Formulation of functional foods using chia seeds rich in omega-3 fatty acid as a main ingredient
Author(s)
Costantini, Lara
Date Issued
June 4, 2015
Type
Doctoral Thesis
Abstract
Epidemiological studies strongly suggest that omega-3 fatty acids plays a significant role in
the prevention of many chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, inflammation,
hyperlipidemia, and cancer. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are considered essential because
they cannot be synthesized in the human body and must be obtained through diet. However,
although a ratio of omega-6/omega-3 fatty acids of about 4-1:1 is regarded as optimal for the
prevention of different pathologies, Western diets often contain a ratio of 10-25:1, indicating a
considerable omega-3 fatty acids deficiency. In light of this issue, in this PhD thesis it was
considered the seeds of Salvia hispanica L. (common name chia), one of the best plant sources of
omega-3 fatty acids, as raw material from which start to create a functional food. Indeed, chia seeds
contain between 25% and 40% fats and up to 68% omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). They also
contain 20% of omega-6 linoleic acid, thus providing a good balance between the two essential
fatty acids. ALA is able to improve the pathological condition in model animals like Spontaneously
Hypertensive Rats (SHRs), by decreasing the systolic blood pressure and the Angiotensin
Converting Enzyme (ACE) activity and expression, but also increasing the vasodilators level. Chia
seeds are considered a novel food ingredient in the European Union, and for this reason there is a
restriction on the amount of use, initially of 5% (EFSA, 2009), now raised to 10% after the last
2013 revision (EU, 2013). This restriction is probably due to the lack of scientific analysis related to
their in vivo effects in humans, considering that omega-3 fatty acids, for their chemical nature, such
as the presence of unsaturations, are more prone to lipid peroxidation, especially in oxidized
pathological subjects. According to the above considerations this work reports the main obtained
results from the following activities and objectives. First step was the investigation of the in vivo
effects following the long-term administration of chia seeds in oxidized pathological animal
models. With the aim to formulate a functional food useful not only to maintain the health status of
healthy people, but also to people with different pathologies, 5% of chia flour was administered for
5 weeks to SHRs, being the high blood pressure condition the major cause of worldwide death as
reported from the latest report of the World Health Organization. At the end of the experimental
period, parameters for antioxidant, inflammatory and hypertensive status were analysed. After that,
the formulation and study of a functional food containing chia seeds and common/tartary
buckwheat were performed. Considering that the in vivo study had shown the necessity to increase
the antioxidant capacity of chia seed-diet in order to avoid the in vivo oxidation increase after chia
seed administration, for their high antioxidant activity common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum
Moench) and tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn.) were chosen as ingredients to
combine with chia seeds in the functional food recipe.
The results obtained in this study indicated that bread made with chia and tartary buckwheat flour
was more acceptable in many nutritional aspects compared to the control (common wheat bread); it
contained a higher amount of protein (20%), insoluble dietary fibres (74%), ash (51%), and alphalinolenic
acid (67.4%). Moreover, this bread possessed lower energy (14%) and carbohydrate
contents (24%) compared to the control. Tartary buckwheat also improved the total antioxidant
capacity of the bread (about 75%) and provided a considerable amount of flavonoids, which are
healthy non-nutritional compounds. Overall, the combination of chia flour with tartary buckwheat
flour allowed the creation of bread that might be useful for the following people categories:
hypertensive, diabetics, patients with micro- and macro-inflammatory disease, but also to maintain
the health status of healthy people by increasing the dietary omega-3 and antioxidant intake. In
addition, both chia flour and tartary buckwheat flour contain no gluten and can be consumed by
patients with celiac disease, thus making a first step in formulating foods suitable for celiacs and at
the same time with high nutritional value to avoid cardiovascular disease risk associated with
current gluten-free diet.
Additional information
Dottorato di ricerca in Biotecnologia degli alimenti
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