Effect of alternative sweetener and carbohydrate polymer mixtures on the physical properties, melting and crystallization behaviour of dark compound chocolate

This study aims to evaluate the effect of sucrose replacer mixtures (erythritol, mannitol, or tagatose in combination with inulin or polydextrose) on the crystal morphology, particle size distribution, rheology, melting properties, and fat polymorphism of dark compound chocolate. The result showed that the replacer mixture's hygroscopicity, particle size, and sugar crystal shape might significantly impact dark compound chocolate's rheological and textural properties but had no substantial impact on the melting properties and fat crystallization. Mannitol-containing samples exhibited the highest rheological value, likely related to their high moisture content, small particle size, and elongated crystal shape. Due to the similar specific surface area and comparable D90 value, the sample containing erythritol-polydextrose mixture resulted in a similar (P ≥ 0.05) Casson yield value (46.184 ± 2.45 Pa) compared to the sample containing sucrose (38.348 ± 1.68 Pa). It could be a potential sucrose replacer in the dark compound chocolate.

Characterization and modeling of diffusion kinetics of rosemary oleoresin extract from gellan gum-based film

Fresh food products are highly prone to oxidation and microbial attack, rendering them unsuitable for consumption. Thus, active food packaging was developed to protect and prolong food shelf-life. Zein/gellan gum (GG) based active film is developed by incorporating rosemary oleoresin extract (ROE) (0-20%). The films were characterized by their barrier and antioxidant properties. The release behavior of ROE in fatty and hydrophilic food stimulants was investigated via mathematical modeling. The active films incorporated with 20% ROE have significantly higher oxygen barrier and oxygen transfer is reduced by 20% compared to the control. A tortuous path is created with ROE, which impedes oxygen movement across the film. ROE addition improved water resistance performance by reducing the active film swelling ratio by 31%. This improvement is attributed to the hydrophobic nature of ROE. FTIR shows that the interaction between ROE and the active film is primarily hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. Active film exhibits excellent antioxidant activity, with high TPC, DPPH scavenging activity, and FRAP. Mathematical modeling revealed a higher diffusivity (D) of ROE in fatty food stimulants at 24 °C, attributed to high polarity and solubility in fatty food stimulants. Overall, this active film has an excellent antioxidant effect and could potentially be used as food packaging for high-fat food products to prevent oxidation.

Graphical abstract

Encapsulation of Hydrophobic Apigenin into Small Unilamellar Liposomes Coated with Chitosan Through Ethanol Injection and Spray Drying

Despite the multiple health benefits, natural flavonoid apigenin has poor aqueous solubility that restricts its delivery in foods. This study investigated the potential of spray-dried chitosan-coated liposomes prepared from scalable methods for the food industry as the delivery carriers for apigenin. Apigenin-loaded small unilamellar liposomes produced from ethanol injection had an encapsulation efficiency of 74.88 ± 5.31%. They were electrostatically stabilised via chitosan coating (0.25% w/v) and spray-dried. Spray-dried chitosan-coated apigenin liposomes (SCAL) exhibited the following powder characteristics: yield 66.62 ± 3.08%, moisture content 4.33 ± 0.56%, water activity 0.2242 ± 0.0548, particle size 10.97 ± 1.55 μm, nearly spherical morphology with wrinkles and dents under microscopic observation. Compared with the unencapsulated apigenin, SCAL demonstrated improved aqueous solubility (10.22 ± 0.18 mg/L), higher antioxidant capacity, and stability against simulated gastrointestinal digestion. The chitosan coating gave a slower in-vitro release of apigenin in SCAL (77.0 ± 6.2%) than that of uncoated apigenin liposomes (94.0 ± 5.3%) at 12 h. The apigenin release kinetics from SCAL could be represented by the Korsmeyer-Peppas model (R2 = 0.971). These findings suggest that SCAL could be a promising delivery system of apigenin for functional food applications.

Impact of ozone treatment on the physico-chemical properties, bioactive compounds, pectin methylesterase activity and microbiological properties of watermelon juice

The increasing consumer demand for higher quality fruit juices has encouraged the use of non-thermal processing to extend the shelf life of perishable juice, watermelon juice. Ozone with its high oxidizing effect serve as an effective non-thermal processing treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of ozone treatment on the physico-chemical, bioactive compounds, pectin methylesterase (PME) activity and microbiological properties of unclarified and clarified watermelon juice. The ozone gas was pumped into watermelon juice for up to 25 min in a closed chamber. The microorganism inactivation in unclarified and clarified watermelon juices improved across the increasing processing time. Among these juices, the microorganism inactivation efficiency of ozone was found higher on clarified juice (3.466 log) than unclarified juice (3.150 log). It was found that °Brix value and PME activity were not altered by ozone treatment. The other physico-chemical properties (titratable acidity, pH, total colour difference, non-enzymatic browning, cloudiness) and bioactive compounds reduced across processing time. This study demonstrated that ozone treatment is an effective non-thermal processing technique to reduce the microorganism in watermelon juice. Further study is required to optimise the processing parameters of ozone treatment to maintain the overall quality of the watermelon juice.

