Use of sunflower seed in food products

A review on protein extracts from sunflower cake: techno-functional properties and promising modification methods

De-oiled sunflower cake is a sustainable and promising protein source with high phenolic and fiber contents. The cake, which is an industrial by-product has been the subject of many studies investigating various aspects such as protein extraction, functional properties, interaction with other ingredients, and its performance in a wide range of food products. Innovative and conventional techniques of protein extraction from sunflower cake have been investigated to increase extraction yield and improve desired functional characteristics. Modulation of structure of plant-based proteins helps to control their techno-functional properties and widen their applications. Structure modification of proteins by physical methods including ultrasound treatment and gamma irradiation as well as enzymatic and chemical methods has been used to improve the functional properties of sunflower protein. This review collects and critically discusses the available information on techno-functional properties of protein extracts from sunflower cake and how its techno-functional properties can be tailored using various structure modification methods.

Fungicide Treatments to Control Seed-borne Fungi of Sunflower Seeds

Seed-borne fungi in 69 sunflower cultivars were evaluated which comprised 52 confectionery and 17 oilseed types. Seed coats were placed on both NP-10 (Nonylphenol Ethoxylate based surfacant −10) and potato dextrose agar (PDA) media to culture fungi. The rate of contamination among the different varieties was calculated by counting seed coats with fungal colonies. The rate of contamination in the confectionary group (88%) was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher than in the oilseed group (71%). Of the 52 confectionery varieties, the dominant fungi recovered were Verticillium dahliae along with Alternaria spp., Fusarium spp., and Rhizopus spp., whereas the oilseed type varieties were contaminated with only V. dahliae. Molecular identification of fungal species via BLAST (Basic Alignment Search Tool) was performed on fungal sequences obtained from PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) analysis. The results included five Alternaria spp. that included Alternaria tenuissima, Alternaria alternata, Alternaria helianthiinficiens, Alternaria longipes, and Alternaria tamaricis, three Fusarium spp. such as Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium incarnatum, and Fusarium proliferatum, and V. dahliae and Cladosporium cladosporioides. These were identified from pure fungal cultures recovered from seed coats. To efficiently control seed-borne fungi, four broad spectrum fungicides (carbendazim, triadimefon, caprio F-500, and flusilazole) were screened against V. dahliae isolate Gn3, which was isolated from a diseased LD 5009 sunflower plant. Flusilazole was selected based on its low half-maximal effective concentration value (EC₅₀), 78.7 µg/mL. Seeds of diseased LD 5009 plants obtained from two different locations treated with formulated flusilazole fungicide at optimum parameters showed a significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase in seed germination and a decrease in contamination rate from 98% to less than 10%. The results affirmed that confectionery cultivars are much more susceptible to fungal contamination than oilseeds, and also that seed pretreatment is a suitable way to prevent the spread of soil- and seed-borne fungi in sunflower production.

In vitro mutagenicity assay (Ames test) and phytochemical characterization of seeds oil of Helianthus annuus Linné (sunflower)

The objective of this research was to investigate the genotoxic potential of the oil of H. annuus L. (sunflower) seeds via the Ames test as well as its oxidative properties and lipid composition. The pre-incubation method, system metabolic activation (S9 fraction) and five S. typhimurium strains (TA97, TA98, TA100, TA1535 and TA102) were employed for the Ames test. The oxidative stability and fatty acid composition were analyzed by standard methods and gas chromatography. A revertant analysis showed no significant differences between the treatment doses (10–200 μl/plate) and the negative controls, regardless of S9⁺ and S9⁻, and included all of the S. typhimurium strains. Chromatographic analysis showed high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, followed by monounsaturated, saturated and total trans-isomers. Among the polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids, linoleic, oleic and palmitic acids predominated. The results suggest that the sunflower oil is not genotoxic as indicated by frameshift mutations and base pair substitutions regardless of the treatment dose, but shows dose-dependent toxicity. The oxidative properties of the sunflower oil were consistent with the requirements of national and international standards. However, its composition could also indicate phytotherapeutic properties.

Genetic diversity and population structure in cultivated sunflower and a comparison to its wild progenitor, Helianthus annuus L

Crop germplasm collections are valuable resources for ongoing plant breeding efforts. To fully utilize such collections, however, researchers need detailed information about the amount and distribution of genetic diversity present within collections. Here, we report the results of a population genetic analysis of the primary gene pool of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) based on a broad sampling of 433 cultivated accessions from North America and Europe, as well as a range-wide collection of 24 wild sunflower populations. Gene diversity across the cultivars was 0.47, as compared with 0.70 in the wilds, indicating that cultivated sunflower harbors roughly two-thirds of the total genetic diversity present in wild sunflower. Population structure analyses revealed that wild sunflower can be subdivided into four genetically distinct population clusters throughout its North American range, whereas the cultivated sunflower gene pool could be split into two main clusters separating restorer lines from the balance of the gene pool. Use of a maximum likelihood method to estimate the contribution of the wild gene pool to the cultivated sunflower germplasm revealed that the bulk of the cultivar diversity is derived from two wild sunflower population genetic clusters that are primarily composed of individuals from the east-central United States, the same general region in which sunflower domestication is believed to have occurred. We also identified a nested subset of accessions that capture as much of the allelic diversity present within the sampled cultivated sunflower germplasm collection as possible. At the high end, a core set of 288 captured nearly 90% of the alleles present in the full set of 433, whereas a core set of just 12 accessions was sufficient to capture nearly 50% of the total allelic diversity present within this sample of cultivated sunflower.

