Ana Andrés

• Polytechnic University of Valencia

The growing number of older adults necessitates tailored food options that accommodate the specific diseases and nutritional deficiencies linked with ageing. This study aims to investigate the influence of age-related digestive conditions in vitro on the phenolic profile, antioxidant activity, and bioaccessibility of minerals (Ca, Fe, and Mg) in tw...

Cystic Fibrosis-related gut dysbiosis (CFRGD) has become a recognised complication in children with this condition, and current evidence remains insufficient to guide the selection of probiotic strains for supplementation treatments. The aim of this study was to characterise the effect of three probiotic strains on CFRGD by means of a dynamic in vi...

Solid-state fermentation reportedly improves the nutritional and sensory properties of legumes and pseudocereals. This study examined changes in the volatile profile using HS-SPME-GC-MS of two varieties of lentil and quinoa flour fermented with Pleurotus ostreatus and dried using hot-air drying and lyophilisation. Fermentation significantly increas...

There is an increasing demand on alternatives methods to animal testing. Numerous health parameters have been already studied using in vitro devices able to mimic the essential functions of the organs, being the real-time monitoring and response to stimuli their main limitations. Regarding the health of the gut, the short chain fatty acids, and par...

Tackling rising up obesity tendency, especially among kids and adolescents, is a crucial task for modern society. The reduction of fast-acting carbohydrate content and plant protein enrichment in snacks recipe is seen as a perspective strategy to prevent overweight. The existed initiates and scientific projects related to the reduction of obesity a...

Understanding the mechanisms of food digestion is of paramount importance to determine the effect foods have on human health. Significant knowledge on the fate of food during digestion has been generated in healthy adults due to the development of physiologically-relevant in vitro digestion models. However, it appears that the performance of the or...

Gastrointestinal (GI) functions deteriorate with age, primarily affecting protein digestion. The consumption of chia seeds may be helpful for the elderly because they offer a vegetable-based source of proteins, healthy lipids, fibre and micronutrients. The impact of common age-related GI deterioration on chia seed digestibility was assessed using i...

Solid-state fermentation (SSF) with Pleurotus ostreatus enhances the nutritional value of legumes. However, drying can cause significant changes in physical and nutritional properties of the final products. Thus, this work studies the impact of air-drying temperature (50, 60, and 70 °C) on relevant properties (antioxidant properties, ACE-inhibitory...

Solid-state fermentation (SSF) may be a suitable bioprocess to produce protein-vegetal ingredients with increased nutritional and functional value. This study assessed changes in phenol content, antinutrient content, biomass production and protein production resulting from the metabolic activity of Pleurotus ostreatus , an edible fungus, in lentils...

Fruits and vegetables juices present a high supply of polyphenols, making them highly exposed to enzymatic browning. In this work, we report a novel magnetized mesoporous silica material (Fe3O4NPs-UVM-7) functionalised with thiol and amine groups and evaluate their effect on the enzymatic browning as well as the physicochemical properties (pH and °...

Clinical studies have associated the consumption of tiger nuts (Cyperus esculentus L.), and its derivates, with improved macular health, due to the presence of certain liposoluble compounds with antioxidant activity, especially to lutein and zeaxanthin. However, the benefits derived from ingestion of tiger nut products may vary depending on the rel...

Solid-state fermentation (SSF) could be considered a suitable bioprocess to produce protein-vegetal ingredients with increased nutritional and functional value. This study aimed at assessing changes in phenols and antinutrients contents, along with biomass and protein production, resulting from the metabolic activity of Pleurotus Ostreatus, and edi...

Fermentation of plant-based substrates with edible fungi enhances the nutrient profile and digestibility, but it has been scarcely applied to edible seeds, which are rich in healthy lipids. In this study, chia and sesame seeds were solid-state fermented with Pleurotus ostreatus, followed by drying and milling. Fermentation led to increased content...

This study aimed to in vitro evaluate the impact of common gastrointestinal (GI) alterations appearing with aging on protein digestibility, and functional related properties, in four different meats (chicken, turkey, pork and beef). Thus, three elderly digestion models were stated as long as altered GI conditions affected at oral (E1), oral and gas...

Enzymatic browning in fruits and vegetables can produce undesirable colour changes and adversely affect the taste, flavour, and nutritional value. This fact poses a challenge to the food industry to apply appropriate inhibitors to control enzymatic browning to maintain food quality. Accordingly, this study aims to evaluate the effect of small mazam...

