Exploring the physical and quality attributes of muffins incorporated with microencapsulated squalene as a functional food additive.

Squalene, a triterpenoid compound is proven to possess immense bioactivities by virtue of its high antioxidant activity. The present study was designed to investigate the quality attributes of muffins as influenced by addition of encapsulated squalene. Nutritional analysis showed that calorific value of prepared muffins has ranged from 480.78 ± 0.10 to 501.61 ± 0.38 kcal. Baking loss was lowest in case of muffins prepared with encapsulated squalene with its crumb region recorded higher moisture content. Color kinetics study indicated that browning index (BI) was higher in crust portion of encapsulated squalene enriched muffins. Scanning electron micrographs showing that muffins with encapsulated squalene had stronger structural organization. This was further supported by the textural studies showed that the muffins with encapsulated squalene was cohesive, springier and chewy with less gumminess and stiffness indicating their efficacy in improving the textural quality. Oxidative stability and microbiological quality were also high in squalene enriched foods suggesting that squalene might have some antimicrobial effects. Outcome of the study indicated that encapsulated squalene can be very well utilised as a functional food ingredient in ready -to-eat functional foods. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at (10.1007/s13197-020-04955-9).

Antioxidant, functional properties and amino acid composition of pepsin-derived protein hydrolysates from whole tilapia waste as influenced by pre-processing ice storage.

In recent years, hygienic handling of fishery waste is demanded owing to the fact that the fishery waste is an ideal raw material for the preparation of bioactive compounds. In the present study, the effect of pre-processing storage (at 4 ± 2 °C) of whole tilapia waste (WTW) on the properties of its protein hydrolysate derived using pepsin was evaluated. Fish protein hydrolysates (FPH) were prepared from 0, 24 and 48 h old ice stored WTW and designated as FPH-0, FPH-1, and FPH-2, respectively. Total amino acids, total essential amino acids and total hydrophobic amino acids of FPH samples increased with the storage period of raw material (WTW). Antioxidant activities such as DPPH (2, 2 diphynyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing power of FPH samples were dose dependent. FPH-0 had better antioxidant properties including linoleic acid peroxidation inhibition activity than FPH-1 and FPH-2. The DNA nicking assay revealed the protective effect of FPH preparations against Fenton's reaction mediated oxidative damage. FPH-2 had better emulsifying properties and foaming stability whereas the FPH-0 had relatively good foaming capacity. SDS-PAGE indicated the presence of peptides ranging from 116 to < 14.4 kDa in FPH-0 and less than 18 kDa in FPH-1 and FPH-2. The present study, clearly demonstrated that whole tilapia waste can effectively be converted to FPH and could be a potential ingredient in functional food and as a rich source of high-quality protein in animal feed formulations.

Effect of dietary supplementation of l-tryptophan on thermal tolerance and oxygen consumption rate in Cirrhinus mrigala fingerlings under varied stocking density.

