Dados do Trabalho

Título

3D-PRINTED MILK GELS FOR DYSPHAGIC DIETS: DEVELOPMENT OF TAILORED PRODUCTS WITH HIGH MINERAL BIOACCESSIBILITY

Introdução

The difficulty for chewing and swallowing, known as dysphagia, is a condition that affects the psychological and physical health of elderly and people affected by multiple neurological, muscular and other diseases. Low-viscosity liquids pose a risk to the safety of dysphagic people, as they can be aspirated during consumption. 3D printing, combined with customized ingredients, is an interesting approach to produce foods with texture tailored for dysphagic diets. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop 3D-printed milk gels that are safe for consumption by dysphagic individuals, without impacting the bioaccessibility of Ca, Mg, K, and P.

Material e Métodos

Two gelling biopolymers were used: native or modified cassava starch and Kappa-carrageenan (ĸC). Dry Heating Treatment (DHT - 130 °C for 2 and 4 h) was applied to modify cassava starch, and the gels were prepared with skimmed milk reconstituted with 5% of gelling agents: starch (100, 99.7, 99.4, 99.1, 98.8 and 98.5%) and ĸC (0, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2 and 1.5%). The gels were produced by gelatinization (90 °C/20 min) and gelation (5 °C/24 h) and were then 3D printed in different geometries. They were evaluated for printing performance, dysphagia suitability (manual - IDDSI, and using a texturometer), and mineral bioaccessibility through simulated gastrointestinal digestion based on the INFOGEST 2.0 method.

Resultados e Discussão

ĸC had a dominant effect on the final properties of the milk gels when compared to native or modified starch, where small amounts were sufficient to improve 3D printing and make the gels suitable for dysphagia. However, higher concentrations of ĸC had the opposite effect, impairing 3D printing and making the molded gels unsuitable for dysphagic people. In fact, the gels obtained by 3D printing - compared with the molded ones - resulted in different behaviors during the fork test, due to the gel extrusion process that breaks its initial structure.

Conclusão

Furthermore, all gels showed similar mineral bioaccessibility as milk (>80%), highlighting that approaches to modify milk texture may be interesting to adapt dysphagic diets, without affecting mineral bioaccessibility.