Fatty Acid Profile and Thermal Behavior of Fat-Rich Edible Insect Oils Compared to Commonly Consumed Animal and Plant Oils.

This study compared the physicochemical properties of edible insect oils from silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupa (SP), sago palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) larva (PW), and bamboo caterpillar (Omphisa fuscidentalis; BC) to oils from chicken skin (CK), beef back fat (BF), pork back fat (PF), salmon belly (SB), sea bass belly (BB), coconut (C), and peanut (P). The fatty acid profiles and thermal behaviors (crystallization and melting) of the extracted oils were evaluated. PW and BC oils had more saturated fatty acids (SFAs) than CK, PF, SB, BB, and P oils. SP oil had equivalent SFA content to CK and BB oils. Insect oils exhibited similar monounsaturated fatty acid concentrations in all samples, except C oils. PW and BC oils exhibited a higher content of palmitoleic acid than the other oils. SP oils contained polyunsaturated fatty acids similar to those in SB and BB oils, which were higher than those in PW, BC, CK, BF, and PF oils. SP oil also exhibited the highest concentration of α-linolenic acid (C18:3 n-3). Arachidonic acid (0.01-0.02 g/100 g) in all insect oils was lower level compared to CK, BF, PF, SB, and BB oils. SP oil (0.03 g/100 g) exhibited a slightly higher level of eicosapentaenoic acid compared to PW (0.01 g/100 g) and BC (0.01 g/100 g) oils. The insect oils were liquid at ambient temperature, solid below -15°C, and required less energy (△Hm-max) for melting than other samples. This study indicated that insects, particularly SP, could serve as an alternative source of fat to meet its growing demand.

Potential of jackfruit inner skin fibre for encapsulation of probiotics on their stability against adverse conditions.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of jackfruit inner skin fibre (JS) incorporated with whey protein isolate (WPI) and soybean oil (SO) as a wall material for probiotic encapsulation to improve probiotic stability against freeze-drying and gastrointestinal (GI) tract conditions. Bifidobacterium bifidum TISTR2129, Bifidobacterium breve TISTR2130, and Lactobacillus acidophilus TISTR1338 were studied in terms of SCFA production and the antibiotic-resistant profile and in an antagonistic assay to select suitable strains for preparing a probiotic cocktail, which was then encapsulated. The results revealed that B. breve and L. acidophilus can be used effectively as core materials. JS showed the most influential effect on protecting probiotics from freeze-drying. WPI:SO:JS at a ratio of 3.9:2.4:3.7 was the optimized wall material, which provided an ideal formulation with 83.1 ± 6.1% encapsulation efficiency. This formulation presented > 50% probiotic survival after exposure to gastro-intestinal tract conditions. Up to 77.8 ± 0.1% of the encapsulated probiotics survived after 8 weeks of storage at refrigeration temperature. This study highlights a process and formulation to encapsulate probiotics for use as food supplements that could provide benefits to human health as well as an alternative approach to reduce agricultural waste by increasing the value of jackfruit inner skin.

Characteristics and nutritional value of silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupae-fortified chicken bread spread.

This study aimed to apply silkworm pupae (SP) to food product development. The characteristics and sensory acceptance of chicken bread spread fortified with SP at different levels (0%; SP0, 25%; SP25, 50%; SP50, and 75%; SP75) were evaluated. The fat content of the bread spread was significantly increased, whereas the protein content was decreased with increasing levels of SP (p ≤ 0.05). The increased level of SP resulted in the final products being dark in color, as indicated by the significant decrease in L* and the significant increase in a* and b* (p ≤ 0.05). SP50 was accepted by the consumer. Thereafter, the characteristics and sensory acceptance of SP50 with different levels of coconut oil (CO) (100%; SP50-100, 70%; SP50-70, 40%; SP50-40, and 10%; SP50-10 of CO content in the control sample) were studied. The firmness and stickiness increased, whereas TEF decreased with decreasing CO levels, which was related to the decreased spreadability of SP50. SP50-40 obtained satisfactory sensory properties by the consumer. The energy value for SP50-40 was within the normal range for bread spread products. Therefore, SP could be a source of fat and protein for the production of an alternative food product to increase the added value of edible insects.

Impact of steaming pretreatment process on characteristics and antioxidant activities of black garlic (Allium sativum L.).

Impact of steaming pretreatment processes on physical properties, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities, of black garlics (Allium sativum L.) was studied. Steaming pretreatment at different times (0, 4 and 6 min) was conducted before incubating in 60 °C-incubator at different incubation times (0, 9 and 18 days). Different steaming pretreatment processes affected the color and hardness of black garlic differently, while total polyphenol content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were also determined by the steaming pretreatment time used. TPC and TFC increased with increasing of incubating time, where the highest those bioactive compounds was observed from 18-day incubation, especially with 4 min of steaming pretreatment (p ≤ 0.05). Increase of those bioactive compounds was in accordance with increasing of DPPH radical scavenging activity (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of black garlic during incubation. In addition, black garlic obtained from 18-day incubation with steaming pretreated for 4 min revealed the optimum condition providing the black garlic with high in both DPPH and FRAP, compared with others (p ≤ 0.05). Therefore, steaming pretreatment could effectively improve the efficiency of black garlic production process by increase the generation rate of bioactive compounds as well as induce antioxidant properties of black garlic with shorten process time.

