Paula García Oliveira

University of Vigo | UVIGO · Faculty of Science

Muscle foods and their products are a fundamental part of the human diet. The high protein content found in muscle foods, as well as the high content of essential amino acids, provides an appropriate composition to complete the nutritional requirements of humans. However, due to their special composition, they are susceptible to oxidative degradati...

The current consumers' demand for food naturalness is urging the search for new functional foods of natural origin with enhanced health-promoting properties. In this sense, algae constitute an underexplored biological source of nutraceuticals that can be used to fortify food products. Both marine macroalgae (or seaweeds) and microalgae exhibit a my...

This work explored the potential of Verbascum sinuatum L. flowers (VSF) as a natural ingredient in the designing of food preservatives, and formulation of functional foods and pharmaceutical products.

Several scientific studies have been proving the bioactive effects of many aromatic and medicinal plants associated with the presence of a high number of bioactive compounds, namely phenolic compounds. The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial capacities of these molecules have aroused high interest in some industrial sectors, including...

The food industry generates large amounts of organic waste, which generally accumulates in landfills or is burned, causing environmental problems. However, many studies indicate that this waste is rich in bioactive compounds, so it could be revalued for transformation into high value-added products, thus favoring the circular and sustainable econom...

Papaya is one of the most important fruit trees cultivated throughout the tropical and subtropical regions and its production is rising worldwide. Its edible part has a high nutritional and sensory value and a great commercial potential. Mature papaya is consumed fresh and has been used in food processing and cosmetic industries. Along with some ot...

The constant increment in the world's population leads to a parallel increase in the demand for food. This situation gives place the need for urgent development of alternative and sustainable resources to satisfy this nutritional requirement. Human nutrition is currently based on fisheries, which accounts for 50% of the fish production for human co...

Finding a food system to feed the growing worldwide population remains a challenge , especially in the current era, where natural resources are being dramatically depleted. From a historical point of view, the Green Revolution, together with bio-fortification and sustainable intensification, was established as a possible solution to counter hunger...

The increasing demand for nutraceuticals in the circular economy era has driven the research toward studying bioactive compounds from renewable underexploited resources. in this regard, the exploration of brown algae has shown significant growth and maintains a great promise for the future. One possible explanation could be that brown algae are ric...

Since ancient times plants have been used in natural therapies as a remedy against diseases. However, the use of medicinal plants is growing because they have many compounds of great interest with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties [1]. In particular, Chamaemelum nobile (L) All. belonging to the Asteraceae family is known...

Macroalgae have been recently used for different applications in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry since they do not compete for land and freshwater against other resources. Moreover, they have been highlighted as a potential source of bioactive compounds. Red algae (Rhodophyta) are the largest group of seaweeds, including around 6000...

Nowadays, medicinal plants have different uses since they can play an important role in the design of modern medicines and new healthy foods. Although their consumption is not high, these plants are attributed pharmacological properties with beneficial properties such as antioxi-dant, anti-inflammatory, or antimicrobial, among others [1]. The study...

Ascophyllum nodosum (Linnaeus) Le Jolis is a brown alga from the Fucaceae family and the unique species from the Ascophyllum genus. This brown alga is an edible macroalga from the North Atlantic Ocean, commonly found on the European northwestern coast. High-value bioactive molecules such as pigments, polyphenols, and phlorotannin [1,2] have been fo...

Medicinal plants have been traditionally used throughout time as therapeutic treatments. These plants possess different compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties of industrial interest. In particular, the plants Achillea millefolium L., Arnica montana L., Calendula of icinalis L., Chamaemelum nobile L. All. and Tara...

Agroindustry generates different types of waste every year, among which are food suitable for human consumption, but without commercial value since they do not meet the strict marketing parameters. In this sense, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that food losses reach 1,300 million tons, 44% corresponding...

Fish and other seafood products are essential dietary components that are highly appreciated and consumed worldwide. However, the high perishability of these products has driven the development of a wide range of processing, preservation, and analytical techniques. This development has been accelerated in recent years with the advent of the fourth...

