Ultrasound-Assisted Alcoholic Extraction of Lesser Mealworm Larvae Oil: Process Optimization, Physicochemical Characteristics, and Energy Consumption

The ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of oil from lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus L.) larvae powders (LMLPs) using ethanol/isopropanol as the superior solvent was optimized. The evaluation of time (9.89–35.11 min), solvent-to-LMLPs (2.39–27.61 v/w), and temperature (16.36–83.64 °C) showed that the highest extraction efficiency (EE, 88.08%) and in vitro antioxidant activity (IVAA) of reducing power (0.651), and DPPH free-radical scavenging capacity (70.79%) were achieved at 22.5 v/w solvent-to-LMLPs and 70 °C for 22.64 min. Optimal ultrasound conditions significantly improved the EE than n-hexane extraction (60.09%) by reducing the electric energy consumption by ~18.5 times from 0.637 to 0.035 kWh/g. The oil diffusivity in ethanol-isopropanol during the UAE (0.97 × 10−9 m2/s) was much better than that of n-hexane (5.07 × 10−11 m2/s). The microstructural images confirmed the high efficiency of ethanol-isopropanol in the presence of ultrasounds to remove oil flakes from the internal and external surfaces of LMLPs. The improved IVAA was significantly associated with the total phenolic (4.306 mg GAE/g, r = 0.991) and carotenoid (0.778 mg/g, r = 0.937) contents (p < 0.01). Although there was no significant difference in the fatty acid profile between the two extracted oils, ethanol-isopropanol under sonication acceptably improved oxidative stability with lower peroxides, conjugated dienes and trienes, and free fatty acids

Transglutaminase-Induced Free-Fat Yogurt Gels Supplemented with Tarragon Essential Oil-Loaded Nanoemulsions: Development, Optimization, Characterization, Bioactivity, and Storability

There is a high demand for designing healthy-functional dairy gels with a newly structured protein network in the food industry. Non-fat yogurt gels enriched with stable tarragon essential oil-nanoemulsions (TEO-NEs) using crosslinking of microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) were developed. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that methyl chavicol (85.66%) was the major component in TEO extracted by the hydrodistillation process. The storage-dependent droplet size and physicochemical stability data of samples at room temperature for 30 days revealed that the TEO-NE containing 0.5% tween-80 and 1:2 TEO/sunflower oil had the lowest peroxide value and droplet growth ratio. The response surface methodology-based formulation optimization of free-fat yogurt gels using MTGase (0.15–0.85 U/g) and the best TEO-NE (0.5–3.02%) using the fitted second-order polynomial models proved that the combination of 0.87% TEO-NE and 0.70 U/g MTGase led to the desired pH (4.569) and acidity (88.3% lactic acid), minimum syneresis (27.03 mL/100 g), and maximum viscosity (6.93 Pa s) and firmness (0.207 N) responses. Scanning electron microscopy images visualized that the MTGase-induced crosslinks improved the gel structure to increase the firmness and viscosity with a reduction in the syneresis rate. The optimal yogurt gel as a nutritious diet not only provided the highest organoleptic scores but also maintained its storage-related quality with the lowest mold/yeast growth and free-radical oxidation change

Moisture-dependent engineering properties of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) seed

The moisture-dependent physical properties are important to investigate for designing the post harvest equipments of the product. &nbsp;The physical properties of black cumin were evaluated as a function of moisture content in the range of 5.1% to 18.75% w.b. &nbsp;The average length, width, thickness and 1,000 seed mass were 3.11 mm, 1.59 mm, 1.09 mm and 2.76 g, respectively, at moisture content of 5.1% w.b. &nbsp;The geometric mean diameter and sphericity increased from 1.75 mm to &nbsp;&nbsp;1.79 mm and 56.34% to 56.98% as moisture content increased from 5.1% to 18.75% w.b., respectively. &nbsp;In the same moisture range, the bulk density decreased from 539.3 kg/m3 to 486.4 kg/m3, whereas the corresponding true density and porosity increased from 1,009.4 kg/m3 to 1,071.2 kg/m3 and 46.5% to 54.59%, respectively. &nbsp;As the moisture content increased from 5.1% to 18.75% w.b., the angle of repose, terminal velocity and surface areas were found to increase from 32.5&deg; to 33.3&deg;, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5.6 m/s to 5.92 m/s and 8.14 mm2 to 8.46 mm2, respectively. &nbsp;The static coefficient of friction increased on four structural surfaces namely, galvanized iron sheet (0.37-0.41), mild steel (0.36-0.39), aluminum (0.32-0.34) and plywood (0.53-0.58) in the moisture range from 5.1%-18.75% w.b.Key words: black cumin, Nigella sativa, engineering properties, moisture content&nbsp;Citation: Gharib-Zahedi S. M. T., S. M. Mousavi, A. moayedi, A. T. Garavand, and S. M. Alizadeh. &nbsp;Moisture-dependent engineering properties of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) seed. &nbsp;Agric Eng Int: CIGR Journal, 2010, 12(1): 194-202.&nbsp

