The utilization of plant-based ingredients, such as legumes, is gaining popularity because of consumer demand for sustainably sourced, high-protein foods, and an increased number of consumers reluctant to consume animal-based products. Legumes are often cultivated for their protein but are also rich in starch and fiber. Furthermore, during protein fractionation, large side streams composed mainly of starch and fiber are produced. To promote efficient use of biomass, it is essential to find effective ways of repurposing these side streams. Understanding the functionality of the side streams allows the identification of alternative uses that offer economic and environmental benefits. One crop that is gaining attention and technical use as a sustainable, plant-based protein source is pea (Pisum sativum L.). This review provides an overview and establishes new connections between the physicochemical properties of pea starch and pea fiber, available treatment methods for further functionalization, and the influence of pea starch and pea fiber on different foods and their sensory properties and product performance across various applications. Challenges and knowledge gaps are also identified, for example, the correlations between chemical and sensory properties and how changes in starch and fiber functionality affect the textural and sensory properties of the final food product.

Knowledge about food structures at different length scales is key for the continued development of sustainable, tasty and healthy foods. It is critical to control, model and predict the supramolecular architecture of foods along the whole value chain: from raw materials, to their changes during processing, all the way to how products form structures during consumption and digestion. Today, advanced physical methods enable us to obtain structural information from the nanoscale-to the microscale with unprecedented resolution. The structural details can then relate to the mesoscale and microscale functionalities, important for the appeal and consumption of food products. X-ray and neutron techniques expand and strengthen the food structure characterisation toolbox. They enable in situ and in operando investigations with greater detail as well as new types of measurements that are not possible with other techniques. The knowledge gained will complement compositional and functional data obtained by other techniques, providing robustness to the interpretation of complex structural information. There are several intrinsic scientific challenges to overcome: from the lack of relevant sample environments to advanced data processing and modelling tools that consider the complexity of the food. The new frontier in food structural science can be gained through interdisciplinary collaborations not only in academia but also from the wider innovation ecosystem. This review showcases how the use of X-ray and neutron techniques is already leading to transformational knowledge in structural food science with a perspective that points to the future of this new multidisciplinary discipline.

Arabinoxylans are the most abundant polysaccharides in the bran from wheat and rye kernels. Ferulic acid moieties covalently bound to arabinosyl substitutions in arabinoxylans can be oxidised and crosslinked by lac-case enzymes, forming xylan hydrogels stabilised by chemical and physical interactions. Here, we explore the use of alpha-L-arabinofuranosidases to tune the rheological properties of laccase-crosslinked feruloylated arabinoxylans from wheat (WAX) and rye (RAX) brans, proposed to be mediated via intermolecular backbone interactions. The effect of subsequent freeze-drying and regeneration of the hydrogels on their multiscale structure and viscoelastic properties was further evaluated by X-ray scattering, microscopy and rheology measurements. The combined use of alpha-L-arabinofuranosidases from glycosyl hydrolase (GH) families GH62 and GH43 with complementary specificity towards different substitution motifs in arabinoxylan resulted in synergistic arabinose removal with a 48 % and 33 % increase in arabinose removal in WAX and RAX respectively, while retaining the ferulic acid moieties in both WAX and RAX. The extent of ferulic acid oxidation in WAX and RAX seemed to be affected by substrate inaccessibility for the laccase and polysaccharide chain aggregation, which was further accentuated by enzymatic arabinose removal. Rheological investigations revealed that laccase-crosslinked WAX hydrogels pretreated with arabinofuranosidases showed a decrease of 65-95 % in the storage and loss moduli compared to the non-pretreated WAX hydrogels, whereas arabinose removal improved the viscoelastic properties of RAX hydrogels both before and after regeneration, with an increase of storage moduli of 72-100 %. Arabinofuranosidase treatments and freeze-drying/regeneration altered the hydration properties of the hydrogels and their network structure, promoting the occurrence of ordered domains. Our results show that the biophysical properties of the arabinoxylans in terms of aggregation and hydration largely influence substrate accessibility to laccase-mediated oxidation and the multiscale assembly of the hydrogels upon freeze drying and regeneration, thus impacting their overall rheological properties. These dietary fibre hydrogels from cereal side streams have large potential to be used as food hydrocolloids, contributing to the overall circularity of the food system.

