Subramaniam Sathivel

Developing a strawberry yogurt fortified with marine fish oil1

Fortified dairy products appeal to a wide variety of consumers and have the potential to increase sales in the yogurt industry and help increase intake of long-chain n-3 fatty acids. The objectives of this study were to develop a strawberry yogurt containing microencapsulated salmon oil (MSO; 2% wt/vol) and evaluate its characteristics during 1 mo of storage. Unpurified salmon oil (USO) was purified (PSO) and both USO and PSO were analyzed for peroxide value (PV), anisidine value (AV), total oxidation, free fatty acids (FFA), and moisture content. A stable emulsion was prepared with 7% PSO, 22% gum arabic, 11% maltodextrin, and 60% water. The emulsion was spray-dried to produce MSO. The MSO was added to strawberry-flavored yogurt (SYMSO) before pasteurization and homogenization, and a control (SY) without MSO was produced. Both yogurts were stored for 1 mo at 4°C and we determined the quality characteristics including acidity (pH), syneresis, thiobarbituric acid (TBA), fatty acid methyl ester composition, color, and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count. The entire experiment was replicated 3 times. Total oxidation (unitless) of USO, PSO, and MSO was calculated to be 20.7±1.26, 10.9±0.1, and 13.4±0.25, respectively. Free fatty acid contents were 1.61±0.19%, 0.59±0.02%, and 0.77±0.02% for USO, PSO, and MSO, respectively. Eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid were the predominant polyunsaturated fatty acids in MSO and in SYMSO, but neither was detected in SY. Fortification of SY with MSO had no significant effect on yogurt pH or syneresis. A decrease in concentration of lactic acid bacteria was observed during the storage of all yogurts. Thiobarbituric acid values significantly increased as storage time increased and SY had a significantly lighter (higher L*) and less yellow (lower b*) color than SYMSO. Although some slight differences were observed in the color and oxidation of SYMSO compared with SY, the study demonstrated that SY could be fortified with salmon oil.

Physical properties and oxidation rates of unrefined menhaden oil (Brevoortia patronus).

Unrefined menhaden oil was evaluated for thermal and rheological properties and its temperature-dependent viscosity and lipid oxidation rate were determined. Peroxide value, free fatty acids, density, specific gravity, water activity, moisture content, and enthalpy of the unrefined menhaden oil were 5.70 meq/kg, 3.80%, 0.93 g/mL, 0.93%, 0.52%, 0.15%, and 20.2 kJ/kg, respectively. The melting point range of unrefined menhaden oil was found to be -69.5 to 27.21 degrees C. The menhaden oil exhibited non-Newtonian fluid behavior at lower temperatures (5 to 25 degrees C), while it behaved like a Newtonian fluid at 30 degrees C. The oil apparent viscosity at 5 degrees C (0.22 Pa.s) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that at 30 degrees C (0.033 Pa.s). The average magnitude of activation energy for viscosity of the unrefined menhaden oil was 50.37 kJ/mol. The predicted apparent viscosity agreed (R(2)= 0.9837) satisfactorily with the experimental apparent viscosity. The minimal lipid oxidation rate of the oil was found at 25 and 35 degrees C for 6 h, higher lipid oxidation rates were observed when the oil was heated for 6 h at 45 to 85 degrees C. The rate of lipid oxidation for unrefined menhaden oil was temperature dependent (R(2)= 0.9425). This study showed that the magnitude of the apparent viscosity and oxidation rate of the unrefined menhaden oil was greatly influenced by temperature.

Production of Microencapsulated Crawfish (Procambarus clarkii) Astaxanthin in Oil by Spray Drying Technology

In this study, an emulsion prepared with flaxseed oil containing crawfish astaxanthin, sodium caseinate, lactose, and water was spray dried to produce microencapsulated flaxseed oil containing crawfish astaxanthin powder (MCA). Production rate and energy used to produce MCA were estimated. Physicochemical properties and storage stability of MCA were determined. The energy required to spray dry the microencapsulated flaxseed oil containing astaxanthin was 2.36 × 104 kJ/kg of emulsion. The microencapsulation efficiency for MCA was 86.06%, which indicated that more oil was encapsulated than on the particles’ surfaces. The particle size of MCA ranged from 6 to 100 µm. The astaxanthin concentration in MCA was 13.76 μg/g powder and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) was the predominant fatty acid (53%) in MCA. Degradation of astaxanthin in MCA followed first-order reaction kinetics and could be well described by the Arrhenius equation. The astaxanthin in MCA was more stable when the powder was stored at 5°C than at 25 or 40°C.

