Microstructural modification of papaya tissue during calcium diffusion: Effects on macrostructure level

The microstructural changes in papaya tissue during calcium diffusion, the effect on drying kinetics and texture parameters were investigated. Calcium pretreatment was applied to papaya samples for 3 h, at a solution concentration of 1.5 g Ca(OH)2/100 mL H2O, and a solution temperature of 25 °C; subsequently, the samples were convectively dried at 70 °C, air flow of 1.5 m/s, and a relative humidity of 5 ± 2%. Calcium content was determined using the Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) technique, the microstructure of the samples was analyzed by High-Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (HR-SEM), and the elementary analysis was performed by Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). Effective diffusivity of calcium (DefCa) and moisture (Defw) were calculated during pretreatment and drying, respectively and texture parameters were determined by double compression using a texturometer. The transport mechanism determined during calcium pretreatment was diffusion with a DefCa = 3.10 × 10-10 m2/s. Also, branched calcium microstructures in the cell walls of tissue were observed due to the calcium effect, it was supported by elemental analysis, which showed an increase of calcium in section restructured compared to non-restructured. During drying, Defw = 1.86 × 10-9 m2/s was higher in pretreated compared to non-pretreated samples with Defw = 1.17 × 10-9 m2/s, indicating a higher drying rate and moisture loss. The texture values changed significantly (α ≤ 0.05) due to calcium pretreatment and drying; the calcium microstructures caused higher cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess, and chewiness. Calcium modifies the microstructure and composition of papaya tissue; therefore, drying kinetics and texture parameters depend on this modification.

Effect of gum Arabic and ethanol pretreatments on drying kinetics and quality attributes of dried carrot slices

Carrot is an important root vegetable to the food industry and consumers due to its nutritional and health benefits. Given the high moisture content and low shelf life of fresh carrots, preserving this highly demanded vegetable is vital. This current research modelled the drying kinetics and evaluated the quality of ultrasonic-assisted gum Arabic and ethanol pretreated and oven-dried carrot slices. Fresh carrots were processed into thin slices and immersed in 3% gum Arabic (GA), ethanol (99.9%), and distilled water (control), followed by ultrasonication (frequency: 50 Hz, power: 500 W, temperature: 25 °C) for 10 min and drying in a hot air oven at 50 °C. The loss of moisture from the carrots was periodically recorded, converted to moisture ratio before fitted to eleven semi-theoretical thin layer drying mathematical models. The effects of the pretreatments on the retention of bioactive compounds and carrots' physical and chemical properties were also evaluated. From the tested models, the Diffusion, Modified Henderson and Pabis, and Two-term models showed the best fitting (R² = 0.9944-0.9985; RSME = 0.0103-0.0227) to the experimental data from 3% GA and ethanol pretreated carrots, while control samples followed the Aghbasho model (R² = 0.9999; RMSE = 0.0033). Overall, the 3% GA pretreated carrot slices exhibited better colour (yellowness: 25.82-34.50; total colour differences: 8.12-13.06), water activity (0.37-0.44), total phenolic content (1.34-2.99 mg GAE/100 g DM), β-carotene (7.63-13.07 mg/100 g DM), and DPPH radical scavenging activity (5.67-8.02 mM AAE/100 g DM) than ethanol pretreated carrot slices and control samples. At the same time, 3 % GA pretreatment did not affect the drying rate of the carrot slices. The total soluble solids/titratable acidity ratio, rehydration capacity, and shrinkage ratio did not significantly (p > 0.05) vary among the treatments. The findings of this study can be used to develop an optimal drying protocol for pretreated carrot slices and to produce shelf-stable carrot products that can be used dried, rehydrated, or in combination with other products.

Impact of Gum Arabic Coating Pretreatment on Quality Attributes of Oven-Dried Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) Fruit

The present study evaluated the effect of gum arabic (GA) edible coating pretreatment on the quality of dried red raspberries. Red raspberries were independently pretreated with varied concentrations of GA (3, 5, and 10% (w/v) by dipping for 2 min before oven-drying at 60 °C until the moisture content was below 8% (18–24 h). Raspberries dipped in distilled water were used as the control samples. Quality attributes including colour, moisture content, water activity (aw), hardness, hygroscopicity, rehydration capacity, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), pH, anthocyanin composition, ascorbic acid (AA) content, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity, peroxidase (POD), and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme activity were investigated. GA pretreatment of the raspberries improved the aw (lower), hardness (lower), TSS, TSS/TA ratio, BrimA, AA content, and TPC, whilst it significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the colour properties (redness, chroma, hue angle, and total colour differences) and the total anthocyanin content when compared with the control samples. The DPPH radical scavenging activity, POD, and PPO enzymes residual activities were not significantly (p > 0.05) affected by GA pretreatment. Five different types of anthocyanins, including cyanidin dihexoside, cyanidin 3-O-galactoside, cyanidin 3-O-glucosyl-rutinoside, and cyanidin 3-O-rutinoside were identified and quantified with cyanidin dihexoside being the primary anthocyanin, varying from 951.18–1053.70 µg/g DM. GA pretreatment of raspberries between 3 and 5% could result in improved physicochemical, antioxidant properties and minimum loss of anthocyanins.

Effects of different freezing methods on calcium enriched papaya (Carica papaya L.)

