Encapsulation of quercetin fraction from Musa balbisiana banana blossom in chitosan alginate solution, its optimization and characterizations.

This study comprises the isolation of quercetin from the bhimkol banana (Musa balbisiana) blossom, encapsulation, and its characterizations. An isolated quercetin rich fraction was obtained from HPLC followed by column chromatography and subsequently encapsulated with chitosan-alginate polyelectrolyte complex at optimum encapsulation conditions obtained by ant colony optimization. Quercetin fraction and encapsulated quercetin were characterized for their physicochemical properties (by HPLC, FTIR, NMR, XRD, Dynamic Light Scattering, and release study). The yield and purity of isolated quercetin rich fractions were 2.35 ± 0.08 µg/ml and 83.12 ± 0.31 %, respectively. After the optimization of encapsulation, quercetin 0.2 %, sodium alginate 4 %, chitosan 0.5 %, and agitation at 300 rpm were found to be the optimal conditions resulting in higher encapsulation efficiency (EE, 84.54 %). EE was significantly improved by a slight increase in sodium alginate, and agitation. Encapsulated quercetin revealed good pH resistance by releasing 68.27 mg QE/g quercetin in simulated gastric fluid at 60 min. Microbeads of encapsulated quercetin showed the structural bond stretching of encapsulating materials and quercetin in FTIR spectra (stretching at 1511 cm-1, 1380 cm-1, and 1241 cm-1 are attributed to the stretching vibration of CO in aromatic rings, and bending vibration of OH bond in phenols). An average particle size of 2.71 µm exhibited the microgel behavior of microbeads (by XRD). The present study on the underutilized variety of banana blossoms has diverse applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries that will productively exhibit effective drug delivery properties.

Macromolecular, thermal, and nonthermal technologies for reduction of glycemic index in food-A review.

Consumers rely on product labels to make healthy choices, especially with regard to the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL), which identify foods that stabilize blood sugar. Employing both thermal and nonthermal processing techniques can potentially reduce the GI, contributing to improved blood sugar regulation and overall metabolic health. This study concentrates on the most current advances in GI-reduction food processing technologies. Food structure combines fiber, healthy fats, and proteins to slow digestion, reducing GI. The influence of thermal approaches on the physical and chemical modification of starch led to decreased GI. The duration of heating and the availability of moisture also determine the degree of hydrolysis of starch and the glycemic effects on food. At a lower temperature, the parboiling revealed less gelatinization and increased moisture. The internal temperature of the product is raised during thermal and nonthermal treatment, speeds up retrogradation, and reduces the rate of starch breakdown.

Microwave assisted fluidized bed drying of bitter gourd: Modelling and optimization of process conditions based on bioactive components.

Bitter gourds were dried under varied drying conditions in a microwave assisted fluidized bed dryer, and the process was optimized using response surface methodology. Microwave power, temperature and air velocity were used as process variables for drying and the process parameters were varied between 360 and 720 W, 40-60 °C and 10-14 m/s, respectively. The responses determined for deciding the optimal criteria were vitamin C, total phenolics, IC50, total chlorophyll content, vitamin A content, rehydration ratio, hardness and total color change of the dried bitter gourd. Statistical analyses were done by using response surface methodology, which showed that independent variables affected the responses to a varied extent. The optimum drying conditions of 550.89 W microwave power, 55.87 °C temperature, and 13.52 m/s air velocity were established for microwave assisted fluidized bed drying to obtain highest desirability for the dried bitter gourd. At optimum conditions, validation experiment was done to ensure the suitability of models. Temperature and drying time plays an important role in the deterioration of bioactive components. Faster and shorter heating led to the greater retention of bioactive components. Taking the aforesaid results into consideration, our study recommended MAFBD as a promising technique with minimum changes in quality attributes of bitter gourd.

Effect of incorporation of wheat bran, rice bran and banana peel powder on the mesostructure and physicochemical characteristics of biscuits.