Evaluation of green tea extract as a glazing material for shrimp frozen by cryogenic freezing.

Solutions of green tea (Camellia sinensis) extract (GTE) in distilled water were evaluated as a glazing material for shrimp frozen by cryogenic freezing. Total of 2%, 3%, and/or 5% GTE solutions (2GTE, 3GTE, 5GTE) were used for glazing. Distilled water glazed (GDW) and nonglazed shrimp (NG) served as controls. The GTE was characterized by measuring color, pH, (o) Brix, total phenols, and % antiradical activity. Individual catechins were identified by HPLC. The freezing time, freezing rate, and energy removal rate for freezing shrimp by cryogenic freezing process were estimated. The frozen shrimp samples were stored in a freezer at -21 °C for 180 d. Samples were analyzed for pH, moisture content, glazing yield, thaw yield, color, cutting force, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) after 1, 30, 90, and 180 d. The HPLC analysis of GTE revealed the presence of catechins and their isomers and the total polyphenol content was 148.10 ± 2.49 g/L. The freezing time (min) and energy removal rate (J/s) were 48.67 ± 2.3 and 836.67 ± 78.95, respectively. Glazed samples had higher moisture content compared to NG shrimp after 180 d storage. GTE was effective in controlling the lipid oxidation in shrimp. Glazing with GTE affected a* and b* color values, but had no significant effect on the L* values of shrimp.

Microencapsulation of Menhaden Fish Oil Containing Soluble Rice Bran Fiber Using Spray Drying Technology

Emulsion (EFMO) containing purified menhaden oil (PMO) and soluble rice bran fiber (SRBF) was dried in a pilot scale spray dryer and produced microencapsulated PMO with SRBF (MFMO). EFMO had well isolated spherical droplets with the size of 1 to 10 μm and showed pseudoplastic fluid and viscoelastic characteristics. EFMO had lower lipid oxidation than the emulsion containing PMO without SRBF when both emulsions were stored at 20 and 40 °C for 88 h, which indicated that the SRBF reduced the lipid oxidation in the EFMO. The estimated MFMO production rate (3.45 × 10(-5) kg dry solids/s) was higher than the actual production rate (2.31 × 10(-5) kg dry solids/s). The energy required to spray dry the EFMO was 12232 kJ/kg of emulsion. EPA and DHA contents of MFMO were 11.52% and 4.51%, respectively. The particle size of 90% MFMO ranged from 8 to 62 μm, and the volume-length diameter of MFMO was 28.5 μm.

Comparisons of Chemical and Physical Properties of Catfish Oils Prepared from Different Extracting Processes

Four different catfish oil extraction processes were used to extract oil from catfish viscera: process CF1 involved a mixture of ground catfish viscera and water, no heat treatment, and centrifugation; process CF2 involved ground catfish viscera (no added water), heat treatment, and centrifugation; process CF3 involved a mixture of ground catfish viscera and water, heat treatment, and centrifugation; process CF4 involved ground catfish viscera, enzymatic hydrolysis, and centrifugation. Chemical and physical properties of the resulting of catfish oils were evaluated. The CF4 process recovered significantly higher amounts of crude oil from catfish viscera than the other 3 extraction methods. The CF4 oil contained a higher percent of free fatty acid and peroxide values than CF1, CF2, and CF3 oils. Oleic acid in catfish oil was the predominant fatty acid accounting for about 50% of total fatty acids. Weight loss of oils increased with increasing temperatures between 250 and 500 degrees C. All the catfish oil samples melted around -32 degrees C regardless of the extraction methods. The flow behavior index of all the oil samples was less than 1, which indicated that the catfish oils exhibited non-Newtonian fluid behavior. The apparent viscosity at -5 and 0 degrees C was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 degrees C. The average magnitude of activation energy for apparent viscosity of the oil was higher for CF2 than CF1, CF3, and CF4.

Selected quality characteristics of fresh-cut sweet potatoes coated with chitosan during 17-day refrigerated storage.

