Uday S. Annapure

Cold Plasma: A novel Non-Thermal Technology for Food Processing

In the past cold plasma is used for sterilization of sensitive materials and now it is extended to food industries as a novel technology. For years cold plasma processing has been viewed as useful for microbial inactivation while maintaining quality of fresh produce. However, this process is not effective for in vitro model food systems for inactivation of microbes or enzymes which are present in intact tissues, as it is a surface phenomenon. Cold plasma technology is also used to inactivate endogenous enzymes which are responsible for browning reactions particularly polyphenoloxidase and peroxidases. Several research investigations showed a reduced growth of microorganism via different mode of actions by etching phenomenon, cell disruption by electrophoration etc. Plasma technology is considered as modern non conventional technique which is used for the preparation of modified starches, altering its physical and chemical properties. Overall application of cold plasma for microbial destruction on different food substrates like fruits, meat products, cheese etc. was discussed. Besides this, it is also used to alter the germination rate of seeds. It is an eco-friendly process which is used in the preservation of food and other potential applications as an alternative to common techniques.

Preparation of ferulic acid from agricultural wastes: its improved extraction and purification.

Ferulic acid (FA) is a phenolic antioxidant present in plants, which is widely used in the food and cosmetic industry. In the present study, various agricultural wastes such as maize bran, rice bran, wheat bran, wheat straw, sugar cane baggasse, pineapple peels, orange peels, and pomegranate peels were screened for the presence of esterified FA (EFA). Among the sources screened, maize bran was found to contain the highest amount of EFA. Pineapple peels, orange peels, and pomegranate peels were also found to contain traces of EFA. Alkaline extraction of EFA from maize bran was carried out using 2 M NaOH. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used for optimization of EFA extraction, which resulted in a 1.3-fold increase as compared to the unoptimized conventional extraction technique. FA was analyzed by means of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Purification was carried out by adsorption chromatography using Amberlite XAD-16 followed by preparative high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). The recovery of Amberlite XAD-16 purified FA was up to 57.97% with HPLC purity 50.89%. The fold purity achieved was 1.35. After preparative HPTLC, the maximum HPLC purity obtained was 95.35% along with an increase in fold purity up to 2.53.

Cyclosporin A — A review on fermentative production, downstream processing and pharmacological applications

In present times, the immunosuppressants have gained considerable importance in the world market. Cyclosporin A (CyA) is a cyclic undecapeptide with a variety of biological activities including immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antiparasitic properties. CyA is produced by various types of fermentation techniques using Tolypocladium inflatum. In the present review, we discuss the biosynthetic pathway, fermentative production, downstream processing and pharmacological activities of CyA.

Screening of hydrocolloids for reduction in oil uptake of a model deep fat fried product

Reduction of oil content in deep fat fried foods would be welcome by both the food manufacturers and the consumers. Among the many approaches that have been evaluated for this purpose, use of hydrocolloid additives is believed to be most promising. Work in this area is restricted mostly to cellulose derivatives. The mechanism of action of these derivatives is attributed to formation of an oil resistant barrier film, an alteration in surface hydrophobicity of the product being fried, and the thermal gelation. However, most hydrocolloids would alter the surface hydrophobicity, and many of them have the ability to form films. Furthermore, the presence of other food constituents can alter all these properties. Hence, hydrocolloids at 0.25— 2.00 % (on the basis of chickpea flour) were screened for their ability to reduce oil uptake in sev, a model deep fat fried product prepared from chickpea flour. Results obtained indicate that the ability to reduce oil uptake in this product decreases in the following order: gum arabic > carrageenan > gum karaya > guar gum > carboxymethylcellulose > hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose. Hydrocolloids such as xanthan, gum ghatti, gum tragacanth, and locust bean gum were found to be ineffective (<10 % reduction in the oil content) for this purpose. n n n nScreening von Hydrokolloiden zur Reduktion der Olaufnahme eines modellhaft frittierten Produkts.Die Reduktion des Olgehalts in frittierten Nahrungsmitteln wurde sowohl von den Nahrungsmittelherstellern als auch den Konsumenten begrust werden. Unter den vielen Ansatzen, die zu diesem Zweck bereits ausgewertet wurden, gilt der Einsatz von hydrokolloiden Zusatzen als am vielversprechendsten. Die Arbeit in diesem Gebiet ist vor allem auf Zellulosederivate beschrankt. Die Aktionsmechanismen dieser Derivate werden der Bildung eines olresistenten Films, der Anderung der Oberflachenhydrophobizitat des frittierten Produkts und der thermischen Gelatinisierung zugeschrieben. Allerdings wurden die meisten Hydrokolloide die Oberflachenhydrophobizitat verandern, und viele von ihnen haben die Fahigkeit, einen Film auszubilden. Daruber hinaus kann das Vorhandensein anderer Nahrungsmittelbestandteile diese Eigenschaften andern. Daher wurden Hydrokolloide in einer Konzentration von 0,25— 2,00 % (auf der Basis von Kichererbsenmehl) im Hinblick auf ihre Fahigkeit, die Olaufnahme in Sev, einem modellhaft frittierten Produkt, zu reduzieren, gescreent. Die gewonnenen Ergebnisse zeigen, das die Fahigkeit, die Olaufnahme bei diesem Produkt zu reduzieren, in der folgenden Reihenfolge abnimmt: Gummi arabicum > Carrageenan > Gummi karya > Guar Gummi > Carboxymethylzellulose > Hydroxypropylmethylzellulose. Hydrokolloide, wie Xanthan, Gummi ghatti, Gummi tragacanth und Johannisbrot-Gummi, stellten sich fur diesen Zweck als nutzlos heraus (<10 % Reduktion des Olgehalts).