Electronic sensor technologies in monitoring quality of tea: A review

Tea, after water, is the most frequently consumed beverage in the world. The fermentation of tea leaves has a pivotal role in its quality and is usually monitored using the laboratory analytical instruments and olfactory perception of tea tasters. Developing electronic sensing platforms (ESPs), in terms of an electronic nose (e-nose), electronic tongue (e-tongue), and electronic eye (e-eye) equipped with progressive data processing algorithms, not only can accurately accelerate the consumer-based sensory quality assessment of tea, but also can define new standards for this bioactive product, to meet worldwide market demand. Using the complex data sets from electronic signals integrated with multivariate statistics can, thus, contribute to quality prediction and discrimination. The latest achievements and available solutions, to solve future problems and for easy and accurate real-time analysis of the sensory-chemical properties of tea and its products, are reviewed using bio-mimicking ESPs. These advanced sensing technologies, which measure the aroma, taste, and color profiles and input the data into mathematical classification algorithms, can discriminate different teas based on their price, geographical origins, harvest, fermentation, storage times, quality grades, and adulteration ratio. Although voltammetric and fluorescent sensor arrays are emerging for designing e-tongue systems, potentiometric electrodes are more often employed to monitor the taste profiles of tea. The use of a feature-level fusion strategy can significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of prediction models, accompanied by the pattern recognition associations between the sensory properties and biochemical profiles of tea

Favorite and traditional rice flour–based puddings, breads, and pastries in the north of Iran: A review

Iran is an ancient country with its cuisine consisting of diverse and easy recipes for many distinct foods. Because rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important agricultural crop in the northern provinces of Iran (Guilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan), it has been used as the main food source to prepare traditional puddings, breads, and pastries which have long historical backgrounds. Although most of these indigenous edible souvenirs are served on the special occasions during the year, a serious attention on revival of their preparation methods, nutritional properties, and components functionality is necessary to understand the belief of local people that many diseases can be cured with their consumption. Therefore, this review article summarizes a description of a variety of ethnic rice flour–based foods including sweets (e.g., halva and baklava), desserts (e.g., sholeh zard, shir-berenj, and fereni), and flat and semivolume breads (e.g., naan) of the north of Iran, with a special emphasis on the preparation methods and beneficial health effects of their key ingredients. Keywords: Functional ethnic food, Iranian food culture, Local bakery products, Persian food, Rice dough, Traditional naa

Transglutaminase-Induced Free-Fat Yogurt Gels Supplemented with Tarragon Essential Oil-Loaded Nanoemulsions: Development, Optimization, Characterization, Bioactivity, and Storability

There is a high demand for designing healthy-functional dairy gels with a newly structured protein network in the food industry. Non-fat yogurt gels enriched with stable tarragon essential oil-nanoemulsions (TEO-NEs) using crosslinking of microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) were developed. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that methyl chavicol (85.66%) was the major component in TEO extracted by the hydrodistillation process. The storage-dependent droplet size and physicochemical stability data of samples at room temperature for 30 days revealed that the TEO-NE containing 0.5% tween-80 and 1:2 TEO/sunflower oil had the lowest peroxide value and droplet growth ratio. The response surface methodology-based formulation optimization of free-fat yogurt gels using MTGase (0.15&ndash;0.85 U/g) and the best TEO-NE (0.5&ndash;3.02%) using the fitted second-order polynomial models proved that the combination of 0.87% TEO-NE and 0.70 U/g MTGase led to the desired pH (4.569) and acidity (88.3% lactic acid), minimum syneresis (27.03 mL/100 g), and maximum viscosity (6.93 Pa s) and firmness (0.207 N) responses. Scanning electron microscopy images visualized that the MTGase-induced crosslinks improved the gel structure to increase the firmness and viscosity with a reduction in the syneresis rate. The optimal yogurt gel as a nutritious diet not only provided the highest organoleptic scores but also maintained its storage-related quality with the lowest mold/yeast growth and free-radical oxidation changes