Amit Kumar Rai

Characteristics and consumer acceptance of healthier meat and meat product formulations—a review

Awareness of health and nutrition has led to the development of “functional foods” which is a new approach to achieve healthier status thus reducing the risk of diseases. Meat has been highly exploited as a functional ingredient/food in recent years wherein meat has either been modified or incorporated into non meat products. Changing consumer demand has influenced the market for all types of meat. The development and marketing the functional foods can be, however, very challenging compared to the foods that conventionally have a high health image. This review gives the overall perception about importance of using meat/meat products as a functional food.

Lipid classes and fatty acid profile of selected Indian fresh water fishes.

Lipid extracts from meat, head and viscera of Indian fresh water fishes, viz., catla, rohu, mrigal, common carp and tilapia were analyzed for lipid class distribution and fatty acid profile. The yield of meat ranged from 66.0–79.5% and total lipid content in meat was 0.8–3.8%. The total lipid content was higher (>4.0%) in head and viscera. Neutral lipids constituted 71.5–93.3% of the total lipid extract. Higher glycolipid content of 25.2% was observed in lipid extract from meat of common carp and higher phospholipid content (13.7%) was observed in lipid extract from meat of mrigal. Hydrocarbons, sterolesters and triacylglycerol were the major fractions of neutral lipids. Unsaturated fatty acids dominated in all the samples. Palmitic and oleic acids were the major fatty acids found in all the lipid extracts. Docosahexaenoic acid content was higher than 3% in lipid extract from meat of all the fishes. However, in most of the fishes, the content of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid were higher in visceral lipids.

Application of Native Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) for Fermentative Recovery of Lipids and Proteins from Fish Processing Wastes: Bioactivities of Fermentation Products

Fermentation using native lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was evaluated for its effectiveness in recovering lipids and proteins simultaneously from freshwater fish visceral waste (FVW). Five different LAB isolated from fish processing waste were employed in a fermentation process that involved 10% (w/w) glucose, 2% (w/w) NaCl, and 10% (v/w) LAB. Cultures evaluated included four native isolates (Pediococcus acidilactici NCIM5368, Enterococcus faecalis NCIM5367, Pediococcus acidilactici FM37, and Pediococcus acidilactici MW2) from FVW with E. faecium NCIM5335 as the reference culture. Fermentation with native LAB resulted in recovery of > 90% oil present in the material as against no recovery in case of raw (unfermented) viscera and resulted in > 50% of degree of hydrolysis of proteins. The fatty acid profile of lipids was not affected by the fermentation process. The fermentation liquor, rich in hydrolyzed protein, exhibited antioxidant as well as antagonistic properties against several bacterial pathogens. The results clearly demonstrate the usefulness of fermentation using native isolates for simultaneous recovery of lipids and proteins from fish processing waste. It also asserts the value of fermentation as an eco-friendly method and aids in minimizing disposal/pollution problems associated with these solid wastes.

Production of angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitory (ACE-I) peptides during milk fermentation and their role in reducing hypertension

ABSTRACT Fermented milk is a potential source of various biologically active peptides with specific health benefits. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory (ACE-I) peptides are one of the most studied bioactive peptides produced during milk fermentation. The presence of these peptides is reported in various fermented milk products such as, yoghurt, cheese, sour milk, etc., which are also available as commercial products. Many of the ACE-I peptides formed during milk fermentation are resistant to gastrointestinal digestion and inhibit angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in the rennin angiotension system (RAS). There are various factors, which affect the formation ACE-I peptides and their ability to reach the target tissue in active form, which includes type of starters (lactic acid bacteria (LAB), yeast, etc.), substrate composition (casein type, whey protein, etc.), composition of ACE-I peptide, pre and post-fermentation treatments, and its stability during gastrointestinal digestion. The antihypertensive effect of fermented milk products has also been proved by various in vitro and in vivo (animal and human trials) experiments. This paper reviews the literature on fermented milk products as a source of ACE-I peptides and various factors affecting the production and activity of ACE-I peptides.

Utilization of tannery fleshings: Optimization of conditions for fermenting delimed tannery fleshings using Enterococcus faecium HAB01 by response surface methodology

Conditions for fermentation of delimed tannery fleshings--to obtain higher degree of protein hydrolysis and reasonably better antioxidant activity--using Enterococcus faecium HAB01 (GenBank #FJ418568) were optimized. Three independent variables--viz., inoculum level (X1), glucose level (X2) and fermentation time (X3)--were optimized using response surface method considering degree of hydrolysis (DH; %) and total titrable acidity (TTA) as response variables. The optimized conditions were found to be 12.5% (v/w) inoculum, 17.5% (w/w) glucose and 96h of fermentation at 37+/-1 degrees C to obtain a maximum DH%. The usefulness of the predicted model was further validated by considering random combinations of the independent factors. The chemical score of the hydrolysate revealed an excess amount of essential amino acids, viz., arginine and leucine compared to reference protein. The liquor portion had relatively high antioxidant activities, indicating its potential for use as a high value feed ingredient.

