreased in all extrusion conditions, …

Alignment Behaviors Of Short Peptides Provide A Roadmap For Functional Profiling Of Metagenomic Data, Rohita Sinha, Jennifer L. Clarke, Andrew K. Benson

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: Functional assignments for short-read metagenomic data pose a significant computational challenge due to perceived unpredictability of alignment behavior and the inability to infer useful functional information from translated protein-fragments/peptides. To address this problem, we have examined the predictability of short peptide alignments by systematically studying alignment behavior of large sets of short peptides generated from well-characterized proteins as well as hypothetical proteins in the KEGG database.

Results: Using test sets of peptides modeling the length and phylogenetic distributions of short-read metagenomic data, we observed that peptides from well-characterized proteins had indistinguishable alignments to proteins from the same orthologous family …

Host Genetic Architecture And The Landscape Of Microbiome Composition: Humans Weigh In, Andrew K. Benson

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Comparative analyses of the control of mammalian microbiomes by host genetic architecture reveal striking conserved features that have implications for the evolution of host–microbiome interactions.

Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction For Detecting Mycoplasma Hyosynoviae And Mycoplasma Hyorhinis In Pen-Based Oral, Tonsillar, And Nasal Fluids, João Carlos Gomes Neto, Leslie Bower, Barbara Z. Erickson, Chong Wang, Matthew Raymond, Erin L. Strait

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Mycoplasma (M.) hyorhinis and M. hyosynoviae are pathogens known to cause disease in pigs post-weaning. Due to their fastidious nature, there is increased need for culture-independent diagnostic platforms to detect these microorganisms. Therefore, this study was performed to develop and optimize quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assays to rapidly detect M. hyorhinis and M. hyosynoviae in pen-based oral fluids as well as nasal and tonsillar fluids as proxies for samples used in swine herd surveillance. Two methods of genomic DNA extraction, automated versus manual, were used to compare diagnostic test performance. A wean-to-finish longitudinal study was also carried out to demonstrate …

In Vivo Selection To Identify Bacterial Strains With Enhanced Ecological Performance In Synbiotic Applications, Janina A. Krumbeck, Maria X. Maldonado-Gomez, Ines Martınez, Steven Frese, Thomas E. Burkey, Karuna Rasineni, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Edward N. Harris, Robert W. Hutkins, Jens Walter

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

One strategy for enhancing the establishment of probiotic bacteria in the human intestinal tract is via the parallel administration of a prebiotic, which is referred to as a synbiotic. Here we present a novel method that allows a rational selection of putative probiotic strains to be used in synbiotic applications: in vivo selection (IVS). This method consists of isolating candidate probiotic strains from fecal samples following enrichment with the respective prebiotic. To test the potential of IVS, we isolated bifidobacteria from human subjects who consumed increasing doses of galactooligosaccharides (GOS) for 9 weeks. A retrospective analysis of the fecal microbiota …

Sandwich Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay For Detecting Sesame Seed In Foods, Stef J. Koppelman, Gülsen Söylemez, Lynn Niemann, Ferdelie E. Gaskin, Joseph L. Baumert, Steve L. Taylor

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Small amounts of sesame can trigger allergic reactions in sesame-allergic patients. Because sesame is a widely used food ingredient, analytical methods are needed to support quality control and food safety programs in the food industry. In this study, polyclonal antibodies against sesame seed proteins were raised, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the detection and quantification of sesame seed residue in food. A comparison was made between this ELISA and other assays, particularly focusing on recovery of sesame seed residue from different food matrices. The developed ELISA is sensitive with a lower limit of quantification of 0.5 …

Effect Of Chemical Modifications On Allergenic Potency Of Peanut Proteins, Ramon Bencharitiwong, Hanneke P. M. Van Der Kleij, Stef J. Koppelman, Anna Nowak-Wegrzyn

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: Modification of native peanut extracts could reduce adverse effects of peanut immunotherapy.

Objective: We sought to compare native and chemically modified crude peanut extract (CPE) and major peanut allergens Ara h 2 and Ara h 6 in a mediator-release assay based on the rat basophilic leukemia (RBL) cell line transfected with human Fce receptor.

Methods: Native Ara h 2/6 was reduced and alkylated (RA), with or without additional glutaraldehyde treatment (RAGA). CPE was reduced and alkylated. Sera of subjects with peanut allergy (16 males; median age 7 years) were used for overnight RBL-passive sensitization. Cells were stimulated …

Food Processing And Allergenicity, Kitty C. M. Verhoeckx, Yvonne M. Vissers, Joseph L. Baumert, Roland Faludi, Marcel Feys, Simon Flanagan, Corinne Herouet-Guicheney, Thomas Holzhauser, Ryo Shimojo, Nieke Van Der Bolt, Harry Wichers, Ian Kimber

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Food processing can have many beneficial effects. However, processing may also alter the allergenic properties of food proteins. A wide variety of processing methods is available and their use depends largely on the food to be processed.

In this review the impact of processing (heat and non-heat treatment) on the allergenic potential of proteins, and on the antigenic (IgG-binding) and allergenic (IgE-binding) properties of proteins has been considered. A variety of allergenic foods (peanuts, tree nuts, cows’ milk, hens’ eggs, soy, wheat and mustard) have been reviewed.

The overall conclusion drawn is that processing does not completely abolish the allergenic …

The Microbiome Of Uncontacted Amerindians, Jose C. Clemente, Erica C. Pehrsson, Martin J. Blaser, Kuldip Sandhu, Zhan Gao, Bin Wang, Magda Magris, Glida Hidalgo, Monica Contreras, Óscar Noya-Alarcón, Orlana Lander, Jeremy Mcdonald, Mike Cox, Jens Walter, Phaik Lyn Oh, Jean F. Ruiz, Selena Rodriguez, Nan Shen, Se Jin Song, Jessica Metcalf, Rob Knight, Gautam Dantas, M. Gloria Dominguez-Bello

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Most studies of the human microbiome have focused on westernized people with life-style practices that decrease microbial survival and transmission, or on traditional societies that are currently in transition to westernization. We characterize the fecal, oral, and skin bacterial microbiome and resistome of members of an isolated Yanomami Amerindian village with no documented previous contact with Western people. These Yanomami harbor a microbiome with the highest diversity of bacteria and genetic functions ever reported in a human group. Despite their isolation, presumably for >11,000 years since their ancestors arrived in South America, and no known exposure to antibiotics, they harbor …