Victoria A Jideani

Developments on the cereal grains Digitaria exilis (acha) and Digitaria iburua (iburu)

Research and development on these indigenous African cereal grains, acha (Digitaria exilis Stapf) and iburu (D. iburua Stapf), is experiencing renewed interest not just in Africa but the rest of the world. It is believed that acha and iburu may have nutraceutical properties, as it is used in some areas for managing diabetes. Value addition and exploitation of fonio (acha and iburu) in the development of health or speciality foods like acha-bread, biscuit, cookies, sour dough, traditional drinks, nonfermented steamed and granulated dumpling products are gaining interest. These grains may also contribute in addressing some very relevant challenges in today’s food formulation—both from functionality and health perspectives. The constraint of low yield is receiving attention in cereal breeding programmes which may give rise to a new generation of ‘healthy’ cereal grains in future. Further research on acha and iburu whole grains will hopefully lead to increase understanding of the health effects of grain components and to increase the intake of health-protective grain components. Moreover, with strong consumer demand for these grains due to their potential nutritional and health benefits, and because they help to satisfy the demand for a more varied cereal diet, efforts should be made to tackle the obstacles militating against production, improved quality, competitiveness and value-addition.

Potential of Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc) Milk as a Probiotic Beverage—A Review

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterraenea (L.) verdc) (BGN) is a legume; its origin have been traced back to Africa, and it is the third important legume; however, it is one of the neglected crops. It is highly nutritious, and has been termed a complete food. Its seed consist of 49%–63.5% carbohydrate, 15%–25% protein, 4.5%–7.4% fat, 5.2%–6.4% fiber, 3.2%–4.4% ash and 2% mineral compared to whole fresh cow milk 88% moisture, 4.8% carbohydrate, 3.2% proteins, 3.4% fat, 0.7% ash, and 0.01% cholesterol. Its chemical composition is comparable to that of soy bean. Furthermore, BGN has been reported to be a potential crop, owing to its nutritional composition, functional properties, antioxidant potential, and a drought resistant crop. Bambara groundnut milk (BGNM) had been rated higher in acceptability than milk from other legumes like soybean and cowpea. Probiotics have been defined as live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amount confer a health benefit on the host. These benefits have been reported to be therapeutic, suppressing the growth and activity in conditions like infectious diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease. The nutritional profile of BGNM is high enough to sustain the growth of probiotics. BGNs are normally boiled and salted, eaten as a relish or roasted, and eaten as a snack. Hence, BGNM can also be fermented with lactic acid bacteria to make a probiotic beverage that not only increase the economic value of the nutritious legume but also help in addressing malnutrition.

Optimisation of wheat-sprouted soybean flour bread using response surface methodology

The effect of sprouted soybean flour on wheat bread was studied. Sprouting significantly increased the vitamin C content of soybean flour from 2.0 mg kg-1 to 3.25 mg kg-1. The sprouted soybean flour resulted in increased loaf volume, a firmer, spongy and more elastic loaf. However, increasing the sprouted soybean flour beyond 10% adversely affected these qualities. The loaf with 4% yeast and 5% sprouted soybean was significantly rated better in taste and general acceptability than the control. Significant differences existed (p increase in protein, fibre and ash content of white bread. The quadratic polynomial regression model was adequate and acceptable at 0.05% for predicting the specific loaf volume and apparent yield stress. Response surface was saddle shaped for specific loaf volume where a maximum or minimum response is found at various combinations of the independent variables, corresponding to the optimal yeast (2.15%) and sprouted soybean flour (11.8%). Apparent yield stress value of 120 kN/m2 can be obtained from baking with yeast (2.4%) and sprouted soybean flour (10.6%).

Functional Properties of Soybean Food Ingredients in Food Systems

Jideani, V.A. 2011. Functional properties of soybean food ingredients in food systems. In Ng, T.B. (ed). Soybean biochemistry chemistry and physiology. Rijeka: InTech: 345-366.

Antimicrobial Packaging for Extending the Shelf Life of Bread—A Review

Antimicrobial packaging is an important form of active packaging that can release antimicrobial substances for enhancing the quality and safety of food during extended storage. It is in response to consumers demand for preservative-free food as well as more natural, disposable, biodegradable, and recyclable food-packaging materials. The potential of a combination of allyl isothiocyanate and potassium sorbate incorporated into polymers in providing the needed natural antimicrobial protection for bread products is discussed. The role of double extrusion process as a means for obtaining a homogeneous mix of the sorbate into the polymer (polyethylene or ethylenevinyalcohol), is highlighted.

Dietary fiber extraction for human nutrition: a review

ABSTRACT Fiber is a mixture of nonstarch polysaccharides that resist digestion by enzymes in the gastrointestinal canal. Some known methods of extracting fiber from plant sources include dry processing, wet processing, chemical, gravimetric, enzymatic, physical, microbial, or a combination of these methods. Modified wet milling is the most cost-effective in the wet milling group, as it uses minimal chemicals, produces high purity products, and uses less water than the other methods. The purity of fibers extracted using the modified wet milling method range from 49.7% to 89.6%. An ideal extraction method should be affordable and produce fibers of high purity.

