Proximate, functional and pasting properties of a new variety of sweet potato, VitAto, flour, known for its high vitamin A contents, were compared with two other commercial sweet potatoes, Bukit Naga and Okinawan, flour available in Malaysia. The recoveries of each sweet potato from milling were not significantly different at about 20% but in proximate analysis, the VitAto presented the highest protein (5.7%) and dietary fiber (14.8%) contents with more energy 399.6 kcal/100 g produced. The VitAto flour has average particle size of 132.04 μm. The pasting temperature of the VitAto flour was 65oC, with highest setback and trough viscosity values of 530.90 and 197.20 mPa.s, respectively. The flour is classified as easy flowing and stable powders. This study provides information which helps in the handling, packing and storage of sweet potato flours. It also shows that the VitAto flour has an array of functional, pasting and proximate properties that can facilitate its uses in many areas with better nutritional properties.
Quality attributes of steamed bread without green banana flour (BF) (CON), substituted with 30%
BF (BBFI) and 30% BF + 8% gluten (BBFII) were determined. The green banana flour (BF) and the mixture of wheat flour (WF) substituted with 30% BF + 8% gluten (FBFII) was significantly highest in water holding capacity and oil holding capacities, respectively. Potassium, calcium and magnesium were significantly higher in BBFI and BBFII than CON. Significantly highest insoluble dietary fibre and total dietary fibre shown in BBFI. Steaming resulted significant reduction in resistant starch content in BBFI as compared with the dough of BBFI I. The specific volume of BBFII and CON showed significant different compared to the BBFI. The BBFII spread ratio was significantly highest and steamer spring lowest than CON. BBFII showed significantly highest in hardness and adhesiveness values but CON was significantly highest in cohesiveness, elasticity and chewiness. L and Hue values was shown highest in CON. BBFII indicated highest acceptability score than other samples.
Date palm is an important plant in arid regions with more than 20 varieties reported all over the world. Date seed is a byproduct of date fruit industry which is normally being discarded, used as animal feed ingredient or turned into non-caffeinated coffee by the Arabs. About 11-18% of date fruit weight is the seed which is composed of carbohydrates, dietary fiber, fat, ash and protein. In addition, the antioxidant content in date seed oil (DSO) was found to be comparable with olive oil, which can be as a good source of antioxidant in order to fulfill the consumers demand. Oleic acid is the major fatty acid found in DSO, followed by lauric, linoleic, palmitic and myristic acid. However, different varieties of date fruits have different fatty acid compositions. This paper reviewed the potential use of date seed and date seed oil in order to discover and develop its usage and find out the suitable application of these seed and oil.
Nutritional fact study has prime importance to make the species edible and commercially viable to the food consumers. The proximate chemical composition and amino acid profile of Gelidium pusillum were studied to understand the nutritional status. The red seaweed Gelidium pusillum was rich in dietary fibre (24.74 ± 1.05%), lipid (2.16 ± 0.61%) and ash content (21.15 ± 0.74%). The mean protein content (11.31 ± 1.02% DW) was within the range of 10-47% for green and red seaweeds and this range was higher than Gracilaria cornea (5.47% DW), Gracilaria changgi (6.90% DW) and Eucheuma cottonii (9.76% DW). Gelidium pusillum was found to contained all the essential amino acids, which accounted for 52.08% of the total amino acids. Tyrosine (26.2 mg g-1 protein), methionine (15.8 mg g-1 protein) and Lysine (48.3 mg g-1 protein) were the limiting amino acid of Gelidium pusillum. However, the levels of other essential amino acids were above the FAO/WHO requirement pattern (EAA score ranged from 1.14 to 1.62). Aspartic and glutamic acids constituted a substantial amount of the total amino acids (24.68% of total amino acid). The result from this study suggested that Gelidium pusillum could be utilized as a healthy food item for human consumption.
