Imaging and image analysis of freeze-dried cellular solids of gellan and agar gels

Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Citrullus mucosospermus, Citroides, and Moringa oleifera Seeds' Hydrocolloids

Hydrocolloids form gel-like structures when dispersed in water and have garnered significant attention for their diverse applications in food, pharmaceuticals, and other industries. The extraction of hydrocolloids from natural sources, such as seeds, presents an intriguing avenue due to the potential diversity in composition and functionality. Utilising seeds from Citrullus lanatus mucosospermus, lanatus citroides, and Moringa aligns with the growing demand for natural and sustainable ingredients in various industries. This research investigated hydrocolloids extracted from Citrullus mucosospermus (CMS), lanatus citroides, and Moringa oleifera seeds, highlighting their versatile physicochemical and functional attributes. Hydrocolloids were extracted from the seeds and subjected to analysis of their proximate composition, particle size distribution, and interfacial tension using the hot water extraction method. Protein content variation was observed among the raw oilseed (CMS, Citroides, and Moringa oleifera) flours. The protein content of the hydrocolloids surpassed that of raw oilseeds, significantly enhancing the amino acid profile. Furthermore, the hydrocolloid ash contents ranged from 4.09% to 6.52% w/w dry weight, coupled with low fat levels. The particle size distribution revealed predominantly fine particles with a narrow size distribution. All three hydrocolloids demonstrated remarkable oil- and water-holding capacities, highlighting their suitability for efficient stabilisation and emulsification in food formulations. These findings suggest the potential utilisation of these hydrocolloids as valuable ingredients across a spectrum of applications, encompassing food, pharmaceuticals, and industry, thus contributing to the development of sustainable and functional products. The unique attributes presented herein mark a noteworthy advancement in the understanding and application of novel hydrocolloids from CMS, Citroides, and Moringa oleifera.

Application of Different Compositions of Apple Puree Gels and Drying Methods to Fabricate Snacks of Modified Structure, Storage Stability and Hygroscopicity

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of incorporation of apple puree and maltodextrin to agar sol on the sorption properties and structure of the dried gel. The effect of different drying methods on the sorption behaviour of aerated apple puree gels was also observed. The gels with the addition of 25% and 40% concentration of apple puree and with or without maltodextrin were prepared and dried. The foamed agar gel was subjected to freeze-drying, air-drying and vacuum-drying. The sorption properties of dried gels (adsorption isotherms, water uptake in time) were investigated. The relations between the glass transition temperature, water activity and water content were also obtained for some apple snacks. The increase in apple puree in freeze-dried gels increased the hygroscopicity and decreased the glass transition temperature (Tg). The water content at given activity and hygroscopicity were reduced by the addition of maltodextrin, which also caused the increase in Tg. The application of different drying methods enabled obtaining different structures of material. The open-pore, fragile materials were obtained by freeze-drying, the expanded matrix with big holes was characteristic for vacuum-dried gels, but the closed pores with thick walls were created during the air-drying.

The underlying mechanism in gel formation and its mathematical simulation during anionic polyacrylamide solution ultrafiltration process

A dead-end ultrafiltration cup was continuously operated to investigate the underlying mechanisms of membrane fouling caused by gel layer in this paper. Anionic polyacrylamide was used as a model foulant for gel formation process in various ultrafiltration processes by two kinds of ultrafiltration membrane, e.g., polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane (OM) and TiO₂/Al₂O₃-PVDF membrane (MM); then, a gel formation model was established and systematically assessed. The results show that the gel formation process in ultrafiltration can be divided into three stages: "slow-rapid-slow" flux decay curve. The R² value of the simulation curve was still higher than 0.90 for both OM and MM. Based on the current cognition, the proposed gel layer formation mechanism and mathematical model were feasible.

Role of the Drying Technique on the Low-Acyl Gellan Gum Gel Structure: Molecular and Macroscopic Investigations

The effect of three drying processes (freeze, oven and supercritical CO₂ drying) on CP Kelco low-acyl gellan gum gel was investigated, highlighting the role of the water removal mechanism (i.e. sublimation, evaporation and solvent replacement/extraction) and the process parameters on the gel structure, rather than focusing on the drying kinetics. It is the first time that a research paper not only compares the drying methods but also discusses and investigates how the molecular and macroscopic levels of gellan gum are affected during drying. Specifically, the dried gel structures were characterised by bulk density and shrinkage analyses as well as scanning electron microscope (SEM) and micro-computed tomography (μCT) microscopy. Micro-differential scanning calorimetry (μDSC) was used in a novel way to investigate the effect of the drying technique on the polymer disorder chains by partial melting of the gel. The resulting water uptake during rehydration was influenced by the obtained dried structure and, therefore, by the employed drying process. It was found that freeze-dried (FD) structures had a fast rehydration rate, while both oven-dried (OD) and supercritical CO₂-dried (scCO₂D) structures were slower. After 30 min, FD samples achieved a normalised moisture content (NMC) around 0.83, whereas OD and scCO₂D samples around 0.33 and 0.19, respectively. In this context, depending on the role of the specific hydrocolloid in food (i.e. gelling agent, thickener, carrier), one particular dried-gel structure could be more appropriate than another. Graphical abstractFrom left to right: unprocessed hydrogels; μ-CT images of dried gels and unprocessed hydrogel; DSC curves after drying process.

