Optimization of corn starch acetylation and succinylation using the extrusion process.

Starch chemical modification can be used in order to obtain modified starches (MS) with low affinity to water. Acetylated and succinylated starches whose applications as food ingredient depend upon their degree of substitution (DS) may be produced by esterifying starch through the extrusion process (EP). The Food and Drug Administration recommends a DS of 0.

Analysis by UPLC-DAD-ESI-MS of Phenolic Compounds and HPLC-DAD-Based Determination of Carotenoids in Noni ( Morinda citrifolia L.) Bagasse.

Noni bagasse is usually wasted after the noni juice extraction process. The purpose of this study was to investigate the phytochemical composition of noni bagasse (with and without seeds) obtained after a 1 week period of a short-term juice drip-extraction process from over-ripe noni fruit. Totals of free phenolics, flavonoids, condensed tannins, carotenoids, and most of the minerals were higher in bagasse without seeds (NSB) than in bagasse with seeds (WSB), whereas bound phenolics and total and insoluble dietary fiber were higher in WSB than in NSB.

Mechanical, physical and microstructural properties of acetylated starch-based biocomposites reinforced with acetylated sugarcane fiber.

Fiber-reinforced starch-based biocomposites provide an environmentally friendly alternative to replace petroleum-based plastics. Nevertheless, these materials present structural stability problems owing to their hydrophilicity. Therefore, a chemical modification is usually necessary.

Effect of extrusion process on the functional properties of high amylose corn starch edible films and its application in mango ( L.) cv. Tommy Atkins.

Starch is an attractive raw material as ingredient for edible film manufacture because of its low cost, abundant availability, renewability, and biodegradability. Nevertheless, starch based films exhibit several disadvantages such as brittleness and poor mechanical and barrier properties, which restrict its application for food packaging. The use of the extrusion technology as a pretreatment of the casting technique to change the starch structure in order to obtain edible films, may constitute an alternative to generate coatings with good functional properties and maintain longer the postharvest quality and shelf life of fruits.

Effect of the Combination Hot Water - Calcium Chloride on the Growth of and the Postharvest Quality of Infected Papaya.

Anthracnose of papaya fruit caused by the fungus is one of the most economically important postharvest diseases. Hot water immersion (HW) and calcium chloride (Ca) treatments have been used to control papaya postharvest diseases; however, the effect of the combination HW-Ca on the pathogen growth and the development of the disease in infected papaya fruit has been scarcely studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the HW-Ca treatment on the growth of conidia and the quality of infected papaya.

Biochemistry and Cell Wall Changes Associated with Noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) Fruit Ripening.

Quality and compositional changes were determined in noni fruit harvested at five ripening stages, from dark-green to thaslucent-grayish. Fruit ripening was accompanied by acidity and soluble solids accumulation but pH diminution, whereas the softening profile presented three differential steps named early (no significant softening), intermediate (significant softening), and final (dramatic softening). At early step the extensive depolymerization of hydrosoluble pectins and the significantly increment of pectinase activities did not correlate with the slight reduction in firmness.

The effect of antifungal hot-water treatments on papaya postharvest quality and activity of pectinmethylesterase and polygalacturonase.

The effect of antifungal hot-water treatments (AHWT) at 55 °C for 0, 3, 6 and 9 min on quality attributes and cell-wall enzymatic activity during storage at 25 °C was investigated in papaya fruit. The total soluble solids (TSS), pH, titratable acidity (TA), firmness and fresh weight loss were not affected, whereas color on skin was negatively affected by the treatments of 6- and 9-min. However, the skin color was not different between the 3-min treated fruit and the untreated fruit during the storage.

HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS analysis of phenolic compounds during ripening in exocarp and mesocarp of tomato fruit.

Identification of phenolic compounds was done by means of liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) using the electrospray ionization interface (ESI). Quantification of phenolic compounds was carried out by using HPLC with diode array detector (DAD) in exocarp and mesocarp of tomato fruit at 6 different ripeness stages (mature-green, breakers, turning, pink, light-red, and red). Several phenolic compounds were identified including chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, and rutin and some combined phenolic acids were tentatively identified, mainly glycosides, such as caffeoyl hexose I, caffeoyl hexose II, caffeoylquinic acid isomer, dicaffeoylquinic acid, p-coumaroyl hexose I, p-coumaroyl hexose II, feruloyl hexose I, feruloyl hexose II, siringyl hexose, and caffeoyl deoxyhexose hexose.

Over-expression of a tomato N-acetyl-L-glutamate synthase gene (SlNAGS1) in Arabidopsis thaliana results in high ornithine levels and increased tolerance in salt and drought stresses.

A single copy of the N-acetyl-L-glutamate synthase gene (SlNAGS1) has been isolated from tomato. The deduced amino acid sequence consists of 604 amino acids and shows a high level of similarity to the predicted Arabidopsis NAGS1 and NAGS2 proteins. Furthermore, the N-terminus ArgB domain and the C-terminus ArgA domain found in SlNAGS1 are similar to the structural arrangements that have been reported for other predicted NAGS proteins.

Correlation between some nutritional components and the total antioxidant capacity measured with six different assays in eight horticultural crops.

The contents of antioxidant nutritional compounds, total soluble phenolics (TSP), vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and total carotenoids (TC), were correlated with the total antioxidant capacity (AOC) of hydrophilic (HPE) and lipophilic extracts (LPE) from eight horticultural crops, namely, guava, avocado, black sapote, mango, papaya, prickly pear fruit, cladodes, and strawberry. AOC was measured using six different assays: 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylendiamine (DMPD), ferric-ion-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), and total oxidant scavenging capacity (TOSC). AOC values from HPE were about 95 times higher than LPE values.

Biochemical and nutritional characterization of three prickly pear species with different ripening behavior.

Biochemical and nutritional changes were studied during the ripening process of three Opuntia morphospecies with different ripening behavior: Naranjona (O. ficus-indica), Blanca Cristalina (Opuntia sp.), and Esmeralda (Opuntia sp.

Hydrolytic activity and ultrastructural changes in fruit skins from two prickly pear (Opuntia sp.) varieties during storage.

The activity of four cell wall hydrolases, pectinmethylesterase (PME), polygalacturonase (PG), cellulase, and beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal), was measured in fruit skins of two prickly pear varieties, Naranjona and Charola, during storage at 18 degrees C and 85-95% relative humidity (RH). In Naranjona (Opuntia ficus indica), of short postharvest life (ca. 2 weeks), PG, cellulase, and beta-Gal increased their activity more than twice, whereas PME activity tended to increase only slightly during storage.