Starch-based spherical aggregates: screening of small granule sized starches for entrapment of a model flavouring compound, vanillin

Abstract Spherical aggregates ranging in size from 7.5 to 45xa0μ obtained from four small sized starch granules, isolated in the laboratory from amaranth ( Amaranthus paniculatus L.), quinoa ( Chenopodium quinoa L.), rice ( Oryza sativa L.) and colocasia ( Colocasia esculenta L.) in the presence of polysaccharide bonding agents such as gum Arabic, carboxymethyl cellulose and carrageenan at 0.1–1.0% were obtained by spray drying a 20% starch dispersion at 120xa0°C for entrapment of a model flavouring compound, vanillin at 5 and 10% based on starch (bos). Uniform sized spherical aggregates were observed at 1% concentration of all the bonding agents. Gum Arabic at 1.0% with amaranth starch gave the best entrapment of vanillin followed by carboxymethyl cellulose and carrageenan. The recovery/retentions of vanillin at 5 and 10% bos were found to be similar, though slightly high in the case of the latter. The extent of entrapment of vanillin for various starches decreased in the order of amaranth>colocasia>chenopodium>rice. These trends parallel the amount of amylose in the starches under study, and indicate a negative correlation of amylose on the extent of entrapment of vanillin held within the spherical aggregates.

Gelling behaviour of polyose from tamarind kernel polysaccharide

Polyose was isolated from tamarind kernel powder (TKP) in 50% yield by alcohol extraction of an acidified boiled aqueous extract, which was subsequently dried and pulverised. The gelling behaviour of polyose vis-a-vis pectin, and its blends with pectin was studied in a 65°Brix sucrose solute as a function of pH and concentration. One percent pectin gave a good firm gel, while 80:20 and 60:40 blends of pectin/polyose gave a firm gel at 1.5 and 2.0%, respectively. A 40:60, 20:80 and 0:100 blend of pectin/polyose gave a good set at 2.0%, beyond which the jellies were hard and difficult to chew. From the values of gel strength, 2% polyose from TKP was found to adequately substitute 1% pectin in ready-to-eat jelly formulations.

Studies on deep-fat fried snacks from some cereals and legumes

Deep-fat fried products, prepared from cereals, legumes and their blends, are universally popular due to their desirable organoleptic profile. Grain types differ in their chemical make-up and physicochemical properties, which may account for the differences in the oil content of the snacks. In addition, the frying medium also plays an important role in the oil pick-up during deep-fat frying. This work attempts to correlate these parameters with the oil content in a traditional Indian extruded and deep-fat fried product, sev, using flours from rice, wheat, amaranth, chickpea, cowpea, black gram and green gram. No correlation between the proximate constituents (water-holding capacity and oil-holding capacity) and the oil content of the fried sev was seen. Oil content in sev was minimum when fried in cottonseed oil.