Fermentation of Ulva fenestrata by isolated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can be advantageous due to their adaptability to diverse substrates (e.g., ulvan), and high salinity compared to commercial strains. This study aimed at identifying LAB strains holding promise for both fermentation and enhanced nutrient digestibility of U. fenestrata focusing on proteins and microelements. Fifty LAB strains were selected for evaluation, of which thirty-six were revived and screened using water extracts from U. fenestrata. From the initial 36 LAB strains, 30 were able to reduce the pH to <4.5 within 24 h in Ulva substrate. Six strains were further screened with whole Ulva biomass, resulting in four being able to reach pH <4.5 within 48 h and presenting proteolytic activity, with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NFICC19 being superior in both, followed by Levilactobacillus brevis NFICC1668 and Lactiplantibacillus paraplantarum NFICC1922. These three strains were then used for larger-scale fermentations, in which carbohydrate profiles indicated a relative reduction in glucose for all strains. After in vitro digestion according to INFOGEST protocol, the degree of protein hydrolysis (DH) of U. fenestrata fermented with L. brevis NFICC1668 presented a significantly higher value, 71%, compared to the fresh biomass or the unfermented control having DH of 29% and 42%, respectively. In addition, L. paraplantarum NFICC1922 gave the highest iodine (32% vs 18% in the control) and iron accessibility (38% vs 11% in the fresh biomass). Overall fermentation with L. brevis NFICC1668, can increase protein digestibility and iodine accessibility, whereas L. paraplantarum NFICC1922 can improve iodine and iron accessibility.

Glucuronoxylans are known to be only partly soluble in aqueous media. Chemical modification often aims to improve solubility, yet observations of aggregation even of the modified xylans are not uncommon. We investigated the aggregation of glucuronoxylans of two different molar masses (XS and XM with Mw = 14 and 24 kg/mol, respectively), as well as their derivatives that were modified using periodate oxidation and borohydride reduction. Investigations were carried out in water and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) by means of small angle neutron scattering (SANS). All dispersions of XS and its derivatives were turbid in water and translucent in DMSO. All samples based on XM were translucent in water and transparent in DMSO. In all cases, dispersions showed aggregates at the nanoscale with SANS, even for visually translucent and transparent dispersions with individual chains in a good solvent environment, indicated by the obtained Flory exponent of 0.588. Xylans dispersed in DMSO were less aggregated than xylan dispersed in water. The effect of solvent choice on the dispersibility of the modified xylans depended on the starting material composition. We propose that aggregation on the nanoscale is an intrinsic property of these polysaccharides and must be accounted for in processing, analysis, modification and applications.

Side streams rich in irregular and deformable plant particles represent an untapped resource for sustainable food innovation. Pea hull fibres are an example of such underutilized, but increasing side stream material, whose functional limitation require targeted modification. In this study, we present a combined strategy using mechanical shearing and pectate lyase enzymatic treatment to enhance the functionality of pea hull fibres. This dual treatment alters their physicochemical properties, leading up to increase in their water retention capacity (WRC) and a shift in composition and microstructure revealed by optical microscopy. Enzymatic degradation of pectin improved water absorption and swelling ability, which translated into an increase in the viscosity of pea hull fibre suspensions. Importantly, we explore the rheological behaviour across an extended pea hull concentration range and identify three distinct regimes (dilute, intermediate and concentrated). These transitions were successfully captured and predicted using soft particle rheological models, demonstrating for the first time, the applicability of the models on suspensions based on pea hull fibres, as well as a prediction framework for pea hull fibre suspensions. Our findings show that mathematical models developed for soft plant particles can be used to predict suspension behaviour of pea hull fibres and establish a scalable approach to valorise plant-based side streams into high-performance functional ingredients.

We investigated the influence of the partial methyl-esterification of polygalacturonic acid (PGA) chains on the structure of ionotropic hydrogels prepared with an external gelation protocol using calcium as the crosslinker and PGA chains with degrees of methylation (DM) of 0, 3, 18, and 34 %. Molar mass determination, viscosity, and small-angle neutron scattering measurements revealed that the methyl-esterification reaction employed reduces the molar mass (Mw) and the intrinsic viscosity, of the PGA chains and increases their overlap concentration, and their persistence length as DM increases. Moreover, the methylation induces turbidity in Ca-PGA hydrogels, which reflects the emergence of mesoscopic heterogeneities, reduces the gradients in PGA and calcium concentrations, as well as in Young's modulus and increases the mesh size of the hydrogels. Complementary molecular dynamics simulations also showed that methylation promotes 31 helical conformations of PGA chains and reduces the length of junction zones between cross-linked PGA chains in the presence of calcium. Such effects likely originate from the presence of methyl-ester groups, which decreases the negative charge of methylated PGA chains, weakens their affinity for calcium, and promotes irregular association patterns.

