Extraction Optimization, Functional and Thermal Properties of Protein from Cherimoya Seed as an Unexploited By-Product

Plant-based proteins are gaining in attraction compared with animal-based proteins due to their superior ethical profiles, growing concerns on the part of various organizations about animal health and welfare, and increased global greenhouse-gas emissions in meat production. In this study, the response surface methodology (RSM) using a Box-Behnken design (BBD) was applied to optimize the ultrasound-assisted alkaline extraction of cherimoya-seed proteins as valuable by-products. The effects of three pH, temperature, and time factors on the protein-extraction yield and protein content were investigated. The pH at 10.5 and temperature of 41.8 °C for 26.1 min were considered the optimal ultrasound-assisted alkaline-extraction conditions since they provided the maximum extraction yield (17.3%) and protein content (65.6%). An established extraction technique was employed to enhance the cherimoya-seed protein yield, purity, and functional properties. A thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the samples showed that the ultrasound-assisted alkaline extraction improved the thermal stability of the protein concentrate

Recent Advances in Applied Microbiology and Food Sciences

Changes are taking place on many fronts, including socio-demographic changes, economic changes, and technological progress [...

Advances in Biological Activities and Application of Plant Extracts

For centuries, plants have been part of human civilisation, serving as food, healing substances and treatments for various diseases [...

Low-Field NMR Analyses of Gels and Starch-Stabilized Emulsions with Modified Potato Starches

Many different biopolymers are used to stabilize emulsions, of which starch is of particular concern. To improve the characteristics and technical utility of native starch, various types of changes can be made. This article is a report describing the molecular dynamics of water by the low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF NMR) of chemically (E 1412 and E 1420) and physically modified starch (LU 1432) gels and the effect of their use on the stability of oil/water emulsions obtained using bovine and porcine fats. The analysis of changes in spin–spin and spin–lattice relaxation times over time showed that the presence of the type of starch modification significantly affects the values of T1 and T2 relaxation times, as well as the correlation times. Research on time-related changes in water binding in oil-in-water emulsions showed that potato starch modified by chemical methods can be used as an emulsifier. Compared to physically modified starch, chemically modified starches have a much better water-binding capacity

Low Field NMR Studies of Wheat Bread Enriched with Potato Juice During Staling

Potato juice is a by-product in the production of starch from potato tubers. However, published studies indicate that it is a source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The use of health-promoting additives may, however, affect the quality of the fresh final product as well as the stored one. Water behavior is one of the parameters whose analysis allows for the monitoring of the shelf life of products. Therefore, the research reported in this paper was aimed at investigating the effect of replacing wheat flour with spray-dried potato juice (SDPJ) at 2.5%, 5% and 7.5% on water behavior during bread staling. 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) was used to analyze the impact of SDPJ on the dynamics of water in bread crumb. The NMR analyzes revealed that 7.5% addition of SDPJ resulted in an increased ratio of bound to bulk water (decreased T1 spin-lattice time) and decreased mobility of bulk water (decreased T22 spin-spin time). The enriched breads also showed different dynamics of water during storage, however, in each of the analyzed variants a slight increase in T1 was noted. It has also been shown that enrichment of bread in SDPJ accelerates the evacuation of water from the polymer network

Extruded Corn Snacks with Cricket Powder: Impact on Physical Parameters and Consumer Acceptance

Edible insects are more and more widely researched and presented as a good source of nutrients. Among the available raw materials, cricket powder (CP), obtained from roasted and crushed crickets, deserves attention because it can be used as an ingredient in many food products. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of CP addition on the physical and sensory properties of extruded corn snacks. In the extrusion process, five variants of corn snacks were produced with 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8% additions of CP, and with 8% CP and 2% baking powder. Snacks without CP addition were used as a control (R). The study also evaluated the storage life of the manufactured snack products based on their sorption properties. It was found that increasing the CP content in snacks has a significant effect on their characteristics, with a lower expansion ratio as the result of the higher CP content in the extrudates. CP increased the solubility and decreased the water absorption of the snacks. Color changes were also observed in the produced snacks. The more CP in the recipe, the darker the end product. In addition, the color parameters a* and b* were shifted towards red and blue in cross-sections of snacks with higher percentages of CP. According to the sensory analysis, CP additions up to 6% allow for obtaining sensory-attractive snacks. Statistical analysis of the results showed that the snack parameters, expansion ratio, and water absorption index are of the greatest importance for sensory acceptance. Therefore, when planning the incorporation of CP into this type of product, special attention should be paid to obtaining extrudates with appropriate parameters

The Analysis of Nutritional Habits of the Third Age Students in Poznań

In recent years have seen increasing percentage of the elderly in the overall population. This has driven the attention to the lifestyle factors that influence the health and quality of life of this social group, including their nutrition and physical activity. Universities of the Third Age (U3A) are a valuable platform for the dissemination and broadening of the knowledge related to these topics. The nutritional habits of 61 U3A students in Poznań were evaluated on the basis of a modified KomPAN questionnaire. Their nutritional status was determined using the body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio (WHR) indices. Nearly half of the respondents were overweight and 16% had first degree obesity. The WHR index in women was on average 0.8, while in men it was 1.01. Only 13% of the students declared regular eating, with 60% consuming 4-5 meals a day. Women were found to eat snacks between meals more often than men. It was also found that the majority of the elderly do not add salt to ready meals or sweeten beverages with sugars. Taking into account the observed nutritional problems and the occurrence of improper eating habits of the elderly, it is recommended to continue the education on the prevention of common diet-related diseased

