Nutritional assessment of plant-based beverages in comparison to bovine milk.

Plant-based beverages (PBB) are often marketed and used by consumers as alternatives to ruminant milks, particularly bovine milk (hereafter referred to as milk). However, much research has established that there is variation in nutritional composition among these products, as well as demonstrating that they are largely not nutritional replacements for milk. A survey of the prices and nutrition labels of PBB available in New Zealand supermarkets was undertaken.

Structural changes in milk from different species during gastric digestion in piglets.

This study investigated the structural and physicochemical changes that occur in milk, a naturally designed complex structured emulsion, during gastric digestion using the bottle-fed piglet as an animal model. The gastric digestions of cow, goat, and sheep milk were compared in male piglets euthanized at different postfeeding times to collect the stomach chyme. The cow and noncow milks separated into curd (aggregated caseins) and liquid (mostly soluble whey) phases in the piglet's stomach.

Structural and interfacial characteristics of oil bodies in coconuts (Cocos nucifera L.).

This study investigated the structural characteristics of oil bodies from mature coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) fruit. The ultrastructure and the distribution of oil bodies in coconut endosperm were investigated using cryo-scanning electron microscopy.

Glycation as a Tool To Probe the Mechanism of β-Lactoglobulin Nanofibril Self-Assembly.

In this study we investigated the effects of different levels of glucosylation and lactosylation on β-Lg self-assembly into nanofibrils at 80 °C and pH 2. Fibrils in heated samples were detected with the thioflavin T assay and transmission electron microscopy, while SDS-PAGE was used to investigate the composition of the heated solutions and fibrils. Glycation had different effects in the nucleation and growth phases.

Modulating β-lactoglobulin nanofibril self-assembly at pH 2 using glycerol and sorbitol.

β-Lactoglobulin (β-lg) forms fibrils when heated at 80 °C, pH 2, and low ionic strength (<0.015 mM). When formed at protein concentrations <3%, these fibrils are made up of peptides produced from the acid hydrolysis of the β-lg monomer.

Β-lactoglobulin self-assembly: structural changes in early stages and disulfide bonding in fibrils.

Bovine β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg) self-assembles into long amyloid-like fibrils when heated at 80 °C, pH 2, and low ionic strength (<0.015 mM). Heating β-Lg under fibril-forming conditions shows a lag phase before fibrils start forming.