There is an increase need and demand to update Malaysian Food Composition Database (FCD) which was last updated in 1997. The current FCD program was designed to expand the quantity and improve the quality of the existing database. The present work was aimed to determine the nutrient content of commercial rice products from three rice varieties classified as raw and processed foods, namely Basmati, Siam, and Fragrant rice. A total of six brands from each type of rice were sampled from a local supermarket within Klang Valley. Analyses were carried out for 27 nutrients that include proximate (Energy, Water, Protein, Fat, Carbohydrate, Total Dietary Fibre, and Ash), minerals (Magnesium, Calcium, Sodium, Iron, Zinc, and Copper), water soluble vitamins (C, B1, B2, B3, B6 and B9), fat soluble vitamins (A and E), total sugar, fatty acids (total saturated fat, total monounsaturated fat and total polyunsaturated), trans fatty acids, and cholesterol. The three rice varieties were found to contain comparable nutrient levels except for vitamin C, B1, A, E and total sugar which were not detected in all samples. The fatty acid (total saturated, total monounsaturated, and total polyunsaturated) as well as trans- fatty acid were detected at very low levels. Cholesterol was not detected in all samples. These findings can be utilised in raising public awareness and assistance to better estimate nutrient contents and intake depending on the varieties of rice.
Lignocellulosic biomasses such as wheat straw are widely used as a feedstock for biogas production. However, these biomasses are mainly composed of a compact fibre structure and therefore, it is recommended to treat them prior to its usage for biogas production in order to improve their bioavailability. The aim of this work is to evaluate, in terms of performance stability, methane yield and economic feasibility, two different scenarios: a mesophilic codigestion of wheat straw and animal manure with or without a low-energy demand alkaline pre-treatment (0.08gKOHgTS-1of wheat straw, for 24h and at 25°C). Besides this, said pre-treatment was also analysed based on the improvement of the bioavailable carbohydrate content in the untreated versus the pre-treated wheat straw. The results pointed out that pre-treated wheat straw prompted a more stable performance (in terms of pH and alkalinity) and an improved methane yield (128% increment) of the mesophilic codigestion process, in comparison to the "untreated" scenario. The pre-treatment increased the content of cellulose, hemicellulose and other compounds (waxes, pectin, oil, etc.) in the liquid fraction, from 5% to 60%, from 11.5% to 39.1% TS and from 57% to 79% of the TS in the liquid fraction for the untreated and pre-treated wheat straws, respectively. Finally, the pre-treated scenario gained an energy surplus of a factor 13.5 and achieved a positive net benefit of 90.4€tVS-WS-1d-1, being a favourable case for an eventual scale-up of the combined process.
Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was used to investigate the nanostructure of the microfibrils of cell wall in Acacia Mangium wood. Parameters, such as the fibre length (L), surface area of the single fibre (S), the correspondence distance from the center of the fibre to the center of its neighbor and the shape of the fibre were determined as a function to the distance from pith towards the bark. The results indicate that the fibre length ranged from 53.44 nm to 13.72 nm from pith to bark. Surface area of the single fibre varied from 0.65 nm 2 to 4.36 nm 2 , the highest being found at the end of bark region. The mean value of the correspondence distance is 13.95 nm. Surface structure analysis from scattering graph showed a rod shape of fibre in the pith region of Acacia Mangium wood. The use of SAXS technique and scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs gives the most reliable dimensions values.
The human gut is densely populated with diverse microbial communities that are essential to health. Prebiotics and fiber have been shown to possess the ability to modulate the gut microbiota. One of the plants being considered as a potential source of prebiotic is yacon. Yacon is an underutilized plant consumed as a traditional root-based fruit in South America. Yacon mainly contains fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and inulin. Therefore, it has bifidogenic benefits for gut health, because FOS are not easily broken down by digestive enzymes. Bioactive chemical compounds and extracts isolated from yacon have been studied for their various nutrigenomic properties, including as a prebiotic for intestinal health and their antimicrobial and antioxidant effects. This article reviewed scientific studies regarding the bioactive chemical compounds and nutrigenomic properties of extracts and isolated compounds from yacon. These findings may help in further research to investigate yacon-based nutritional products. Yacon can be considered a potential prebiotic source and a novel functional food. However, more detailed epidemiological, animal, and human clinical studies, particularly mechanism-based and phytopharmacological studies, are lacking for the development of evidence-based functional food products.
