Publications by authors named "Chaminda S Ranadheera"

Organic products have received longstanding, widespread attention for their nutritional and ecological benefits, as they are said to have certain positive health attributes and contain fewer harmful compounds than conventional (or non-organic) products. We reviewed the recent literature to examine potential associations between nutrient composition, gut microbiota, and gut health effects in recent comparative studies of organic and conventional dairy products. Trends of increased ratios of omega-3 to omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and unsaturated to saturated fat, increased fat-soluble vitamin content, and decreased levels of certain pernicious contaminants in organic milk were observed across the studies reviewed.

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Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) is a complex trilayer structure present in mammalian milk and is mainly composed of phospholipids and proteins (>90%). Many studies revealed MFGM has positive effects on the immune system, brain development, and cognitive function of infants. Probiotics are live microorganisms that have been found to improve mental health and insulin sensitivity, regulate immunity, and prevent allergies.

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This study investigated the health-promoting effects and prebiotic functions of mango peel powder (MPP) both as a plain individual ingredient and when incorporated in yoghurt during simulated digestion and fermentation. The treatments included plain MPP, plain yoghurt (YA), yoghurt fortified with MPP (YB), and yoghurt fortified with MPP and lactic acid bacteria (YC), along with a blank (BL). The identification of polyphenols in the extracts of insoluble digesta and phenolic metabolites after the in vitro colonic fermentation were performed employing LC-ESI-QTOF-MS.

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Anthocyanins are a subclass of flavonoids responsible for color in some fruits and vegetables with potent antioxidative capacity. During digestion, a larger proportion of dietary anthocyanins remains unabsorbed and reach the large intestine where they interact with the gut microbiota. Anthocyanins can modulate gut microbial populations to improve diversity and the proportion of beneficial populations, leading to alterations in short chain fatty acid and bile acid production.

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Freeze-dried apple peel powder (Fd-APP) was subjected to in vitro digestion and colonic fermentation to evaluate the variations in its phenolic composition, bioactivities (antioxidant activity, α-amylase, and α-glucosidase inhibition), and fecal metabolic outputs. A total of 88 phenolics were tentatively identified, of which 51 phenolic compounds were quantitated in Fd-APP sample extracts before digestion, and 34 were released during subsequent phases of digestion. Among these, phenolic acids showed the highest bio accessibility index (BI) of 68%, followed by flavonoids (63%) and anthocyanins (52%).

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This research paper assessed textural, microstructural, sensory and colour properties of set-yoghurts produced using milk from two indigenous cattle types, Thamankaduwa White (TW) and Lankan cattle (LC) compared to two generic cattle breeds, Friesian and Jersey. Instrumental texture profile (firmness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness and springiness), colour space (* * *) and scanning electron micrographs of set-yoghurts during 21 d of storage (4 ± 1°C) were evaluated. Sensory quality attributes were evaluated with 40 untrained panellists using a five-point hedonic scale.

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Here we attempted to deliver probiotics to the human gut using fruit juices as a carrier, which is less common despite the newest trend to incorporate probiotics into non-dairy food. Phenolic-rich fruit juices, including blueberry, black cherry, concord grape and pomegranate were fortified with , and then compared and comprehensively assessed to develop novel non-fermented probiotic juices. In black cherry juice, probiotics had the most significant retention of viability after 14 days of storage at 4 °C, the least reduction in phenolics (14.

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This study investigated the possible linkage between spinach metabolic biomarkers and their safety and quality during minimally processing and storage. Spinach leaves were treated following the basic minimal processing practices treatments (minimally processed, whole washed, and whole unwashed) and packaged in plastic bags. Significant changes (p < 0.

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Chocolates can be formulated as a functional food via enrichment with probiotics. However, the added probiotics must overcome the challenges of processing and storage conditions and the harsh gastrointestinal environment. The study aimed to overcome these challenges using two different formulations of cocoa powder as alternative encapsulants along with Na-alginate (A ) and Na-alginate and fructooligosaccharides (A ).

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In the present study, probiotic yogurt with LA5 and BB12 was produced via fortification with chickpea flour (0, 1, 2.5, 5% ). During refrigerated storage for five weeks, probiotics maintained a viable count above the minimum therapeutic level (10 CFU/g) in all yogurt types.

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Identification of psychrotrophic pathogenic and spoilage Gram-negative bacteria using rapid and reliable techniques is important in commercial milk processing, as these bacteria can produce heat-resistant proteases and act as postprocessing contaminants in pasteurized milk. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a proven technology for identification of bacteria in food, however, may require optimization for identification of pathogenic and spoilage bacteria in milk and dairy products. The current study evaluated the effects of various culture conditions and sample preparation methods on assigning of raw milk isolates to the species level by MALDI-TOF MS.

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