The purpose of this work is to study the effect of the traditional processing conditions of the corn (maize) tortilla on the content and bioaccessibility of total phenolic compounds (TPC). Corn tortillas are part of the staple diet in Mexico and previous work has been conducted on industrially-prepared tortillas, however, no research on the effect...

The human colonic microbiota plays an important role in the food digestion process and has a key role in maintaining health status. This community of microbes is inter-individually different due to several factors that modulate its composition. Among them, diet is one of the most relevant, which, in turn, is affected by environmental, economic, and...

The human colonic microbiota plays an important role in the food digestion process and has a key role in maintaining health status. This community of microbes is inter-individually different due to several factors that modulate its composition. Among them, diet is one of the most relevant, which, in turn, is affected by environmental, economic, and...

In vitro digestion studies often use animal digestive enzyme extracts as substitutes of human gastric and pancreatic secretions. Pancreatin from porcine origin is thus commonly used to provide relevant pancreatic enzymes such as proteases, amylase and lipase. Rabbit gastric extracts (RGE) have been recently introduced to provide gastric lipase in a...

In order to determine the evolution of sodium chloride and water distribution profiles, surface dry-salting goat cheese was analyzed during a four-week ripening period. The concentration profiles of sodium chloride and water were analyzed according to the height and diameter of the cheese pieces and the response surface analysis was applied for the...

Nowadays there is an increasing demand for vegetable protein sources as an alternative to that of animal origin, not only for its greater environmental sustainability but also for its relationship with lower risk of suffering cardiovascular diseases. Legumes, cereals and seeds are seen as a good proteinaceous source providing as well dietetic fiber...

The labelling of packaged foods is a universal concern present in the national legislation of most countries. Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on food information provided to the consumer allows the possibility of using a front nutrition label FOPL (Front-of-Pack nutrition label) in a complementary way to the mandatory nutrition information, on a volu...

This study aimed to in vitro assess the impact of the cooking process of eggs (hard-boiled, poached, and omelet) on nutrients digestibility and vitamins A and D3 bioaccessibility under elderly gastrointestinal (GI) conditions. Three elderly digestion models were mimicked: oral (E1); oral and gastric (E2); and oral, gastric, and intestinal (E3), and...

Aging is accompanied by changes in gastrointestinal functions. The impact of the gastrointestinal (GI) conditions of the elderly on the extent of proteolysis and glycolysis as well as calcium bioaccessibility in some cooked legumes (chickpea, lentils, soya bean and white bean) and cereals/pseudocereals (oats, spelt and quinoa) were studied. Samples...

The digestion and absorption of dietary lipids is a very complex mechanism involving insoluble substances, neutral and amphiphilic lipids, and different lipases that act in the stomach and small intestine [2]. Therefore, the intestinal absorption of the products of lipolysis (mainly free fatty acids), as well as free cholesterol and fat-soluble vit...

Food digestion is the key process for delivering nutrients and bioactive compounds to the body [...]

Background Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and pancreatic insufficiency need pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) for dietary lipids digestion. There is limited evidence for recommending the adequate PERT dose for every meal, and controlling steatorrhea remains a challenge. This study aimed to evaluate a new PERT dosing method supported...

Salmon is the main dietary source of omega-3 lipids and contains high-biological value protein. However, processing techniques could affect macronutrient digestibility. Also, altered intestinal conditions, particularly given in pancreatic insufficiency, could threaten digestibility. This study tested both hypotheses by subjecting raw, marinated and...

The effect of silica materials and their functionalization in the lipase catalyzed fat hydrolysis has been scarcely studied. Fifteen silica materials were prepared and their effect on the fat hydrolysis was measured, under simulated duodenal conditions, using the pH-stat method. The materials are composed of the combination of three supports (Stöbe...

Lentils (Lens culinaris) present an excellent nutrient profile. However, the increasing displacement of legumes from the diet and the possible negative effects of the food matrix and antinutrient factors encourage the application of new strategies to improve nutrient digestibility and to produce food concepts that contribute to the increase of legu...

Lentils (Lens culinaris) present an excellent nutrient profile. However, the increasing displacement of legumes from the diet and the possible negative effects of the food matrix and antinutrient factors encourage the application of new strategies to improve nutrient digestibility and to produce food concepts that contribute to the increase of legu...

Enzymatic browning is one of the main problems faced by the food industry due to the enzyme polyphenol oxidase (PPO) action provoking undesirable colour change in the presence of oxygen. Here, we report the evaluation of ten different azamacrocyclic compounds with diverse morphologies as potential inhibitors against the activity of PPO, both in mod...

