Hundreds of scientifi c articles are published every year on microencapsulation. Hundreds of industrials attend to seminars, symposiums or training events on encapsulation. Microcapsule production represents thousands of tons of microcapsules per year in various fi elds from pharmacy to food, from detergence to agriculture. But, through the numerous meetings I attended or organized with industrials (http://bioencapsulation.net), I kept a feeling that the domain is still not really mature.

Energy drinks are gaining popularity, with the estimated consumption per person twice that of 5 years ago. There are many different products available that vary in caffeine content as well as other substances which can produce unpredictable results. Some of the potential benefits of energy drinks include increased performance, concentration, and energy; some risks include cardiac effects, new onset seizures, and psychiatric effects. These benefits and risks are based on short term small trials and case reports; therefore more research is needed on this subject. Educating consumers through product labelling and specific warnings and risks could be the first step to promoting public awareness about energy drinks.

This research aims to examine the changes in the composition and activity of gastrointestinal microflora brought about by the digestion of kiwifruit. Through understanding the changes to kiwifruit throughout the digestive process, as measured by carbohydrate chemical analysis, and changes in the gastrointestinal microflora this work has determined potential mechanisms of action further downstream on gut barrier and mucosal immunology. We have established digested and fermented whole kiwifruit generated changes in gut micro-morphology and functionality via enhancing the growth and /or metabolism of commensal/beneficial bacteria. These bacterial-dependent components - independently/ concomitantly with digestible kiwifruit components (specifically carbohydrates) are proposed to enhance innate immunity at the mucosal gut surface. We put forwards the hypothesis that the role of kiwifruit may be as “priming” rather than “activating” the immune response so that it promotes immune tolerance (or good immunity) rather than inflammation (bad immunity) through a gut mediated prebiotic mechanism

Scientific validation is required for claims of gut health benefits from food. Predictive mathematical modelling of the impact of consuming potentially beneficial foods may provide a useful first step by allowing us to integrate knowledge in a way that allows us to predict gut health outcomes. Recent technologies have increased our awareness of the complexity of food-microbe-host interactions, which makes modelling challenging. The most appropriate approach for dietary fibrebased foods may be a model based on literature-derived data. A number of specific biomarkers of gut health have been suggested, with many studies describing changes in short chain fatty acids (SCFA), indicating their potential use as the most suitable biomarker. The most promising modelling solution may be an empirical model incorporating mechanistic elements

Obesity is a recent problem, that has more than doubled worldwide during the last 30 years according to the World Health Organization (WHO) (1), due to changes in dietary habits and a decrease in physical activity; in 2008, 1.5 billion adults were overweight and 500 million of them were obese

With the aim to confirm important nutritional properties, we here report the results obtained from baobab plant tissues analysis (ORAC, DPPH, FRAP). The micronized red fibre display the highest antioxidant activity, among the tested samples in all performed assays; methanolic extracts of this fibre (ME and HME) were prepared and tested in comparison to selected plant extracts by ORAC, DPPH, FRAP and PCL assays, furthermore the total phenols content of ME and HME was measured by Folin-Ciocalteu analysis and characterized by RP-HPLC. HME extract revealed higher antioxidant activity than Blueberry extract (1 percent) in all performed texts and comparable antioxidant activity to that of Pomegranate extract (40 percent) in ORAC and DPPH assay; these results are probably due to the high total phenols content (708 ± 14.2mgGAE/g) of the extract.

In a recent study 60 female volunteers (40-65 years) were randomly distributed into an intervention or control group (13). Over a period of 12 weeks the participants consumed a beverage with green tea polyphenols, providing 1402 mg total catechins/day or a matched control beverage. Photoprotection, skin structure and function were measured at baseline (wk 0), wk 6 and wk 12. Following exposure of skin to 1.25 minimal erythemal dose (MED) of radiation from a solar simulator, UV-induced erythema was significantly decreased in the intervention group. Several parameters related to skin structure and function were improved including elasticity, density, roughness, scaling and water homeostasis. Long-term intake of the green tea polyphenol beverage increased blood flow in the skin

A recent study by the University of Reading (UK) revealed that European farmers are missing out on €443 and €929 million each year because they are not allowed to grow genetically modified (GM) crops

When we eat, we store information in memory about consumed foods. This information is recalled later to guide decisions about what foods to eat and how much to eat. Recent research suggests that remembered satiety and remembered enjoyment of foods play a role in food intake and food choice. This review briefly highlights this research and discusses the implications for food product development

With obesity becoming a global concern, the food industry is continuously seeking opportunities to develop food and drink products that are not only healthy in terms of reduced sugar, fat and salt contents, but also capable of inducing a reaction that will encourage people to stop over-eating. One new technological approach is use of ingredients that can enhance satiety, or in other words, make the people feel full so that they stop eating. This article focuses on the exploitation of hydrocolloids with respect to addressing satiety by means of their viscosity and gelling properties in the stomach, as well as highlight Leatherhead's research in this specialised area

The design of green, efficient and sustainable extraction methods has been a hot research over the last decade. Several technologies are available and the best method to use depends on the desired chemical and organoleptic characteristics of the final product, its commercial value and annual production size. We here present three green techniques for the production of high-quality oils, flavours and phytocomplexes which are based our own direct experience and are applicable to any reasonable production scale. These continuous or semi-continuous methods are: cold extraction with modern screw-presses, microwave-assisted distillation and gravity hydrodiffusion and a new flow-process under very high power density ultrasound