Improving the quality of barbecued culled-dairy-goat meat by marination with plant juices and sodium bicarbonate.

Meat from dairy goats is less tender than that from meat goats since generally they are of an older age when culled. The objective of this study was to improve the quality of barbecued culled-dairy-goat by using juices (ginger and pineapple) and sodium bicarbonate (SB). The optimum time (30, 60, 90 min) for marinating the goat meat with ginger and pineapple juices was evaluated. Then, the optimum levels of SB (0, 1, 3, 5%) and the optimum marinating procedure for the application of SB was studied. The results showed that the ginger-marinated samples had a lower cooking loss than the pineapple-marinated samples. The optimum time for marinating the samples with plant juices was 60 min indicated by the lower hardness and chewiness as compared to those of the samples marinated with plant juices for 30 and 90 min. The cooking loss and L* values of the marinated samples significantly decreased with increasing concentrations of SB. The lowest hardness were observed in the samples marinated with pineapple juice containing 3% SB and ginger juice containing 5% SB. The samples marinated with pineapple juice for 60 min and then marinated with a barbecue sauce containing 3% SB for 60 min had a lower cooking loss and hardness as well as higher scores for all sensory attributes compared to the non-juice-marinated meat with SB and the ginger-marinated meat. The results indicate that pineapple juice and SB (3%) can improve the quality of culled dairy-goat-meat, and in particular its texture.

Changes in the Quality of Chicken Breast Meat due to Superchilling and Temperature Fluctuations during Storage.

The aim of this study was to determine the changes in chicken breast meat quality (water-holding capacity, color, texture, myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI), total protein solubility, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total viable count (TVC), and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count) due to storage under superchilling conditions (-1.3°C) and fluctuating temperatures (ranging from -20°C to -5°C) as compared to the quality of meat stored at chilled (2-4°C) and frozen (-20°C) temperatures, respectively. Results indicated that the TVC and LAB count of the chilled and superchilled breast meat increased with storage time. TVC of the chilled and superchilled breast meat reached the safety level of 7 log cfu/g at approximately day 8 and18, respectively. This suggested that the superchilling method extended the storage duration by 10 days. Weight loss and TBARS of the chilled and superchilled samples tended to increase with increasing storage time. The color, texture, protein solubility, and MFI were stable throughout the entire storage period of the chilled (9 days) and superchilled (28 days) samples. Results indicated that while three cycles of storage temperature fluctuation influenced the weight loss and dry matter of the meat, they did not affect the TVC, LAB count, texture, color, pH, MFI, and protein solubility. The superchilling technique (-1.3°C) could extend the shelf-life of meat and maintain the quality of chicken breast meat. Fluctuations in temperature during frozen storage decreased the water-holding capacity of chicken breast meat, indicating that temperature stability should be maintained during frozen storage.

Imaging Analysis by Digital Camera for Separating Broiler Breast Meat with Low Water-Holding Capacity.

Separating breast meat with low water-holding capacity, conformation parameters (thickness, volume, bottom sarea, and perimeter), and color of chicken breast meat were measured by direct measurement and by imaging analysis with a digital camera. Samples were obtained from a production line. The L* value was used to separate the samples by three characteristics designating the quality of the meat: dark-colored samples (L*<50), normal-colored samples (50≤L*≤56), and light-colored samples (L*>56). Light-colored samples had higher moisture content, thawing loss, drip loss, and lower pH compared with those of normal- and dark-colored samples. Lower thickness was observed in the light-colored samples compared with those of normal- and dark-colored samples. Light- and normal-colored samples had a greater volume of meat than did the dark-colored samples. Imaging analysis showed that light-colored samples had a greater bottom area and perimeter compared with those of normal- and dark-colored samples. However, these conformation parameters showed low correlation with water-holding capacity, which was determined as thawing and drip loss of the samples. Therefore, the conformation parameters, determined by direct measurement or imaging analysis, could not be used to predict the water-holding capacity of breast meat. Nevertheless, waterholding capacity showed high correlation with the L* value of breast meat. Imaging analysis could be used to separate light-colored breast meat with mostly low water-holding capacity. The accuracy of determining the characteristics of light-, normal-, and dark-colored samples by imaging analysis was evaluated. The characteristics of light-colored samples were determined with higher accuracy by imaging analysis than were the characteristics of normal- and dark-colored samples. This result indicated that imaging analysis using a digital camera could be used to separate light-colored breast meat with mostly low water-holding capacity from normal- and dark-colored meat.