Chemical composition and potential adulterants in coconut milk sold in Kuala Lumpur

The purpose of this study was to determine the chemical composition of six fresh coconut milk samples sold in Kuala Lumpur and to compare the results of chemical composition with pure coconut milk as reference using Malaysia Food Composition, USDA Fresh Coconut Milk Composition and USDA Canned Coconut Milk Composition. The possible source of adulterants that might present in coconut milk was also studied. Two fresh coconut milk samples from Pasar Imbi and Giant Cheras was anticipated to be adulterated with water and a source of carbohydrate in order to thicken the coconut milk. The protein content of fresh coconut milk sample from Pasar Imbi and Giant Cheras was 79.05% and 80.95%, respectively, lower compared to the reference, while the fat content was 53.38% and 60.96% lower compared to the value of the reference. However, the carbohydrate was 16.37% and 5.75%, while the moisture content was 12.84% and 25.77% higher compared to the value of the reference. From these two potentially adulterated coconut milk samples, only coconut milk from Pasar Imbi shown carbohydrate (corn flour) and water peaks of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. The spectra of fresh coconut milk adulterated with different concentration of corn flour were scanned and interpreted. Partial Least Square (PLS) regression was used to quantitatively determine the concentration of corn flour in the coconut milk. The linear equation of the validation obtained was y = 0.9161x + 0.3334 with R2= 0.9982 and RMSEC= 0.688. This can be suggested that FTIR could be a potential tool in determining the coconut milk adulteration with corn flour for future study

Effect of different drying methods on the degradation of selected flavonoids in Centella asiatica

The effect of different drying methods on the degradation of flavonoids in Centella asiatica was evaluated. C. asiatica leaf, root and petiole were dried using air-oven, vacuum oven and freeze drier. Flavonoid was determined utilizing reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Results of the study revealed the presence of high concentration of flavonoids in C. asiatica leaf, root and petiole, which include, naringin (4688.8 ± 69 μg/100 g, 3561.3 ± 205 μg/ 100 g, and 978.3 ± 96 μg/ 100 g), rutin (905.6 ± 123 μg/ 100 g, 756.07 ± 95 μg/ 100 g, and 557.25 ± 58 μg/ 100 g), quercetin (3501.1 ± 107 μg/ 100 g, 1086.31 ± 90 μg/ 100 g, and 947.63 ± 83 μg/ 100 g) and catechin (915.87 ± 6.01 μg/ 100 g, 400.6 ± 67 μg/ 100 g, and 250.56 ± 18 μg/ 100g). Luteolin, kaempferol and apigenin on the other hand, were inconsistently present in some parts of C. asiatica. Air-oven treatment resulted in the highest total flavonoids degradation followed by vacuum oven and freeze dried with percent degradation of 97%, 87.6% and 73%, respectively. Catechin and rutin were found to be the most stable flavonoids with percent degradation up to 35%, 66% and 76% for freeze dried, vacuum oven and air oven, respectively

Effect of hydrolysis time on antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Jack Bean (Canavalia ensiformis) protein hydrolysate

Jack Bean or Kacang Koro (Canavalia ensiformis) is one of the under-exploited tropical dry beans. This study was aimed to determine the effect of hydrolysis time on physicochemical properties, antioxidative and antimicrobial activity of Jack Bean protein hydrolysate (JBPH). The physicochemical properties of JBPH were evaluated based on protein content, WHC, OHC, degree of hydrolysis, foam stability and foaming capacity. The antioxidative activity of JBPH was measured using DPPH, hydroxyl radical scavenging, superoxide radical scavenging and FRAP. Well diffusion method was used to study antimicrobial activity of JBPH. The highest protein content (33.16±0.03%) obtained in JBPH that hydrolysed for 150 min. The degree of hydrolysis was showed for JBPH highest at 120 min (51.79±0.28%). The size of the microstructure of JBPH analysed using SEM were decrease with hydrolysis time. FTIR analysis confirmed that JBPH comprised of three major components (Region I, II and III). Water holding capacity of JBPH was the highest for the sample hydrolysed for 60 min (63.87±0.72%) while oil holding capacity depicts the highest by it at 180 min (57.17±1.19%). Foaming capacity and foam stability decreased with hydrolysis time. JBPH produced at 120 min hydrolysis time showed the highest inhibition toward DPPH (42.44%) and hydroxyl radicals (20.01%). FRAP and superoxide radical scavenging, JBPH at 90 min showed the highest inhibition (91.15±0.05 µM and 64.33%). JBPH also showed antimicrobial properties by inhibits the growth of P. aeruginosa. The best hydrolysis time to produce JBPH with the highest physicochemical properties was found at 120 min

