Gilles Feron

Bio: Gilles Feron is an academic researcher from University of Burgundy. The author has contributed to research in topics: Saliva & Aroma. The author has an hindex of 31, co-authored 138 publications receiving 2732 citations. Previous affiliations of Gilles Feron include École nationale supérieure de biologie appliquée à la nutrition et à l'Alimentation & Centre national de la recherche scientifique.

In-Mouth Mechanisms Leading to Flavor Release and Perception

Abstract: During eating, foods are submitted to two main oral processes-chewing, including biting and crushing with teeth, and progressive impregnation by saliva resulting in the formation of a cohesive bolus and swallowing of the bolus. Texture influences the chewing behavior, including mastication and salivation, and in turn, these parameters influence texture perception and bolus formation. During this complex mouth process, flavor compounds are progressively released from the food matrix. This phenomenon is mainly dependent on the food texture, the composition and in-mouth breakdown, and on saliva impregnation and activity, but an individual's anatomical and physiological aspects characteristics should also be taken into account. This article reviews the knowledge and progresses on in-mouth processes leading to food breakdown and flavor release and affecting perception. Relationships between food texture and composition, food breakdown, oral physiology, and flavor release are developed and discussed. This review includes not only the mechanical aspects of oral physiology but also the biological aspects such as the influence of saliva composition, activity, and regulation on flavor perception. In vitro and in silico approaches are also described.

Prospects for the microbial production of food flavours

Abstract: The microbial production of natural flavours has been extensively studied during the past decade, and some processes are currently being exploited commercially. However, in the case of flavour compounds such as lactones and some aromatic compounds, the lack of basic information on their metabolism, as well as their high toxicity, are two main barriers to industrial production. The development of novel and cheap production processes, such as solid-state fermentation, may help overcome some of the current limitations of microbial flavour production, as well as widening the spectrum of biotechnologically accessible compounds.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

A standardised static in vitro digestion method suitable for food – an international consensus

Abstract: Simulated gastro-intestinal digestion is widely employed in many fields of food and nutritional sciences, as conducting human trials are often costly, resource intensive, and ethically disputable. As a consequence, in vitro alternatives that determine endpoints such as the bioaccessibility of nutrients and non-nutrients or the digestibility of macronutrients (e.g. lipids, proteins and carbohydrates) are used for screening and building new hypotheses. Various digestion models have been proposed, often impeding the possibility to compare results across research teams. For example, a large variety of enzymes from different sources such as of porcine, rabbit or human origin have been used, differing in their activity and characterization. Differences in pH, mineral type, ionic strength and digestion time, which alter enzyme activity and other phenomena, may also considerably alter results. Other parameters such as the presence of phospholipids, individual enzymes such as gastric lipase and digestive emulsifiers vs. their mixtures (e.g. pancreatin and bile salts), and the ratio of food bolus to digestive fluids, have also been discussed at length. In the present consensus paper, within the COST Infogest network, we propose a general standardised and practical static digestion method based on physiologically relevant conditions that can be applied for various endpoints, which may be amended to accommodate further specific requirements. A frameset of parameters including the oral, gastric and small intestinal digestion are outlined and their relevance discussed in relation to available in vivo data and enzymes. This consensus paper will give a detailed protocol and a line-by-line, guidance, recommendations and justifications but also limitation of the proposed model. This harmonised static, in vitro digestion method for food should aid the production of more comparable data in the future.

Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC): An Overview on Emission, Physiology and Ecology

Abstract: This overview compiles the actual knowledge of the biogenic emissions of some volatile organic compounds (VOCs), i.e., isoprene, terpenes, alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, esters, carbonyls, and acids. We discuss VOC biosynthesis, emission inventories, relations between emission and plant physiology as well as temperature and radiation, and ecophysiological functions. For isoprene and monoterpenes, an extended summary of standard emission factors, with data related to the plant genus and species, is included. The data compilation shows that we have quite a substantial knowledge of the emission of isoprene and monoterpenes, including emission rates, emission regulation, and biosynthesis. The situation is worse in the case of numerous other compounds (other VOCs or OVOCs) being emitted by the biosphere. This is reflected in the insufficient knowledge of emission rates and biological functions. Except for the terpenoids, only a limited number of studies of OVOCs are available; data are summarized for alkanes, alkenes, carbonyls, alcohols, acids, and esters. In addition to closing these gaps of knowledge, one of the major objectives for future VOC research is improving our knowledge of the fate of organic carbon in the atmosphere, ending up in oxidation products and/or as aerosol particles.