Issue 01

Development of instant pasta incorporated with a novel composite flour blend of unripe banana (musa acuminata l.) flesh and jackfruit seeds (artocarpus heterophyllus l.) and evaluate its quality parameters

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Development of instant pasta incorporated with a novel composite flour blend of unripe banana (musa acuminata l.) flesh and jackfruit seeds (artocarpus heterophyllus l.) and evaluate its quality parameters Jayampathi, H.G.N.; Kariyawasam, K.M.G.M.M.; Fernando, G.S.N. The development of instant pasta enriched with jackfruit seed powder and unripe banana flesh powder presents a novel approach to sustainable food innovation. In the present study, various composite flour mixtures were developed by combining different proportions of unripe banana flesh (UGB) and jackfruit seed (JFS) flour with refined wheat flour (T1- 15% UGB, 5% JFS, 80% wheat, T2- 20% UGB, 10% JFS, 70% wheat, T3 - 25% UGB, 15% JFS, 60% wheat, and T4- 100% (w/w) wheat, serving as the control). Thirty semi-trained panelists were used to conduct the sensory evaluation using a 5-point hedonic scale, while standard methods were applied to analyze the proximate composition and physicochemical properties of the developed product. T1 formulation showed superior sensory attributes with higher protein (7.56±0.01%), and carbohydrate (67.44±0.01%) content while showing lower fat (16.07±0.00%) and moisture (5.77±0.00%) levels than the control sample (p<0.05). Texture analysis of the T1 sample indicated the hardness at 1728.0±110.9 g, adhesiveness at 3.03±0.65 mJ, springiness at 1.37±0.23 mm, cohesiveness at 0.34±0.30, and gumminess at 897.3±65 g. T1 exhibited lower water activity (0.78±0.01) and pH (5.86±0.01) than the control sample. In conclusion, jackfruit seed flour and unripe banana flesh powder can effectively substitute wheat flour when preparing instant pasta

Formulation and analysis of ready to serve beverage utilizing nelli (phyllanthus emblica) and banana pseudostem juice

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Formulation and analysis of ready to serve beverage utilizing nelli (phyllanthus emblica) and banana pseudostem juice Jeyarajasingam, A.A.; Pushparaja, V.; Vasantharuba, S. The banana fruit industry produces pseudostems as by-products, which are often regarded as waste. However, these pseudostems are rich in minerals, fibers, and other nutrients, making them a valuable resource for enhancing the therapeutic and nutritional value of food products. Nelli, recognized for its medicinal benefits in traditional medicine, often sees a surplus of ripe fruits going to waste during peak seasons. Therefore, this study aims to formulate and standardize a healthy, therapeutic ready-to-serve (RTS) beverage by blending different proportions of banana pseudostem and Nelli juice: T1 (100:0), T2 (80:20), T3 (60:40), T4 (40:60) and T5 (20:80). Sensory evaluation was conducted using a 5-point hedonic scale, revealing that T3 received significantly higher (p < 0.05) preference compared to the other treatments. Subsequently, the physicochemical properties, proximate composition and antioxidant properties of raw materials, T1 and T3 were evaluated. The study highlighted that RTS beverages incorporating banana pseudostem juice (T3) retained significant amounts of crude fiber, flavonoids and antioxidant capacity. Shelf-life studies conducted over two months confirmed the stability of final products, with microbial counts remaining within acceptable limits. Therefore, this research highlights the potential of these RTS beverages as nutritious options utilizing sustainable agricultural products

Applicability of agronomic traits in the determination of yield of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Applicability of agronomic traits in the determination of yield of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) Jayaweera, W.M.C.S.; Amarasinghe, S.R.; Ranawake, A.L. Turmeric (Curcuma longa) has gained significant attention in medicine, nutrition, and biotechnology due to its pharmacological properties and potential therapeutic applications. Since it is vegetatively propagated through underground rhizomes, the genetic improvement of turmeric is very limited. Screening for superior traits is still practiced for turmeric since it has a broad, untapped natural variation. Different agronomic traits, directly and indirectly, determine rhizome yield in turmeric. The present study reveals yield-determining traits of turmeric as described by correlation coefficients and path coefficients. The yield determinants of turmeric would be useful for selecting higher yields. Turmeric rhizomes were planted in the field, and data on eleven traits of two hundred plants were recorded. The research utilized principal component analysis (PCA) and identified three main components (PC1, PC2, and PC3), which had eigenvalues of 4.157, 3.017, and 1.992, respectively, explaining 76.385% of the total cumulative variability. Plant height is a key factor in determining yield, as it indicates a strong positive correlation and has a significant direct effect on yield. The number of secondary fingers per plant was also a considerable factor as it showed a significant positive correlation and considerable direct influence on yield. The number of mother rhizomes per plant and the length of leaf petiole could still be a viable positive trait for high-yield as they show a lower direct influence on yield. Leaf blade length is not a good criterion for yield determinants. These parameters can be utilized in future breeding programs to select high-yielding genotypes.

Quality of cow milk set yoghurt stabilized with native sweet potato (ipomoea batatas l.) starch extracted using different methods

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Quality of cow milk set yoghurt stabilized with native sweet potato (ipomoea batatas l.) starch extracted using different methods Narayana, N.M.N.K.; Bogahawatta, B.S.R. Gelatin extracted from animal tissues is widely used to stabilize set yoghurt. However, there is an increased consumer preference for plant-based stabilizers, such as starch, over animal-based gelatin in yoghurt products. The properties of starch depend on the extraction method and affect the quality of the final product. Therefore, this study investigated the quality of cow milk set yoghurt stabilized with sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) starch (SPS) extracted using three different methods. Sweet potato tubers (3 kg) were washed, peeled and divided equally into 3 lots. Starch was extracted by blending each lot separately with distilled water (1:1) (SPS1), 1M NaCl (1:1) followed by centrifugation at 2200 rpm/15 min (SPS2), and distilled water (1:1) followed by centrifugation at 2200 rpm/15 min (SPS3). Experimental yoghurts (3% fat, 7% sugar) were prepared using gelatin (Control), SPS1 (T1), SPS2 (T2) and SPS3 (T3) as the stabilizer at the rate of 0.5% (w/w) and arranged according to completely randomized design with 3 replicates. The physicochemical and functional properties of SPS and yoghurt and the sensory attributes of yoghurt were investigated using standard methods. Data were analyzed with SPSS software (ver. 25) employing the analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedure followed by Tukey’s test for mean separation, while sensory data using the Friedman non-parametric test. SPS1 had the highest water absorption capacity of 0.780±0.002 mg/g and was significantly (p<0.05) different from SPS2 and SPS3, while pH was significantly (p<0.05) higher in SPS2. Moisture content in SPS produced with different methods was in the agreeable range (12.73±0.05 to 16.74±0.03%) and significantly (p<0.05) different with the starch extraction method. Swelling power and solubility of SPS were increased with the increase of temperature from 50°C to 80°C. Compared to the control, yoghurt manufactured using SPS showed significantly lower (p<0.05) water holding capacity except in T2, while spontaneous whey syneresis was not detected in any of the treatments. The colour of the yoghurts was not affected by the stabilizers used except the b* value. Sensory evaluation revealed no differences between the treatments, indicating the possibility of using SPS extracted using the methods mentioned as a stabilizer in the production of set yoghurt, which is comparable to gelatin.