Evaluating the 3D printability of pearl millet flour with banana pulp blends.

BACKGROUND: Three-dimensional (3D) food printing is a promising method for developing nutritious snack foods with complex and customized structures. In this study, to develop a pearl millet-based snack formulation, the printability of pearl millet flour (PMF) was assessed, without and with the addition of banana pulp (BP), a natural taste and flavor enhancer, at five different levels (PMF:BP of 100:0, 80:20, 60:40, 40:60, 20:80 and 0:100). RESULTS: The water activity significantly decreased with increases in the proportion of BP; higher water activity was exhibited at 100:0 (0.99). The BP proportion influences all the color values (redness: 2-11; yellowness: 17-31.87; total color difference: 2-17). All formulations exhibited shear-thinning behavior (n = 0.02-0.49) and higher hardness (0.2-0.4 N), but not all were printable. A significant decrease in adhesiveness (-0.2 to -0.03 N s) and higher storage modulus (2000-6000 Pa) occurred with an increased proportion of BP. Findings from detailed rheological behavior assessment (static, dynamic and three-interval thixotropy tests) better correlated with trends observed during 3D extrusion printing. The highest yield stress was attained (80 Pa) in the 100:0 formulation. From the thixotropy test, more deformation (>80%) and recovery (>100%) were attained by three of the formulations (100:0, 80:20, 60:40). Overall, the best constructs were obtained (based on the visual sensory characteristics) for the 60:40 formulation printed at 600 mm min-1 printing speed and 240 rpm extrusion motor speed through a 1.22 mm nozzle. CONCLUSION: The findings of this work will provide valuable insights into the development of novel millet-based 3D printed foods. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Engineering Inhalable Therapeutic Particles: Conventional and Emerging Approaches.

Respirable particles are integral to effective inhalable therapeutic ingredient delivery, demanding precise engineering for optimal lung deposition and therapeutic efficacy. This review describes different physicochemical properties and their role in determining the aerodynamic performance and therapeutic efficacy of dry powder formulations. Furthermore, advances in top-down and bottom-up techniques in particle preparation, highlighting their roles in tailoring particle properties and optimizing therapeutic outcomes, are also presented. Practices adopted for particle engineering during the past 100 years indicate a significant transition in research and commercial interest in the strategies used, with several innovative concepts coming into play in the past decade. Accordingly, this article highlights futuristic particle engineering approaches such as electrospraying, inkjet printing, thin film freeze drying, and supercritical processes, including their prospects and associated challenges. With such technologies, it is possible to reshape inhaled therapeutic ingredient delivery, optimizing therapeutic benefits and improving the quality of life for patients with respiratory diseases and beyond.

Modeling and Simulation of 3D Food Printing Systems-Scope, Advances, and Challenges.

Food 3D printing is a computer-aided additive manufacturing technology that can transform foods into intricate customized forms. In the past decade, this field has phenomenally advanced and one pressing need is the development of strategies to support process optimization. Among different approaches, a range of modeling methods have been explored to simulate 3D printing processes. This review details the concepts of various modeling techniques considered for simulating 3D printing processes and their application range. Most modeling studies majorly focus on predicting the mechanical behavior of the material supply, modifying the internal texture of printed constructs, and assessing the post-printing stability. The approach can also be used to simulate the dynamics of 3D printing processes, in turn, assisting the design of 3D printers based on material composition, properties, and printing conditions. While most existing works are associated with extrusion-based 3D printing, this article presents scope for expanding avenues with prominent research and commercial interest. The article concludes with challenges and research needs, emphasizing opportunities for computational and data-driven dynamic simulation approaches for multi-faceted applications.

3D Printing Approach to Valorization of Agri-Food Processing Waste Streams.