Discovery of novel dietary fibre (DF)-rich food ingredient is of great interest to meet the rising consumer demand for healthy food. Intake of DF-enriched food has been positively associated with a decreased risk of chronic diseases. Pleurotus sajor-caju (PSC), one of the prominent edible mushrooms widely cultivated in Malaysia, is useful for its culinary and medicinal purpose. This study aimed to determine the nutritional, physical, colour and sensorial properties of cinnamon biscuit formulated with PSC powder as partial replacement (0, 4, 8 and 12%) for wheat flour. Results indicated that elevated incorporation levels of PSC powder significantly (P
Guava seeds are produced as a waste product by the guava processing industry. Their high carbohydrate contents may suit the carbohydrate needs of the feed sector but their high dietary fiber content limits their feed value. The feed values of fruit seeds can be improved through germination, which involves the mobilization of nutrients through seed enzymes and alters the seed carbohydrate composition. The changes of selected carbohydrates in guava (Psidium guajava L.) seeds brought by germination to those in red bean (Vigna angularis) and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were compared. The contents of soluble carbohydrates, digestible starch, resistant starch and cellulose in the seeds were determined. The radial diffusion method was used to detect carbohydrate-degrading enzymes in the seed extracts. Guava seeds were rich in cellulose (402.2 mg/g), which decreased progressively during germination, probably through the action of cellulase. Winter wheat contained the highest starch content (412.2 mg/g) and also distinct quantities of α-amylase and cellulase. The starch contents of all the seeds decreased, but the soluble carbohydrate contents in red beans and guava seeds increased significantly by the end of germination, suggesting the transient oversupply of reserve metabolites. The content of hydrolyzed polysaccharides increased in the germinated seeds with detectable amounts of cellulose-degrading enzymes present, indicating improved value as feed. Further research is warranted to explore the potential of guava seeds as a source of low-cost animal feed supplements.
Natural polysaccharide pectin has for the first time been grafted with polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) via ring-opening polymerization of β-butyrolactone. This copolymer, pectin-polyhydroxybutyrate (pec-PHB), was blended with PHB in various proportions and electrospun to produce nanofibers that exhibited uniform and bead-free nanostructures, suggesting the miscibility of PHB and pec-PHB. These nanofiber blends exhibited reduced fiber diameters from 499 to 336-426 nm and water contact angles from 123.8 to 88.2° on incorporation of pec-PHB. They also displayed 39-335% enhancement of elongation at break relative to pristine PHB nanofibers. pec-PHB nanofibers were found to be noncytotoxic and biocompatible. Human retinal pigmented epithelium (ARPE-19) cells were seeded onto pristine PHB and pec-PHB nanofibers as scaffold and showed good proliferation. Higher proportions of pec-PHB (pec-PHB10 and pec-PHB20) yielded higher densities of cells with similar characteristics to normal RPE cells. We propose, therefore, that nanofibers of pec-PHB have significant potential as retinal tissue engineering scaffold materials.
Legume is a plant in the family of Fabaceae (or Leguminosae) that is cultivated and consumed
throughout the world. Legume’s role in human health appears to be limited because of several
limiting factors such as low protein and starch digestibility, poor mineral bioavailability and
high antinutritional factors. Germination is defined as a process that occurs during seed growth
that starts with uptake of water until the emergence of radicle through the surrounding structure.
