Food Properties (food + property)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Application of Atomic Force Microscopy as a Nanotechnology Tool in Food Science

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 4 2007
Hongshun Yang
ABSTRACT:, Atomic force microscopy (AFM) provides a method for detecting nanoscale structural information. First, this review explains the fundamentals of AFM, including principle, manipulation, and analysis. Applications of AFM are then reported in food science and technology research, including qualitative macromolecule and polymer imaging, complicated or quantitative structure analysis, molecular interaction, molecular manipulation, surface topography, and nanofood characterization. The results suggested that AFM could bring insightful knowledge on food properties, and the AFM analysis could be used to illustrate some mechanisms of property changes during processing and storage. However, the current difficulty in applying AFM to food research is lacking appropriate methodology for different food systems. Better understanding of AFM technology and developing corresponding methodology for complicated food systems would lead to a more in-depth understanding of food properties at macromolecular levels and enlarge their applications. The AFM results could greatly improve the food processing and storage technologies. [source]


Influence of food properties and body posture on durations of swallowing-related muscle activities

JOURNAL OF ORAL REHABILITATION, Issue 9 2008
D. INAGAKI
Abstract, The purpose of this study was to determine (i) whether or not textural properties of foods and body positions affect the durations of anterior tongue and suprahyoid muscle activities during swallowing, and (ii) if such changes occur, is the ,pre-peak' or the ,post-peak' duration of integrated muscle activity responsible. We used two test foods with different proprieties of hardness and adhesiveness. We recorded electromyograms (EMGs) from the anterior tongue and suprahyoid muscles as well as the laryngeal movement associated with swallowing in normal subjects (six men and three women; 21,30-years old). The subjects swallowed the test foods in four randomly set postures: upright, two inclined (60 ° and 30 ° to horizontal), and supine. None of the measured durations for the anterior tongue and suprahyoid EMGs were different among the four positions during swallowing of either food. The ,total' duration, from the start to the end of the integrated EMG, of anterior tongue activity was significantly (P < 0·001, anova) longer during the swallowing of the tougher and more adhesive food than during swallowing of the other food, but the ,total' duration of suprahyoid activity was unchanged. The ,post-peak' duration of anterior tongue activity, which stretched from the peak to the end of the integrated EMG, was also significantly longer (P < 0·001, anova) during swallowing of the tougher and more adhesive food. The results indicate that tougher and more adhesive foods prolong the duration, especially the ,post-peak' duration, of anterior tongue activity during swallowing in the upright, inclined and supine positions. [source]


INFLUENCE OF MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUE, TEST FOOD, TEETH AND MUSCLE FORCE INTERACTIONS IN MASTICATORY PERFORMANCE

JOURNAL OF TEXTURE STUDIES, Issue 1 2007
FLÁVIA RIQUETO GAMBARELI
ABSTRACT The role of texture and flavors in mastication is evident, but it is difficult to understand the interactions among food properties, oral physiology and perception. Mastication results from rhythmic mandibular movements. The teeth and masticatory muscles together form the mechanism whereby the food particles are fragmented. Masticatory performance and efficiency are defined as the capacity to reduce natural or artificial test materials during mastication, or by counting the number of strokes required to reduce food, respectively. Foods eaten for nourishment are very different from the industrial test materials used to quantify masticatory performance, thus, divergences could arise if the chewable material can or cannot be swallowed. This study presents a synopsis of masticatory performance methods, which is also related to muscle force, number of teeth and test chewing substance diversity. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The attributes of food, such as appearance, flavor and texture, as well as its interaction with saliva, number of teeth and conditions of the biomechanical system, influence the chewing process. In addition, reflex control and cognition can influence food perception and breakdown in the mouth. Food acceptability and choice depend on sensory properties of the food, which are perceived during chewing and swallowing. Masticatory performance and maximal occlusal force measurement may provide essential information that could lead to an appropriate diagnosis as regards masticatory function. Masticatory efficiency and performance can be measured to determine the individual's capacity to comminute a natural or a chewable test material. A material with uniform properties that can be reliably reproduced is essential to provide an ideal test bolus for the scientific study of masticatory effectiveness. [source]


Indentation as a technique to assess the mechanical properties of fallback foods

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Peter W. Lucas
Abstract A number of living primates feed part-year on seemingly hard food objects as a fallback. We ask here how hardness can be quantified and how this can help understand primate feeding ecology. We report a simple indentation methodology for quantifying hardness, elastic modulus, and toughness in the sense that materials scientists would define them. Suggested categories of fallback foods,nuts, seeds, and root vegetables,were tested, with accuracy checked on standard materials with known properties by the same means. Results were generally consistent, but the moduli of root vegetables were overestimated here. All these properties are important components of what fieldworkers mean by hardness and help understand how food properties influence primate behavior. Hardness sensu stricto determines whether foods leave permanent marks on tooth tissues when they are bitten on. The force at which a food plastically deforms can be estimated from hardness and modulus. When fallback foods are bilayered, consisting of a nutritious core protected by a hard outer coat, it is possible to predict their failure force from the toughness and modulus of the outer coat, and the modulus of the enclosed core. These forces can be high and bite forces may be maximized in fallback food consumption. Expanding the context, the same equation for the failure force for a bilayered solid can be applied to teeth. This analysis predicts that blunt cusps and thick enamel will indeed help to sustain the integrity of teeth against contacts with these foods up to high loads. Am J Phys Anthropol 140:643,652, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]