Food Science

An attempt was made to investigate the effect of copper on germination, protein content and peroxidase activity in Phaseolus vulgaris. Increasing copper concentration does not show significant effect on seed germination. An increase in total protein concentration was found with increase in copper concentration however the increase was more prominent in shoots. Peroxidase was found to enhance in shoots whereas in roots the activity increases upto 50µM after which the activity was found to decrease.

Shea butter contributes minimally to edible fat supply due to variations in product quality, low yield and acceptability. Research reports have not related these to processing methods which vary from place to place. Effect of heat treatment methods on yield, sensory quality and some properties of manually extracted shea butters from fried, toasted, boiled and parboiled sheanuts pastes were evaluated using standard methods. Yield, sensory attributes and characteristics of shea butter from same sheanuts varied depending on method of heat treatment. Fried sheanuts had highest % shea butter yield (40.80±0.84) and saponification value (197.14±0.03). Boiled sheanuts butter was organoleptically preferred.

The levels of minerals and fatty acids in Clarias gariepinus, Channa striatus and Tilapia zillii were determined using standard analytical techniques. Results showed high levels of most of the minerals especially sodium 49.9-84.6 mg/100g and potassium 67.5-93.2mg/100g. The zinc contents (21.3-36.4 mg/100g) were above the recommended daily allowance (RDA) whereas, the iron levels (10.5-18.4mg/100g) fell within the range of 10-15mg, 18mg and 12mg requirements for children, women and men respectively. The most concentrated saturated fatty acid in the samples was palmitic acid (22.3 – 23.5%) and it was equally the most concentrated of all the fatty acids determined. The total saturated fatty acid (SFA) ranged between 35.0 – 38.1%. The monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) ranged between 38.3-39.4% whereas, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ranged between 22.5-26.1%. Total unsaturated fatty acid (MUFA + PUFA) range was 61.9 – 64.9%. MUFA/SFA range was 1.03 – 1.11 whereas PUFA / SFA ranged between 0.59 - 0.75. This range is reasonable enough to discourage the development of atherosclerosis. The n-6 / n-3 ratios in C. striatus (7.75) and T. zillii (5.78) compare favourably with the recommended range of 5-10 whereas, that of C. gariepinus (274) was much higher.

The nutrient composition of processed minor millets was investigated by various cooking methods like wet heating (boiling, blanching, soaking and germination) and dry-heating (roasting) and to compare the antioxidant activity of processed minor millets in relationship with their total phenolic content. Foxtail and proso millet were subjected to different processing methods; samples were dried and powdered into fine flours, respectively. Standard methods were used to evaluate the flours for moisture, ash, protein, fibre, iron, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and zinc. The antioxidant activity was estimated with respect to DPPH radical scavenging activity; FRAP assay and reducing power method. The soaked samples of foxtail and proso millet showed higher scavenging activity which was found to be (51.06% and 52.12%) respectively. The antioxidant power of roasted foxtail millet and blanched proso millet had significant increase ranging about (317.5 ? mol and 236.8 ? mol) respectively using FRAP assay. The blanched samples had higher reducing power indicating enhanced antioxidant activity i.e. (0.426 and 0.418) respectively. The phytochemical content was determined qualitatively. The blanched and germinated millet samples possessed higher antioxidant activity.

Strenuous physical activity is part and parcel of an athlete’s daily schedule especially prior to competitions. The physical demands of training induce specific nutritional demands in the athlete as sports training is often characterised by acute bouts of high power output (Brotherhood, 1984) which inevitable places a huge demand for energy and water. This posits that proper nutrition is a vital aspect in sports and can optimize one’s performance on the track or field. Over the past two decades, there has been greater understanding on the inextricable link between dietary behavior and optimal sports performance. Yet, awareness on the ground still seems to be lacking especially in developing nations. This paper, hence, attempts to summarize some important concepts pertaining to nutrition and sports performance to raise awareness on the physiological basis of the specific nutritional demands of sporting activities. It also provides some suggestions on dietary composition during various stages of training and competition.