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of some elderly in vitro gastrointestinal (GI) conditions on proteolysis and lipolysis extent, calcium, vitamins A and D bioaccessibility and lactose release in milk, yogurt, fresh and aged cheeses. To evaluate the impact of the some oral, gastric and intestinal disorders appearing with ageing on dairy digest...

This study aimed to analyze the effect of elderly gastrointestinal (GI) conditions on proteolysis, lipolysis and calcium and vitamins A and D3 bioaccessibility in salmon, sardine, sea bass and hake. For this purpose, cooked fishes were in vitro subjected to three elderly in vitro digestion models: E1 (oral elderly conditions), E2 (oral and gastric...

Despite treatment with pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT), patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) can still suffer from fat malabsorption. A cause could be low intestinal pH disabling PERT. The aim of this study was to assess the association between faecal pH (as intestinal pH surrogate) and coefficient of fat absorption (CFA). Additionally,...

Chia seeds present with an excellent nutrient profile, including polyunsaturated fat, protein, fibre and bioactive compounds, which make them a potential food or ingredient to bring beneficial health effects. However, their tough structure could mean that these seeds remain hardly disrupted during digestion, thus preventing the release and digestib...

Unveiling mechanisms underpinning nutrient digestion has raised interest in the field of medical sciences for their potential application in clinical treatments. In the case of Cystic Fibrosis (CF), there exists an urgent need for understanding food lipid digestion to establish a criterion to adjust the dose of pancreatic enzyme supplements; patien...

The scarce literature about the effect of meal-factors have on lipids digestibility encouraged the present study, in which olive oil was co-digested with naturally fat-free matrices that were rich in carbohydrate (potato and bread) or protein (degreased fresh cheese, hake and turkey) in single, binary and ternary combinations. Digestion was simulat...

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO), also known as tyrosinase and catechol oxidase, is the enzyme responsible for enzymatic browning in foods. It causes undesirable organoleptic, nutritional and colour changes. Here, we report the preparation of five nanomaterials and a study of their ability to modulate PPO enzyme activity. The materials consist of UVM-7 sup...

This work aims to study the effect of the addition of saffron extract on fresh pasta in-vitro digestibility. Fresh pasta was formulated with different concentrations of saffron extracts (0.2 and 0.4 %w/w), cooked at two different times (1.5 and 3 min), and in vitro digested (oral, gastric and intestinal stages). Oil was added to pasta before digest...

Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) implies maldigestion, being pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy the treatment to enhance digestibility. This study aims at analysing the influence of cheese-related factors and intestinal conditions on macronutrients digestibility. Fresh-cow, fresh-goat, mild and aged cheeses were in vitro digested under di...

In vitro digestion models are a valid methodology to study nutrient hydrolysis by simulating standard physiological gastrointestinal conditions. However, there are pathologies in which some conditions are affected, which should be considered in the design of an in vitro digestion study. Our work aims at elucidating the role of different gastrointes...

Wine is one of the most important food products worldwide. However, the application of technologies to the winemaking process can improve. An RGBC optical sensor, used to measure color intensity and shade, was developed and tested in real environments. It is able to measure samples without filtering by offering the color intensity and shade of a fi...

Background A method to adjust Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy in Cystic Fibrosis is not currently available. Objectives To assess the in vivo efficacy of a method to adjust the dose of enzymatic supplement in CF extrapolated from previous in vitro digestion studies (theoretical optimal dose, TOD). Secondly, to assess how individual patient c...

Background Patients with cystic fibrosis have to take enzymatic supplements to allow for food digestion. However, an evidence-based method to adjust Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT) is inexistent, and lipid content of meals is used as a rough criterion. Objective In this study, an in vitro digestion model was set up to determine the th...

Study database. The table includes all the study variables and the response variable being lipolysis %. (CSV)

Code for the segmented mixed regression model. This model was applied to study the effect of the enzyme supplement dose and to predict the theoretical optimal dose (TOD). (R)

Code for data treatment and statistical analyses. This file compiles all the code and commands to be executed with R software. (DOCX)

Code for the linear mixed regression model. This model was applied to study the effect of extrinsic factors (bile salt concentration and intestinal pH) on lipolysis extent. (R)

Digestibility of macronutrients depends on the food matrix structure as well as on gastrointestinal conditions, especially in patients with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. In this situation, an oral enzyme supplementation that promotes nutrient hydrolysis is needed. In this context, in the present study, a static in vitro digestion model was use...

This study evaluated the influence of intestinal conditions on lipolysis and polyphenols release and bioaccessibility in dark, milk and white chocolates. Chocolates were in vitro digested under different intestinal conditions of pH (6 and 7), bile concentration (1 and 10 mM) and pancreatic concentrations (1000–3000 LU/g Fat). The lipolysis varied f...