It has been suggested that germination is a cheaper and more effective technology that can
improve the quality of legumes by increasing their nutritional value. This study was conducted
to compare changes in dietary fibre and total sugar compositions after germination process in
kidney, mung, soy beans and peanuts. Total dietary fibre was found to be significantly increased
(p
Banana is a type of fruit that grows in tropical and sub-tropical areas such as Indonesia,
Malaysia, Africa (Madagascar), South America and also central America. Indonesia
itself is the largest banana producing country in Asia because 50% of the production of
banana Asia is produced by Indonesia. This fruit is consumed in the form of fresh (fresh
fruit) because it tastes good. In addition, bananas can be processed into banana chips and
banana butter, but still, a few who processed it into another durable product. Banana
flour has been processed into various types of food, including made into bread, baby
food, pancakes, pastries, dry noodles, and pasta. This study aimed to utilize unripe
bananas into dried noodle food products and evaluate their chemical, physical and
sensory contents. This research was divided into 4 stages, namely the production of
banana flour, the characterization of banana flour, the manufacture of dry noodle
substitution of banana flour and the characterization and sensory analysis of banana flour
substitution noodles. The results showed that unripe banana flour contains 12.91%
moisture content, 0.46% fat content, 1.02% ash content, 4.45% protein content 4.45%,
81.15% carbohydrate content and 2.75% food fiber (dry basis). The resulting unripe
banana flour was then applied as a substance of flour substitution in the manufacture of
noodles. The results showed that noodles that had the same acceptance as control were
noodles containing 10% and 30% unripe banana flour.
The main focus of this study was to obtain the optimum alkaline treatment for banana fibre and the its effect on the mechanical and chemical properties of banana fibre, its surface topography, its heat resistivity, as well as its interfacial bonding with epoxy matrix. Banana fibre was treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) under various treatment conditions. The treated fibres were characterised using FTIR spectroscopy. The morphology of a single fibre observed under a Digital Image Analyser indicated slight reduction in fibre diameter with increasing NaOH concentration. The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) results showed the deteriorating effect of alkali, which can be seen from the removal of impurities and increment in surface roughness. The mechanical analysis indicates that 6% NaOH treatment with a two-hour immersion time gave the highest tensile strength. The adhesion between single fibre and epoxy resin was analysed through the micro-droplet test. It was found that 6% NaOH treatment with a two-hour immersion yielded the highest interfacial shear stress of 3.96 MPa. The TGA analysis implies that alkaline treatment improved the thermal and heat resistivity of the fibre.
In this study, the effects of lignin modification on the properties of kenaf core fiber reinforced poly(butylene succinate) biocomposites were examined. A weight percent gain (WPG) value of 30.21% was recorded after the lignin were modified with maleic anhydride. Lower mechanical properties were observed for lignin composites because of incompatible bonding between the hydrophobic matrix and the hydrophilic lignin. Modified lignin (ML) was found to have a better interfacial bonding, since maleic anhydrides remove most of the hydrophilic hydrogen bonding (this was proven by a Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer-a reduction of broadband near 3400 cm-1, corresponding to the -OH stretching vibration of hydroxyl groups for the ML samples). On the other hand, ML was found to have a slightly lower glass transition temperature, Tg, since reactions with maleic anhydride destroy most of the intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds, resulting in a softer structure at elevated temperatures. The addition of kraft lignin was found to increase the thermal stability of the PBS polymer composites, while modified kraft lignin showed higher thermal stability than pure kraft lignin and possessed delayed onset thermal degradation temperature.
The conventional isolation of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) process involves high energy input which leads to compromising the pulp fiber's physical and chemical properties, in addition to the issue of elemental chlorine-based bleaching, which is associated with serious environmental issues. This study investigates the characteristic functional properties of CNFs extracted via total chlorine-free (TCF) bleached kenaf fiber followed by an eco-friendly supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) treatment process. The Fourier transmission infra-red FTIR spectra result gave remarkable effective delignification of the kenaf fiber as the treatment progressed. TEM images showed that the extracted CNFs have a diameter in the range of 10-15 nm and length of up to several micrometers, and thereby proved that the supercritical carbon dioxide pretreatment followed by mild acid hydrolysis is an efficient technique to extract CNFs from the plant biomass. XRD analysis revealed that crystallinity of the fiber was enhanced after each treatment and the obtained crystallinity index of the raw fiber, alkali treated fiber, bleached fiber, and cellulose nanofiber were 33.2%, 54.6%, 88.4%, and 92.8% respectively. SEM images showed that amorphous portions like hemicellulose and lignin were removed completely after the alkali and bleaching treatment, respectively. Moreover, we fabricated a series of cellulose nanopapers using the extracted CNFs suspension via a simple vacuum filtration technique. The fabricated cellulose nanopaper exhibited a good tensile strength of 75.7 MPa at 2.45% strain.