Antioxidative properties and proximate analysis of spent coffee ground (SCG) extracted using ultrasonic-methanol assisted technique as a potential functional food ingredient

Spent coffee ground (SCG) produced in tons by restaurants and cafeterias and domestic consumers is a potentially good source of natural antioxidants because it contains substantial amounts of bioactive compounds. The purpose of this study was to identify the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of three different types of spent coffee ground (SCG), namely Robusta, Arabica and Liberica extracted using ultra-sonicmethanol assisted technique. DPPH, FTC, TBA, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were used to measure the antioxidant properties. Robusta SCG exhibited the highest DPPH inhibition 41.63±0.04%), FTC (60.42±0.03%) and TBA analysis (73.09±0.08%). The total phenolic compounds in the samples varied widely ranging from 18.94±0.06 to 26.23±0.86 mg GAE/g sample, with Robusta SCG showing the highest value among the three, while Arabica SCG depicted the highest amount total flavonoid content (47.62±0.05 to 56.20±0.08). A strong correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content were observed in this study. Compared to Arabica and Liberica SCGs expended, Robusta SCG demonstrated a stronger beneficial effect against lipid peroxidation. This study reveals that SCGs can be regarded as a new useful source of natural antioxidant with a view to increasing the use of antioxidant synthetics by using the ingredient of agro-industrial residues in food production especially ingredients for functional food

Ramification of gum arabic microencapsulation on the physicochemical and microbiological properties of butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) flowers using ultrasonic spray dryer

Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea) flower is commonly used to treat various diseases andhas long been part of the science of phytomedicines. Ultrasonic assisted extraction technique is a simple, cheap and efficient alternative to traditional extraction methods, producing a much smaller particle size than conventional spray drier. This study was aimed to evaluate the physicochemical and microbiological properties of microencapsulated butterfly pea flower (MEBP) powder prepared using ultrasonic spraying technique. The samples were microencapsulated with different amount of Gum Arabic (GA) (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10%). Surface morphology of the MEBP powder was examined using SEM showed different molecular structures in different MEBP powder.FTIR analysis identified phenolic hydroxyl group (1061.69 cm-1 and 3385.36 cm-1), sulfite group (1062.01 cm-1, 1065.92 cm-1, 1077.15 cm-1, 1234.72 cm-1and 1261.74 cm-1) and amide group (1635.99 cm-1 , 1636.74 cm-1 , 1654.14 cm-1 and 3417.2 cm-1). 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), thiobarbituric acid (TBA), total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) found to be ranging from 35.85±0.57 to 130.85±3.00 mg GAE/g dried sample, 4.32±0.04 to 6.90±0.11 mg QE/g dried sample, respectively. It was found that Bacillus cereus was sensitive to MEBP powder as the results showed a prominent inhibition zone (5.67±0.6 mm to 11.67±2.3 mm). MEBP produced with GA 6% ultrasonic spray drier was found to be effective in sustaining its antioxidative activities and the microbial activities were found to be active. This result provided useful information data on the best technique to use ultrasonic spray dryer to retain antioxidant compounds

Antioxidative activity and total phenolic compounds of leaf, root and petiole of four accessions of Centella asiatica (L.) Urban

Antioxidative activity and total phenolic compounds of root, leaf and petiole of four accessions of Centella asiatica (L.) Urban, namely CA 01, CA 05, CA 08 and CA 11, were evaluated. Antioxidative activity of the extracts was measured using the ferric thiocyanate (FTC) method and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test. The antioxidative activities were then compared with that of α-tocopherol (natural antioxidant) and butylated hydroxytoulene or BHT (synthetic antioxidant). The results showed that CA 01 and CA 05 had the highest antioxidative activities among the accessions tested. Results also showed that both leaf and root of C. asiatica had high antioxidative activity, which was as good as that of α-tocopherol. The total phenolic content, determined according to the Folin–Ciocalteu method, varied from 3.23 to 11.7 g/100 g dry sample, and showed strong association (r2=0.90) with antioxidative activity. The results suggest that phenolic compounds are the major contributors to the antioxidative activities of C. asiatica

