Use of diabetic test kits to assess the recovery of glucosinolates during isolation of canola protein

Purification of Sucrose in Sugar Beet Molasses by Utilizing Ceramic Nanofiltration and Ultrafiltration Membranes

Molasses is a sugar mill by-product with low value that today is used primarily for animal feed. However, molasses contains large amounts of sucrose which, if purified, could be used for other purposes. In this study, purification by membrane filtration using ceramic tubular ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) was examined. NF purifies sucrose by removing small compounds, whereas UF removes larger compounds. Based on our results, high filtration fluxes could be obtained, and it was possible to clean the membranes sufficiently from fouling compounds. Sucrose was separated from other compounds, but the separation efficiency was generally higher with diluted molasses compared with concentrated molasses. This could be explained by more severe fouling when filtering dilute molasses or potentially due to aggregate formations in the molasses as our analysis showed. Overall, this study shows the potential of ceramic UF and NF membranes for sucrose purification from molasses.

Glucose: Detection and analysis

Glucose is an aldosic monosaccharide that is centrally entrenched in the processes of photosynthesis and respiration, serving as an energy reserve and metabolic fuel in most organisms. As both a monomer and as part of more complex structures such as polysaccharides and glucosides, glucose also plays a major role in modern food products, particularly where flavor and or structure are concerned. Over the years, many diverse methods for detecting and quantifying glucose have been developed; this review presents an overview of the most widely employed and historically significant, including copper iodometry, HPLC, GC, CZE, and enzyme based systems such as glucose meters. The relative strengths and limitations of each method are evaluated, and examples of their recent application in the realm of food chemistry are discussed.

Binding of carbonyl flavours to canola, pea and wheat proteins using GC/MS approach

Interactions of homologous aldehydes (hexanal, heptanal, and octanal) and ketones (2-hexanone, 2-heptanone, and 2-octanone) to salt and alkaline-extracted canola and pea proteins and commercial wheat gluten were studied using GC/MS. Long-chain aldehyde flavours exhibited higher binding affinity, regardless of protein type and isolation method. Salt-extracted canola protein isolates (CPIs) revealed the highest binding capacity to all aldehydes followed by wheat gluten and salt-extracted pea protein isolates (PPIs), while binding of ketone flavours decreased in the order: PPIs>wheat gluten>CPIs. Two aldolisation products, 2-butyl-2-octenal and 2-pentyl-2-nonenal, were detected from the interactions between CPIs with hexanal and heptanal, respectively. Protein thermal behaviour in the presence of these compounds was analysed by differential scanning calorimeter, where decreased ΔH inferred potential conformational changes due to partial denaturation of PPIs. Compared to ketones, aldehyde flavours possessed much higher "unfolding capacity" (lower ΔH), which accounted for their higher binding affinities.

Canola proteins for human consumption: extraction, profile, and functional properties

Canola protein isolate has been suggested as an alternative to other proteins for human food use due to a balanced amino acid profile and potential functional properties such as emulsifying, foaming, and gelling abilities. This is, therefore, a review of the studies on the utilization of canola protein in human food, comprising the extraction processes for protein isolates and fractions, the molecular character of the extracted proteins, as well as their food functional properties. A majority of studies were based on proteins extracted from the meal using alkaline solution, presumably due to its high nitrogen yield, followed by those utilizing salt extraction combined with ultrafiltration. Characteristics of canola and its predecessor rapeseed protein fractions such as nitrogen yield, molecular weight profile, isoelectric point, solubility, and thermal properties have been reported and were found to be largely related to the extraction methods. However, very little research has been carried out on the hydrophobicity and structure profiles of the protein extracts that are highly relevant to a proper understanding of food functional properties. Alkaline extracts were generally not very suitable as functional ingredients and contradictory results about many of the measured properties of canola proteins, especially their emulsification tendencies, have also been documented. Further research into improved extraction methods is recommended, as is a more systematic approach to the measurement of desired food functional properties for valid comparison between studies.