Various types of natural fiber-rich ingredients are added into bakery-based products to improve their fiber content for health promotional purposes. But the majority of these products usually include exotic dietary fiber components. The aim of this study was to develop biscuits incorporated with wheat bran, rice bran and banana peel powder and to evaluate the effects on physicochemical properties and sensory acceptability of these different biscuit samples. Wheat bran, rice bran and banana peel powder was used to substitute refined wheat flour in biscuit samples at different levels (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30%). The effect of wheat bran, rice bran and banana peel powder incorporation on proximate composition, physical characteristics, texture profile, color and sensory evaluation of biscuit samples were investigated. The moisture content of the product showed a significant (p ≤ 0.01) decreasing trend while as protein showed increasing trend with increasing level of incorporation of wheat bran, rice bran and banana peel powder. Also there was a considerable effect on L*(darkness to lightness), a*(greeness to redness), and b*(blueness to yellowness) values of biscuit samples. Among the physical parameters diameter and thickness decreased non-significantly (p ≤ 0.01) with the addition of different fibers whereas spread ratio and weight increases. Sensory attributes showed a significant (p ≤ 0.01) increasing trend with an increase in the level of incorporation of different fibers. Based on sensory evaluation biscuits prepared with 15% wheat bran, 15% rice bran, and 10% banana peel powder were rated best. The biscuits were packed in high density polyethylene (HDPE) boxes and were analyzed on different intervals viz. 0, 30, and 60th day. In samples of optimized biscuits, the ash content, protein, fat and color exhibited a non- significant tendency of declining over storage. It was discovered that the ash content dropped from0.86 to 0.67% in Wb4, 0.95 to 0.75% in Rb4, and 1.15to 0.92% in Bpp3. However there was a considerable increase in moisture content during storage.

Promising bioactive properties of quercetin for potential food applications and health benefits: A review.

Naturally occurring phytochemicals with promising biological properties are quercetin and its derivatives. Quercetin has been thoroughly studied for its antidiabetic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-Alzheimer's, anti-arthritic, antioxidant, cardiovascular, and wound-healing properties. Anticancer activity of quercetin against cancer cell lines has also recently been revealed. The majority of the Western diet contains quercetin and its derivatives, therefore consuming them as part of a meal or as a food supplement may be sufficient for people to take advantage of their preventive effects. Bioavailability-based drug-delivery systems of quercetin have been heavily studied. Fruits, seeds, vegetables, bracken fern, coffee, tea, and other plants all contain quercetin, as do natural colors. One naturally occurring antioxidant is quercetin, whose anticancer effects have been discussed in detail. It has several properties that could make it an effective anti-cancer agent. Numerous researches have shown that quercetin plays a substantial part in the suppression of cancer cells in the breast, colon, prostate, ovary, endometrial, and lung tumors. The current study includes a concise explanation of quercetin's action mechanism and potential health applications.

Optimization and scale-up of α-amylase production by Aspergillus oryzae using solid-state fermentation of edible oil cakes.

BACKGROUND: Amylases produced by fungi during solid-state fermentation are the most widely used commercial enzymes to meet the ever-increasing demands of the global enzyme market. The use of low-cost substrates to curtail the production cost and reuse solid wastes are seen as viable options for the commercial production of many enzymes. Applications of α-amylases in food, feed, and industrial sectors have increased over the years. Additionally, the demand for processed and ready-to-eat food has increased because of the rapid growth of food-processing industries in developing economies. These factors significantly contribute to the global enzyme market. It is estimated that by the end of 2024, the global α-amylase market would reach USD 320.1 million (Grand View Research Inc., 2016). We produced α-amylase using Aspergillus oryzae and low-cost substrates obtained from edible oil cake, such as groundnut oil cake (GOC), coconut oil cake (COC), sesame oil cake (SOC) by solid-state fermentation. We cultivated the fungus using these nutrient-rich substrates to produce the enzyme. The enzyme was extracted, partially purified, and tested for pH and temperature stability. The effect of pH, incubation period and temperature on α-amylase production using A. oryzae was optimized. Box-Behnken design (BBD) of response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize and determine the effects of all process parameters on α-amylase production. The overall cost economics of α-amylase production using a pilot-scale fermenter was also studied. RESULTS: The substrate optimization for α-amylase production by the Box-Behnken design of RSM showed GOC as the most suitable substrate for A. oryzae, as evident from its maximum α-amylase production of 9868.12 U/gds. Further optimization of process parameters showed that the initial moisture content of 64%, pH of 4.5, incubation period of 108 h, and temperature of 32.5 °C are optimum conditions for α-amylase production. The production increased by 11.4% (10,994.74 U/gds) by up-scaling and using optimized conditions in a pilot-scale fermenter. The partially purified α-amylase exhibited maximum stability at a pH of 6.0 and a temperature of 55 °C. The overall cost economic studies showed that the partially purified α-amylase could be produced at the rate of Rs. 622/L. CONCLUSIONS: The process parameters for enhanced α-amylase secretion were analyzed using 3D contour plots by RSM, which showed that contour lines were more oriented toward incubation temperature and pH, having a significant effect (p < 0.05) on the α-amylase activity. The optimized parameters were subsequently employed in a 600 L-pilot-scale fermenter for the α-amylase production. The substrates were rich in nutrients, and supplementation of nutrients was not required. Thus, we have suggested an economically viable process of α-amylase production using a pilot-scale fermenter.