: Fish and other seafood products are essential dietary components that are highly appreciated and consumed worldwide. However, the high perishability of these products has driven the development of a wide range of processing, preservation, and analytical techniques. This development has been accelerated in recent years with the advent of the fourt...

Seaweeds are a typical food of East-Asian cuisine, to which are alleged several beneficial health effects have been attributed. Their availability and their nutritional and chemical composition have favored the increase in its consumption worldwide, as well as a focus of research due to their bioactive properties. In this regard, seaweed proteins a...

Sizeable scientific evidence indicates the health benefits related to phenolic compounds and dietary fiber. Various phenolic compounds-rich foods or ingredients are also rich in dietary fiber, and these two health components may interrelate via non-covalent (reversible) and covalent (mostly irreversible) interactions. Notwithstanding, these interac...

The application of natural colorants is increasing in the food industry because they are considered safer and healthier than some synthetic pigments. Natural colorants can improve the organoleptic properties of foodstuffs, provide additional benefits such as enhance their nutritional value and/or extend shelf-life. Plants, fungi, bacteria or algae...

Freeze-drying–based encapsulation involves the generation of an emulsion solution formed by the target compound and the encapsulating materials to later convert them into microcapsules applying the freeze-drying technique. Microcapsules are aimed to contain diverse ingredients such as active biomolecules, cells, or other materials. Later, the micro...

The application of natural colorants is increasing in the food industry because they are considered safer and healthier than some synthetic pigments. Natural colorants can improve the organoleptic properties of foodstuffs, provide additional benefits such as enhance their nutritional value and/or extend shelf-life. Plants, fungi, bacteria or algae...

Background: The valorization of by-products is currently a matter of great concern to improve the sustainability of the food industry. High quality by-products derived from the food chain are omega-3 (ω3) fatty acids (FA), being fish the main source of docosahexaenoic (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic (EPA) acids. The search for economic and sustainable s...

Background World-wide aquaculture represents a very important sector capable of supplying huge amounts of animal protein. However its relevance has proportionally augmented its waste generation. In Europe, the geographical constitution of Galicia has prompted the instauration of many aquaculture-based systems along its coasts. Indeed aquaculture me...

During the last decades, the world’s population has been continuously increasing; consequently, so has the concern about the capability of the current food system for providing sufficient food for the 10 billion expected people in 30 years. Even though this challenge is considered feasible, some changes in the food production and consumption system...

Background: During the last decades, olive oil consumption has experienced a continuous increase due to its unique organoleptic properties and its related beneficial properties. Consequently, waste and by-products derived from the olive production have also increased causing environmental problems and economic losses. However, the low-cost and huge...

Nowadays, consumers are increasingly aware of the relationship between diet and health, showing a greater preference of products from natural origin. In the last decade, seaweeds have outlined as one of the natural sources with more potential to obtain bioactive carbohydrates. Numerous seaweed polysaccharides have aroused the interest of the scient...

During human history, people have searched plant species to heal their diseases, elaborating different traditional remedies. Nowadays, numerous scientific studies have demonstrated the beneficial biological properties of several plants including species of Rosaceae familywhich appears in various ethnobotanical studies as one of the most used plants...

In recent years, food industry has focused on the use of active packaging (AP) of natural origin because of its advantages: food protection against the environment, extension of food shelf-life, and the employment of natural agents to avoid the use of chemical additives and conventional materials, such as plastic, which cause a negative impact on t...

The increase in life expectancy has led to the appearance of chronic diseases and interest in healthy aging, in turn promoting a growing interest in bioactive compounds (BCs) and functional ingredients. There are certain foods or products rich in functional ingredients, and algae are one of them. Algae consumption has been nominal in Europe until n...

The family Asteraceae constitutes a plant family that contains a wide range of medicinal plants, especially in Galicia (NW Spain), where some species have been used in traditional medicine. In this work, five Asteraceae species were selected to develop their phenolic profiling and determine their associated bioactivities, namely Achillea millefoliu...

