Asian Food Science Journal

The present study was carried out to asses the consumption pattern of organic foods among urban consumers of Punjab. A total of 120 selected respondents belonging to middle (MIG) and high income group (HIG) from two cities of Punjab namely Ludhiana and Patiala were selected. Data were collected using questionnaire and were subjected to appropriate statistical analysis using various descriptive tools and tests such as mean, frequency, percentages and z-test. The results of the study showed that the age of the respondents varied from 35 to 45 years and 50% of the selected respondents were found to be graduates in both cities. Majority of the respondents in MIG of both cities were familiar with organic foods. A good number of the respondents i.e. 35% reported that they purchased organic foods because they were healthier and more nutritious while 27.5% reported that organic foods were safer than conventional foods.No significant difference (p≤0.05) was observed between the number of respondents belonging to MIG and HIG who were using organic foods within last three years. More subjects in the HIG (63.3%) practised kitchen gardening compared to their MIG (43.3%) counterpart. The most preferred organic foods were vegetables (73.3%), fruits (59.1%), cereals (37.5%) and pulses (37.5%). Supermarkets were found to be the main source for purchase of organic foods among all the respondents. A good number of the respondents (36.7%) agreed that organic foods were very good. There was a significant difference (p≤0.05) in the middle and high income group regarding monthly expenditure on organic fruits and vegetables, the values being 8.75 and 14.7% respectively.The purchase of organic food had a positive but non-significant relation with age. However, a significant positive correlation (p≤0.05) was observed with education and income, indicating that with the increase in education and income frequency of purchase of organic foods also increases.

Diplazium esculentum is a type of edible fern which has long been used in traditional dishes and is also known to contain mucilaginous material in a form of complex polysaccharide called mucilage. This study aimed to determine antioxidant activities and functional properties of mucilage extracted from D. esculentum. Extraction of mucilage from young fronds of D. esculentum was done using three different extraction methods i.e. hot water, alkaline and acidic. All subsequent analyses were done according to the established procedures. The results showed that hot water and alkaline extractions gave a significant (P < 0.05) higher yield (2.6 and 2.5%, respectively) of mucilage as compared to acidic extraction (1.6%). It was also found that mucilage extracted using hot water exhibited a significant higher (P < 0.05) ability to scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals (scavenging activity = 51.3%), as compared to other mucilage including gum Arabic. Hot water and acidic mucilage were found to be significantly different (P < 0.05) from alkaline mucilage and gum Arabic in terms of antioxidant activity measured via ferric thiocyanate (FTC) analysis with higher percentages of peroxide inhibition (22.7% and 27.4%, respectively). Hot water mucilage was further studied for functional properties. This mucilage exhibited a clear thixotropic flow behaviour with higher viscosity profile and also better emulsion stability (68.0%) at 0.5% concentration, as compared to gum Arabic. These findings suggest that D. esculentum mucilage could be an interesting functional food ingredient with significant antioxidant properties though further study should be done in order to fully understand its potential as one of alternative food hydrocolloids.

Aim: This study determined the phytochemical, elemental and proximate nutritional compositions of P. ostreatus as well as the antibacterial potentials of the macro fungus collected during the tropical rainy season on selected bacteria.

Methodology: The disease-free oyster mushroom fruiting body was collected from the wild bush at Etim Ekpo, in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Preparation of the oyster mushroom material, ethanolic and aqueous extracts; bacterial culture, isolation and identification, screenings for phytochemical and nutritional constituents were done according to standard methods, while antimicrobial screening was carried out by agar well diffusion technique.

Results: The preliminary phytochemical analysis of the extracts showed the occurrence of active polar compounds at varying amounts such as glycosides, alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, reducing compounds, polyphenol, tannins, steroids/triterpenoids, proteins and amino acids. The wild edible oyster mushroom displayed varying degrees of inhibition on the test organisms. Ethanol extract had good antibacterial activity against all the test isolates compared to aqueous extract as indicated by the mean diameter of inhibition zones in the order of 27.50±0.02 mm > 25.30±0.01 mm > 24.40±0.01 mm for Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus species and Escherichia coli respectively.  E. coli was the most sensitive organism in aqueous extract (20.60±0.01 mm). The only resistant organism was S. aureus (15.80±0.02 mm) in aqueous extract. Proximate analysis revealed high levels of moisture (78.28±0.02 mg/100 g), carbohydrate (52.74±0.02 mg/100 g) and .crude protein (28.40±0.1 mg/100 g). Ethanol extract showed good nutritional potentials, with Vitamin A (295.72±0.02), proteins (28.40±0.1) and carbohydrates (52.74±0.02) present in a higher amounts. Elemental nutrients such as Fe=167.42 mg/100 g dry weight and Ca=32.08 mg/100 g dry weight were also detected.

Conclusion: The results obtained in this study have shown the potential of oyster mushroom extract as a good therapeutic agent and food supplement. It could find applications as dietary supplements and possibly as alternative antibacterial agents.

The effect of processing methods, storage days (d) and storage temperatures on the lipid oxidation and palatability of processed snail meat products was carried out in this study. Samples of snail meat products were subjected to 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test for Malonaldehyde(MA) with water-TBA reagent as blank periodically at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 d. Meat samples were served to trained panellists who evaluated the products based on colour, flavour, tenderness, juiciness and overall acceptance. The results showed that the unseasoned-fried product had the lowest lipid oxidation values 0.04, 0.13 and 0.19 mg malonaldehyde/kg meat in all the storage periods at 0-5, 10-20 and 25-30 d respectively. Lipid oxidation values of products stored for 10-20d were 0.2565, 0.3040 and 0.3548. Lipid oxidation values were lower in freezer stored product than refrigerated product at 0-20d. Lipid oxidation values increased with increasing storage days for all the products. The seasoned smoke-dried product had lower lipid values throughout the storage period than the seasoned fried product. The regression curve for colour was a = 5.282 and b = - 5.342 while acceptability was a = 4.455, b = -3.438. This relationship implies that TBA values give a strong estimate of colour and acceptability.

Practical Applications: Four different treatments were considered for evaluation; unseasoned fried (USF), seasoned fried (SF), seasoned oven- dried (SOD) and seasoned smoke-dried (SSD) and the products were kept under three storage conditions (room, fridge and freezer). The regression relationships between TBA values and the sensory attributes (colour and overall acceptance) of the products were evaluated. Our results suggest that cold storage and proper packaging retard the development of lipid oxidation in snail meat products. Smoke-drying with seasonings had lower lipid oxidation values than the seasoned fried product throughout the storage period. The shelf life of processed meat could be extended by smoke-drying and curing without adverse effect on the quality and overall acceptance of meat.

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum mill.) is one of the most widely cultivated and consumed horticultural crop globally. The numerous uses of tomatoes can be a contributing factor to its extensive production. It provides an ample and reasonable source of energy, body-building nutrients, and large deposits of vitamins and minerals. The fresh produce are readily available in abundance during the harvest season but due to short postharvest life they are only edible for a very short period of time, except they are quickly and properly stored and preserved. Storage and processing technologies have been employed for centuries to transform perishable fruits and vegetables such as tomato into safe, delicious and stable products. To ensure continuous supply of raw materials for processors, storage is a basic requirement and in addition storage also prolongs the length of the processing season and helps provide continuity of product supply throughout the seasons. The aim of this review paper was to look into the postharvest storage and preservation methods utilized by tomato farmers and processors to ensure nonstop supply of the crop.