Husnain Raza

Inulin: Properties, health benefits and food applications

Inulin is a water soluble storage polysaccharide and belongs to a group of non-digestible carbohydrates called fructans. Inulin has attained the GRAS status in USA and is extensively available in about 36,000 species of plants, amongst, chicory roots are considered as the richest source of inulin. Commonly, inulin is used as a prebiotic, fat replacer, sugar replacer, texture modifier and for the development of functional foods in order to improve health due to its beneficial role in gastric health. This review provides a deep insight about its production, physicochemical properties, role in combating various kinds of metabolic and diet related diseases and utilization as a functional ingredient in novel product development.

Highly efficient trans–cis isomerization of lycopene catalyzed by iodine-doped TiO2 nanoparticles

Highly efficient trans–cis isomerization of lycopene was achieved in the presence of a novel iodine-doped titanium dioxide (I-TiO2) catalyst. The catalyst was prepared via a hydrothermal route and subsequent vacuum calcination and was characterized with thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. Factors that affected the reaction parameters, such as the reaction temperature, the concentration of substrate, the weight of the catalyst and the reaction time, were investigated in detail. Application tests showed that the catalyst was highly active in the isomerization of lycopene in a heterogeneous reaction, and the conversion of all-trans-lycopene exceeded 80% after 2 h of reaction at 75 °C in ethyl acetate. Moreover, the catalyst displayed no significant loss of activity after five cycles of reuse.

Lycopene: Heterogeneous Catalytic E/Z Isomerization and In Vitro Bioaccessibility Assessment Using a Diffusion Model.

Highly efficient heterogeneous catalytic E/Z isomerization of lycopene was achieved using an iodine-doped titanium dioxide (I-TiO2 ) catalyst prepared by sol-gel method. The effects of reaction temperature and reaction time were investigated in detail. The maximum total Z-ratio of lycopene exceeded 78% after 2 h of refluxing at 75 °C in ethyl acetate. Moreover, lycopene samples with a series of total Z-ratios were prepared and the bioaccessibility of these samples was estimated using a diffusion model, the results showed that the bioaccessibility of lycopene markedly increased conforming to a linear regression model with increasing of the total Z-ratio of lycopene from 3.6% to 78.5%. Furthermore, the specific role of the microstructure and melting point of 3.6% and 78.5% total Z-ratio of lycopene was also investigated to understand the probable mechanism for the enhanced bioaccessbility of (Z)-lycopenes.

Characterization of Peanut Oil Bodies Integral Proteins, Lipids, and Their Associated Phytochemicals: Main compound of peanut oil bodies…

A microscopic image of a section of a peanut seed shows that oil bodies (OBs) are a small droplet of oil that is dispersed throughout the whole seed. The protein profile of peanuts OBs recovered using the aqueous extraction method at different pH was found to have 2 oleosin isoforms of 14 and 16 kDa. Moreover, OBs essential amino acids are 1.52 higher than those in the PPI. Oleic acid and linoleic acid are the major fatty acids in both cold press peanut oil and OBs regardless of pH. Tocopherol content went from 270.76 to 278.2 mg/g when pH got increased. δ-Tocopherols are slightly associated with peanut OBs, as it was resistant to the alkaline washing; however, α-tocopherols were discovered to be weakly associable. On the contrary, phytosterols content decreased when pH got increased, with 631.49 μg/g for pH 6.8 and 614.96 μg/g for pH 11.0. PRACTICAL APPLICATION Peanut oil is widely used in food industries in the form of emulsified oil. OBs can be presented as a better alternative solution, which is stable emulsified oil, with high content of antioxidant and phytosterols. Our results showed that peanut OBs are rich in nutritional components such as essential amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E, and phytosterols. Moreover, peanut OBs are surrounded with 2 oleosin isoforms and caleosin, which offer more stability to the emulsion system. Thus, peanut OBs can be perfect for food like mayonnaise and vinaigrettes products in the form of encapsulated oil with high content of vitamin E.

NUTRITIONAL, PHYSIOCHEMICAL, PASTING AND THERAPEUTIC ATTRIBUTES OF COMPOSITE FLOUR

National Institute of Food Science and Technology, FFNHS, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Synergetic Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China. Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazing University, Zagazing, Egypt. Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Environmental and Agricultural Science, El Arish University, Egypt. Corresponding author’s e-mail:, sobianiazi47@yahoo.com;Ipasha2001@uaf.edu.pk