American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- April 30, 2008

In the study, Gaëlle Arvisenet and colleagues point out that a number of factors are involved in the release of aromatic and flavor compounds in the mouth. Chewing, the release of saliva, the rate of food breakdown and the temperature all affect the flavor and smell of food before it’s swallowed. To accurately reproduce the effects of chewing, Arvisenet's team needed to build a machine that could imitate several — if not all — of these subtle processes. “Our aim was not to reproduce the human mouth conditions exactly, but to reproduce the result of mastication,” says Arvisenet.

The researchers compared apples chewed by their machine and by human mouths. The resulting apple pulp was scrutinized for texture, color and aromatic compound release. “Experimental conditions were determined that produced fruit in a state closest to that obtained after mastication in a human mouth,” reports Arvisenet. — AD

ARTICLE #4 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Effect of Apple Particle State on the Release of Volatile Compounds in a New Artificial Mouth Device"

DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ARTICLE
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf073145z

CONTACT:
Gaëlle Arvisenet, Ph.D.
ENITIAA, UMR CNRS GEPEA
Nantes, France
Phone: 33-251-78-5512
Fax: 33-251-78-5520
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ARTICLE #5 EMBARGOED FOR 9 A.M., EASTERN TIME, May 5, 2008

No more needles: Toward an artificial pancreas for fighting diabetes
Chemical & Engineering News

A specially coated metal tube, no larger than a cigarette, could be the key to developing an artificial pancreas to help millions of people with diabetes avoid insulin injections, according to an article [http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/86/8618sci4.html] scheduled for the May 5 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS’ weekly newsmagazine. The so-called “bioartificial pancreas” also could help keep blood sugar closer to normal levels, and perhaps reduce the risk of diabetic complications, which include blindness, kidney failure, and premature death, the article suggests.

Written by Associate Editor Bethany Halford, the C&EN article points out that researchers have been trying to develop an artificial pancreas for years. Most approaches involve encapsulating healthy islet cells — the pancreatic cells that detect glucose and release insulin — and transplanting them into diabetic patients. But enclosing a large collection of cells has been difficult because the materials designed to hold them are not biocompatible, or optimal for use in the body, Halford notes.