Algae are an underexploited source of natural bioactive compounds in Western countries, so an increasing interest in the valorization of these marine organisms has emerged in recent years. In this work, the effect of extracting solvent on the extraction yield, phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and antimicrobial activity of nine brown macroalg...

Nowadays, anthocyanins have gained attention in the scientific and industrial fields, due not only to their biological activities but also to their coloring properties. In this sense, the use of anthocyanins for developing new nutraceutical foods has been proposed, both to substitute synthetic additives and also as ingredients with added-value. The...

Nowadays, anthocyanins have gained scientific and industrial attention due to their biological activities and coloring properties. In this regard, anthocyanins have been proposed for use in the development of new nutraceutical foods to replace synthetic additives as well as to be value-added ingredients. The aim of this study was to evaluate curren...

The present study focused on the biological analysis of five plants: Achillea millefolium, Arnica montana, Calendula officinalis, Chamaemelum nobile and Taraxacum officinale. The results indicated that A. montana extracts showed the highest content of phenolic compounds. Regarding the biological properties, A. millefolium had outstanding antioxidan...

Plants have been widely employed in traditional medicine, known as medicinal plants, and, currently, they play an important role in the design of modern drugs and healthy foods. Numerous studies have reported that the health-enhancing properties of medicinal plants (e.g., antioxidant, antimicrobial, antitumor, etc.) are a consequence of the biosynt...

Medicinal plants have been traditionally used throughout time as therapeutic treatment. These plants possess different compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties of great interest at an industrial level. In particular, the plant Calendula officinalis L, belonging to Asteraceae family, have shown relevant applications...

Fucus spiralis (FS) is a brown alga, widely distributed in the Galician coast, which biosynthesizes different secondary metabolites of great interest at an industrial level, such as phenolic compounds and fucoxanthin. Specifically, phenolic compounds present important biological activities, acting mostly as antioxidant agents. This study is aimed a...

Active packaging has gained interest in recent years. Despite protecting food from the environment, it can incorporate agents with specific properties in order to extend the shelf life of the food. As a requirement, it is essential that the active agent has a greater affinity for the food than for the packaging material and in this sense, essential...

Macroalgae are a suitable source for the obtention of new functional ingredients. Besides their high content in carbohydrates, proteins, and minerals they are also rich in secondary metabolites like phenolic compounds, carotenes, and carotenoids with many different properties and applications. One of these compounds is fucoxanthin (Fx), a pigment m...

Algae constitute a group of organisms with promising applications as a source of antioxidant compounds, with a strong potential in both the prevention and treatment of different diseases and in food preservation. In practical terms, the optimization of the extraction conditions is necessary to obtainthe bioactive compounds present in algal matrices...

Active packaging has gained interest in recent years. As well as protecting food from the environment, it can incorporate agents with specific properties to extend the shelf life of the food. As a requirement, it is essential that the active agent has a greater affinity for the food than for the packaging material and, in this sense, essential oils...

Currently, medicinal plants have had a great relevance due to their beneficial healthy properties. Many studies reflect that these biological properties, such as antioxidant, antitumor, antimicrobial activities are related to different bioactive compounds, including phenolic compounds. Although some of their mechanisms of action are unknown, in man...

Macroalgae are a suitable source of ingredients due to the high content in proteins, carbohydrates and minerals, but also in several secondary metabolites with many different properties and applications like phenolic compounds, carotenes and carotenoids. Among them, fucoxanthin is a pigment found exclusively in marine organisms such as algae specie...

In recent years, life expectancy has grown exponentially, in addition to this, there has also beenan increase in interest in the preservation of health. Nutrition is an important factor in theprevention of diseases, such as: diabetes, obesity, dyslipidaemia and certain cardiac pathologies.Therefore, many people turn to products that have been assoc...