Efficiency of Identification of Blackcurrant Powders Using Classifier Ensembles

In the modern times of technological development, it is important to select adequate methods to support various food and industrial problems, including innovative techniques with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). Effective analysis and the speed of algorithm implementation are key points in assessing the quality of food products. Non-invasive solutions are being sought to achieve high accuracy in the classification and evaluation of various food products. This paper presents various machine learning algorithm architectures to evaluate the efficiency of identifying blackcurrant powders (i.e., blackcurrant concentrate with a density of 67 °Brix and a color coefficient of 2.352 (E520/E420) in combination with the selected carrier) based on information encoded in microscopic images acquired via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Recognition of blackcurrant powders was performed using texture feature extraction from images aided by the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM). It was evaluated for quality using individual single classifiers and a metaclassifier based on metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. The research showed that the metaclassifier, as well as a single random forest (RF) classifier most effectively identified blackcurrant powders based on image texture features. This indicates that ensembles of classifiers in machine learning is an alternative approach to demonstrate better performance than the existing traditional solutions with single neural models. In the future, such solutions could be an important tool to support the assessment of the quality of food products in real time. Moreover, ensembles of classifiers can be used for faster analysis to determine the selection of an adequate machine learning algorithm for a given problem

Nutritional Quality and Oxidative Stability during Thermal Processing of Cold-Pressed Oil Blends with 5:1 Ratio of ω6/ω3 Fatty Acids

The growing awareness of consumers means that new products are sought after, which, apart from meeting the basic demand for macronutrients and energy, will have a positive impact on our health. This article is a report on the characteristics of the new oil blends with a nutritious ω6/ω3 fatty acid ratio (5:1), as well as the heat treatment effect on the nutritional value and stability of the oils. Prepared oil blends were heated at 170 and 200 °C. The fatty acid composition and the changes in tocochromanols content during heating were analyzed, as well as the formation process of polar compounds and triacylglycerol polymers. During heating the highest loss of tocochromanols was characteristic of α-tocopherol and α-tocotrienol. The total content of tocopherols after heating was reduced to 1–6% of the original content in the unheated oil blends. The exception was the blend of oil with wheat germ oil, in which a high content of all tocopherols was observed in unheated and heated samples. The content of the polar fraction during heating increased on average 1.9 and 3.1 times in the samples heated at 170 and 200 °C, respectively, compared to the unheated oils. The level of the polar fraction was related to the high content of tocopherols or the presence of tocopherols and tocotrienols in the heated sample. The polymerization of triacylglycerols led mainly to the formation of triacylglycerol dimers. Trimers were observed in a small number of heated samples, especially those heated at 200 °C. Regardless of the changes in heated oils, none of the prepared blends exceeded the limit of the polar fraction content, maintaining the programmed ratio of ω6 to ω3 acids. The principal component analysis (PCA) used to define the clusters showed a large variety of unheated and heated samples. An outlier in all clusters was a blend of oil with wheat germ oil. In these samples, the degradation of tocopherols molecules and the increase of triacylglycerol polymers and the polar fraction content were the slowest

Nutritional Quality and Oxidative Stability during Thermal Processing of Cold-Pressed Oil Blends with 5:1 Ratio of ω6/ω3 Fatty Acids

The growing awareness of consumers means that new products are sought after, which, apart from meeting the basic demand for macronutrients and energy, will have a positive impact on our health. This article is a report on the characteristics of the new oil blends with a nutritious ω6/ω3 fatty acid ratio (5:1), as well as the heat treatment effect on the nutritional value and stability of the oils. Prepared oil blends were heated at 170 and 200 °C. The fatty acid composition and the changes in tocochromanols content during heating were analyzed, as well as the formation process of polar compounds and triacylglycerol polymers. During heating the highest loss of tocochromanols was characteristic of α-tocopherol and α-tocotrienol. The total content of tocopherols after heating was reduced to 1–6% of the original content in the unheated oil blends. The exception was the blend of oil with wheat germ oil, in which a high content of all tocopherols was observed in unheated and heated samples. The content of the polar fraction during heating increased on average 1.9 and 3.1 times in the samples heated at 170 and 200 °C, respectively, compared to the unheated oils. The level of the polar fraction was related to the high content of tocopherols or the presence of tocopherols and tocotrienols in the heated sample. The polymerization of triacylglycerols led mainly to the formation of triacylglycerol dimers. Trimers were observed in a small number of heated samples, especially those heated at 200 °C. Regardless of the changes in heated oils, none of the prepared blends exceeded the limit of the polar fraction content, maintaining the programmed ratio of ω6 to ω3 acids. The principal component analysis (PCA) used to define the clusters showed a large variety of unheated and heated samples. An outlier in all clusters was a blend of oil with wheat germ oil. In these samples, the degradation of tocopherols molecules and the increase of triacylglycerol polymers and the polar fraction content were the slowest