Palm Olein Organogelation Using Mixtures of Soy Lecithin and Glyceryl Monostearate

The present work investigated the interaction between soy lecithin (SL), glyceryl monostearate (GMS), and water in structuring palm olein (PO) to create an organogel having similar mechanical properties to commercial spread. Extreme vertices mixture design was used to optimize the composition of PO-based organogel. The resulting model showed a good fit to the predicted data with R² ≥ 0.89. The optimum composition was 8% SL, 22% GMS, 28% water, and 42% PO (w/w) to produce a mean firmness of 1.91 N, spreadability of 15.28 N s⁻¹, and oil binding capacity (OBC) of 83.83%. The OBC of optimized organogel was 10% higher than commercial spread product, and no significant difference was observed in the mechanical properties (p > 0.05). The microstructure, as well as the rheological and thermal properties of the optimized organogel were characterized. Fourier transform infrared analysis indicated that hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions were the key driving forces for organogelation. The mixture of SL and GMS favored the formation of β′ + β form crystals with a predominance of the β′ form. These results have important implications for the development of PO-based organogel as a potential fat replacer in the production of low-fat spread.

Studies on the storage stability of fermented red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) drink

The objective of this work was to study the effect of storage temperatures and duration on the stability of fermented red dragon fruit drink (FRDFD) on its betacyanins content, physicochemical and microbiological qualities (BPM) and determining sensory acceptability. Results showed that both storage temperatures and duration have a significant effect on betacyanins content and physicochemical properties of FRDFD. Aerobic mesophilic and yeast and mold counts were lower than 1 × 103 CFU/mL for FRDFD stored at both temperatures. The loss of betanin (16.53-13.93 g/L) at 4 °C was 15.73% with no significant changes in physicochemical properties from week two onwards compared to 56.32% (16.53-7.22 g/L) of betanin loss at 25 °C. At week eight, FRDFD stored at 4 °C still contained 13.93 g/L betanin with a pH value of 3.46, suggested its potential as a functional drink which is sensory acceptable (mean score > 80% using hedonic test) among consumers.

Academic burnout and eating disorder among students in Monash University Malaysia

This study examined the prevalence of academic burnout and the relationship between academic burnout and eating disorder among Monash university students for a period of one year. One hundred and thirty-two participants were recruited for the study via advertisement. They were invited to complete three instruments, namely Demographic Questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey (MBI-SS) and Three Factor Eating Questionnaire-Revised 18-item (TFEQ-18). In addition, anthropometric measurements such as weight, height, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage and waist circumference were taken. All data were collected at baseline and after 6-8weeks. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis and Bonferroni pairwise comparison tests were performed using Stata version 13. The prevalence of academic burnout after 6-8weeks was revealed to be 17.4% and 73.5% respectively for moderate and high level of academic burnout respectively. Emotional eating (EEat) scores were significantly different over levels of academic burnout after 6-8weeks (p=0.0103) while no significant differences was observed in other subscales such as cognitive restraint (CR) and uncontrolled eating (UE). These findings evidenced partial associations between academic burnout and eating disorder.

Optimal binary solvent extraction system for phenolic antioxidants from mengkudu (Morinda citrifolia) fruit

Antioxidants have been widely used in the food industry to enhance product quality by preventing oxidation of susceptible substances. This work was carried out to maximise the recovery of total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical-scavenging capacity and 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging capacity from Morinda citrifolia fruit via modification of the ethanol concentration, extraction time and extraction temperature at minimal processing cost. The optimised conditions yielded values of 881.57 ± 17.74 mg GAE/100 g DW for TPC, 552.53 ± 34.16 mg CE/100 g DW for TFC, 799.20 ± 2.97 µmol TEAC/100 g DW for ABTS and 2,317.01 ± 18.13 µmol TEAC/100 g DW for DPPH were 75% ethanol, 40 min of time and 57 °C. The four responses did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) from predicted values, indicating that models obtained are suitable to the optimisation of extraction conditions for phenolics from M. citrifolia. The relative amounts of flavonoids were 0.784 ± 0.01 mg quercetin/g of extract and 1.021 ± 0.04 mg rutin/g of extract. On the basis of the results obtained, M. citrifolia extract can be used as a valuable bioactive source of natural antioxidants.