Sensory, Physicochemical, and Cooking Qualities of Instant Noodles Incorporated with Red Seaweed (Eucheuma denticulatum)

Instant noodles are consumed worldwide, but instant noodles are often unhealthy. Therefore, in the current study, instant noodles were produced with composite flour (a blend of wheat flour and potato starch at weight ratios of 9:1, 8:2, and 7:3) incorporated with red seaweed powder (Eucheuma denticulatum) in proportions of 0, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, and 15%. The noodles’ sensory, physicochemical, and cooking properties were then determined. The incorporation of 7.5–15% of seaweed powder significantly (p < 0.05) increased the cooking yield, reduced the cooking loss, lengthened the cooking time, and decreased the pH values and water activity. The addition of seaweed powder weakened the tensile strength and softened the noodles. Seaweed noodles were denser and greener than control noodles. Among the three seaweed noodles (F2, F5, and F12) selected through the ranking test, panelists preferred F2 and F5 (both scoring 4.63 on a 7-point hedonic scale for overall acceptability) more than F12. Overall, F5 (at a wheat flour: potato starch ratio of 9:1; 15% seaweed powder) is the best-formulated seaweed noodle in this study, owing to its highest cooking yield and lowest cooking loss even with prolonged cooking, lowest water activity, and acceptable sensory qualities

The Emergence of Edible and Food-Application Coatings for Food Packaging: A Review

Food packaging was not as important in the past as it is now, because the world has more people but fewer food resources. Food packaging will become more prevalent and go from being a nice-to-have to an essential feature of modern life. Food packaging has grown to be an important industry sector in today’s world of more people and more food. Food packaging innovation faces significant challenges in extending perishable food products’ shelf life and contributing to meeting daily nutrient requirements as people nowadays are searching for foods that offer additional health advantages. Modern food preservation techniques have two objectives: process viability and safe, environmentally friendly end products. Long-term storage techniques can include the use of edible coatings and films. This article gives a succinct overview of the supplies and procedures used to coat food products with conventional packaging films and coatings. The key findings summarizing the biodegradable packaging materials are emphasized for their ability to prolong the freshness and flavor of a wide range of food items; films and edible coatings are highlighted as viable alternatives to traditional packaging methods. We discuss the safety concerns and opportunities presented by applying edible films and coatings, allowing it to be used as quality indicators for time-sensitive foods

Production of ACE-Inhibitory and antioxidant hydrolysates from the fillet of hybrid grouper

Hydrolysates from fish muscle have been reported to exhibit various bioactivities including ACE-inhibitory and antioxidant activities. In this study, the effect of hydrolysis conditions on the ACE-inhibitory and antioxidant activities (hydroxyl radical scavenging activity and reducing power) of hydrolysates from the fillet of hybrid grouper (TGGG) was investigated. The fillet was hydrolysed with four different enzymes (Alcalase, proteinase K, trypsin and pepsin) for 48 hours. Part of the hydrolysates were collected at 1, 2, 4, 6, 24, and 48 hours and analysed for several bioactivities. Results obtained showed that Alcalase and proteinase K hydrolysates demonstrated the highest ACE-inhibitory and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity (p < 0.05). Pepsin hydrolysate on the other hand exhibited the highest reducing power (p < 0.05). Trypsin was the only enzyme where all its bioactivities were affected by the degree of hydrolysis (DH) (p < 0.05). Extensive hydrolysis resulted in a higher hydroxyl radical scavenging of pepsin hydrolysate. The results of this study demonstrated that the proper choice of enzymes and optimal hydrolysis duration could potentially enhance the ACE-inhibitory and antioxidant potency of hydrolysates from the TGGG fillet. Further studies to isolate and identify the potent peptides from the fillet hydrolysate are recommended

Antioxidant and hypolipidaemic properties of red seaweed, Gracilaria changii

The edible red seaweed, Gracilaria changii, was collected from the coastal area of Sarawak, Malaysia, and evaluated for its hypolipidaemic properties using high cholesterol/high fat (HF) induced male Sprague–Dawley rats. In the in vivo study, the HF diet group showed significantly higher total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), atherogenic index (AI) and body weight gain as compared to other treatment groups. At the end of treatment period, rats fed with a HF diet supplemented with 5 % freeze-dried G. changii powder had significantly reduced plasma TC (−39.19 %), LDL-C (−36.36 %), and triglycerides (TG) content (− 25.45 %). Meanwhile, 10 % seaweed powder significantly lowered the plasma TC, LDL-C and TG content by −40.34, −35.95 and −30.91 % respectively, compared to the HF group. The AI of rats supplemented with 10 % seaweed powder was the lowest among the treatment groups and indicates a lowered risk for cardiovascular diseases. The plasma lipid peroxidation of the seaweed powder-fed groups was also significantly lower than the HF group, while the erythrocyte enzyme antioxidant activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase of the treatment groups were also improved. Diets supplemented with seaweed powder also decreased plasma aspartate aminotransferase and the alanine aminotransferase levels

Effects of fractionation technique on triacylglycerols, melting and crystallisation and the polymorphic behavior of bambangan kernel fat as cocoa butter improver

Cocoa butter improver (CBI) is typically composed of high melting symmetrical triacylglycerols (TAGs) that aid in the hardness of chocolate products in tropical/subtropical regions. High-melting symmetrical TAG (1,3-di-stearoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol, SOS) rich fats were produced by two-stage acetone fractionation. Different chromatographic and thermal techniques were used to determine TAGs, thermal properties, and polymorphic behavior of each bambangan kernel fat (BKF) fraction. The first (S-1) and second (S-2) stearins composed of 55.83% and 64.70% symmetrical SOS were the valuable CBIs produced from the fractionated BKF. The stearin fractions also melted and crystallised rapidly at high temperatures with one maximum peak starting at 20.30–21.74 °C and ending at 38.72–42.45 °C (melting), and another starting at 17.05–18.46 °C and ended at 5.63–8.20 °C (crystallisation). In comparison with pure BKF and commercial cocoa butter (CB), the stearins showed sharper melting curves and higher melting properties. The stearins also exhibited β-polymorphic form which was similar to that of CB. Results suggested that the stearins were suitable to be applied as CBI to improve the melting properties and the availability of confectionery products in tropical/subtropical countries