Hornification: Lessons learned from the wood industry for attenuating this phenomenon in plant-based dietary fibers from food wastes

Sara Aghajanzadeh; Goly Fayaz; Yasamin Soleimanian; Aman Mohammad Ziaiifar; Sylvie L Turgeon; Seddik Khalloufi

doi:10.1111/1541-4337.13047

Hornification: Lessons learned from the wood industry for attenuating this phenomenon in plant-based dietary fibers from food wastes

Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2023 Jan;22(1):4-45. doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.13047. Epub 2022 Oct 5.

Authors

Sara Aghajanzadeh^{1

2}, Goly Fayaz^{1

2}, Yasamin Soleimanian^{1

2}, Aman Mohammad Ziaiifar³, Sylvie L Turgeon^{2

4}, Seddik Khalloufi^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Soils Science and Agri-Food Engineering Department, Laval University, Québec, Canada.
² Institute of Nutrition and functional foods, Laval University, Québec, Canada.
³ Food Process Engineering Department, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran.
⁴ Food Science Department, Laval University, Québec, Canada.

PMID: 36199175
DOI: 10.1111/1541-4337.13047

Abstract

A significant amount of waste is annually generated worldwide by the supply chain of the food industry. Considering the population growth, the environmental concerns, and the economic opportunities, waste recovery is a promising solution to produce valuable and innovative ingredients for food and nonfood industries. Indeed, plant-based wastes are rich in dietary fibers (DF), which have relevant technical functionalities such as water/oil holding capacity, swelling capacity, viscosity, texture, and physiological properties such as antioxidant activity, cholesterol, and glucose adsorption capacities. Different drying technologies could be applied to extend the shelf life of fresh DF. However, inappropriate drying technologies or process conditions could adversely affect the functionalities of DF via the hornification phenomenon. Hornification is related to the formation of irreversible hydrogen bindings, van der Waals interactions, and covalent lactone bridges between cellulose fibrils during drying. This review aims to capitalize on the knowledge developed in the wood industry to tackle the hornification phenomenon occurring in the food industry. The mechanisms and the parameters affecting hornification as well as the mitigation strategies used in the wood industry that could be successfully applied to foods are summarized. The application of conventional drying technologies such as air or spray-drying increased the occurrence of hornification. In contrast, solvent exchange, supercritical drying, freeze-drying, and spray-freeze-drying approaches were considered effective strategies to limit the consequences of this phenomenon. In addition, incorporating capping agents before drying attenuated the hornification. The knowledge summarized in this review can be used as a basis for process design in the valorization of plant-based wastes and the production of functional DF that present relevant features for the food and packaging industries.

Keywords: capping agents; drying; food wastes; functional dietary fibers; hornification.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Desiccation
Dietary Fiber
Food Industry
Refuse Disposal*
Wood*

Substances

Dietary Fiber