Obesity is a major public health problem today and is increasingly prevalent among young adults. Frequent and excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) contributes to the development of obesity and other related health problems. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the frequency of UPF consumption and its contribution to daily energy and macronutrient intake in young adults. Data were collected through an online survey, which included socio-demographic characteristics and food frequency questionnaires in accordance with the UPF classification in the literature. The contribution of UPF consumption to daily energy and macronutrient intake was calculated based on food consumption frequency. This study included 225 young adults (61.3% female and 38.7% male). The average body mass index (BMI) of participants was 24.5±4.57 kg/m2. The proportion of participants consuming sugary carbonated beverages ≥1 time/week was 32.6% among normal-weight participants and 48.8% among overweight/obese participants (p=0.016). Insignificant differences were found in frequently consumed UPFs such as sucuk, cream cheese, bakery products, mayonnaise, chocolate spread, candy, and chocolate by BMI (p>0.05). Energy (rho=0.19, p=0.004), protein (rho=0.17, p=0.011), fat (rho=0.20, p=0.003), carbohydrate (rho=0.18, p=0.006), saturated fatty acids (rho=0.22, p=0.001), and cholesterol (rho=0.20, p=0.003) intakes from UPFs were weakly and positively correlated with BMI. In conclusion, UPFs contributed approximately 30% of total daily energy intakes among young adults, while sugary carbonated beverage consumption and saturated fatty acid intake from UPFs were higher among overweight/obese participants. Developing healthy eating habits among young adults is crucial for preventing obesity and other chronic diseases today and in the future.
This study investigated the influence of the consumption of hawthorn (Crataegus tanacetifolia) fruit vinegar (HFV), a fermented product, on meat quality and gut microbiota in broiler chickens under cyclic heat stress (HS). A total of 300 one-day-old male Ross 308 chicks were divided into six groups with five replicates of ten birds, following a 2×3 factorial design with two temperatures (24 and 35°C) and three HFV supplementing levels (0, 2, and 4 mL/L) after one-week acclimation. Broilers in the thermoneutral groups were kept at 24°C, while HS groups experienced 35°C for 8 hours daily from day 21. Feed and water were provided ad libitum under a 24-hour lighting program. HS increased breast pH, reduced b* color value, raised ΣSFA and ΣMUFA levels, and lowered ΣUFA and ΣPUFA ratios. Supplementing 4 mL/L HFV increased breast L* color value and ΣSFA level while reducing ΣUFA ratio. The 2 mL/L HFV dose decreased ΣMUFA and increased ΣPUFA levels. Overall, HFV supplementation improved meat quality and beneficially altered fatty acid composition in heat-stressed broiler breasts. These results suggest that HFV supplementation may be a practical natural additive for broilers under cyclic heat stress and provide new evidence regarding its combined effects on meat quality and intestinal microbiota.
In this study, the effect of various roasting methods on the physicochemical properties of tea seed oil was determined and compared with olive oil due to their similar chemical structures. Tea seeds were roasted using microwave heating (600 and 800 W) and a convective oven (80°C). Oils were then extracted by pressing. Afterwards, iodine value (IV), peroxide value (PV), fatty acid composition, vitamin E, total polyphenol content, and antioxidant capacity of the oils were determined. The IVs of control (C) and olive oil (Z) samples were below 90 g iodine/100 g oil, and the difference between them was found insignificant. Convective oven roasting significantly increased PVs compared with microwave roasting, with the highest value observed in oven roasting at 80°C (O), reaching 3.38 meq O₂/kg oil. Roasting caused a slight decrease in the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content, and palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids were identified as the dominant fatty acids in all samples. There was no significant difference in vitamin E content among the tea seed oils (61.17–63.92 mg/kg); however, their levels were higher than those found in olive oil. Roasting increased the total polyphenol content of the samples (617.33-1570 mg/kg) and, indirectly, their antioxidant capacity (2.08-3.12 µmol Trolox equivalent/g). In summary, microwave roasting at 600 W was found as a more advantageous technique than the other methods, and in terms of minor components influencing antioxidant capacity, tea seed oil was found superior to olive oil.
Olive mill wastewater (OMWW) is the liquid by-product generated during the olive oil production process. When discharged into the soil, it poses harmful effects on soil microorganisms, aquatic ecosystems, and the atmosphere due to sulfur dioxide emissions. OMWW contains a high amount of bioactive compound, namely phenols which are highly powerful antioxidants. Besides their antioxidant activity, these compounds also demonstrate other biological properties such as antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and anti-hyperglycemic owing to their ability to reduce oxidative stress. During production, only a very small portion of these phenolic compounds transfers into the olive oil, while the majority remains in the wastewater. This study aimed to characterize polyphenolic profile of two-phase OMWW (Olea europaea L. cv. Ayvalık) collected from Ayvalık region. The physicochemical characterization study was assessed using TPC (Total Phenolic Content), DPPH analysis (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), HPLC (High Pressure Liquid Chromatography), ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) and FT-IR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) measurements. The qualitative and quantitative HPLC analyses of the extracts revealed that hydroxytyrosol (75.253±2.6 mg/g), and tyrosol (38.213±1.8 mg/g) were the most abundant phenolic compounds while p-coumaric, caffeic, ferulic and vanillic acids were also present. Major mineral compounds are potassium, with a concentration of 24.37±0.39 g/kg, followed by calcium at 5.84±0.05 g/kg, phosphorus at 1.92±0.03 g/kg, sodium at 1.63±0.02 g/kg, and magnesium at 1.42±0.01 g/kg while iron, manganese, zinc and copper were also found as primary micronutrients. OMWW exhibited a TPC of 139±3.6 mg GAE/g and an antioxidant activity EC₅₀ value of 9.37±0.12 mg/mL, which confirmed that OMWW is a cheap source of natural phenolic source that shows promise for use in fortified foods and pharmaceutical products after additional processing steps such as isolation and purification.
Whey is an important by-product of the food industry that must be recycled due to both the amount released and its environmental damage. Whey, an attractive substrate for various microorganisms due to its chemical composition, has a high potential for use in the production of sustainable bioaroma compounds through microbial biotechnology. Therefore, the potential of Kluyveromyces marxianus TGM66 to produce bioaroma compounds in a whey-based medium and the effect of fermentation duration (96 and 120 hours) on the bioaroma composition were investigated using GC-MS in this study. Results showed that K. marxianus TGM66 could produce valuable higher alcohols such as 2-phenylethanol and isoamyl alcohol, and valuable esters such as phenylethyl acetate and phenethyl propionate in whey-based medium. The relative abundances of some esters (ethyl octanoate, ethyl decanoate, and ethyl laurate) were significantly influenced by the fermentation time. In conclusion, results indicated that K. marxianus TGM66 strain has a high potential to improve the flavor profile of whey-based media and to produce natural and sustainable bioaroma compounds using these media.