In vitro digestion research has scarcely addressed the assessment of the complexity of digestion in real food. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of intestinal conditions, nonlipid components, and lipid organization within the food matrix on lipolysis extent. A selection of 52 foods was studied under different simulated inte...

Con el objetivo de determinar la evolución de los perfiles de distribución de cloruro sódico y agua, se analizaron quesos de cabra salados por distribución de sal seca sobre su superficie durante cuatro semanas de maduración. Se analizaron los perfiles de concentración de cloruro sódico y agua en función de la altura y el diámetro de las piezas de...

Se determinaron los cambios en la concentración de NaCl y agua en quesos de cabra salados por distribución de 2% de sal seca en chips de cuajada y posteriormente moldeados y madurados en cámara a 10ºC y 98% de HR durante 4 semanas. Se encontró que la concentración de NaCl global aumenta con el tiempo de maduración, produciéndose cambios significati...

It is well known that microwaves can assist most of food drying processes; but despite its benefits, microwave energy has not yet been exploited to its potential in the industrial applications. Some of the reasons are because available microwave technology (tubes and valves) cannot offer a homogeneous heating, causing hot/cold spots depending on pr...

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of microwave power on acrylamide generation, as well as moisture and oil fluxes and quality attributes of microwave-fried potatoes. Concretely, 25 g of potato strips, in 250 mL of fresh oil (at room temperature), were subjected to three different microwave powers (315, 430, and 600 W) in a conve...

Digestibility of macro and micronutrients depends on the ingested food as well as on gastrointestinal conditions, being those suboptimal in exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) patients. Under this scenario, oral enzyme supplementation improves enzymatic hydrolysis of nutrients. In this study, a static in vitro model was used to assess lipids an...

Changes undergone by tomato-antioxidants during gastrointestinal digestion of raw and fried tomato, with or without presence of the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 55730, were studied. Frying process enhanced the extractability of antioxidant compounds, being their content higher in fried than in raw tomato. In vitro digestion led to a signifi...

Pancreatic insufficiency is a clinical manifestation characterized by the in-ability of the pancreas to release enough pancreatic enzyme into the small intestine, necessary to digest intraluminal nutrients. The lack of digestive enzymes leads to the difficulty to absorb nutrients, which drives in infants, to malnutrition and lack of growth and deve...

The aim of the research was to determine the impact of fermentation with Pleurotus ostreatus on kidney beans, black beans, and oats. The results indicate that the fungus has a positive effect on the substrates when compared to the controls. The antioxidant activity (39.5% on kidney beans and 225% on oats in relation to the controls) and content of...

The biomass obtained from microalgae, such as Chlorella, is used to make dietary products, supplements and pharmaceuticals. However, microalgae are produced very far from consumption places. One of the most usual distribution forms is as a dry product, a process that entails high production costs and leads to the loss of certain nutritional propert...

Wheat flour replacement by rice flour is a key strategy in gluten-free batter production. Rice flour needs hydrocolloids to offset the development of the network of the mix. In this context, the aim of this work was to analyze the influence of chitosan (0–1 g/100 g of batter) addition on the microstructural, rheological and thermal properties of wh...

Darkening processed fruits and vegetables is caused mainly by enzymatic browning through polyphenol oxidase (PPO) action. Accordingly, we explored the potential of four silica-based materials (MCM-41 nanometric size, MCM-41 micrometric size, UVM-7 and aerosil), non-functionalised and functionalised with thiol groups, to inhibit PPO activity in the...

Persimmon, given its current surplus production, could be an alternative source for the extraction of certain interesting ingredients for the food industry and human health, such as fibre. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyse the influence of hot air and freeze-drying, as well as the particle size of fibre extracted from persimmon peels or pu...

Acrylamide is a well-known potentially carcinogen compound formed during thermal processing as an intermediate of Maillard reactions. Three objectives were addressed: the impact of gastric digestion on acrylamide content of French Fries, chips, chicken nuggets, onions rings, breakfast cereals, biscuits, crackers, instant coffee and coffee substitut...

Wine colour is one of the main organoleptic characteristics influencing its quality. It is of special interest in red vinifications due to the economic resources that wineries have to invest for the extraction of the phenolic compounds responsible for wine colour, compounds that are mainly located inside the skin cell vacuoles, where the volatile c...

Introduction For the optimal management of children with cystic fibrosis, there are currently no efficient tools for the precise adjustment of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, either for advice on appropriate dietary intake or for achieving an optimal nutrition status. Therefore, we aim to develop a mobile application that ensures a successfu...