A 60 day feeding trial was conducted to study the effect of dietary l-tryptophan on thermal tolerance and oxygen consumption rate of freshwater fish, mrigala, Cirrhinus mrigala reared under ambient temperature at low and high stocking density. Four hundred eighty fingerlings were distributed into eight experimental groups. Four groups each of low density group (10 fishes/75L water) and higher density group (30 fishes/75L water) were fed a diet containing 0, 0.68, 1.36 or 2.72% l-tryptophan in the diet, thus forming eight experimental groups namely, Low density control (LC) (basal feed +0% l-tryptophan); LT1 (basal feed+0.68% l-tryptophan); LT2 (basal feed+1.36% l-tryptophan); LT3 (basal feed+2.72% l-tryptophan); high density control (HC) (basal feed+0% l-tryptophan); HT1 (basal feed+0.68% l-tryptophan); HT2 (basal feed+1.36% l-tryptophan); and HT3 (basal feed+2.72% l-tryptophan) were fed at 3% of the body weight. The test diets having crude protein 34.33±0.23 to 35.81±0.18% and lipid 423.49±1.76 to 425.85±0.31KCal/100g were prepared using purified ingredients. The possible role of dietary l-tryptophan on thermal tolerance and oxygen consumption rate was assessed in terms of critical thermal maxima (CTMax), critical thermal minima (CTMin), lethal thermal maxima (LTMax) and lethal thermal minima (LTMin). The CTMax, CTMin, LTMax and LTMin values were found to be significantly higher (p<0.05) in the treatment groups with CTMax 42.94±0.037 (LT2); LT Max 43.18±0.070 (LT2); CTMin 10.47±0.088 (LT2) and LTMin 9.42±0.062 (LT3), whereas the control group showed a lower tolerance level. The same trend was observed in the high density group (CTMax 42.09±0.066 (LT3); LTMax 43 23±0.067 (HT3); CTMin 10.98±0.040 (HT3) and LTMin 9.74±0.037 (HT3). However, gradual supplementation of dietary l-tryptophan in the diet significantly reduced the oxygen consumption rate in both the low density group (Y=-26.74x+222.4, r²=0.915) and the high density group (Y=-32.96x+296.5, r²=0.8923). Dietary supplementation of l-tryptophan at a level of 1.36% improved the thermal tolerance level and reduced the oxygen consumption rate in C. mrigala fingerlings.

Intrinsic properties of chitosan on the characteristics of gold nanoparticles and its application as smart packaging device.

Storage temperature fluctuation is a major problem faced in food and pharmaceutical industry, apart from prevailing fraud in marketing frozen products as fresh. The present work aimed to study the effect of intrinsic properties of chitosan on synthesis and performance of gold nanoparticles as smart packaging devices. Different types of Chitosan from shrimp waste were used as reducing and capping agent in the synthesis of metal nanoparticle. Time is taken to reduce gold atom to gold nanoparticles varied with the type of reducing agent, between 6 min 40 s to 15 min 02 s. The maximum absorbance (λmax) for AuNPs was observed between 517 and 530 nm. An increase in the concentration of chitosan resulted in smaller and uniform size AuNPs with size ranging from 8.09 to 9.95 nm compared with 14.44 to 19.88 nm for lower concentration of chitosan. Visible ruby red colour of AuNPs synthesised using trisodium citrate (TSC) and lower concentration of chitosan (0.1%) changed to colourless and grey to blue, respectively upon exposure to frozen condition (-18 °C ± 1 °C). UV Visible spectra indicated distinctly different (broader) spectrum with reduced peak intensity. A visible change in colour from ruby red to bluish and colourless state indicates that irrespective of the properties of available chitosan, it can be used for synthesis of gold nanoparticles as smart packaging to distinguish packed fresh/chilled/refrigerated products from frozen ones.

Phlorotannins-bioactivity and extraction perspectives.

Phlorotannins, a seaweed based class of polyphenolic compounds, have proven to possess potential bioactivities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-allergic, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancerous, neuroprotection etc. These bioactivities have further increased demand globally and sustainable techniques such as supercritical fluid extraction, microwave assisted extraction, enzyme assisted extraction, extraction using deep eutectic solvents etc. are being explored currently for production of phlorotannin-rich extracts. In spite of such well documented bioactivities, very few phlorotannin-based nutraceuticals are available commercially which highlights the significance of generating consumer awareness about their physiological benefits. However, for industry level commercialization accurate quantification of phlorotannins with respect to the different classes is vital requiring sophisticated analytical techniques such as mass spectrometry, 1H-NMR spectroscopy etc. owing to the wide structural diversity. This review summarizes the extraction and bioactivities of phlorotannins based on the findings of in vivo and in vitro studies.

Chitosan - Whey protein as efficient delivery system for squalene: Characterization and functional food application.

