Functional properties, antioxidant activities and storage stability of cookies from germinated brown rice and rice-potato starch composite flour

Cookies are convenient food for people of all ages. Consumers' interest for gluten free cookies is increasing recently due to awareness on gluten allergy. This study evaluated the functional properties and antioxidant activities of germinated brown rice flour (GBRF) and non-germinated brown rice flour (NGBRF), and GBRF-potato starch blend (3:1), and NGBRF-potato starch blend (3:1). Storage stability and sensory acceptance of cookies produced from the various flour samples were also evaluated. The flours had significantly different values in most of the functional properties. However, the Housner's ratio (1.18- 1.35), Carr index (14.94-25.67) and water absorption index (1.88-2.14 g/g) of the flours were not significantly different. GBRF and germinated brown rice flour cookies (GBRFC) had the highest antioxidant activities with DPPH values of 40.61 µM TE/g and 37.67 µM TE/g, respectively, and FRAP values of 39.84 µM TE/g and 38.29 µM TE/g, respectively. The GBRFC had higher total phenolic content (152.30 mg GAE/100g) than cookies from GBRF-starch blend (107.37 mg GAE/100 g). Sensory evaluation results showed that all the cookies were similarly rated for aroma, texture, mouth feel, crispiness and overall acceptance. However, cookies prepared from wheat flour, and germinated brown rice-potato starch (GBRPS) had the highest sensory scores for overall acceptance. The hardness of cookies produced from GBRPS was similar to that of the freshly produced cookies after 7 days of storage at room temperature

Textural properties of laksa noodle as affected by rice flour particle size

This study examined the physicochemical properties of rice flours with five different particle sizes (≤63, 80, 100, 125, and 140 μm) prepared by dry milling and their effects on textural properties of laksa noodles. Rice flour with the smallest particle size had the highest water absorption index, peak viscosity, hot paste viscosity, breakdown, final or cold paste viscosity and gel hardness, but the lowest gelatinization temperature. Reduction of rice flour particle size improved textural properties of laksa noodle. Laksa noodle produced from rice flour with the smallest particle size had the best textural properties

Effects of pre-drying on quality of fried breaded black pomfret (parastromateus niger) fillet.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of pre-drying process on quality of fried breaded fish fillets. For this study, breaded black pomfret (Parastromateus niger) fillets were pre-dried in conventional oven at 180°C for 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 sec. The pre-dried fillets were pre-fried in sunflower oil and stored at -20°C for 1 week. They were then finally cooked in the combination oven. Fat, moisture, texture and color of the cooked fillets were evaluated. Results indicated that moisture loss and the fat uptake of cooked fillets decreased with increasing pre-drying time. Instrumental texture analysis showed that hardness of the pre-dried samples increased as compared to the control. Results from color evaluation showed that the b* (yellowness) values of the samples increased, while L* (whiteness) and a* (redness) values did not change significantly (p<0.05). The best quality product was prepared when 90 sec pre-drying time was applied

Changes in free amino acid, peptide-N, sugar and pyrazine concentration during cocoa fermentation

The free amino acids, peptide-N, reducing sugars (the flavour precursors in cocoa) and pyrazine profiles of mix hybrid cocoa beans fermented in a rotary drum reactor were monitored over a period of 6 days. As fermentation progressed, the acidic free amino acid concentration decreased significantly (P<0·05) by 15%, whereas total, hydrophobic and other free amino acids increased significantly by 148, 280 and 127%, respectively. In terms of hydrophobic/acidic/other free amino acids ratio, the unfermented cocoa beans contained 30%:18%: 52%, whereas those of fermented beans contained 46%: 6%: 48%. Concentrations of peptide-N and total reducing sugars were significantly (P<0·05) increased by 55 and 208%, respectively during fermentation; however, those of sucrose and total sugars decreased significantly (P<0·05) by 89% and 75%, respectively. The unfermented cocoa beans contained no pyrazine; however during fermentation, the 2-methyl-, 2,5-dimethyl-, 2,6-dimethyl-, 2,3-dimethyl-, trimethyl- and tetramethylpyrazine were formed. The two principle pyrazines were tetramethyl- (2099·30 μg kg−1) and trimethylpyrazine (692·00 μg kg−1)

Effect of sago and tapioca starches on the physicochemical and textural properties of expanded rice product coloured with red beetroot (Beta vulgaris) powder

Colour plays an important role in food especially in increasing the aesthetic value of food products. However, the increasing awareness on health implications of synthetic colourants has led to increased market for natural colourants. In this study, the retention of colourant from red beetroot powder in extruded rice flour containing 20% sago or tapioca starch was investigated. The moisture content of the rice flour-starch blends and 100% rice flour (control) was adjusted to 10% and the samples were extruded at 80ºC - 160ºC, with 120 rpm screw speed and 40 rpm feeder speed. The expansion, density, water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI), hardness, crispness, colour, and betanin content of the extrudates were measured. The results showed that rice flour-sago starch extrudates (RSE) and rice flour-tapioca starch extrudate (RTE) had better expansion compared to the control (100% rice flour) extrudate. The expansion of RTE was not significantly different from that of RSE and no significant difference was found in the densities of these two extrudates. Presence of sago or tapioca starch decreased the WAI and increased the WSI of the extrudates. The WAI of RSE, however, did not differ significantly from that of RTE. The hardness (18.37 kg) and crispness (126.55 kg.sec) of the control extrudate were higher than that of the RSE (16.97 kg, 110.07 kg.sec) and RTE (14.84 kg, 92.77 kg.sec). There was no significant difference between the redness values of the extrudates. However, retention of betanin in the extrudates was highest in RTE (36.06% retention), followed by RSE (34.14%) and lowest in the control extrudate (27.82%). Addition of tapioca starch or sago starch can help to improve the physical and textural properties of betanin coloured rice extrudates with tapioca starch giving higher betanin retention