Nutritional enrichment of bakery products by supplementation with nonwheat flours

Bakery products are important ready-to-eat processed foods. The nutritional quality of these products is low because of the inferior nutritional composition of wheat grain per se. This is further accentuated with the use of refined flours in their preparations. Nutritional composition of these products can be improved by using quality wheat for milling, increased extraction rates, air classification of flours to obtain protein-rich nonwheat flours and their products. The flours and protein products of legumes, oilseeds, other cereals, tubers, corn gluten and germ, and rice bran can be used effectively as vegetable protein sources for nutritional enrichment of the bakery products. In this article, recent literature concerning the nutritional composition of major bakery products, sources of vegetable proteins for product enrichment, and modifications in conventional processing methods to maintain the rheological and sensory properties of supplemented bakery products are reviewed critically.

Preparation and application of vegetable proteins, especially proteins from sunflower seed, for human consumption. An approach

About 80% of the world protein production are of vegetable origin. More than half the vegetable protein is fed to animals, whereas merely 10 kg protein per capita are obtained from meat, milk and eggs per year. Therefore, and because of rising prices for raw materials and energy the production and the firsthand utilisation of proteinacous plants for foodstuffs are a worldwide problem. As future source of protein for human nutrition sunflower seed and oil extraction residues from sunflower seed, respectively, are of great significance. Sunflower seed does not contain anti-nutritive and toxical compounds. After crossing of species having a high oil content, the today cultivated sunflower hybrids bring seeds containing 17-22% crude protein and 30-52% oil. The cultivation also has led to a considerable reduction of the hull content. In processing of sunflower proteins colour problems occur resulting from finely ground particles of dark hulls and from polyphenolic acids which are easily oxidized and converted into brown polymerics. Essential components of the sunflower protein production are, therefore, the at least 98% dehulling before processing as well as the separation of polyphenolic acids and/or the prevention of their oxidation. In principle, the variation and combination of technological steps in pre-treating and defatting of sunflower seed, in extracting, precipitating, washing and drying of proteins, the chemical modification of proteins obtained, the interaction with neutral salts or complexing agents, and the admixture of lysine or proteins of high lysine content allow to adapt sunflower proteins to each type of application.

Protein-polyphenol reactions. 1. Nutritional and metabolic consequences of the reaction between oxidized caffeic acid and the lysine residues of casein

1. Studies were made on the lysine content of casein reacted with caffeic acid oxidized aerobically under alkaline conditions of enzymically with tyrosinase (EC 1. 14. 18. 1). 2. Loss of fluorodinitrobenzene (FDNB)-reactive lysine was rapid at pH 10 and increased with time and the temperature of the reaction, with concentration of caffeic acid and with the oxygenation of the mixture. In presence of the enzyme mushroom tyrosinase, maximum reduction of reactive lysine occurred at pH 7 and was dependent on the reaction time and on the concentration of caffeic acid. 3. Reaction of alpha-formyl-LO-[U-14C]lysine with caffeic acid at pH 10 showed the rapid formation of five reaction products which appeared to polymerize gradually as the reaction progressed. 4. The nutritionally available lysine content of the casein-caffeic acid mixtures, as assayed with rats, was reduced after both alkaline and enzyme reactions, as were faecal digestibility, net protein ratio and net protein utilization. Biological value however was not reduced. 5. In metabolic studies using goat milk casein labelled with L-[3H]lysine and reacted with caffeic acid in the same way, the lysine-caffeoquinone reaction products were not absorbed by the rat but were excreted directly in the faeces. 6. The importance of the reaction of proteins with caffeoquinone and chlorogenoquinone (formed by the oxidation of caffeic and chlorogenic acids respectively) is discussed in relation to the production of sunflower protein, leaf protein and other vegetable-protein concentrates.

Functionality of vegetable proteins other than soy

In addition to the soybean, many other sources of vegetable protein have potential to provide a broad spectrum of functional properties. Among these sources are cottonseed, peanut, sunflower, and rapeseed. As with soy, the functional characteristics vary with the type of product, e.g., flour, concentrate, or isolate. In this discussion, functionality is defined as the set of properties that contributes to the desired color, flavor, texture, or nutritive value of a product. Utilization of these alternate sources of vegetable proteins will depend upon availability, economics of the product in any given country, and on the uniqueness and desirability of the functional properties of the product.

Bound quinic acid as a measure of coupling of leaf and sunflower-seed proteins with chlorogenic acid congeners: loss of availability of lysine

Changes were studied in the bulk protein of tobacco leaves, lucerne shoots and sunflower‐seed kernels subjected to aerobic autolysis at room temperature. Bulk‐protein fractions from cigar and from commercial sunflower‐seed meal were also examined. Quinic acid, released by cold alkaline hydrolysis, was used as a measure of binding of chlorogenic acid residues to the proteins. On aerobic autolysis, the proteins of the leafy materials underwent some proteolysis; chlorogenic acid residues became bound to the protein, with concomitant diminution of free chlorogenic acid. The proteins showed browning, increased ultraviolet absorption and diminished content and “chemical availability” of lysine. However, during aerobic autolysis, the bulk protein of sunflower‐seed kernels did not couple appreciably with the chlorogenic acid congeners present; the above accompanying phenomena were also largely absent. It is concluded that, when protein‐rich plant materials are to be fed to monogastric animals, and particularly when their lysine content is critical, more attention should be paid to effects of the polyphenols and polyphenol oxidases present in the original plant.