António Vicente

Electric field-based technologies offer interesting perspectives which include controlled heat dissipation (via the ohmic heating effect) and the influence of electrical variables (e.g., electroporation). These factors collectively provide an opportunity to modify the functional and technological properties of numerous food proteins, including ones from emergent plant- and microbial-based sources. Currently, numerous scientific studies are underway, contributing to the emerging body of knowledge about the effects on protein properties. In this review, “Electric Field Processing” acknowledges the broader range of technologies that fall under the umbrella of using the direct passage of electrical current in food material, giving particular focus to the ones that are industrially implemented. The structural and biological effects of electric field processing (thermal and non-thermal) on protein fractions from various sources will be addressed. For a more comprehensive contextualization of the significance of these effects, both conventional and alternative protein sources, along with their respective ingredients, will be introduced initially.

Nanosized delivery systems have been the subject of research and discussion in the scientific community due to their unique properties and functionality. However, studies reporting the behaviour of nanodelivery systems under dynamic in vitro digestion conditions are still very scarce. To address this gap, this study aims to assess the dynamic in vitro gastric digestion of lactoferrin/curcumin nanoparticles in the realistic gastric model (RGM). For this purpose, the INFOGEST standard semi-dynamic digestion protocol was used. The nanosystems were characterized in terms of hydrodynamic size, size distribution, polydispersity index (PdI), and zeta potential using dynamic light scattering (DLS), before and during the digestion process. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was also used to examine particle aggregation. In addition, the release of curcumin was evaluated spectroscopically and the intrinsic fluorescence of lactoferrin was measured throughout the digestion process. The protein hydrolysis was also determined by UV-VIS-SWNIR spectroscopy to estimate, in real-time, the presence of free NH2 groups during gastric digestion. It was possible to observe that lactoferrin/curcumin nanoparticles were destabilized during the dynamic digestion process. It was also possible to conclude that low sample volumes can pose a major challenge in the application of dynamic in vitro digestion models.