Plant betalains-mixed active/intelligent films for meat freshness monitoring: A review of the fabrication parameters.

The plant pigments called betalains are nutritionally safe polar compounds. They are subdivided into betaxanthins (having orange to yellow hues) and betacyanins (purple to red violet hues). Betacyanins change color with a change in pH, particularly in the range 6-8 and 9-11. Perishable foods like fish, chicken, beef, pork, and others tend to release total volatile base-nitrogen (TVB-N) during storage or deterioration, which leads to a change in the pH of pH-sensitive materials in the vicinity. pH-sensitive pigment-incorporated polymeric films with inherent active properties (or active/intelligent films) are increasingly being studied as an alternative to synthetic pH indicators to detect the accumulation of TVB-N by changing its color to indicate the stage of perishable food spoilage. There are many methods of developing such films under different conditions using different bio-based biodegradable polymer(s) and biocompatible plasticizer combinations. Among the reported methods, solution casting method has been the preferred one in most studies covered in this review. This method can be carried out under mild conditions. As such, betacyanins-incorporated polymeric films essentially require mild processing conditions because of their heat sensitivity, which will invariably affect the performance in food freshness monitoring. In this review, film fabrication parameters like temperature and duration of dissolution of polymers, plasticizer concentration, pH of the film-forming solution, film drying, and conditioning/aging, have been critically appraised based on the available literature. The lack of studies on the safety of active/intelligent films has been systematically highlighted in this review to focus future studies on this area.

Application of microwave and hydrothermal treatments for modification of cassava starch of Manipur region, India and development of cookies.

The cassava (Manihot esculenta) root provides sustainable cheap source of starch that can be modified using microwave and hydrothermal treatments. The modified starch is of great demand in the market for its varied food applications. The microwave modified wet milling dry chips starch, microwave modified pulp starch (MD-PS), microwave modified dry chips starch were the microwave treated starch obtained from starches of pulp starch (PS), wet milling dry chips starch and dry milling dry chips starch, respectively. On the other hand, by using hydrothermal treatment followed by freeze-drying in PS gave autoclave freeze-dried 10% PS (AF-10PS), autoclave freeze-dried 20% PS (AF-20PS). The physicochemical and functional properties of the samples were investigated. The calorific value of modified starch was found to be 341-358 kcal/100 g. The microwave-modified starch lowered true densities as compared to hydrothermal treated starch. FT-IR spectra of microwave-modified starch confirmed six prominent peaks between 4500-500 cm-1. Thermal treatment affected the digestibility and found lower digestion resistibility in modified starch compared to native starch. The structures of the starch granules were more enzymatically susceptible in hydrothermally modified starch. The microwave-modified starch resulted higher resistant starch as compared to hydrothermally modified starch. The cookies quality using MD-PS was checked by developing with 10-40% level of substitution of wheat flour. Overall cookies acceptability was found above sensory score 5. This study will help to provide functional ingredients that serve health benefit beyond nutrition.

Effect of dual modification sequence on physicochemical, pasting, rheological and digestibility properties of cassava starch modified by acetic acid and ultrasound.

Dual modification of cassava starch was carried out using ultrasonication and acetylation by acetic acid by altering the sequence. The results revealed that the type of modification and sequence of modification for dual modified starches significantly affected the properties of starch. The swelling decreased for all the modified starches whereas solubility decreased for ultrasonicated starches but increased for acetylated starch and dual modified starch where acetylation was done after ultrasonication. The paste viscosities of all the modified starches were found to be significantly lower compared to native starch and the lowest viscosities were observed for dual modified starch where ultrasonication was done after acetylation. The resistant starch and slowly digestible starch content of the modified starches were significantly higher than in native starch, and the type of modification and sequence of modification for dual modified starches seemed to affect the digestibility of starches.