Herein we present arabinoxylan (AX)-based thermoplastics obtained by ring opening oxidation and subsequent reduction (dA-AX) combined with hydrophobization with three different glycidyl ethers [n-butyl (BuGE), isopropyl (iPrGE) and 2-ethylhexyl (EtHGE) glycidyl ether]. We also present the relationship of structural composition, thermal processing and thermomechanical properties. The BuGE and iPrGE etherified dA-AXs showed glass transition temperatures (Tg) far below their degradation temperatures and gave thermoplastic materials when compression-molded at 140˚C. The BuGE (3 mole) etherified dA-AX films at 19 and 31 % oxidation levels exclusively exhibit 244 % (±42) and 267 % (±72) elongation. In contrast, iPrGE-dA-AX samples with shorter and branched terminals in the side chains had maximum 60 % (±19) elongation. The dramatic difference in elongation is assumed to be due to the presence of longer alkoxide chains, higher molar substitution and dual Tg for the BuGE samples. Such superior elongation of AX thermoplastic films and its relationship with molar substitution and Tg has not been reported before.

The in-vitro digestion of oat protein isolate (OPI) was studied in the presence of increasing concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 % w/w) of low methoxy pectin (LMP). The in-vitro digestion of OPI was further studied upon incorporation within a calcium LMP network. The OPI and pectin, as well as the calcium - pectin and OPI gels were characterized using rheology, mechanical properties and microstructure. The in vitro digestion of the OPI was performed using the static INFOGEST protocol, and the digestion was analysed based on degree of protein hydrolysis and amino acid composition. Both the rheology and mechanical properties, as well as results obtained upon digestion indicate no or little interaction between pectin and OPI at neutral pH values. The OPI - pectin dispersions show higher than expected viscosities, suggesting phase separated system. The addition of OPI in calcium pectin network has small impact on small deformation but diminish the mechanical strength, as compared to calcium pectin gels. The presence of pectin, as dispersion or gel, does not alter the protein hydrolysis nor the amino acid composition of the supernatant obtained after gastric and intestinal digestion phase; thereby providing opportunities for oat protein - dietary fibre formulations that preserve protein digestion integrity while offering potential prebiotic effects.

The effect of periodate oxidation and borohydride reduction on arabinoxylan (AX) in aqueous solution was investigated using 13C NMR spectroscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). AX consists of a xylose backbone, which is mono- or di-substituted with arabinose. We show that at a ring-opening modification degree of 21%, periodate oxidation occurs predominantly on arabinose, and shows a preference for arabinose linked to di-substituted xylose units over the mono-substituted. With a higher degree of modification of 33%, arabinose at the mono-substituted position and unsubstituted xylose units are also modified. At 33% a large portion of oxidizable AX residues have been ring-opened, yet SAXS reveals no significant changes in chain conformation and only a minor reduction (10%) in persistence length for the oxidized-reduced dialcohol AX. With increasing degree of oxidation, dialdehyde AX instead show an increasing tendency for aggregation, attributed to chain cross-linking. Upon reduction of the dialdehyde and cross-linked groups to dialcohol AX, the chains revert back to having repulsive interactions, acting as chains in a good solvent environment.

Arabinoxylan (AX) with varying arabinose to xylose (A/X) ratios of 0.85, 0.57 and 0.39 was extracted from wheat bran, and the conformations of the AX polysaccharides dispersed in water were investigated using small-angle X-ray scattering. The persistence length (Lp) and the conformation statistics (expressed by the Flory exponent v or the mass fractal) of the AX varied with their A/X ratios. The Lp decreased with decreasing A/X ratio, from 4.5 nm to 1.5 nm, where the AX with high and intermediate A/X ratios can be considered semi-flexible chains, while AX with the lowest A/X ratio behaves as a flexible chain. The mass fractal increased from 1.7 to 2.5 between the highest and lowest A/X ratios, indicating increasingly compact polymer conformations. AX with the highest A/X ratio behaved as chains in a good solvent and was well dispersed even in the semi-dilute regime. AX with intermediate and low A/X ratios showed stronger tendencies to aggregate and were not well dispersed at higher concentrations. The results presented show that the macroscopic properties of AX dispersions can be understood based on the chemical composition and fine structure of the AX polysaccharide.

