Impact of processing and storage on citrus fiber functionality: Insights from spectroscopic techniques.

To deliver their functionality when used in applications, citrus fibers need to be rehydrated. Factors such as chemical composition, structural organization as well as chemical surface composition are known to influence this functionality. Processing and storage conditions can affect these parameters, making it challenging to maintain stable functionality.

Multiscale dynamics and molecular mobility in cellulose-rich materials.

Cellulose, an abundant biopolymer in nature as a structural component of plant cell walls, has a native semi-crystalline structure in which the arrangement of amorphous-crystalline domains governs its key properties such as mechanical and physico-chemical properties. The performance of the material in different situations is shaped by molecular mobility, which affects attributes such as mechanical properties, chemical reactivity, and water absorption. Nevertheless, it is difficult to investigate experimentally the structural and dynamic properties of cellulose-rich materials.

digestion of protein and starch in sponge cakes formulated with pea ( L.) ingredients.

This study investigated the digestion of purified pea fractions (protein isolate and starch) in sponge cakes when compared to unrefined pea flour and to the whole wheat flour and purified maize starch commonly used in the food industry. Proteins in the wheat cake were hydrolysed more rapidly than those in cakes made with either pea flour or a combination of pea proteins and purified starch. In absolute terms, however, more readily bioaccessible protein was released from these pea cakes (by around 40%).

Annealing of starch - a review.

Annealing processes, involving specific heating protocols, have been used by man for centuries to impart desirable properties to materials - especially metals and particularly tools and weapons. The terminology has also been applied to biopolymers such as starches, where the effects of the processing have been known for decades although the molecular basis has not been at all well understood. Because of the marked effect the annealing process has on starch functionality and consequently industrial applications, it is critical that the underlying molecular events are understood.