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a complicated metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance. It is considered as a new pandemic whose control is creating numerous challenges. Although many of the measures are based on improving life habits, diet is also of vital importance due to bioactive compounds present in food. In this...

In the recent decades, algae have proven to be a source of different bioactive compounds with biological activities, which has increased the potential application of these organisms in food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, animal feed, and other industrial sectors. On the other hand, there is a growing interest in developing effective strategies for cont...

Las algas y las plantas como fuente de compuestos bioactivos para prevenir el desarrollo de la diabetes mellitus tipo 2

Background : Fucoxanthin is a pigment present in diverse marine organisms such as micro and macroalgae. The most relevant source of fucoxanthin has been described to be the group of the brown macroalgae, also known as Phaeophyceae. The presence of the fucoxanthin, a xanthophyll, found as an accessory pigment in the chloroplasts of the brown algae i...

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is one of the most distinctive ingredients of the Mediterra-nean diet. There are many properties related to this golden ingredient, from supreme organoleptic characteristics to benefits for human health. EVOO contains in its composition molecules capable of exerting bioactivities such as cardio protection, antioxidant,...

The benefits of the food industry compared to other sectors are much lower, which is why producers are tempted to commit fraud. Although it is a bad practice committed with a wide variety of foods, it is worth noting the case of olive oil because it is a product of great value and with a high percentage of fraud. It is for all these reasons that th...

Traditional plants have been used in the treatment of disease and pain due to the beneficial properties from the antioxidant, anti-inflammation, analgesic and antibiotic activities. Asteraceae family is one of the most common groups of plants used in folk medicine. The species Achillea millefolium, Arnica montana, Bellis perennis, Calendula officin...

Nowadays, cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the world, which has been estimated to cause 9.9 million deaths in 2020. Conventional treatments for cancer commonly involve mono-chemotherapy or a combination of radiotherapy and mono-chemotherapy. However, the negative side effects of these approaches have been extensively reported and have pro...

Metabolomics is a young field of knowledge that arises linked to other omics such as genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. This discipline seeks to understand the performance of metabolites, identifying, quantifying them, and thus understanding its mechanism of action. This new branch of omics science shows high potential, due to its noninvasi...

Since ancient times, traditional plants have been used as a remedy against disease and pain. Nowadays, numerous studies have shown that these plants have different beneficial properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory or antimicrobial among others and that these biological properties are linked to their content in active compounds. This fact...

Macroalgae are a rich source of diverse secondary metabolites such as carotenes and phenolic compounds, with several health benefits. These compounds have attracted special attention in both, scientific and industrial fields, due to their bioactivities [1]. Therefore, the aim of this study was to simultaneously optimize the total phenolics content...

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Tannins are polyphenolic compounds historically utilized in textile and adhesive industries, but also in traditional human and animal medicines or foodstuffs. Since 20th-century, advances in analytical chemistry have allowed disclosure of the chemical nature of these molecules. The chemical profile of extracts obtained from previously selected spec...

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are cyclic oligomers broadly used in food manufacturing as food additives for different purposes e.g. to improve sensorial qualities, shelf life and sequestration of compo-nents. In this review, the latest advancements of their applications along with the characteristics of the uses of the different CDs (α, β, γ and their deriva...

The food industry is continuously evolving through the application of innovative tools and ingredients towards more effective, safe, natural and ecofriendly solutions to satisfy the demands of the costumers. In this context, natural sources (i.e., leaves, seeds, peels or unused pulp) can entail a valuable source of compounds, such as essential oils...

During recent decades, consumers have been continuously moving towards the substitution of synthetic ingredients of the food industry by natural products, obtained from vegetal, animal or microbial sources. Additionally, a circular economy has been proposed as the most efficient production system since it allows for reducing and reutilizing differe...

Aroma profile is one of the main features for the acceptance of wine. Yeasts and bacteria are the responsible organisms to carry out both, alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. Alcoholic fermentation is in turn, responsible for transforming grape juice into wine and providing secondary aromas. Secondary aroma can be influenced by different factors...