PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

A vegan way to stop damage from excessive ice build-up and freezer burn

2023-07-19
(Press-News.org) Almost everyone has a bag of veggies shoved into the dark recesses of their freezer that’s now essentially an unrecognizable block of ice crystals. And when thawed, foods damaged by excessive ice lose their texture and become mushy. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have shown that broken-down soy proteins can prevent ice crystal growth and could be especially useful for preserving frozen vegan foods or biological samples.

Some animals that live in extremely cold environments, such as fish in the deep polar oceans, make antifreeze proteins to keep the liquid in their bodies from freezing. These proteins slow down ice crystal formation and growth, a process that has piqued the interest of the frozen food industry. Recently, researchers discovered that some peptides, which are pieces of broken-down proteins, can also slow ice crystal growth. However, all of the edible peptides tested so far have come from animal sources, including fish, pigs, chickens and cows. So, Tong Wang, Madison Fomich and colleagues at the University of Tennessee wanted to see if breaking down plant proteins could generate similar compounds with ice-crystal-inhibiting properties.

The team generated peptides from a commercially available soy protein isolate powder by exposing it to three different hydrolyzing enzymes: alcalase, pancreatin and trypsin. Each resulting mixture of peptides was also separated by size into multiple fractions.

All of the mixtures slowed ice growth in tests, but the ones produced from alcalase and trypsin were better inhibitors than those from pancreatin. For all three enzymes, most of the activity came from the fraction with the largest peptides. The large-size fractions also ended up including some smaller peptides, which on their own didn’t keep ice crystals from growing; however, the team showed that these small compounds boosted the activity. This study is an initial step toward using soy-derived peptides as a natural, effective way to reduce the ice growth that can lead to freezer burn and thereby increase the shelf life of frozen goods, including vegan and vegetarian products, the researchers say.

The authors acknowledge funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Hatch/Multistate Project through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The paper’s abstract will be available on July 19 at 8 a.m. Eastern time here: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jafc.2c08701

For more of the latest research news, register for our upcoming meeting, ACS Fall 2023. Journalists and public information officers are encouraged to apply for complimentary press registration by completing this form.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Follow us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Towards new antibiotics with the first artificial synthesis of tanzawaic acid b

Towards new antibiotics with the first artificial synthesis of tanzawaic acid b
2023-07-19
The discovery of antibiotics in 1928 was a major turning point in the history of medicine. For the first time since the dawn of human civilization, doctors had gained access to an extremely powerful and effective tool to fight against a wide variety of bacterial infections. Today, bacterial diseases that were previously a death sentence can be cured, and infections following surgery or chemotherapy can be prevented or treated more effectively. Unfortunately, the worldwide use (and abuse) of antibiotics led to the emergence of drug-resistant bacterial strains. Over time, bacteria that could normally be killed by ...

Early signs of Alzheimer’s: Most older adults see the value of screening but haven’t been tested

Early signs of Alzheimer’s: Most older adults see the value of screening but haven’t been tested
2023-07-19
Eighty percent of older adults see the benefit of tests that can give an early warning that a person’s memory and thinking abilities have started to decline, a new poll of people age 65 to 80 finds. And 60% think that health care providers should offer cognitive screening, in the form of brief memory tests, to all older adults every year. If they had a cognitive screening test and it showed signs of trouble, the vast majority of those polled said it would spur them to take action to protect their brain health (96%) and adjust their financial and health ...

Does this exoplanet have a sibling sharing the same orbit?

Does this exoplanet have a sibling sharing the same orbit?
2023-07-19
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have found the possible ‘sibling’ of a planet orbiting a distant star. The team has detected a cloud of debris that might be sharing this planet’s orbit and which, they believe, could be the building blocks of a new planet or the remnants of one already formed. If confirmed, this discovery would be the strongest evidence yet that two exoplanets can share one orbit. “Two decades ago it was predicted in theory that pairs of planets of similar mass may share the same orbit around their star, the so-called Trojan or co-orbital planets. For the first time, we have found evidence ...

Michael Wong named fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Michael Wong named fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
2023-07-19
HOUSTON – (July 19, 2023) – Rice University’s Michael Wong was named a fellow to the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the oldest chemical society in the world, whose mission is to “advance excellence in the chemical sciences.” More than 180 years old, the United Kingdom-based chemical society has over 54,000 members worldwide. “It’s a confirmation that the work we do in our group is something that people appreciate and is making a meaningful contribution ...

From nature, a solution to save coral from climate change

From nature, a solution to save coral from climate change
2023-07-19
Genoa (Italy), 19 July 2023 – Researchers at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology - IIT) and Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca (University of Milan-Bicocca), in cooperation with Acquario di Genova (Genoa Aquarium) in Italy, have recently published a study in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, which demonstrates the efficacy of curcumin, a natural antioxidant substance extracted from turmeric, in reducing coral bleaching, a phenomenon caused primarily by climate change. The research group developed a biodegradable biomaterial to deliver the molecule without ...

Dementia risk and disadvantaged neighborhoods

2023-07-19
About The Study: The results of this study of 1.6 million patients suggest that residence within more disadvantaged neighborhoods was associated with higher risk of dementia among older veterans integrated in a national health care system. Authors: Christina S. Dintica, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.2120) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author ...

Does cognitive function after retirement differ across race and sex?

2023-07-19
A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that immediately after retirement, white adults tended to experience a significant decline in cognitive function, whereas Black adults experienced minimal cognitive decline. White men showed the steepest post-retirement cognitive decline across sex/race combinations, whereas Black women showed the least decline. White women performed better cognitively at retirement than other race/sex subgroups, and after retirement, their cognitive functioning declined at a rate that was slightly ...

Can parents’ Disability Insurance boost children’s economic mobility?

2023-07-19
New research published in Contemporary Economic Policy indicates that Disability Insurance (DI) may improve economic opportunities for children whose parents have health conditions that limit work. The study included 52,575 parent-child pairs in the United States. When investigators examined economic mobility patterns for children whose parents reported work-limiting disability, they found that children had less upward economic mobility and more downward mobility relative to children of non-limited parents. Children of parents ...

Nurse-home visiting program may boost child language and mental health

2023-07-19
A randomized controlled trial conducted in Canada and published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found that Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), a nurse-home visiting program, improved child language and mental health at age 2 years when compared with existing services. Rates of child injuries and maternal subsequent pregnancies were similar in the two groups. This real-world effectiveness trial involved sustained research-policy-practice collaborations from 2011–2022. Investigators successfully reached/enrolled and sustained engagement with 739 participants (368 NFP, 371 comparison) and their 737 children for ...

How effective is Functional Family Therapy for addressing youth behavior problems?

2023-07-19
Functional Family Therapy is a family-based intervention for youth with behavior problems, and although it’s been implemented in 45 states in the U.S and in nine other high-income countries, a recent analysis of published and unpublished studies found that the therapy is not consistently more or less effective than other treatments, including various forms of individual, family, and group interventions. The authors of the analysis, which is published in Campbell Systematic Reviews and included 20 studies, also noted that there is insufficient evidence ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Older teens who start vaping post-high school risk rapid progress to frequent use

Corpse flowers are threatened by spotty recordkeeping

Riding the AI wave toward rapid, precise ocean simulations

Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

[Press-News.org] A vegan way to stop damage from excessive ice build-up and freezer burn