With increasing evidence of their relevance to resource recovery, waste utilization, zero waste, a circular economy, and sustainability, food-processing waste streams are being viewed as an aspect of both research and commercial interest. Accordingly, different approaches have evolved for their management and utilization. With excellent levels of customization, three-dimensional (3D) printing has found numerous applications in various sectors. The focus of this review article is to explain the state of the art, innovative interventions, and promising features of 3D printing technology for the valorization of agri-food processing waste streams. Based on recent works, this article covers two aspects: the conversion of processing waste streams into edible novel foods or inedible biodegradable materials for food packing and allied applications. However, this application domain cannot be limited to only what is already established, as there are ample prospects for several other application fields intertwining 3D food printing and waste processing. In addition, this article presents the key merits of the technology and emphasizes research needs and directions for future work on this disruptive technology, specific to food-printing applications.

Effect of 3D printing conditions and post-printing fermentation on pearl millet fortified idli.

BACKGROUND: Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an emerging technology with numerous applications in the development of novel foods to meet personalized and special dietary needs. Using 3D printing, foods with modified textures and consistency can be prepared conveniently. In this work, an indigenous rice-black gram batter was fortified with pearl millet flour and 3D printed in the in-house developed extrusion-based food printer, Controlled Additive-manufacturing Robotic Kit (CARK™). The impact of material supply composition was investigated along with optimization of different printing parameters and an in-depth analysis of post-printing fermentation kinetics was undertaken. The shape changes in the 3D printed constructs during fermentation were analyzed using a pixel-count-based image-processing technique that correlates with the change in surface area. RESULTS: The addition of millet flour resulted in accelerated fermentation. At 20% w/w level, better printability with higher precision and layer definition was obtained at 800 mm min-1 of printing speed, 360 rpm extrusion motor speed, and 1.22 mm nozzle diameter with an extrusion rate of 15.57 mm3  s-1 . The constructs of pearl millet flour (PMF) fortified idli batter have shown good structural stability and creep recovery. Fermentation-assisted shape change was found to be significantly influenced by infill levels. Both raw and steamed constructs with 40% infill showed around 37% lower hardness than 100% infill constructs due to a porous inner structure with reduced expansion in the surface area/volume during fermentation. CONCLUSION: The results of the study provide insights into the scope of printing fermented foods through the food-to-food fortification approach and textural modification of foods using 3D printing by varying the infill levels. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Microfluidic assessment of nutritional biomarkers: Concepts, approaches and advances.

Among various approaches to understand the health status of an individual, nutritional biomarkers can provide valuable information, particularly in terms of deficiencies, if any, and their severity. Commonly, the approach revolves around molecular sciences, and the information gained can support prognosis, diagnosis, remediation, and impact assessment of therapies. Microfluidic platforms can offer benefits of low sample and reagent requirements, low cost, high precision, and lower detection limits, with simplicity in handling and the provision for complete automation and integration with information and communication technologies (ICTs). While several advances are being made, this work details the underlying concepts, with emphasis on different point-of-care devices for the analysis of macro and micronutrient biomarkers. In addition, the scope of using different wearable microfluidic sensors for real-time and noninvasive determination of biomarkers is detailed. While several challenges remain, a strong focus is given on recent advances, presenting the state-of-the-art of this field. With more such biomarkers being discovered and commercialization-driven research, trends indicate the wide prospects of this advancing field in supporting clinicians, food technologists, nutritionists, and others.

Improvement of nutrient bioavailability in millets: Emphasis on the application of enzymes.

Millets are a traditional staple food of the dryland regions of the world and are rich in essential nutrients like protein, fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, and dietary fiber. Also, millets commonly synthesize a range of secondary metabolites to protect themselves against adverse conditions. These factors are collectively termed anti-nutritional factors and the existence of these factors in millets might reduce the accessibility of the nutrients in humans. Some of these factors include protease inhibitors, tannins, non-starch polysaccharides-glucans, phytates, and oxalates each of which might directly or indirectly affect the digestibility of nutrients. Methods like soaking, germination, autoclaving, debranning, and the addition of exogenous enzymes have been used to reduce the anti-nutritional factors and elevate the bioavailability of the nutrients. This review summarizes various methods that have been used to improve nutrient bioavailability, specifically emphasizing the use of enzymes to improve nutrient bioavailability from millets. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Multilayer packaging: Advances in preparation techniques and emerging food applications.