Nutrient content of tropical edible seaweeds, Eucheuma cottonii, Caulerpa lentillifera and Sargassum polycystum

The proximate composition, vitamin C, α-tocopherol, dietary fibers, minerals, fatty acid and amino acid profiles of three tropical edible seaweeds, Eucheuma cottonii (Rhodophyta), Caulerpa lentillifera (Chlorophyta) and Sargassum polycystum (Phaeophyta) were studied. The seaweeds were high in ash (37.15–46.19%) and dietary fibers (25.05–39.67%) and low in lipid content (0.29–1.11%) on dry weight (DW) basis. These seaweeds contained 12.01–15.53% macro-minerals (Na, K, Ca and Mg) and 7.53–71.53 mg.100 g−1 trace minerals (Fe, Zn, Cu, Se and I). The crude protein content of E. cottonii (9.76% DW) and C. lentillifera (10.41% DW) were higher than that of S. polycystum (5.4% DW), and protein chemical scores are between 20 and 67%. The PUFA content of E. cottonii was 51.55%, C. lentillifera 16.76% and S. polycystum 20.34%. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), accounted for 24.98% of all fatty acids in E. cottonii. These seaweeds have significant vitamin C (∼35 mg.100 g−1) and α-tocopherol (5.85–11.29 mg.100 g−1) contents

Combination of saponification and dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for the determination of tocopherols and tocotrienols in cereals by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple sample preparation technique coupled with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography was developed for the determination of tocopherols and tocotrienols in cereals. The sample preparation procedure involved a small-scale hydrolysis of 0.5 g cereal sample by saponification, followed by the extraction and concentration of tocopherols and tocotrienols from saponified extract using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME). Parameters affecting the DLLME performance were optimized to achieve the highest extraction efficiency and the performance of the developed DLLME method was evaluated. Good linearity was observed over the range assayed (0.031–4.0 μg/mL) with regression coefficients greater than 0.9989 for all tocopherols and tocotrienols. Limits of detection and enrichment factors ranged from 0.01 to 0.11 μg/mL and 50 to 73, respectively. Intra- and inter-day precision were lower than 8.9% and the recoveries were around 85.5–116.6% for all tocopherols and tocotrienols. The developed DLLME method was successfully applied to cereals: rice, barley, oat, wheat, corn and millet. This new sample preparation approach represents an inexpensive, rapid, simple and precise sample cleanup and concentration method for the determination of tocopherols and tocotrienols in cereals

Moisture, fat content and fatty acid composition in breaded and nonbreaded deep-fried black pomfret (Parastromateus niger) fillets

Effects of breading materials and deep-fat frying on fat uptake, moisture content and fatty acid composition of the black pomfret (Parastromateus niger) fillets. Black pomfret fillets both breaded and non-breaded were deep-fat fried in sunflower oil and palm olein. Fat uptake, moisture content and fatty acid composition in the fillets were determined. Total fat content in the fillets of both breaded and un-breaded fillets increased significantly (p<0.05); approximately 10 times in the non-breaded fillets and less than twice in the breaded fillets. Saturated fatty acids (SFA) of raw fillets significantly (P<0.05) decreased when fried in sunflower oil. However, it slightly increased during deep-frying in palm olein. A significant (P<0.05) increase in the monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) was observed in both oils fried samples. The amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) increased in sunflower oil fried fillets and decreased in palm olein fried ones. The n-6/n-3 ratios were observed to increase in both sunflower oil and palm olein fried fillets. The increases were significantly (P<0.05) less in breaded than those in the non-breaded fillets. Breaded fillets had lower changes in the fatty acid composition than non-breaded fillets

Determination of organochlorine pesticides in shrimp by gas chromatographyemass spectrometry using a modified QuEChERS approach

Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) collected during dry and rainy seasons from three different states in Malaysia were analyzed for nine organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) (α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, δ-HCH, trans-chlordane, cis-chlordane, p,p′-DDE, p,p′-DDD and p,p′-DDT) using QuEChERS sample preparation method and GC–MS SIM with split/splitless injection mode. The efficiency of combination of primary and secondary amine (PSA) and octadecyl (C18) at 25 mg of PSA and 25 mg of C18 per mL of shrimp extract as the clean-up sorbent to remove matrix interferences was evaluated. By combining PSA and C18, matrix interferences such as gamma-tocopherol and cholesterol were not able to be eliminated. Good separation and high recoveries which ranged from 90 to 105% with associated RSD 0.99