Alginate Capsules: Versatile Applications and Production Techniques.

Alginate is a natural polysaccharide commonly obtained from brown algae and is usually used in the food industry as an additive, specifically as a thickening, gelling, and emulsifying agent. Due to its polyanionic nature, it can crosslink in the presence of divalent or trivalent cations. This crosslinking process involves the formation of chemical bonds between the carboxylic groups of parallel chains, resulting in a solid structure.

Gut health benefits and associated systemic effects provided by functional components from the fermentation of natural matrices.

Recently, the role of the gut microbiota in metabolic health, immunity, behavioral balance, longevity, and intestine comfort has been the object of several studies from scientific communities. They were encouraged by a growing interest from food industries and consumers toward novel fermented ingredients and formulations with powerful biological effects, such as pre, pro, and postbiotic products. Depending on the selected strains, the operating conditions, the addition of suitable reagents or enzymes, the equipment, and the reactor configurations, functional compounds with high bioactivity, such as short-chain fatty acids, gamma-aminobutyric acid, bioactive peptides, and serotonin, can be enhanced and/or produced through fermentation of several vegetable matrices.

Role of Nutraceuticals in Counteracting Inflammation in In Vitro Macrophages Obtained from Childhood Cancer Survivors.

The advancement of anti-cancer therapies has markedly improved the survival rate of children with cancer, making them long-term childhood cancer survivors (CCS). Nevertheless, these treatments cause a low-grade inflammatory state, determining inflamm-aging and, thus, favoring the early onset of chronic diseases normally associated with old age. Identification of novel and safer therapeutic strategies is needed to counteract and prevent inflamm-aging.

Lactic fermentation of cereals aqueous mixture of oat and rice flours with and without glucose addition.

Studies of the ability of probiotics to ferment cereal flours are necessary to obtain products with enhanced nutritional value. In this study, CBA-L74 was used to ferment cereal aqueous mixtures containing both oat (7.5% w/v) and rice flours (7.