Mediterranean jellyfish as novel food: effects of thermal processing on antioxidant, phenolic, and protein contents

Abstract

Fishery, market and consumption of edible jellyfish are currently limited in western countries by the lack of market demand for jellyfish products and the absence of processing technologies adequate to the western market safety standards. The development of technology-driven processing protocols may be key to comply with rigorous food safety rules, overcome the lack of tradition and revert the neophobic perception of jellyfish as food. We show thermal treatment (100 °C, 10 min) can be used as a first stabilization step on three common Mediterranean jellyfish, the scyphomedusae Aurelia coerulea, Cotylorhiza tuberculata, Rhizostoma pulmo, differently affecting protein and phenolic contents of their main body parts. The antioxidant activity was assessed in thermally treated and untreated samples, as related to the functional and health value of the food. Heat treatment had mild effect on protein and phenolic contents and on antioxidant activity. The jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo, showed the better performance after thermal treatment. Keywords Edible jellyfish • Marine scyphozoans • Novel food • Antioxidant foods • Thermal processing • Antioxidant activity Abbreviations AA Antioxidant activity ABTS 2,20-azinobis(3-ethylben-zothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)diammonium salt BSA Bovine serum albumin GAE Gallic acid equivalents TE Trolox equivalents Trolox 6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid TEAC Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity WB Whole fresh jellyfish OA Oral arms U Umbrella A. coerulea Aurelia coerulea C. tuberculata Cotylorhiza tuberculata R. pulmo Rhizostoma pulmo

Non-indigenous Species in the Mediterranean Sea: Turning From Pest to Source by Developing the 8Rs Model, a New Paradigm in Pollution Mitigation

“…Microalgae, seaweed and jellyfish have been studied and screened for potential product development in terms of the reuse of their biomass as fertilizers or biostimulants, or feed and food (Bleve et al, 2019;Leone et al, 2019;Torres et al, 2019). Seaweeds have already been used in the food processing industry (e.g., for production of agar, alginates), but many other applications are possible.…”

“…As well as marine flora, marine animals that are invasive or create problems might be reused as a source for industrial processing. Jellyfish biomass has been recently recognized as a novel food source from the Mediterranean Sea (Bleve et al, 2019;Leone et al, 2019), particularly as it has been known as a delicacy in eastern Asia for hundreds of years. Even though the jellyfish body is composed of 95% water, the remaining biomass is rich in proteins and bioactive compounds.…”

A Systematic Review of Risk Assessment Associated with Jellyfish Consumption as a Potential Novel Food

“…Jellyfish as food is not familiar to most of western consumers, and it is negatively perceived. Therefore, new opportunities for expanding jellyfish food uses in western countries will rely on the development of new processing technologies and of market demand, which in turn will depend on increased knowledge of jellyfish as raw food material and on public perception of it [22].…”

“…Jellyfish are marketed in the form of products in brine, chilled, frozen, live, or desalted products directly ready for consumption (ready to eat). The technique of processing jellyfish is essentially based on a multi-phase drying process, using mixtures of salt and alum, and jellyfish products are typically consumed after desalting and rehydration in salads or after cooking [22].…”

Identification of Safety and Quality Parameters for Preparation of Jellyfish Based Novel Food Products

“…Indeed, an increased frequency and abundance of JF outbreaks has been reported in the Mediterranean and North Sea [6], affecting fishing and sea wildlife with evident economic impacts [7,8,9]. Meanwhile, recent research studies have reported that some JF species with outbreak-forming populations in the Mediterranean Sea have biochemical and textural features similar to edible Asiatic species [10,11,12]. These native JF species in the Mediterranean Sea seem to be good candidates as a new “local seafood product” characterized by nutraceutical features [10,13].…”