Asian Food Science Journal

Aim: The effects of adding a microbiological inoculant on the physicochemical and microbiological properties during the fermentation process of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and on the sensory characteristics of the fufu produced using a local Bambili cassava variety were examined.

Study Design: Completely Randomized Design was applied for this study.

Place and Duration of Study: Study was carried out at the Food Technology and Post-Harvest Programme Laboratory (FTPHL) of the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) Bambui, North West Region of Cameroon, between January and April 2020.

Methodology: Cassava was soaked in water and three treatments: 0%, 1% and 4% Light Matrix Organics (LMO) added to the water. The fixed submerged fermentation was used. Water samples were randomly collected daily and analysed for pH, temperature, Titratable Acidity (TA) and microbial counts. The experiment was carried out in triplicates, varying temperature each time (35^oC in trial 1, 32^oC in trial 2 and 21^oC in trial 3). Sensory evaluation was carried out on the fufu produced.

Results: Temperature, pH, TA and microbial counts followed the same trend in all 3 treatments. TA increased from 0.01-0.15%, while pH decreased from 6.9-4.85. Temperature increased then dropped at the end of the experiment. Total bacterial counts increased from log₁₀ (3.49) to log₁₀ (6.9) CFUml^-1. Yeasts and moulds increased from log₁₀ (7.15) CFUml^-1 and then dropped to log₁₀ (5.48) CFUml^-1 at the end of the experiment. Coliforms decreased from log₁₀ (4.66) CFUml^-1 to log₁₀ (3.30) CFUml^-1. The above parameters did not vary significantly (p<0.05) within treatments. Also, soaking temperature affected the duration of fermentation, hence the finished product. The natural fermentation process was preferred for colour, taste and flavour while the 1% LMO sample was preferred for texture.

Conclusion: Under good hygienic conditions; water fufu produced by natural fermentation will be of good quality for consumption.

The larger grain borer, Prostephanus truncatus is a devastating storage pest of maize and cassava which was introduced in Africa from America in the early 1980s through imports of maize. An experiment was carried out to determine the effectiveness of tick berry, Lantana camara in controlling the larger grain borer in stored maize. The experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design with 6 treatments replicated 3 times. The treatments were; 1 control, 2 Actellic gold, 3. 10g Lantana camara, 4. 7.5g Lantana camara, 5. 5g Lantana camara and 6. 2.5g Lantana camara applied to 200g maize. Significant differences (p<0.001) were observed amongst all treatments with respect to mortality. The highest mortality of 100% was observed in the Actellic gold followed by 83.3% from 10g of Lantana camara at 21days after application. A significant difference (p<0.001) was also noted amongst treatments with respect to frass accumulation which translates to grain damage. At 21 days of observation, the control treatment had the highest grain damage (10.05%) followed by 2.5g Lantana camara (1.70%). No significant differences (p>0.05) were observed between 10g Lantana camara (0.18) and Actellic gold (0). Reproduction was significantly (p<0.001) inhibited by Lantana camara with failure of adults to emerge between day 21 and 42 after removal of adults. The control treatment had the highest number of adults emerging (177) followed by 2.5g Lantana camara (84) at 42 days in storage, no adults emerged in the Actellic gold treatment and no significant differences (p>0.05) were observed between 10g Lantana camara and Actellic gold. Lantana camara effectively controlled P. truncatus and the effectiveness was correlated to concentration and period of exposure. Lantana camara is recommended as a control option against P. truncatus.

The aim of this study was to extract polysaccharides from tofu processing wastewater obtained from tofu factory located at the outcast of Wuxi city, PR China. The extracted polysaccharide was used as wall material for microencapsulation processes in the food industry. This is expected to serve as an environmentally friendly research approach as it converts wastewater into useful polysaccharides that could be used in food industries. This study used vegetable oil as core material, which is used as a test case to ascertain whether a successful encapsulation process can be achieved – an indication of the possibility of the encapsulation of oil soluble minerals and vitamins.

The polysaccharides extracted from tofu processing wastewater were used as wall materials for the encapsulation of vegetable fat load. The basic method applied in the microencapsulation process is indicative of the fact that with the addition of polysaccharides, the interfacial coacervation between the protein and the polysaccharide around the oil droplets induces the formation of microcapsules. The Seagull Model Z-Series Photomicrographic equipment was used to obtain Photomicrographs of the various phases in the development of microcapsules. Microencapsulation efficiency, the peroxide value and visual observation on spray-dried microcapsules were studied.

Microencapsulated capsules were produced through thermal solidification of the coating to form self-sustaining entities or microcapsules. Photomicrographs were used to clearly visualize the microcapsules. The Microencapsulation efficiency of the microcapsules was studied and results showed that the highest MEE (93.04%) was obtained with a comparatively low vegetable fat load. This shows that there is a relationship between percent fat load and MEE as the higher the vegetable fat load the lower the microencapsulation efficiency. Studies conducted on the Peroxide value of the microcapsules indicated shorter shelf-life at elevated temperatures of 38ºC compared to room temperature.

Polysaccharides extracted from tofu processing wastewater could be used as wall material for microencapsulation in food industries.