The effect of calcium impregnation on drip loss, colour, mechanical properties, sensory perception and freezing time on frozen-thawed papaya was studied, evaluating different freezing methods: cryogenic, tunnel and household freezer freezing. Osmotic dehydration as pre-treatment was also evaluated. Freezing in liquid nitrogen was considered an inappropriate method for papaya preservation due to cracking. Calcium impregnation and osmotic dehydration increased tissue firmness and decreased freezing time (freezing time for fresh, calcium impregnated and osmo-dehydrated fruit was 23, 17 and 5 min in a tunnel and 118, 83 and 60 min in a household freezer, respectively). Calcium lactate was the most effective way to protect tissue's firmness before and after a freeze-thaw cycle (maximum stress values approx. 300-400% of the raw tissue for tunnel freezing and 260% for household freezer). Microstructure analysis showed better tissue integrity retention in papaya samples impregnated with calcium lactate than in those with calcium gluconate, after a freezing-thawing cycle, in agreement with the drip loss results. In spite of these results, consumers preferred frozen papaya without pre-treatment or impregnated with calcium gluconate.

Influence of wet heating and autoclaving on chemical composition and standardized ileal crude protein and amino acid digestibility in full-fat soybeans for pigs

One batch each of eight full-fat soybeans (FFSB) was used to determine the effect of different heat treatments including wet heating (WH) and autoclaving (AC) on chemical composition and standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of CP and AA in growing pigs. The raw FFSB (K0) were either treated by WH at 80°C for 1 min (K1), at 100°C for 6 min (K2), or at 100°C for 16 min (K3). Thereafter, these batches were expanded at 125°C for 15 s. A further heat treatment included AC at 110°C for 15 (Z1), 30 (Z2), 45 (Z3), or 60 (Z4) min of FFSB that were subjected to the same WH treatment as K3. Diets were formulated to contain the respective FFSB as the sole source of CP and AA. A N-free diet was used to measure basal endogenous losses of CP and AA in an additional period at the end of the experiment. Eight ileally cannulated pigs (28 ± 1 kg) were allocated to a row-column design with 8 diets and 6 periods of 7 d each. An increase in the duration of WH had no effect on contents of AA (% of CP) and NDF, but NDIN contents linearly increased ( < 0.05) with increasing time for WH. Autoclaving resulted in a linear decrease ( < 0.05) of trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA), contents of Arg, Leu, Ala, Asp, Cys, and Gly as well as Lys to CP ratio (Lys:CP), reactive Lys to CP ratio (rLys:CP), and in an increase ( < 0.05) in contents of NDF and NDIN. There was a quadratic response ( < 0.05) of SID of CP and AA as time for WH at 100°C increased from 0 (K0) to 6 (K2) up to 16 (K3) min. Moreover, a quadratic response ( < 0.05) to increasing time of AC was observed for SID of Arg, Phe, and Pro. The SID of CP and all indispensable AA showed a quadratic response ( < 0.05) to decreasing TIA, urease activity, protein solubility in 0.2% potassium hydroxide, protein dispersibility index, Lys:CP, (lightness), and to increasing NDIN and (redness). In addition, there was a linear increase ( < 0.05) in SID values with decreasing rLys:CP and increasing NDF contents. In conclusion, WH proved to be suitable for increasing SID values. Further improvement of SID of most AA could be achieved on additional AC treatment from Z1 to Z3, however, it needs to be considered, if the observed increase due to AC is cost effective in view of the additional production costs. Several chemical and physical parameters can be used in the feed industry for quality control purposes to predict the extent of heat damage on SID of CP and indispensable AA in FFSB.

Changes in physicochemical properties related to the texture of lotus rhizomes subjected to heat blanching and calcium immersion

Pretreatments such as low temperature blanching and/or calcium soaking affect the cooked texture of vegetal food. In the work, lotus rhizomes (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) were pretreated using the following 4 treatments, blanching at 40°C, blanching at 90°C, soaking in 0.5% CaCl2, and blanching at 40°C followed by immersion in 0.5% CaCl2. Subsequently, the cell wall material of pretreated samples was isolated and fractioned to identify changes in the degree of esterification (DE) and monosaccharide content of each section, and the texture of the lotus rhizomes in different pre-treatments was determined after thermal processing with different time. The results showed that the greatest hardness was obtained after blanching at 40°C in CaCl2, possibly attributing to the formation of a pectate calcium network, which maintains the integrity of cell walls. Furthermore, the content of galactose, rhamnose and arabinose decreased due to the breakage of sugar backbones and subsequent damage to cell walls. Our results may provide a reference for lotus rhizome processing.

Compositional and functional dynamics of dried papaya as affected by storage time and packaging material

Papaya has been identified as a valuable source of nutrients and antioxidants, which are beneficial for human health. To preserve the nutritional properties after drying, appropriate storage specifications should be considered. This study aimed to investigate the quality and stability of air-dried papaya in terms of quality dynamics and behavior of bio-active compounds during storage for up to 9 months in two packaging materials: aluminum laminated polyethylene and polyamide/polyethylene. Samples with moisture content (MC) of 0.1328 g g(-1) and water activity (aw) of 0.5 were stored at 30 °C and relative humidity (RH) of 40-50%. The MC, aw, degree of browning (DB) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content were found to notably increase as storage progressed. On the contrary, there was a significant decrease in antioxidant capacity (DPPH, FRAP and ABTS), total phenolic (TP) and ascorbic acid (AA) contents. Packaging in aluminum laminated polyethylene under ambient conditions was found to better preserve bio-active compounds and retard increases in MC, aw and DB, when compared to polyamide/polyethylene.