Composition and functionality of whole jamun based functional confection

Development of chewing gum model system from phytocompounds of black jamun (Syzygium cumini) pulp and study of its dissolution kinetics

Black jamun is a rich source of polyphenol and anthocyanin that provides major potential as a natural pigment. The different concentrations of encapsulated jamun pulp phytocompounds (0, 0.5, 1, 3 and 5 g 100 g-1) were incorporated with chewing gum for the development of functional food production. The study showed among variants, 5 g 100 g-1 encapsulates of black jamun pulp extract-based chewing gum (BJE-CG) showed better color stability and texture properties caused by the availability of alginate and guar gum in the encapsulates. The results revealed the dissolution behaviour of 5 g 100 g-1 based BJE-CG has a greater (P < 0.05) dissolution of total anthocyanin (TAC) and phenolic content (TPC). The dissolution kinetics model including the Korsmeyer-Peppas model, Higuchi model and Gunes model were statistically tested the dissolution rate of TAC and TPC. The Korsmeyer-Peppas model for TAC and Gunes model for TPC were found the best suitable through R2 (0.995 and 0.991) and the lowest χ2 (0.0098 and 0.0361). The dissolution kinetics study indicated the 5 g 100 g-1 based BJE-CG has the most suitable fitting in dissolution kinetics via simulated salivary fluid at 10 min. The application of the encapsulated phytocompounds shows a better solution for food and pharma industries to deliver decent plant-based pigment and phytocompounds in the food product.

Graphical abstract

Jamun (Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels) Seed: A Review on Nutritional Profile, Functional Food Properties, Health-Promoting Applications, and Safety Aspects

Jamun (Syzygium cumini L. Skeels) is highly perishable with a very short shelf life, hence, jamun fruit is either consumed fresh as soon as it is harvested or converted to value-added products such as jam, wine, juice, and jellies. The processing of jamun fruit generates a large quantity of seeds as the primary waste. Jamun seeds are a rich source of macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, minerals, and vitamins, thus making them an important ingredient in the food industry. The valorization of underutilized, nutritionally rich byproducts of the food processing industry has been providing new ways for unlocking their potential in the functional food industry or therapeutic food formulations. This review presents a detailed nutritional profile of jamun seeds and its potent application in the food industry as a possible functional ingredient. Along with its beneficial nutritional profile, the review also throws light upon the safety aspects associated with jamun seed consumption along with its acceptable daily intake. Safety and toxicity studies have motivated researchers and industrialists to search for possible applications in the food industry. Jamun seeds with array of nutritional benefits can be an important functional ingredient; however, further extensive research is necessary to find suitable levels of application of jamun seed in food products for harnessing its nutritional potential without affecting the products’ sensory palatability.

Effect of gelatin content and oral processing ability on vitamin C release in gummy jelly

In order to investigate the factors affecting the release of vitamin C (VC) in gummy jelly during oral processing, four levels of gelatin (3%, 6%, 9% and 12%) were selected and a bionic chewing robot was employed in chewing experiments. Textural profile analysis showed the hardness of gummy jelly increased from 91.7 N to 198.8 N when the gelatin content was raised from 3 to 12%. Single factor chewing experiment showed that the release of VC was positively correlated with chewing frequency (F_chew) and chewing strain (ST_chew), while negatively correlated with gelatin content, chewing speed (SP_chew) and volume of saliva (V_saliva). Orthogonal chewing experiment showed that the priority of the factors affected the release of VC was following: ST_chew > F_chew > SP_chew > V_saliva. Multivariate linear regression analysis proposed a model to predict the amount of VC released and the goodness-of-fit of the model was 95.7%. The amount of VC released was the highest under the combination of F_chew 12 times, ST_chew 100%, V_saliva 2 ml and SP_chew 40 times/min. The optimal amount of gelatin addition was 6%. This study provided an effective reference for the formula design and chewing mode optimization of gummy jelly.