Nanocelluloses are uniquely valued for their high surface area and controllable assembly. This study elucidates the assembly of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) in tert-butanol (TBA) and water mixtures. We emphasize the influence of TBA on the structure of suspensions and freeze-dried foams. Although the length-scale of CNC organization is large relative to water-TBA structures, adding more than 30 wt % TBA shifted ordered CNC packing into an isotropic network. The change was attributed to the disruption of ionic interactions and adsorption of TBA to hydrophobic CNC interfaces; manifesting as a 5-fold increase in viscosity at 50 wt % TBA content. The freeze-dried foams' morphology was transformed due to TBA-modulated crystal growth during the freezing process. This led to the intriguing capability to control foams' mechanical strength and surface area, achieving up to 3 and 15-fold increases, respectively. The investigations highlight TBA's potential as a structuring agent in solvent-mediated design of nanomaterial systems.

The versatility of 3D printing in digital design and material deposition explored to adjust the internal architecture of a large portion of a protein-based food. The effect of infill density, printing pathways and their combination in customizing textural properties of model products made of proteins from fish side streams were systematically investigated. A direct correlation between the infill density and uniaxial firmness of the printed objects was found. Using different printing pathways across the Z-axis showed that parallel printing pattern can produce anisotropic textures in macroscale. This was due to a nonhomogeneous load of materials in parallel with the printing pathways, compared with its perpendicular direction in mesoscale, as revealed with microtomography imaging. Using cross printing pathway design was found as a way to achieve isotropic textures. Finally, using a combination of infill density and printing pathways across the X, Y axis and vertically in a non-parallel manner within a large portion of a product was proven as a new route to achieve a customizable texture profile in different parts of a single product. Altogether, our results demonstrated new possibilities for the development of protein-based products with customized heterogenous textures, closer to those in muscle, using the 3D printing technology.

Supramolecular gels derived from functionalized gelators offer diverse applications, and modifying the properties of existing organogels using guest molecules presents an attractive approach for designing functional gel materials with targeted properties. In this study, we investigated a method to enhance the mechanical and photophysical properties of readily prepared low molecular weight gels (LMWGs) through the incorporation of boronic acid derivatives. The leveraging of dynamic covalent bonding interactions between the hydroxyl groups of oxotriphenylhexanoates (OTHO) gelator and the boronic acid derivatives gave rise to a boronate adduct along with enhanced intermolecular aromatic stacking interactions between gelators and thereby reinforced the rheological and thermal stability of the doped OTHO gels. In an effort to probe the aforementioned aromatic interactions, we used a pyrene boronic acid dopant, which revealed that the spatial proximity between the aromatic groups of the boronic acid was close enough to display excimer formation. Our findings provide valuable insights into the regulation of mechanical strength, self-healing ability, and photophysical properties of supramolecular gels. Furthermore, this approach holds promise for broad applications in hydroxyl-containing LMWGs, enabling the development of functional gel materials with enhanced properties.

Arabinoxylan (AX) is a potential health-promoting fiber ingredient that could be used to improve nutritional properties of bread, but is also known to affect bread and dough quality. To identify the role of feruloylation and hydrolysis of wheat bran AX on bread quality and shelf-life, hydrolyzed and unhydrolyzed AX with low and high ferulic acid content were incorporated into wheat bread. Water absorption, visual appearance, specific volume, and crumb structure were evaluated in fresh bread, and texture and moisture content over 14 days of storage. Feruloylated and unhydrolyzed AX breads underwent less moisture loss during storage but none of the AX fractions retarded crumb hardening. Feruloylated and hydrolyzed AX breads were comparable to control bread even at the highest addition level (5%) in terms of volume and crumb structure. The higher quality of these breads was associated with ferulic acid content and lower molar mass based on multivariate analysis. Based on our work, knowledge on specific AX structure can facilitate the use of increased AX levels in breadmaking.

Increased consumption of plant-based foods and better utilisation of side-streams can reduce the environmental impact of food consumption. A promising crop for production of protein-rich plant-based foods is faba bean, which can serve as a local alternative to soy in cold-climate regions. This study investigated faba bean protein gelation at multiple pH values and the effect of adding a fibre-rich side-stream from protein extraction. Two different sources were used to extract the fibre (cotyledon and hull). The gels were characterised in terms of textural properties, microstructure and water mobility. Gels produced at pH 4 and 5 showed reduced fracture stress, fracture strain and water-holding capacity, but higher Young’s modulus, than gels produced at pH 7. The effect of adding fibre (at fixed solids content) varied with pH. Differences observed were attributed to the gel microstructure, as light and scanning electron micrographs showed coarse, aggregated microstructure at pH 4 and 5 and a fine-stranded protein network at pH 7. Irrespective of fibre source (cotyledon/hull), addition of fibre had comparable effects on textural properties. Low-field NMR revealed differences in water mobility between gels at pH 4-5 versus pH 7, and between gels with/without added fibre, likely related to contrasting microstructures and the water-binding properties of the fibre fractions.

