Development of new nutraceutical ingredients from agro-food wastes

During this PhD project two innovative nutraceutical ingredients were developed from typical Lombard crops by-products in collaboration with Flanat Research Italia. The first raw material investigated was an anthocyanin-rich extract obtained from the Moradyn cob (Zea Mays L., Var. Moradyn), a new purple maize variety selected by the company. Results obtained from several in vitro assays showed that the peculiar chemical composition of MCE was correlated with strong antiglycative and hypoglycemic activities, nevertheless data collected from preliminary bioaccessibility and solid-state stability studies highlighted the weak stability of MCE polyphenols. A stabilizer agent was required, thus the second ingredient developed was a polysaccharide fraction isolated from camelina cake (Camelina sativa L., Crantz) which extraction process was optimized by DOE. This fraction was selected among three raw materials based on its encapsulation efficiency, then its chemical and rheological features were characterized. MCE was used as carrier for MCE at the concetrations of 50 and 75% (w/w) and its stabilizing properties were tested following the above mentioned protocols, confirming its effectiveness at the concetration of 75% (w/w) . Finally CCP hypocholesterolemic action was investigated by testing its bile salts binding capacity in vitro.