Natural Tannin Wood Extracts as a Potential Food Ingredient in the Food Industry

Abstract

Wood extracts are one of the most important natural sources of industrially obtained tannins. Their use in the food industry could be one of the biggest (most important) recent innovations in food science as a result of their multiple (many) possible applications. The use of tannin wood extracts (TWEs) as additives directly added in foods or in their packaging meets an ever-increasing consumer demand for innovative approaches to sustainability. The latest research is focusing on new ways to include them directly in food, to take advantage of their specific actions to prevent individual pathological conditions. The present review begins with the biology of TWEs and then explores their chemistry, specific sensorial properties, and current application in food production. Moreover, this review is intended to cover recent studies dealing with the potential use of TWEs as a starting point for novel food ingredients.

Enrichment of Food With Tannin Extracts Promotes Healthy Changes in the Human Gut Microbiota

“…The interaction of tannins with food has been well-described in relation with several sensorial aspects, such as astringency and bitter taste (Brossaud et al, 2001;Silva et al, 2017;Li et al, 2018;Pérez-Burillo et al, 2018). The structure of tannins gives them a distinctive tendency to bind to proteins and carbohydrates (Molino et al, 2019). For instance, both tannin molecular weight and degree of galloylation enhance their affinity for proteins, probably because tannin size determines the number of interaction sites.…”

Hydrolyzable vs. Condensed Wood Tannins for Bio-based Antioxidant Coatings: Superior Properties of Quebracho Tannins

“…Wood tannins are currently used in food industry, e.g., as additives to improve wine aroma and taste, as crosslinkers to strengthen the network of vegetable-based food gelatins, as livestock food supplements to enhance meat quality, or as additives in antioxidant and antimicrobial active packaging [ 9 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”

Tannin Encapsulation for Personalized Product Applications

“…The tannins (from chestnut wood, quebracho wood, oak wood, tara pods, Chinese gallnuts) will be extracted by means of water, ethanol or water-ethanol mixtures at different ratios [5,6].…”