Preliminary study into the production of non‐wheat bread from acha (Digitaria exilis)

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the production of wheatless bread from acha flour and to determine consumer acceptability of the product.Design/methodology/approach – Wheatless bread was baked from acha (Digitaria exilis) and Irish potato starch blends of 80:20 respectively with varying (1‐4 per cent) quantity of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). The loaves were assessed for loaf volume (LV) and specific loaf volume (SLV) as well as consumer acceptability.Findings – The addition of CMC gave an increase in LV of 40.0 per cent in acha bread (AB) with 1 per cent CMC to 59.5 per cent in AB with 4 per cent CMC. The SLV of the acha loaves did not differ significantly from one another. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) between AB without CMC, AB with 1‐3 per cent CMC and wheat bread in appearance, crust colour, crumb texture, crumb colour and general acceptability (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the AB with 4 per cent CMC and wheat bread in crumb texture, crumb colo...

Foam-mat drying technology: A review

ABSTRACT This article reviews various aspects of foam-mat drying such as foam-mat drying processing technique, main additives used for foam-mat drying, foam-mat drying of liquid and solid foods, quality characteristics of foam-mat dried foods, and economic and technical benefits for employing foam-mat drying. Foam-mat drying process is an alternative method that allows the removal of water from liquid materials and pureed materials. In this drying process, a liquid material is converted into foam that is stable by being whipped after adding an edible foaming agent. The stable foam is then spread out in sheet or mat and dried by using hot air (40–90°C) at atmospheric pressure. Methyl cellulose (0.25–2%), egg white (3–20%), maltodextrin (0.5–05%), and gum Arabic (2–9%) are the commonly utilized additives for the foam-mat drying process at the given range, either combined together for their effectiveness or individual effect. The foam-mat drying process is suitable for heat sensitive, viscous, and sticky products that cannot be dried using other forms of drying methods such as spray drying because of the state of product. More interest has developed for foam-mat drying because of the simplicity, cost effectiveness, high speed drying, and improved product quality it provides.

Mathematical modeling of odor deterioration of millet (Pennisetum glaucum) dough (fura) as affected by time-temperature and product packaging parameters

ABSTRACT Consumer panelists evaluated the influence of temperature (5, 25, 35°C), storage time, and packaging material (aluminum foil or low-density polyethylene [LDPE]) on the sensory quality of millet dough (fura). The quality attributes of interest were mold growth, color, odor, and moisture. The odor sensory attribute changed significantly (P < 0.05) during storage and was influenced by storage time and temperature. Interactive effect of packaging-temperature and temperature-time affected odor changes significantly. A kinetic reaction model was used to analyze odor sensory data. The degradation of pleasant odor followed a first-order reaction, and the temperature dependence of these reactions indicated an Arrhenius relationship. While an activation energy (EA) of 29.98 kJ/mol was calculated for samples stored in aluminum foil, a higher value of 49.04 kJ/mol was obtained for samples stored in LDPE. The negative values of enthalpy (ΔH*) in both packages indicate that deterioration change in fura is exot...

Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Insoluble Dietary Fiber Isolated from Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea [L.] Verdc.).

Bambara groundnut (BGN) is a widely cultivated legume with a rich nutritional profile, yet despite its many benefits it still remains underutilized. To highlight its potential value, 4 BGN varieties-brown, red, black eye, and brown eye were subjected to sequential enzymatic treatments followed by centrifugation to obtain the insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) fraction. The IDFs were vacuum-dried and evaluated for color, hydration properties, fat absorption, polyphenolic compounds, neutral sugars, and uronic acids. An optimized white bread formulation was also determined using brown BGN-IDF in an optimal (IV) mixture design. Three mixture components constrained at lower and upper limits (water: 57% to 60%, yeast: 2.3% to 5.3%, and BGN-IDF: 7% to 10%) were evaluated for their effects on responses of specific loaf volume, gumminess, chewiness, and resilience of the loaves. All BGN-IDFs differed significantly (P ≤ 0.05) across all color parameters. Polyphenols were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) highest in red and brown BGN-IDFs. Arabinose/galactose (31.04% to 37.12%), xylose (16.53% to 27.30%), and mannose (14.48% to 22.24%) were the major sugars identified. Swelling capacity was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) highest for brown eye BGN-IDF (7.72 ± 0.49 mL/g). Water retention capacity ranged from 1.63 to 2.01 g water/g dry weight. Fat absorption for red BGN-IDF differed significantly (P ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, the best optimal white bread formulation enriched with brown BGN-IDF was established with numerical optimization at 59.5% water, 4.3% yeast, and 8.5% BGN-IDF. Overall positive physicochemical and functional properties were observed for BGN-IDFs, and it was shown that an optimal white bread enriched with BGN-IDF could be produced.