Squalene, a triterpenoid compound possessing excellent bioactivities, is not being utilized as a functional food ingredient due to its high susceptibility to oxidation. In the present study, the feasibility of chitosan-whey protein as an efficient wall material for squalene encapsulation using spray drying technique was attempted for functional food applications. The encapsulation efficiency of the squalene powder was found to be 75.4 ±â€¯0.22% whereas other physico-chemical properties such as moisture content, flowability, solubility, peroxide value, etc. have shown satisfactory results. The thermogravimetric analysis showed that chitosan-whey protein was able to retain the thermal stability of squalene up to a temperature of 422 °C. Furthermore, the functional food application of the encapsulated squalene in a bakery product (cake) exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) better properties in terms of oxidative stability, sensory attributes than that of cake with pure squalene and control treatment. Hence, it can be concluded that emulsification of squalene in chitosan-whey protein and its subsequent encapsulation by spray drying can be a potential process to produce oxidatively stable encapsulates for the development of functional foods.

Microencapsulation of sardine oil: Application of vanillic acid grafted chitosan as a bio-functional wall material.

Vanillic acid grafted chitosan (Va-g-Ch) was evaluated as a new antioxidant wall material for microencapsulation of polyunsaturated fatty acid rich sardine oil. A high grafting ratio of 305mg vanillic acid equivalent/g of polymer was achieved using a free radical mediated grafting reaction. Oil in water emulsion was prepared with an optimised combination of Va-g-Ch and Tween 20 (3.2:1). Sardine oil loaded microparticles (SO-M) were produced (∼75% yield) by spray drying. The average diameter and polydispersity Index (PDI) of the particles were found to be 2.3µ and 0.345. XRD spectra of SO-M showed reduction in crystallinity due to microencapsulation. After four weeks of storage, a moderate (∼12%) decrease in the EPA and DHA content and a low PV of 5.5±0.51meq/kg oil in SO-M demonstrated good oxidative stability. Satisfactory encapsulation efficiency (84±0.84%) and loading efficiency (67±0.51%) values, also demonstrated the suitability of Va-g-Ch for microencapsulation of sardine oil.

Evaluation of chitosan as a wall material for microencapsulation of squalene by spray drying: Characterization and oxidative stability studies.

The present study was aimed at investigating the efficacy of chitosan as a wall material for microencapsulation of squalene by spray drying for functional food applications. Based on different core to wall material ratio (1:1, 0.5:1 and 0.3:1 on w/w basis), emulsions were prepared and evaluated in terms of emulsion stability, particle size, zeta potential, polydispersity Index (PDI), rheology and microstructure. The optimized emulsion combination was spray dried and characterized, physically and chemically. The encapsulation efficiency of the powder was found to be 26±0.6% whereas other properties such as particle size, zeta potential, water activity, hygroscopicity, Carr Index, Hausner ratio have shown satisfactory results. SEM analysis showed that the squalene microcapsules were smooth spherical particles free from dents and fissures. FTIR data further confirmed the encapsulation of squalene with chitosan. However, TGA, oxidative stability and accelerated Rancimat results showed that chitosan was not able to protect squalene from oxidation during storage. The results suggest that chitosan is not an appropriate wall material for microencapsulation of squalene and hence a combination of wall materials could be attempted for the encapsulation of squalene.

Dietary supplementation of thiamine and pyridoxine-loaded vanillic acid-grafted chitosan microspheres enhances growth performance, metabolic and immune responses in experimental rats.

In the present investigation, the effect of dietary supplementation of thiamine and pyridoxine loaded vanillic acid-grafted chitosan microspheres (TPVGC) on growth, metabolic and immune responses in Wistar strain albino rats was studied. Eight experimental groups, namely four groups each for male and female rats were fed with 0, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.6% of TPVGC in the diet. At the end of 45days feeding trials, both male and female rats supplemented with TPVGC had higher weight gain% and specific growth rate than the control groups. Significantly (p<0.05) lower blood glucose level and higher respiratory burst activity were recorded in the treatment groups than the control groups of both male and female rats. Activity of metabolic enzymes (aspartate amino transferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and acid phosphatase) and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione S-transferase) were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the control groups and a decreasing trend in the same was observed with a gradual increase in the inclusion level of TPVGC in the diet of the treatment groups. However, a reverse trend was observed for acetylcholine esterase. It was inferred that dietary supplementation of thiamine and pyridoxine loaded vanillic acid-grafted chitosan enhanced the growth performance, metabolic and immune responses in the animal-model.