Production of bioactive hydrolysate using protease, β-glucosidase and α-amylase of Bacillus spp. isolated from kinema

The aim of this study was the production of soybean bioactive hydrolysate using Bacillus spp. isolated from kinema. Totally 251 bacteria isolated from kinema samples, collected at different time period were screened for protease, β-glucosidase and α-amylase activities and further identified by ARDRA based grouping followed by analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. The results showed that Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Bacillus licheniformis were the major Bacillus species. Twelve fermentative strains belonging to these groups and having high protease, α-amylase and β-glucosidase activity were used for solid state fermentation. The best strains for soybean fermentation that result in production of protein hydrolysates rich in polyphenols that have higher bioactivity were B. subtilis KN12C, B. amyloliquefaciens KN2G and B. licheniformis KN13C. Potential isolates can be applied for the production of soybean hydrolysates and can also find application in production of value added products from by-products of soybean processing industries.

Concomitant production of lipase, protease and enterocin by Enterococcus faecium NCIM5363 and Enterococcus durans NCIM5427 isolated from fish processing waste

Enterococci are widely distributed in the environment ranging from foods to humans and are gaining industrial importance due to their technological traits. In the present study, enterococci (Enterococcus faecium NCIM5363 (EF-63) and Enterococcus durans NCIM5427 (ED-27)) which are native to fish processing waste with an ability to produce lipase, protease and enterocin concomitantly were characterised. Lipase assay was performed by titrimetry and protease activity and was estimated using haemoglobin and casein as substrates in the presence of buffers at acidic, basic and neutral pH. Furthermore, enterocin produced by the isolates was characterised. Enterocin was also checked for its stability at different pH, temperature and proteolytic enzymes. Lipase production was found to be 22 and 10 U/ml in the absence of tributryin and increased to 40 and 24 U/ml in its presence for EF-63 and ED-27, respectively, indicating that the lipase produced is substrate dependent. Protease production was confirmed by protease assay, and the protease produced showed more affinity towards the acidic substrate. Enterocin produced was stable at low pH (2 to 3) and high temperature (121°C, 15 min) and had a molecular weight of approximately 6 kDa. It exhibited antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative food-borne pathogens. Proteinase K inactivated enterocin completely, whereas trypsin did not. Novelty of this work lies in the immense industrial importance these cultures hold as they are capable of producing lipase, protease and enterocin apart from being useful in recovering proteins and lipids from fish processing wastes.

Production of bioactive protein hydrolysate using the yeasts isolated from soft chhurpi.

The aim of this work was to study the production of bioactive protein hydrolysates using yeasts isolated from chhurpi. For this, a total of 125 proteolytic yeasts were isolated and molecular identification was carried out by analysis of the restriction digestion pattern generated by digesting the PCR amplified internal transcribed spacer region and 5.8S rRNA gene (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) using three endonucleases (HaeIII, CfoI and HinfI). The results obtained showed that different proteolytic yeasts were dominant in marketed products (Kluyveromyces marxianus and Issatchenkia orientalis) and samples from production centers (Trichosporon asahii, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Exophiala dermatitidis). Proteolytic strains in individual groups showed their ability to hydrolyze milk protein and enhance antioxidant property. Among the isolates, fermentation using K. marxianus YMP45 and S. cerevisiae YAM14 resulted in higher antioxidant activity. This is the first report on application of yeast isolated from fermented food of North-East India for the production of bioactive protein hydrolysate.

Major ginsenoside contents in rhizomes of Panax sokpayensis and Panax bipinnatifidus

Abstract This study compared eight major ginsenosides (Rg1, Rg2, Rf, Re, Rd, Rc, Rb1 and Rb2) between Panax sokpayensis and Panax bipinnatifidus collected from Sikkim Himalaya, India. High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis revealed that all major ginsenosides were present in the rhizomes of P. sokpayensis except ginsenoside Rc, whereas ginsenoside Rf, Rc and Rb2 were not detected in P. bipinnatifidus.

Role of Yeasts in Food Fermentation

Yeasts are predominant in several fermented foods prepared from ingredients of plant as well as animal origin. The diversity of foods in which, yeasts predominate ranges from alcoholic beverages such as wines (e.g., fruit, palm and rice wines), cereal based leavened products (e.g., sourdough and idli), milk products (e.g., cheese and dahi) and condiments such as soy sauce and papads. In natural food fermentation, yeasts are either dominant alone or mixed with lactic acid bacteria or mycelial fungi. Many yeast strains have been selected from the natural fermentation and successfully utilised as starter culture for industrial food production. They have a significant impact on food quality by improving the taste, flavour, texture, nutritive values, reduction of anti-nutritional factors and improving the functionality (health promoting properties). This chapter focuses on the beneficial role of yeast in fermented foods with special reference in improving the functionality in fermented food products.