Selected quality characteristics of fresh-cut sweet potatoes (FCSP) coated with chitosan were evaluated during 17-d refrigerated storage. The FCSP cubes were coated with a solution (1%, w/v) of chitosan having 470 or 1110 kDa. Color (L*, a*, b*) values of uncoated and chitosan-coated FCSP during storage were generally affected by storage time as well as coating treatments (P < 0.05). No significant changes in color lightness (L*) of 470 kDa-coated FCSP were observed during the 17-d storage. During days 3 to 17, 470 kDa-coated FCSP had significantly higher redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) values than did uncoated and 1110 kDa-coated FCSP. Texture firmness of uncoated and chitosan-coated FCSP exhibited minimal changes during the 17-d storage. Although actual weight loss values (%) of uncoated and chitosan-coated FCSP were not significantly different at day 17, the weight loss difference (%) between day 3 and day 17 for uncoated FCSP (3.02%) was slightly higher compared to those (2.24% to 2.26%) of chitosan-coated FCSP. The initial total aerobic count was 4.7 log(10) CFU/g which then gradually increased to 8.54 and 9.67 log(10) CFU/g after 17 d of storage for 470 kDa-coated and uncoated FCSP, respectively. After day 6, the total aerobic counts of uncoated FCSP were higher than those of 470 kDa-coated FCSP. The yeast and mold count of chitosan-coated FCSP was about 2.5 log(10) CFU/g at day 17. Overall, consumers could not differentiate between 470 kDa-coated FCSP at day 17 and uncoated FCSP at day 0.

Application of honey powder in bread and its effect on bread characteristics.

Spray dried honey powder could serve as an alternative to sucrose in the bread making process. The objectives of this study were to produce a honey powder containing retrograded starch and use it as an alternative to sucrose in bread formulations. The honey powder was produced by spray drying honey using retrograded starch as a drying agent. Three bread formulations were prepared with (1) 100% liquid honey (HNY), (2) 50% substitution of Sugar with Honey Powder (SHP) and (3) 100% Honey Powder (HP). A bread formulation prepared with only sucrose was used as a control (S). Breads produced from all four formulations were analyzed for loaf volume, weight loss, density, specific volume, moisture content, texture, and freezable water. Triplicate experiments were conducted and data were statistically analyzed at α=0.05. Among the bread samples HP showed highest loaf volume (mL) at 1462 ± 45 while SHP, HNY and control showed decreasing loaf volumes at 1303 ± 199, 1155 ± 91 and 1100 ± 66, respectively. All bread samples showed an increase in firmness and HP had a lower rate of staling than the other bread samples during storage. Control bread samples contained more freezable water (g/g solid) at 0.21 ± 0.003 than HNY, SHP, and HP which had 0.20 ± 0.003, 0.19 ± 0.01 and 0.13 ± 0.01, respectively. The study demonstrated that spray dried honey powder with retrograded starch could be used as a substitute for sucrose in baking bread.

Application of Edible Films Containing Oregano (Origanum vulgare) Essential Oil on Queso Blanco Cheese Prepared with Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) Oil

Fortification of queso blanco (QB) with flaxseed oil (FO) containing omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may provide a functional food with health benefits such as improved cell, brain, and retina functionality, and protection against cardiovascular and immune-inflammatory diseases. However, QB experiences a short shelf life because of the early development of yeasts and molds and addition of FO may increase susceptibility to lipid oxidation. Oregano essential oil (OEO) is known for its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, but due to its intense flavor compounds it may not be suitable for direct incorporation into QB. Thus, incorporation of OEO into an edible film prepared with whey protein isolate (WPI) may improve the shelf life of QB. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs revealed that FO was successfully retained by the cheese after homogenization. The thiobarbituric-acid-reactive-substances (TBARS) and yeast and mold counts (YMC) of the wrapped cheeses were analyzed during 60 d of refrigerated storage. The oxidation rate increased significantly for nonwrapped QB containing FO (QBFO) during storage, however wrapping with WPI edible films containing OEO (WOF) significantly limited lipid oxidation and prevented growth of yeasts and molds. This study demonstrated the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of WOF for preservation of QBFO during refrigerated storage.

Effects of Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) Juice on Lipid Oxidation During Spray Drying of Microencapsulated Menhaden Oil

This study investigated the effect of blueberry juice on menhaden oil lipid oxidation during microencapsulation. Oil in water emulsions containing menhaden oil with 0, 5, or 10% blueberry juice were spray dried to produce control-M, 5% BJ-M, and 10% BJ-M microencapsulated powders, respectively. All microencapsulated powders had similar encapsulation efficiencies with low surface oil content. Peroxide value (meq/kg of oil) was 4.50, 4.31, and 3.38 for control-M, 5% BJ-M and 10% BJ-M, respectively. Ten percent BJ-M had lower (P < 0.05) anisidine value, and totox values than 5% BJ-M and control-M. This indicated that 10% blueberry juice reduced lipid oxidation in menhaden oil during microencapsulation to a greater extent than the other formulations.