In recent years, by-products of fruit processing have received a great deal of attention, which is primarily due to their nutritional and economic exploitation through utilization of emerging technologies. Mango peel waste, a by-product from pulp processing units, is an important source of high quality antioxidant dietary fibre, pectin, polyphenols and carotenoids. It also possess significant biotechnological potential since it has been found suitable for several bioprocesses including ethanol, biogas, lactic acid, enzymes and single cell production. Valorization of mango peel through different routes not only can increase the profitability of fruit processing industries, but also help reduce environmental pollution. This review intends to provide a broad view on available technologies for mango peel waste utilization, with an emphasis on its biotechnological conversion into added value products beside other ways of utilization.
Recent developments have found the viability of chitosan as a new alternative additive in the pulp and paper technology.
This study was carried out to investigate the effect of chitosan as a paper coating which were prepared by dissolution in
acetic acid solution. The mechanical properties of coated paper were improved significantly compared with non-coated
paper. The FT-IR spectra showed peak evolution at 1558 cm-1 for coated paper due to the existence of amine group. Since
FT-IR spectra for the coated paper was almost identical to the chitosan spectrum, it is assumed that there is an obvious
physical interaction rather than the chemical interaction. The SEM micrographs showed that some of the chitosan has
occupied the pores and some of them adhered only on the surface. This may be due to the chemical similarities between
cellulose and chitosan which enhanced the strength of fiber matrixes via hydrogen bonding. The antibacterial property
of coated paper showed that chitosan in dried form has no significant effect but effective when applied as wet solution.
Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) from mengkuang leaves (Pandanus tectorius) were investigated as potential reinforcement
in poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix. The surface of CNC was modified with silane coupling agent to improve fillermatrix
adhesion. Solution casting method was used to prepare PVC nanocomposites with various amounts of modified
(SCNC) and unmodified (CNC) nanocrystals. Both SCNC and CNC were examined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)
spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) which showed that surface chemical modification has occurred. An increase
in tensile strength was observed with the addition of SCNC compared to the CNC. However, the elongation at break of the
nanocomposites was found to decrease with the increase of both fillers loading. An increasing trend was observed in the
tensile modulus with the addition of CNC to the PVC matrix, but decreasing with the addition of SCNC. The morphology
of a fractured surface of nanocomposites showed silane modification reduced the number of voids in the structure of
PVC. The observation indicated the adhesion between the fiber and the matrix had improved upon surface modification
of the nanocrystals with silane.
Natural organic and abundant resources biopolymers received more attention due to their low cost, availability and degradability after usage. Cassava skin was used as natural fillers to the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Cassava skin/poly vinyl alcohol blends were compounded using melt extrusion twin screw extruder and test samples were prepared using the compression method. Various ratios of cassava skin and glycerol were investigated to identify suitable composition based on the water absorption and tensile properties. The water absorption of the cassava skins/PVA samples increased at higher composition of cassava skin due to their hydrophilic properties but decrease with glycerol content. The strength of the cassava skins/PVA samples increased with the higher composition of cassava skin up to 70 wt% while gradually decreased with the increasing composition of glycerol. The Young modulus increased with glycerol content but decreased with fibre loading up to 70 wt%. Elongation at break decreased with fibre loading and glycerol up to 70 wt% and 30 phr, respectively.