Background. In vitro digestion models show great promise in facilitating the rationale design of foods. This paper provides a look into the current state of the art and outlines possible future paths for developments of digestion models recreating the diverse physiological conditions of specific groups of the human population. Scope and Approach....

The potential of chitosan to mitigate acrylamide formation has been already demonstrated. The two main objectives of this study were: 1) to select the most adequate degree of deacetylation (DD) and molecular weight (Mw) of chitosan based on acrylamide mitigation criteria and 2) to evaluate the influence of including chitosan in batter formulations...

The ability of a number of mesoporous silica materials (SBA-15, SBA-3, and MCM-48) to immobilize polyphenol oxidase (PPO) at different pH has been tested. Pore size and volume are the structural characteristics with higher influence on the PPO immobilization. Mesoropous material SBA-15 adsorbs a larger quantity of PPO at pH 4.00 and offers an inhib...

This study aims to analyze the antioxidant benefits from persimmon leaf tea, fruit and fibres taking into account their changes along gastrointestinal digestion. The evolution of polyphenols, flavonoids and antioxidant capacity was studied using the recent harmonized in vitro protocol published by Minekus et al. (2014). The digestion was performed...

Persimmon leaves have played an important role in Chinese medicine. Persimmon extracts and formulations have been shown to possess a wide range of pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, hypolipidaemic and antidiabetic, and they have been used to treat cardiovascular disease, improve homeostasis, as antibacterial and anti-inflammatory ag...

In recent years high contents of acrylamide, a potentially carcinogenic substance, have been found in a wide range of fried and baked foods. For this reason, the health authorities together with the food industry have carried out research to find ways to minimize the presence of acrylamide during food processing. The addition of chitosan may be an...

This work represents the final step of a series of studies on the formulation of strawberry products with partial replacement of sucrose by healthier sugars such as fructose and isomaltulose. Previously, quality parameters of the formulated products such as colour, texture, rheology, aromatic profile and sensory evaluation were assessed. As a final...

Persimmon production has increased considerably, thanks to techniques for removing astringency whilst maintaining the strong consistency. Currently, the needs of cooperatives are focused on increasing the commercial period. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the effect of preharvest treatments (paclobutrazol (PBZ) and Ethephon to accelerate...

Isomaltulose is a non-cariogenic sugar with a lower glycemic index but with the same caloric value and visual appearance as sucrose. Therefore, isomaltulose could potentially be used to produce healthier candies. In this regard, the aim of this research was to evaluate isomaltulose as a traditional sugar replacer in soft marshmallow type candies, i...

This paper investigated the effect of air-frying technology, in combination with a pretreatment based of soaking the samples in different chemical agent solutions (citric acid, glycine, calcium lactate, sodium chloride, or nicotinic acid [vitamin B3]), on the generation of acrylamide in fried potatoes. The influence of reducing sugars on the develo...

Drying is one of the oldest methods of meat preservation. It not only contributes to microbial growth stability but also modifies the enzymatic reactions and the sensory characteristics of the meat. The most common drying technique applied to meat products is air drying. This is rarely the only drying procedure used in meat preservation, however, w...

The replacement of traditional sugars by isomaltulose could be a revolution in the confectionery sector, since isomaltulose is a functional, digestible, non-cariogenic and low glycemic disaccharide. This study assesses the addition of isomaltulose (ranging between 30–70% in combination with fructose) with different percentages of gelatine (6–10%) i...

Moisture sorption isotherms of persimmon leaves were determined at 20, 30 and 40 °C using the standard gravimetric static method over a range of relative humidity from 0.06 to 0.9. The experimental sorption curves were fitted by seven equations: Henderson, Halsey, Smith, Oswin, BET, GAB and Caurie. The Halsey, Smith, GAB and BET models were found t...

The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of frying technique (air-frying and deep oil-frying) and type of pre-treatment (freezing and blanching) on the evolution of mechanical and optical properties of French fries. The results showed that the chromatic parameters, a* and b*, experimented an increase regardless of the frying method. The i...

The presence of antioxidant compounds and therefore the antioxidant capacity of persimmon leaves and their extracts have been reported by many authors. Furthermore, it is known that both the method of drying and the temperature at which this process takes place substantially affect the properties of the final product. However, there are no studies...

The differences in the external osmotic medium, dry or dissolved osmotic agent and its concentration (constant or variable) can significantly influence the kinetics of mass transfer. The objective of this work was to compare water and solute transport during the osmotic dehydration of strawberry pieces under different external conditions, wet or dr...