Functional properties of composite flour: A review

Incorporation of composite flour into wheat flour for bakery goods production is expected to produce an effect in the functional properties of the blended samples. Functional properties of composite flour have been studied in most of the developing countries which used and imported a large amount of wheat flour to fulfil the increasing number of consumers as the higher demand in the development of bakery and pastry products. In this review paper, the characteristics of composite flours were reviewed to determine the suitability of the raw materials to be used in the production of food products. The functional properties such as water and oil absorption capability, foam ability, emulsion capability, least gelation concentration, and particle size distribution might indicate the capability of the composite flour before proceeding to the development of food products were reviewed. The functionality of composite flour was found to be beneficial to enhance the variety of food products with acceptable appearance, organoleptic, nutrition, and low cost to fulfil consumer demands

The Influence of Seaweed Composite Flour on the Physicochemical Properties of Muffin

Seaweed has a great potential to be used as an important ingredient in food processing, as it contains a significant content of soluble polysaccharides and has a potential function as a dietary fiber. In this study, seaweed powder (Kappaphycus alvarezii) was incorporated (2–10%) with wheat flour for the production of muffins. The effect of seaweed composite flour on the quality of muffins was investigated using various techniques, such as texture profile and proximate analyses, as well as sensory evaluation. Modification of the muffin formulation to include seaweed powder improved the composition of ash, crude fiber, and moisture content, while the protein and carbohydrate levels decreased, compared to the control sample. An increase in the seaweed component reduced the muffin height, volume, and specific volume. According to the experimental texture profile analysis data, the seaweed affected the textural characteristics of the muffins, increasing the hardness and decreasing the springiness. Sensory evaluation revealed that seaweed powder could be used in the muffin formulation up to 6%, without significantly impacting the color, aroma, and taste attributes relative to the control sample. For overall acceptability, however, the panelists preferred muffins without seaweed powder

Optimisation of enzymatic protein hydrolysis of mud crab (Scylla sp.) to obtain maximum angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory (ACEI) activity using response surface methodology

Optimisation is commonly employed to find the conditions that produce the best possible response, thus minimizing the cost and time of a particular process. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is a widely used tool in optimisation. This study reported the optimisation of enzymatic hydrolysis of mud crab meat using RSM by employing a face-centered Central Composite Design (CCD) to obtain maximum angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory (ACEI) activity. Screening of commercial food grade proteinases was carried out using Alcalase®, Protamex®, Neutrase® and papain shows that Protamex® gave the highest ACEI activity. The enzymatic hydrolysis conditions used in the optimisation were temperature (45-65ºC), pH (pH 5.5-7.5), hydrolysis time (1-4 hours) and Protamex® enzyme to substrate (E/S) ratio (1-3%). It was found that quadratic model was able to explain the relationship between the hydrolysis conditions and ACEI activity. The optimum conditions were obtained at 65ºC, pH 5.6, 1% E/S ratio and 4 hours of hydrolysis time. The experimental ACEI activity (88.93±1.02%) was not significantly difference (p>0.05) with the predicted ACEI activity (91.10%). It was found that the IC50 of the mud crab hydrolysate prepared at optimum condition was 1.96±0.13 mg/mL. This study shows that RSM can be used to explain the relationship between enzymatic hydrolysis conditions of mud crab meat and its ACEI activity

Proximate compositions, texture, and sensory profiles of gluten-free bario rice bread supplemented with potato starch

Current gluten-free food development trends tend to favour pigmented rice flour. Bario Merah Sederhana is a type of red-pigmented rice that is indigenous to Sarawak, Malaysia. This research investigates the nutritional, texture, and sensory properties of gluten-free rice bread produced from a composite of BMS rice flour and potato starch, producing samples referred to as F1 (100:0), F2 (90:10), F3 (80:20), and F4 (70:30). The gluten-free rice bread formulations demonstrated higher ash and crude fibre content and lower carbohydrate content than wheat bread. However, the crude protein content of the bread decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with a decreased amount of rice flour, owing to wheat flour containing greater protein. The crumb of rice bread appeared to be darker due to the red pigment of rice flour; in contrast, the crust was lighter than the control sample, possibly due to a lower Maillard reaction. Among rice bread formulations, F4 demonstrated the lowest hardness in dough and bread, as well as the highest stickiness and springiness in dough and bread, respectively. The wheat bread received the highest rating (p < 0.05) in the sensory test; nonetheless, among the rice breads, F4 was considered to be an acceptable formulation owing to its high score in colour (7.03), flavour (5.73), texture (6.03), and overall acceptability (6.18). BMS has potential in gluten-free rice breads; the formulation of 70% rice flour combined with 30% potato starch was indicated to be acceptable