Miona Belović

Relationship of Physicochemical Characteristics with Sensory Profile of Cookies Enriched with Medicinal Herbs

In this work, a range of model cookies enriched with different quantities of medicinal herbs, applied in two forms (pulverized mixture and extract), were studied to compare and describe relationships between physicochemical and sensory data. Multivariate statistical methods were applied to estimate relationships in the analyzed data. Analysis of variance showed that the majority of analyzed parameters were highly significant in discriminating among the samples (p < 0.05), which supported the usefulness of their application in characterizing the quality profile of enriched cookies. Principal component analysis on physicochemical data revealed that cookies at the same enrichment level showed more similarities. Principal component analysis on sensory data exhibited a larger separation between the samples with increasing enrichment levels, especially in the case of pulverized herbal mixture. According to partial least squares regression, two significant partial least squares components explained 92.7% and predicted 78.0% variation in the data. The most important parameters in discriminating between the cookies enriched with medicinal herbs were lightness, red tonality, and hardness. The selected physicochemical parameters could be used in future studies to evaluate variously enriched cookies by establishing models and investigating the predictability of sensory quality.

Development of low calorie jams with increased content of natural dietary fibre made from tomato pomace

In this study, four jam formulations were developed, starting with the basic formulation (Jam 1) containing sucrose and without added pectin. Sucrose was partially (50%) replaced by stevioside in formulations of Jam 2 and 3, while in Jam 4 sucrose was completely replaced by fructose and stevioside, making this formulation suitable for diabetic patients. Jam formulations 1 and 2, prepared without added pectin, were thermally stable in the temperature range of 25-90°C, which indicate their potential use as fruit fillings. Jam formulations 3 and 4 were assessed by the sensory panel as more spreadable since tomato pomace particles are incorporated in pectin network which acts as a lubricant. Jam formulations were characterized by a lower total carbohydrate content (17.23-43.81%) and lower energy value (87.1-193.7kcal/100g) when compared to commercial products. Tomato pomace jams contained 15-20 times more dietary fibre than commercial apricot jam.

Change of surface colour parameters during storage of paprika (Capsicum annuum L.)

The change of paprika surface colour during three years of storage was monitored by measuring CIEL*a*b* colour parameters once a year. Ten commercial and three branded paprika samples, originating from Hungary, Austria and Serbia, were stored in original packaging at ambient temperature in dark during the storage period. The colour of paprika powder was measured by Chroma Meter CR-400 (Konica Minolta, Japan), using attachment for granular materials CR-A50. Directly measured colour parameters were CIE L* (lightness), a* (+a* = redness, -a* = greenness), b* (+b* = yellowness, -b* = blueness) and dominant wavelength (DWL), while derived colour parameters were chroma (C*), hue angle (h°), and total colour change (ΔE). Paprika samples had similar granulation, and therefore it was concluded that it did not influence the colour reflection. The change of reflected colour of paprika powder during storage can be characterized by increase of CIE L* and b* colour values and decrease of a* colour value. Therefore, chroma values remained almost unchanged, while hue angle showed shift in spectrum from red-orange to orange-yellow, similarly to dominant wavelength. The paprika samples changed their colour most rapidly during the first year of storage, except the branded paprika from Serbia. Commercial paprika samples from Serbian market changed their colour more rapidly comparing to other investigated samples.

Sensory profile and preference mapping of cookies enriched with medicinal herbs

abstract The sensory profile and acceptance of cookies enriched with medicinal herbs mixture “Vitalplant,” aimed at body weight regulation and metabolism enhancement, were evaluated. Seven cookies were prepared varying the content of powder and extract mixture (0, 2, 4, and 6 g/100 g flour basis, respectively). The descriptors used by an expert sensory panel (n = 8) that best separated samples were: appearance (shape, uniformity, surface, and color), texture (structure break, firmness, and chewiness), odor, and flavor. Preference mapping was assessed using multidimensional scaling on data obtained through an acceptability test (n = 64) with a 5-point hedonic scale. The hedonic responses showed significant differences (p < 0.05) between the cookies. The first three principal components captured 70.90% of the total variance, indicating the complex structure in consumer preference patterns. External preference mapping showed potential for predicting consumers overall acceptance of the cookies using five descriptive attributes that drove the preference of the six consumer clusters. The vector model was selected as the model of choice for most clusters. The addition of medicinal herbs in cookies is feasible, based on the sensory results, which may facilitate marketing of functional food with sensorial qualities equivalent to conventional products.

Effect of Climate Change on Wheat Quality and HMW Glutenin Subunit Composition in the Pannonian Plain

The primary goal of this study is to improve our understanding of the extent of influence of climatic factors in Serbia and high-molecular-weight glutenin subunit (HMW-GS) composition upon wheat end-use quality. In-depth analyses were performed on four bread wheat cultivars that are the most common in agricultural practice in Serbia. Total glutenin content showed significant difference between the production years, in opposition to gliadins. Cluster analysis of different percentages of glutenin and gliadin subunit molecular weight ranges ( 120,000) indicated that the year of production and the cultivar did not have a significant effect on the percentage ranges for glutenins. However, they had a considerable impact on the percentage ranges for gliadins. Production year and the interaction of year and cultivar had the strongest influences on the percentage of SDS-unextractable polymeric proteins. A synergistic effect of the HMW-GS composition and climatic conditio...