The present study was undertaken to assess the nutritional status of HIV subjects in Dindigul District, Tamilnadu, India. Samples for the study comprised 100 subjects in the age group of 20 to 55 years. The nutritional status of the selected subjects was assessed by anthropometric measurements, biochemical, clinical examination and diet survey. The results revealed that fifty three percent of the subjects had low level of CD 4 cell count and all the subjects had below the normal levels of hemoglobin and their dietary intake was very low in micronutrients.

One group of pesticides that play an important role after the ban of the persistent organochlorine pesticides in agriculture is synthetic pyrethroids pesticide. Synthetic pyrethroids mimic the broad efficacy of the botanical, but they contain only one of the six groups of esters of the natural pyrethrums, and insect species tend to develop resistance to them. However, the latest groups of synthetic pyrethroids are photo-stable, as well as extremely toxic to insects. The objective of this study is to determine residue levels of selected synthetic pyrethroids pesticides in cocoa beans produced in Ghana, and to assess these levels against the European Union and Japanese residue regulation limits. The determination was done by gas chromatography coupled with an electron capture detector, and confirmed with Saturn 2200 Mass Spectrometer using ion trap mass analyzer. The study revealed the presence of all nine selected synthetic pyrethroids pesticides at significantly varying concentrations, with Permethrin recording the widest range of residue concentration from not detected to 105.0 micrograms per kilogram. The percentage recovery for most of the pesticides ranges from 75 to 120 percent, with method determination limit of 5.0 micrograms per kilogram. None of the detected synthetic pyrethroids pesticides’ average residue concentrations did exceed the European Union or Japanese Maximum Residue Limits in cocoa beans produced in Ghana. However, Allethrin, Cypermethrin and Fenvalerate average residues concentrations were at the borderline of the Japanese MRLs.

Corcyra cephalonica, the food grain pests were exposed to Castor leaf and fruit extracts for toxicity evaluation at 24, 48, 72 and 96 hrs using percent and probit kill method(Finney-1971). The IIIrd instar larvae were exposed to the sub-lethal doses of 150, 300 and 450 mg of leaf and fruit extracts for 10 days and their total protein and carbohydrates were estimated. The Protein and Carbohydrates were found decreased followed by delayed metamorphosis and deformed adults emerged from the pupae.

The amino acid composition of the yolk and albumen of the egg of domestic duck was determined on a dry weight basis. The total essential amino acid ranged from (g/100 g crude protein, cp): 40.9-41.3 or from 43.5-47.8 % respectively of the total amino acid. The amino acid scores showed lysine ranged from 1.26 -1.27 (on provisional essential amino acid scoring pattern) and 1.19-1.21 (on suggested requirement of the essential amino acid of a pre-school child). The predicted protein efficiency ratio was 2.33-2.52, the essential amino acid index range was 1.31-1.32 and the calculated isoelectric point range was 4.90-5.53. The Leu/Ile ratio range was 1.80-1.38. The correlation coefficient (rxy) was positive and significant at r = 0.05 for the amino acids, amino acid scores (on suggested requirement of the essential amino acid of a pre-school child) and the isoelectric point in the two samples. Domestic duck yolk and albumen amino acids were compared with yolk and albumen of domestic guinea fowl and domestic chicken eggs.

The research was conducted to find out the effect of implementation of HACCP in a baking industry. The quality attributes such as microbial count and compositional analysis were done to find out the positive effect. High energy fortified biscuits was prepared as influenced by different levels of soy flour protein and wheat flour gluten content of the biscuit recipes in a food industry before food safety implementation. Packaging study was also conducted by high density polyethylene up to 90 days of storage showing moisture content just above Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI) requirement at 90 days for the samples S1, S2 and S3. Moisture%, Protein %, fat %, sucrose % and iron content remained acceptable considering BSTI requirements. Sample S1 containing highest soy flour protein and wheat flour gluten estimated highest protein %, fat% and iron content compared to sample S¬2 and S3. Microbial qualities of biscuits found acceptable at initial storage regardless of microbial quality of raw materials. Sensory qualities of biscuits were also evaluated which showed the sample S3 , treated with lowest amount of soy flour protein and wheat flour gluten, was the most preferred biscuit with respect to all the quality attributes. Though the high energy fortified biscuit has compact source of energy, packaging condition was not sufficient to hold moisture content as BSTI standard level during 90 days of storage.