Production of Biovanillin by One-Step Biotransformation Using Fungus Pycnoporous cinnabarinus

The current study proposes a one-step biotransformation process for vanillin production from ferulic acid using the wild fungal strain Pycnoporous cinnabarinus belonging to the family Basidiomycete. Improvement of biotransformation conditions was performed in two steps; initially a one factor at a time method was used to investigate effects of medium composition variables (i.e., carbon, nitrogen) and environmental factors such as pH on vanillin production. Subsequently, concentrations of medium components were optimized using an orthogonal matrix method. After primary screening, glucose as carbon source and corn steep liquor and ammonium chloride as organic and inorganic nitrogen source, respectively, supported maximum biotransformation of ferulic acid to vanillin. Under statistically optimum conditions vanillin production from ferulic acid by P. cinnabarinus was 126 mg/L with a molar yield of 54%. The overall molar yield of vanillin production increased by 4 times.

Inactivation of Escherichia coli Population on Fruit Surfaces Using Ultraviolet-C Light: Influence of Fruit Surface Characteristics

Ultraviolet-C (UV-C 254xa0nm) light is a possible alternative for chemical disinfection of fresh fruits. However, studies on the influence of surface characteristics on the kinetics of UV-C inactivation of microorganisms on fruits are limited. In this study, UV-C inactivation of generic Escherichia coli (ATCC 23716), a nonpathogenic surrogate strain for E. coli O157:H7, was inoculated onto the skin surface intact pear, pear with surface wounds, and the skin surface of intact peach. Disc shaped (0.057xa0m diameteru2009×u20090.01xa0m height) fruit surface were exposed at room temperature to UV-C light ranging from 0 to 7.56u2009±u20090.52xa0kJ/m2 and microbial inactivation kinetics was determined. Maximum reductions of 3.70u2009±u20090.125 log CFU/g were achieved for E. coli on intact pear surfaces (Pu2009<u20090.05), with lesser reduction on wounded pear (3.10u2009±u20090.329 log CFU/g) and peach surfaces (2.91u2009±u20090.284 log CFU/g) after 4xa0min UV-C exposure at 7.56xa0kJ/m2 UV. The Weibull scale factor (α) values of UV-C inactivation for E. coli on an intact pear surface was 0.001u2009±u20090.0007xa0min (0.235u2009±u20090.001xa0kJ/m2), wounded pear surface, 0.003u2009±u20090.001xa0min (0.240u2009±u20090.002xa0kJ/m2) and peach surface, 0.004u2009±u20090.0004 (0.241u2009±u20090.0008xa0kJ/m2). The time required for a 90xa0% reduction in E. coli cell numbers or the reliable life time (tR) calculated with the Weibull model for intact pear surfaces (0.019u2009±u20090.009xa0min, 0.268u2009±u20090.017xa0kJ/m2) was smaller than for wounded pear (0.062u2009±u20090.013xa0min, 0.348u2009±u20090.024xa0kJ/m2) and peach surfaces (0.074u2009±u20090.012, 0.371u2009±u20090.012xa0kJ/m2), suggesting that the wounds on pear surfaces and trichomes (100–1000xa0μm) on peach surfaces helped to shield and protect microorganisms from UV-C radiation. There was likely a more uniform distribution of bacterial cells onto pear surfaces due to its smaller surface roughness, spreading coefficient, and hydrophobic nature compared to peach. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicate that bacterial membrane damage (phospholipids, protein secondary structures, and polysaccharides) and changes to DNA/RNA in E. coli resulted from UV-C treatment. UV-C can reduce E. coli populations on fresh fruit surfaces, but the efficacy of UV treatment is dependent upon the morphological and surface properties of the fruit and surface integrity.

Microbial levan from Pseudomonas fluorescens: Characterization and medium optimization for enhanced production

Levan, a polyfructan which consists of D-fructofuranosyl residues linked predominantly by β-(2,6) linkage as a core chain with some β-(2,1) branch chains have potential applications in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries. The present work reports on characterization of levan produced using Pseudomonas fluorescens by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and NMR and static fermentation condition optimization using one factor-at-a-time followed by statistical designs. The characterization of levan by FTIR revealed that structure of levan to be homologous to the standard levan sample. 13C and 1H NMR studies further successfully confirmed the levan structure. The optimized medium composition was observed to be (in g/L) sucrose 60; ammonium chloride 1.5; sodium nitrate 2.0, and casein peptone 15.0. The yield of levan was increased significantly from 5.27 to 15.42 g/L when the fermentation was carried out using optimal medium.