Optimization and multivariate accelerated shelf life testing (MASLT) of a low glycemic whole jamun (Syzygium cumini L.) confection with tailored quality and functional attributes

An optimization and multivariate accelerated shelf-life testing (MASLT) was demonstrated to develop a low glycemic (GI) whole jamun (Syzygium cumini L.) confection (WJC) with soft texture and fruity hedonics targeted for diabetic strata. The hydrocolloids viz., agar (1-3 g), pectin (1-3 g), and polydextrose (24-28 g) were optimized [mixture design (MD)] to obtain hydrocolloid mix (HM) with a soft texture. Next, whole jamun ingredients viz, jamun pulp (JP) (20-30 g), seed powder (JSP) (1-5 g), and HM (25-35 g) were optimized (MD + PCA) for satisfactory texture, total polyphenolic content (TPC), and fruity hedonics. The optimized WJC was assayed for GI and modelled by univariate kinetics and MASLT (10-45 °C/75% humidity/120 days). Using MASLT, the collated effects of quality attributes (anthocyanin content, TPC, moisture, hardness, and total color change) were extracted as principal components to estimate new stability parameters viz, multivariate rate constants (k _m), acceleration factors ( α m T ), activation energy (E _am), and cut-off criterion. The optimized WJC contains 2.3 g agar, 1.9 g pectin, 27.2 g polydextrose, 26.4 g JP, and 2 g JSP and had satisfactory hardness (1007 g), TPC (2.8 mg gallic acid equivalents/g), and low GI value (48.6). The zero-order kinetic fitting of univariate versus MASLT resulted in α ( 45 , 10 ) T , E _a, and shelf life (10 °C) of 7.8 versus 6.2, 43.81 versus 39.22 kJ/mol and 175 versus 186 days, respectively. MASLT simplified the kinetic interpretations to a single variable by collating the useful information from critical quality parameters and predicted shelf life precisely than univariate kinetics.

Hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of triterpenoid-enriched Jamun (Eugenia jambolana Lam.) fruit extract in streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic mice

The edible berries of Eugenia jambolana Lam. (known as Jamun) are consumed in various parts of the world. Our previous studies revealed that a triterpenoid-enriched Jamun fruit extract (TJFE) showed beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis in non-diabetic mice. Herein, the anti-diabetic effects of TJFE (100 mg kg-1 by oral gavage for ten days) were evaluated in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetic mice. TJFE significantly attenuated STZ-induced hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance, suppressed the abnormal elevation of hepatic gluconeogenesis, and improved dyslipidemia in the mice. Histopathology and mechanism-based studies revealed that TJFE preserved the architecture and function of pancreatic islets, attenuated insulin secretion deficiency, enhanced insulin/Akt signaling transduction, reduced lipogenic gene expression, and prevented the abnormal activation of Erk MAPK in the liver tissues of the STZ-induced diabetic mice. The current study adds to previously published data supporting the potential beneficial effects of this edible fruit on diabetes management.

Comparative effect of different individual wrappings on shelf life of guava (Psidium guajava)

Being climacteric fruit the organoleptic quality of Guava deteriorates due to continuously occurring biochemical changes during the storage leading to heavy post harvest losses. The present research work was planned to depreciate the losses by assessing the effect of different individual packagings on the shelf life of the fruit. The individual wrapping of fruits were carried out in LDPE films by cling, shrink, vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and stored at room temperature (37 °C). Individual wrapping delayed the ripening process by slowing down the metabolic activities and reducing the magnitude of changes in physicochemical parameters. In control fruits significant compositional changes along with the total phenol content and ascorbic acid were observed with higher decay loss. However, wrapping of fruits maintained the natural freshness and helped in retaining the marketability of the fruits. Vacuum packing and MAP showed minimum PLW (3.5%), decay loss and ripening during storage. Cling wrapping and shrink wrapping were the best treatments that enhanced the shelf life of fruits by 4 days at room temperature.