Microencapsulation of anthocyanin-rich black soybean coat extract by spray drying using maltodextrin, gum Arabic and skimmed milk powder

Abstract Black soybean coat is insufficiently valorised food production waste rich in anthocyanins. The goal of the study was to examine physicochemical properties of spray dried extract of black soybean coat in regard to carrier materials: maltodextrin, gum Arabic, and skimmed milk powder. Maltodextrin and gum Arabic-based microparticles were spherical and non-porous while skimmed milk powder-based were irregularly shaped. Low water activity of microparticles (0.31–0.33), good powders characteristics, high solubility (80.3–94.3%) and encapsulation yields (63.7–77.0%) were determined. All microparticles exhibited significant antioxidant capacity (243–386 μmolTE/g), good colour stability after three months of storage and antimicrobial activity. High content of total anthocyanins, with cyanidin-3-glucoside as predominant, were achieved. In vitro release of anthocyanins from microparticles was sustained, particularly from gum Arabic-based. These findings suggest that proposed simple eco-friendly extraction and microencapsulation procedures could serve as valuable tools for valorisation and conversion of black soybean coat into highly functional and stable food colourant.

Benefits and Limitations of Lab-on-a-Chip Method over Reversed-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Method in Gluten Proteins Evaluation

RP-HPLC (reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography) is widely used to determine the amounts of the different gluten protein types. However, this method is time-consuming, especially at early stages of wheat breeding, when large number of samples needs to be analyzed. On the other hand, LoaC (Lab-on-a-Chip) technique has the potential for a fast, reliable, and automatable analysis of proteins. In the present study, benefits and limitations of Lab-on-a-Chip method over RP-HPLC method in gluten proteins evaluation were explored in order to determine in which way LoaC method should be improved in order to make its results more compliant with the results of RP-HPLC method. Strong correlation () was found between numbers of HMW glutenin peaks determined by LoaC and RP-HPLC methods. Significant correlations () were obtained between percentages of HMW and LMW glutenin subunits calculated with regard to total HMW

Biochemical Quality Indicators and Enzymatic Activity of Wheat Flour from the Aspect of Climatic Conditions

The contents of free sulphydryl groups (SH), disulphide bonds (SS), and free amino groups (NH2) were determined in order to estimate the extent of climatic condition influence on gluten quality. The analysis included four bread wheat varieties grown in two production years (2011 and 2012) with different climatic conditions in different locations. According to our previously reported results, the working hypothesis was that enzyme activity for breadmaking purpose was insufficient. The aim of this paper was to study the influence of naturally present enzymes on the bread quality by the addition of previously extracted and freeze-dried albumins to the base flour as an additive. The selection of samples was made on the basis of different combinations of proteolytic and -amylolytic enzymes activity levels. For samples from 2012 production year, the content of SH groups was significantly higher. Regarding the SS content, the obtained results exhibited the opposite trend. Variations in NH2 content were dominantly caused by temperature treatment of tested samples. The addition of freeze-dried albumins to bread improved its specific volume in a lesser extent, while bread crumb texture was significantly improved.

Preliminary results of the effect of storage on functional properties of buckwheat

Cereal grains mostly belong to warm-season crops, but the processing of and demand for cereal grains are notable throughout the year, which emphasizes the paramount importance of storage in maintaining a sufficient supply of cereals in all seasons. However, storage facilities, grain condition and storage period are critical factors for preserving the quality of cereal grains. Furthermore, different cereals require different storage conditions for grain quality preservation. The present study provides the preliminary results of the effect of storage in shopping centres on the phenolic compounds content of buckwheat whole grains. A total of fifteen free and bound phenolic compounds were identified and quantified in fresh buckwheat grains and those stored for one year using the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results obtained indicate that storage exerted detrimental effects on the free phenolic content examined, while the content of bound phenolic compounds significantly increased during the storage period under consideration.

Prediction of the genetic similarity of wheat and wheat quality by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and lab-on-chip methods

The aim of this study was to compare efficiency of RP-HPLC (Reversed-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) and LOC (Lab-on-Chip) methods for wheat gluten protein quantification regarding clustering of wheat cultivars according to the genetic similarity (HMW-GS combinations), as well as to explore relations of these two methods to wheat quality parameters. For that purpose, wheat quality parameters (protein content, falling number, wet gluten content, gluten index, Farinograph, Extensograph, and Amylograph), as well as amounts of gliadin and glutenin fractions by RP-HPLC and LOC methods were determined in two different sets of wheat cultivars (Croatian and Serbian). The percentages of gluten proteins and the values of quality parameters were used to characterize the samples by principal component analysis (PCA). Gluten protein quantification performed by method based on the protein fraction separation by molecular weights (LOC) was better for grouping of genetically similar wheat cultivars than quantification of proteins separated by their different solubility in specified solvent gradient (RP-HPLC). LOC method showed higher potential in wheat quality prediction.