Fortification of durum wheat semolina with detoxified matri (Lathyrus sativus) flour to improve the nutritional properties of pasta.

Durum wheat semolina (DWS) can be enriched with legume flours to produce more nutritious but high-quality pasta. DWS was substituted with detoxified matri (Lathyrus sativus) flour (DMF) at 5-25%, which in spaghetti increased the levels of protein, lipid, fibre and ash but decreased nitrogen-free extract. Water absorption, arrival time and dough development time increased from 63.1 to 69.2%, 1.7 to 2.4 and 2.3 to 3.3 min, respectively, while dough stability, consistency and tolerance index decreased. DMF addition increased cooking loss (4.8-5.8%) and hardness (13.2-16.5 N) but decreased percent rehydration. Based on farinographic (departure time), cooking quality (adhesiveness) and cooking loss thresholds for DMF at 15%, the effects of xanthan gum (XG) addition on the cooking qualities of the corresponding spaghetti were determined. XG up to 3% limited cooking loss (4.97 vs 5.4%) and improved hardness, compared to samples lacking XG. Considering functional, cooking and nutritional properties of spaghetti, incorporation of 15% DMF and 3% XG appeared optimal.

Xylitol: a review on bioproduction, application, health benefits, and related safety issues.

Xylitol is a pentahydroxy sugar-alcohol which exists in a very low quantity in fruits and vegetables (plums, strawberries, cauliflower, and pumpkin). On commercial scale, xylitol can be produced by chemical and biotechnological processes. Chemical production is costly and extensive in purification steps. However, biotechnological method utilizes agricultural and forestry wastes which offer the possibilities of economic production of xylitol by reducing required energy. The precursor xylose is produced from agricultural biomass by chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis and can be converted to xylitol primarily by yeast strain. Hydrolysis under acidic condition is the more commonly used practice influenced by various process parameters. Various fermentation process inhibitors are produced during chemical hydrolysis that reduce xylitol production, a detoxification step is, therefore, necessary. Biotechnological xylitol production is an integral process of microbial species belonging to Candida genus which is influenced by various process parameters such as pH, temperature, time, nitrogen source, and yeast extract level. Xylitol has application and potential for food and pharmaceutical industries. It is a functional sweetener as it has prebiotic effects which can reduce blood glucose, triglyceride, and cholesterol level. This review describes recent research developments related to bioproduction of xylitol from agricultural wastes, application, health, and safety issues.

Cheddar cheese ripening and flavor characterization: a review.

Cheddar cheese is a biochemically dynamic product that undergoes significant changes during ripening. Freshly made curds of various cheese varieties have bland and largely similar flavors and aroma and, during ripening, flavoring compounds are produced that are characteristic of each variety. The biochemical changes occurring during ripening are grouped into primary events including glycolysis, lipolysis, and proteolysis followed by secondary biochemical changes such as metabolism of fatty acids and amino acids which are important for the production of secondary metabolites, including a number of compounds necessary for flavor development. A key feature of cheese manufacture is the metabolism of lactose to lactate by selected cultures of lactic acid bacteria. The rate and extent of acidification influence the initial texture of the curd by controlling the rate of demineralization. The degree of lipolysis in cheese depends on the variety of cheese and may vary from slight to extensive; however, proteolysis is the most complex of the primary events during cheese ripening, especially in Cheddar-type cheese.

Bioavailability of calcium, iron and zinc fortified whole wheat flour chapatti.

The bioavailability and interactive effects of calcium, iron and zinc fortified whole wheat flour chapattis on female Sprague-Dawley albino rats were determined. The whole wheat flour was fortified with CaCO3, FeSO4 and ZnSO4 at 1000, 40 and 20 mg/kg, respectively and fed to 64 female Sprague-Dawley rats for 4 weeks. Retention of Ca, Fe and Zn was determined in plasma, femur and liver tissues. Ca levels in plasma and liver did not alter significantly while the Ca retention in femur changed significantly with the change in fortificants. The calcium retention was higher in the femur of rats fed on the diet supplemented with Ca + Zn (221 +/- 13.61 mg/g) than the rats fed on the diet supplemented with Ca + Fe (219 +/- 18.92 mg/g). The iron in plasma, liver and femur ranged from 2.19 +/- 0.11 to 2.77 +/- 0.10 microg/ml, 203.5 +/- 13.24 to 251.5 +/- 17.19 microg/g and 43.5 +/- 1.05 to 52 +/- 2.07 microg/g while zinc content ranged from 1.31 +/- 0.089 to 1.55 +/- 0.114 microg/ml, 89.5 +/- 3.41 to 132 +/- 6.10 microg/g and 175 +/- 8.29 to 191 +/- 10.85 microg/g, respectively. The minerals interacted with each other resulting in decrease of bioavailability among each other. The absorption was higher in the rats fed on fortified diet than those fed on unfortified chapatti diet. Hence, it is concluded that fortification of whole wheat flour is feasible to overcome the Ca, Fe and Zn malnutrition in the vulnerable groups.