In recent years, with advantages of versatility, functionality, and convenience, multilayer food packaging has gained significant interest. As a single entity, multilayer packaging combines the benefits of each monolayer in terms of enhanced barrier properties, mechanical integrity, and functional properties. Of late, apart from conventional approaches such as coextrusion and lamination, concepts of nanotechnology have been used in the preparation of composite multilayer films with improved physical, chemical, and functional characteristics. Further, emerging techniques such as ultraviolet and cold plasma treatments have been used in manufacturing films with enhanced performance through surface modifications. This work provides an up-to-date review on advancements in the preparation of multilayer films for food packaging applications. This includes critical considerations in design, risk of interaction between the package and the food, mathematical modeling and simulation, potential for scale-up, and costs involved. The impact of in-package processing is also explained considering cases of nonthermal processing and advanced thermal processing. Importantly, challenges associated with degradability and recycling multilayer packages and associated implications on sustainability have been discussed.

Empirical characterization of hydration behavior of Indian paddy varieties by physicochemical characterization and kinetic studies.

Temperature is an important factor in the determination of hydration kinetics in paddy, and it varies with variety. To understand this hydration behavior, the current study analyses the hydration kinetics of 12 different paddy varieties of India that were exposed to different soaking temperatures. The protein content of the paddy samples was found to be in the range of 6.13 to 9.19%; whereas, starch content was between 67.79 and 84.88%. The physicochemical composition of paddy varieties as well as variation in time-temperature of hydration was found to be decisive in ascertaining the hydration behavior. An increased hydration rate was observed with increasing hydration temperature as well as with higher amylose content of paddy. Among the varieties studied, the ratio of amylose to amylopectin was between 0.37 and 0.77. For all samples, the gelatinization temperature was in the range of 65.60 to 83.10 °C, which in turn was negatively correlated with amylose content, and influenced the hydration behavior of paddy. The optimum time-temperature condition range for hydration for each paddy variety was between 50 and 60°C for 2 to 3.5 hr, depending upon the variety. The activation energy for the paddy samples in this investigation was found to be in the range of 8.70 to 23.10 kJ/mol. The kinetic modeling of hydration was conducted using Peleg's model, with a good fit. The data indicated that with increment in hydration temperature, the rate of hydration was enhanced in all varieties with a decrease in the Peleg's rate constant (K1 ) and capacity constant (K2 ). These constants indicate a direct temperature-dependence of water absorption in paddy. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The hydration of paddy is an important procedure in paddy processing, and across the world, many industries are working on it. Irrespective of the variety, paddy processing globally has remained tricky. Knowledge about the hydration behavior of paddy would enable food processors to better understand the effect of process parameters and to model their experimental setup to obtain the desired physicochemical attributes, as well as process yield. Customers would benefit from adequately processed paddy with better digestibility for which industry would have to invest less in terms of time and resources, thereby making the hydrated paddy more affordable.

Encapsulation of Nutraceutical Ingredients in Liposomes and Their Potential for Cancer Treatment.

At present, cancer is one of the major diseases in the world affecting numerous lives. There have been various approaches to combat the disease, particularly involving chemical interventions (chemotherapy). However, owing to serious side effects of chemotherapy, employment of natural supplements in cancer therapy has been long desired. Nutraceuticals are currently being studied as a medicament, to act as both preventive and curative measure. Nutraceuticals provide both nutrition and therapeutic benefits; besides, they are natural and biocompatible, and therefore pose no side effects. This facilitates their ready acceptance as dietary supplements with no requirements of special dosage and concerns over long-term usage. Nutraceuticals can be derived from the natural resources such as spices, fruits, vegetables, and plants. However, nutraceuticals are vulnerable to environmental stresses that necessitate encapsulation for long-term storage and required bioavailability. The review collates the findings on encapsulated nutraceuticals in liposomes for cancer therapy. The article provides a coherent overview of the research conducted on liposomal administration of nutraceuticals to target various forms of cancer, explaining the advances made.