Palm sugar-like flavouring (PSLF) is a type of flavour product that is formed by heating amino acids and sugar under specific heating conditions. Unfortunately, PSLF has a salty taste and contains high amounts of acrylamide. Hence, the objective of this research was to reduce saltiness and acrylamide without negatively affecting the aroma properties of PSLF. A decrease in the sodium phosphate (NaHPO₄) buffer concentration from 0.20 to 0.02 M was found to reduce sodium to approximately 15% of the level found in original PSLF. A further decrease (~25%) in the sodium content was achieved by removing monobasic sodium phosphate (NaH₂PO₄) from the buffer system. Meanwhile, the addition of CaCl₂ at 20-40 mg/L reduced the acrylamide content in PSLF by as much as 58%. A CaCl₂ concentration of 20 mg/mL was most favourable as it most efficiently suppressed acrylamide formation while providing an acceptably high flavour yield in PSLF. In view of the high acrylamide content in PSLF, additional work is necessary to further reduce the amount of acrylamide by controlling the asparagine concentration in the precursor mixture.
The essential oil in leaves of Polygonum minus Huds., a local aromatic plant, were identified by a pipeline of gas chromatography (GC) techniques coupled with mass-spectrometry (MS), flame ionization detector (FID) and two dimensional gas chromatography time of flight mass spectrometry (GC x GC-TOF MS). A total of 48 compounds with a good match and high probability values were identified using this technique. Meanwhile, 42 compounds were successfully identified in this study using GC-MS, a significantly larger number than in previous studies. GC-FID was used in determining the retention indices of chemical components in P. minus essential oil. The result also showed the efficiency and reliability were greatly improved when chemometric methods and retention indices were used in identification and quantification of chemical components in plant essential oil.
To enhance the solubility of hydrophobic nutrients, the hydrophobicity of fish scale gelatin hydrolysate (FSGH) was increased with moderate acid or alkali hydrolysis. Acid-induced FSG hydrolysate (AcFSGH) at 3 h showed a superior curcumin loading efficiency (18.30 ± 0.38 μg/mL) among all FSGHs. Compared with FSG, the proportion of hydrophobic amino acids (from 41.1% to 46.4%) and the hydrophobic interaction (from 12.72 to 20.10 mg/mL) was significantly increased in the AcFSGH. Meanwhile, the transformation of the α-helix (from 12.8% to 4.9%) to the β-sheet (from 29.0% to 42.8%) was also observed in the AcFSGH. Based on the observation in the molecular weight and morphological analysis, AcFSGH acquired the best hydrophobic interaction with curcumin, presumably due to the formation of the flexible structure of the linear hydrolyzates. The above results call for an investigation of the role of FSG hydrolysate in the synthesis of nanoparticles loaded with bioactive lipophilic compounds.
Brown seaweeds are rich source of functional polysaccharides that exhibit various bioactivities. However, Malaysian seaweeds are under-utilised, leading to low revenue throughout the supply chain of the seaweed industry. The aims of this study were to extract the functional polysaccharides, namely fucoidan (F), laminaran (L) and alginate (A) from Malaysian brown seaweeds (Sargassum polycystum, Turbinaria ornata and Padina boryana) and subsequently evaluate the properties of the extracted polysaccharides. P. boryana recorded the significantly (p ≤ 0.05) highest carbohydrate content (74.78 ± 1.63%) with highest fucoidan yield (Fpad = 1.59 ± 0.16%) while T. ornata contained significantly (p ≤ 0.05) highest alginate yield (Atur = 105.19 ± 3.45%). Water activities of these extracted polysaccharides varied from 0.63-0.71 with average score of browning indexes (~40). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis demonstrated that the extracted polysaccharides exhibited similar spectral pattern of spectra with the respective standards. Meanwhile, laminaran extracts showed the significantly highest (p ≤ 0.05) total phenolic contents (Lsar = 43.29 ± 0.43 mgGAE/g) and superoxide anion scavenging activity (Lsig = 21.7 ± 3.6%). On the other hand, the significantly highest (p ≤ 0.05) DPPH scavenging activity was recorded in alginate with Asar at 85.3 ± 0.8%. These findings reported the properties and bioactivities of natural polysaccharides from Malaysian brown seaweeds that revealed the potential to develop high-value functional ingredients from Malaysian brown seaweeds.
Plants are the primary source of the food chain and are rich in nutrients and biochemical compounds that mainly give beneficial effects to humans as well as other living organisms. Curcuma caesia Roxb. is a family member of Zingiberaceae commonly known as black turmeric. The leaves and rhizomes of this plant are extensively used in Ayurvedic medicine and as traditional remedies for various ailments. The aromatic rhizomes and leaves are due to the presence of essential oils reported as camphor, ar-turmerone, (Z)-β-ocimene, ar-curcumene, 1,8-cineole, β-elemene, borneol, bornyl acetate, tropolone, ledol, β-elemenone, and α-bulnesene. Previous research studies have revealed most of the biological activities of C. caesia, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties, which are due to the presence of various bioactive components. The diverse chemical composition contained in this plant contributes to various biological activities, which may be beneficial for the health, food, and cosmetic industries. The purpose of this review was to summarise updated research on the in vitro and in vivo activities of C. caesia as well as the current clinical investigations. A compilation of the latest findings regarding the potential activities of C. caesia and mechanisms related to its health benefits is discussed and reviewed. This valuable information is the key that can be used for the development of drugs, functional food ingredients, and food products.