Low Acyl Gellan Gum as a Gelling Agent in Medium of Saccharomyces Yeasts

Commercial agar used in microbiological culture has a disadvantage of impurity and opacity. This work aimed to provide an alternative gelling agent to agar and the function of low acyl gellan gum in microbiological culture media was studied. The results showed the texture and water activity of GYGs (glucose-YNB medium containing low acyl gellan gum at different concentrations of 0.3%, 0.6%, 0.9%, 1.2%, 1.5%) were suitable for cultivation of Saccharomyces yeasts. The gelling temperature of GYGs was enhanced with the increased concentration of low acyl gellan gum, while clarity of medium and colony diameter decreased. Scanning electron microscope showed that GYG09 (glucose-YNB medium containing 0.9% low acyl gellan gum) possessed homogeneous porous structures, which was superior to GYA20 with respect to higher clarity and lower dosage of gelling agent when surface plating method was used; however, GYG09 was not suitable for pour plating method.

Frying of the Dispersion Droplets with Varying Contents of Chickpea Flour and Gum Arabic: Product Characterization and Modeling

Dispersions having chickpea (37%, 40%, and 43%, w/w) and gum arabic (0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5%, w/w) solids were prepared. These dispersion droplets were fried, and the physical, sensory, and microstructural characteristics of the fried products were determined. The oil content in the fried snack decreased up to 20.3% when the level of chickpea and/or gum in the dispersions was increased. The compression curve for fried snack showed 5 major zones and exhibited the failure phenomenon. Failure force (6.5 to 11.4 N) increased with chickpea flour in the dispersions. Fracture strain (12.0% to 19.5%) indicated that all the fried samples were soft-crisp products. An increase in chickpea flour concentration offered an ovoid/oblong shape of dispersion droplets while falling to oil, and changed the spherical shape of the fried snack. The near-spherical product could be obtained by using 37% chickpea flour containing 0 to 2% of gum arabic, or with the 40% and 0 to 1% combinations. The hue or dominant wavelength increased from 578.5 nm (flour) to 581.0 to 582.7 nm (product) indicating a shift toward red coloration. A porous microstructure with scattered small cavities and large vacuoles of the fried snack were observed; big vacuoles were located in the inner portion of the fried product. The cells were divided into closed and open cells and were characterized by image analysis. The air cells usually had an elliptical shape with varying sizes; the cell wall thickness was between 12 and 80 μm. An artificial neural network (ANN) structure of 2-9-2 was developed for the prediction of sensory overall acceptability and oil content of the fried snack.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Chickpea flour is used in several food preparations. The addition of gum arabic affects the textural and structural characteristics, and the sensory acceptance; the fried dispersion droplets have a lower fat content when gum arabic is used compared to samples fried without the addition of gum arabic. The fried dispersion droplets change their shape with the level of the ingredients used in the dispersion.

Physicochemical and microstructural characterisation of green gram and foxtail millet starch gels

The starch and starch gels from green gram (GG) and foxtail millet (FM) were characterised for their physicochemical, thermal and microstructural characteristics; the features of shape and size were determined by image analysis. Both GG and FM formed well-set gels at 9% concentration of starch. The fracture strain of the gels was between 78 and 80% indicating non-brittle gels. The peak temperatures of the native flour of GG (74.9 °C) and FM (75.7 °C) were significantly higher than their corresponding starch samples (72.2 and 75.0 °C). The conclusion temperatures of the FM native flour (81.2 °C) and starch (79.4 °C) samples were higher than the native GG flour (79.9 °C) and GG starch (77.1 °C) samples. Starches were nearly spherical as the roundness values were between 0.88 and 0.95. Green gram starch was pentagonal having an average diameter of 3.9-9.2 µm while foxtail millet starch was spherical with a diameter of 4.9-10.1 µm. The freeze-dried GG and FM starch gels showed cellular structure containing organised hexagonal pores, bound by thin pore walls; the GG starch gels deviated from the circular shape as they had the highest elongation value of 4.21. The thicker pore walls were observed for GG starch gels (0.88 μm) compared to that of FM samples (0.57 μm). The higher pore wall thickness in the case of GG gel showed the formation of junction zones.

Membrane fouling in a membrane bioreactor: High filtration resistance of gel layer and its underlying mechanism

A membrane bioreactor (MBR) was continuously operated to investigate mechanisms of fouling caused by the gel layer in this study. Agar was used as a model foulant for gel layer formation, and filtration resistance of gel layers was systematically assessed. The results showed that gel layer possessed unusually high specific filtration resistance (SFR) and high measured porosity as compared with cake layer. Current knowledge cannot explain the contradiction between high filtration resistance and high porosity of gel layer. A new fouling mechanism based on Flory-Huggins theory was then proposed. Filtration resistance of agar gel layer was found to be independent of pH and ionic strength, but linearly increase with gel thickness. The results are accordant with the mechanism deductions. Simulation of the mechanism model showed that the filtration resistance induced by mixing chemical potential variation was comparable to the experimental data of filtration resistance of agar gel layer, indicating that the proposed mechanism is the predominant mechanism responsible for the high filtration resistance of gel layer. The proposed mechanism was further verified from the bound water viewpoint.