Background: Cultivated meat is a novel technology with the potential to partly substitute conventional meat in the future. Production of cultivated meat is based on biotechnology for tissue engineering, up-scaling of cell cultures and stem-cell differentiation, providing the basis for large-scale proliferation of the parent cell and subsequent differentiation into primitive skeletal muscle structures known from conventional meat. Development of cultivated meat is considered a socio-technological challenge including a variety of technical, sustainability, ethical, and consumer acceptance issues. Scope and approach: As the Nordic countries share common history and roots of food culture, cultivated meat will be introduced into a socio-cultural context with established food traditions. This review summarizes the current knowledge and activities on the development of cultivated meat in the Nordic countries and considers this novel food product in a specific socio-cultural context. Key findings and conclusions: The production of cultivated meat in the Nordic countries, must encompass solutions that are accepted by the typical Nordic consumer. In general, this favors solutions for cell culturing based on nonGMO cells and locally accessible raw material for cell medias and scaffolding. From the perspective of the Nordic countries, this will improve the environmental, societal, and ethical context of cultivated meat.

Dietary fibre intake is essential for all human beings and has been correlated to beneficial health effects. Pea hull fibres (PF) are generally seen as a side stream during extraction of protein and starch from yellow pea but could be used in various food products to boost fibre content. In this study, the thermal treatment of pea hull fibres was investigated in terms of physicochemical properties and in vitro colonic fermentation. The PF that was subjected to heating showed an increase of fibres solubilised in the liquid and particle size. Results also showed that viscosity and storage modulus increased with thermal treatment, possibly due to the swelling of the PF. The pea fibre was readily fermentable based on total gas production and pH. However, the susceptibility to fermentation of PF did not increase with thermal treatment. Total gas production and short chain fatty acid produced were similar independent of thermal treatment. Conclusively, heating of the PF resulted in increased ability to structure water suspension, owing to increased fibre particle size, but is not sufficient to increase short chain fatty acid production during colonic fermentation. To explain this, we propose that the changes in cell wall structure were not major enough to induce higher fermentability.

The friction between natural fibers and metal affects tool life, wear and tear and surface defects of extrudates. The ability of alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) and magnesium stearate (MgSt) to reduce coefficient of friction (COF) between thermomechanical pulp (TMP) and metal were determined at temperatures of 30, 100, and 180 degrees C and additive concentrations from 0.5 to 5 wt%. The AKD and MgSt were added to TMP sheets through spraying, followed by drying. ATR-FTIR and IR microscopy confirmed the presence of AKD and MgSt on the TMP. AKD addition at 2 wt%, consistently reduced the COF of TMP and metal, whereas MgSt reduced COF at 100 and 180 degrees C, only. No further reduction in COF was observed at 5 wt% of AKD or MgSt.

The incorporation of fibre into pea protein matrices influences their microstructure, yet our understanding of their gut fermentability remains unexplored. In this study, dietary fibres and protein from yellow pea were investigated for their physico-chemical properties and impact on in vitro colonic fermentation using human inoculum. Pea fibre and pea protein blends were studied at different pH and after thermal treatment at 95 degrees C for 30 min with oscillatory rheology, static light scattering and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The effect on in vitro colonic fermentation was evaluated measuring gas production, ammonia, and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) production. Rheology indicated that during thermal treatment a firmer gel is formed close to the protein isoelectric point with a structure characterised by aggregation, but less particle swelling compared to other pH. Addition of fibre led to higher storage modulus (G '), with the fibre dominating the rheological properties. Fermentation of samples containing protein led to higher levels of ammonia and SCFA compared to only fibres. Blends produced higher amounts of valerate, i-valerate and caproate, and lower amounts of ammonia. Reduced fermentation of proteins in the presence of fibres was also reflected in a more intact microstructure of the protein particles in the digesta. Although thermal treatment of blends caused particle swelling and induced gelation, only small differences could be discerned in the in vitro colonic fermentation outcomes. Our results highlight that potentially harmful fermentation products from protein, such as ammonia, were reduced in the presence of pea hull fibre.