Peda, a heat desiccated traditional dairy product popular in northern India suffers from poor shelf life due loss of moisture from the surface, mold growth, rancidity etc. Packaging plays an important role in controlling microbial growth as well as biochemical changes and the shelf life can be increased by changing the packaging system. In the present study the role of packaging materials on the storage stability of peda was evaluated at ambient (30±1⁰C) and refrigerated (7±1⁰C) conditions. Peda was prepared in the laboratory from standardized cow milk (4.5% fat and 8.5% SNF) with addition of 8% sugar on the basis of milk and kept without packaging (P₀) as well as packaged in two most suitable packaging materials viz. paper box (P₁) and polypropylene pouches (P₂). During storage the sensory quality, physico-chemical properties, texture profile and microbiological quality was carried out at regular interval. It was found that the rate of most of the quality deteriorative parameters was rapid in P₀ followed by P₁ and P₂ at both storage temperatures.  Based on the results obtained in this study it can be concluded that at ambient temperature peda samples could be best preserved up to 4 days without packaging, 8 days in paper box and 14 days in polypropylene pouches whereas refrigerated samples kept well up to 20, 30 and 50 days in P₀, P₁ and P₂ respectively.

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of soaking temperature and variety on the rehydration parameters and solute loss (essential minerals and vitamin C) of two maize varieties.

Sun-dried kernels of the maize varieties (Omakwa and Abrohemaa) were soaked at four different water temperatures of 30^oC, 40^oC, 50^oC and 60^oC in a thermostatic water bath and the rehydration parameters determined. Temperature and variety were the two principal factors found to influence water uptake by the kernels. The highest rehydration ratio of 13.28 and 14.65 for Omakwa and Abrohemaa respectively occurred at the highest soaking temperature of 60^oC. The quantitative analysis of solute loss (phosphorus, sodium, potassium and vitamin C) carried out reveals that large amounts of Potassium and vitamin C leached into the soaking water at higher water temperatures while residual amount of sodium saw an initial increase before decreasing to a low value as the temperature increases. For phosphorus, larger residual amounts were obtained at low to moderate soaking temperatures while a further increase in soaking temperature beyond 50^oC resulted in a decrease. Soaking at temperatures of 40^oC and 50^oC were found to retain more nutrients hence moderate temperature of 40^oC ≤X≤ 50^oC may be considered for soaking of Omakwa and Abrohemaa maize varieties.

Skimmed milk powder is one of dairy products that have processing through heating process and impact decreasing nutritional contents, thus would required fortification. Fortification skimmed milk powder with the addition of encapsulation is carried out using meniran phyllanthine and whey protein as core material and casein hydrolysates as wall material. The research was conducted to obtain skimmed milk powder fortified nano whey protein-meniran phyllanthine encapsulated casein hydrolysates with better physicochemical properties. The research material used was skimmed milk powder with different concentrations of nano whey protein-meniran phyllanthine encapsulated casein hydrolysates, designed by 5 treatments and 3 replications consisting of T0: 0% nano whey protein-meniran phyllanthine encapsulated casein hydrolysates, T1: 2% nano whey protein-meniran phyllanthine encapsulated casein hydrolysates, T2: 4% nano whey protein-meniran phyllanthine encapsulated casein hydrolysates, T3: 6% nano whey protein-meniran phyllanthine encapsulated casein hydrolysates, T4: 8% nano whey protein-meniran phyllanthine encapsulated casein hydrolysates. The variables tested were solubility, turbidity, sedimentation, water activity (aw) and hygroscopicity. The research method was a laboratory experiment analyzed by Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) if there were differences. The results showed a highly significant difference (P<0.01) on water activity (aw). However, there was no significant difference (P>0.05) on skimmed milk powder’s solubility, turbidity, sedimentation, and hygroscopicity. The data of physicochemical properties in this study were solubility ranged from 57.983-75.295%, turbidity 0.459-0.518, sedimentation 0.036-0.043, water activity 0.434-0.467, and hygroscopicity 4.601-5.528%. In conclusion, fortified nano whey protein-meniran phyllanthine encapsulated casein hydrolysates in skimmed milk powder can be used as a product with better physicochemical properties.

The research was held from August 2021 until October 2021 in Laboratory Livestock  Product Technology Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia. Synbiotic yoghurt is a  combination of probiotics and prebiotics, so adding stevia sweetener can improve the chemical quality. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of adding stevia sweetener to synbiotic yoghurt of evaporated red dragon fruit peel extract in terms of chemical    quality. The research method used is a laboratory experiment using a completely randomized design (CRD) pattern with four treatments and five replications. The percentage treatment of stevia sweetener carried out was the control treatment 0% (T0), 0.5% (T1), 2% (T2), 3.5% (T3). Data analysis used Analysis of Variance (ANOVA); if the results obtained were   significant, the analysis will continue with Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT). The analysis results showed that stevia sweetener concentration added a very significant difference  (P<0.01) to total lactic acid, protein content, fat content, and antioxidant activity. Furthermore, based on SNI 2981:2009 regarding the quality of yoghurt, the treatment that has the best chemical quality is T1 with the addition of stevia sweetener 0.5%, with an average total value of lactic acid 1.33%; protein content 3.95%; 2.41% fat content; and 10.14% antioxidant activity.

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) is a medicinal herb and a green leafy vegetable used all over the world. It is mostly grown in India, Africa, Egypt, Pakistan, and other parts of the world. Vitamins, minerals, proteins, alkaloids, flavonoids, fibers, gums, and volatile chemicals are all found in abundance in fenugreek. It's been employed as a preservative in foods including pickles, chips, and bakery goods. Fenugreek has anti-cancer, anti-obesity, cardiac protective, gastroprotective, antifungal – antimicrobial properties, cholesterol-lowering agent, anti-diabetic, anti-carcinogenic, and helps in lowering blood sugar levels, improving sexual function, and galactogogue functions, among other therapeutic pharmacological effects. The purpose of this page is to examine the many investigations, papers, and publications that look into fenugreek's therapeutic pharmacological effects, health advantages, and chemical ingredients.