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Millets are a major food source in arid and semi-arid parts of the world. Millets are good sources of energy. They provide protein, fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, dietary fibre and polyphenols. Typical millet protein contains high quantity of essential amino acids especially the sulphur containing amino acids (methionine and cysteine). Processing millet by milling removes the bran and germ layers that are rich in fibre and phytochemicals, causing significant loss. The millets are source of antioxidants, such as phenolic acids and glycated flavonoids. Millet foods are characterized to be potential prebiotic and can enhance the viability or functionality of probiotics with significant health benefits. The nutritional significance of millets demands for an examination of the nutritional characteristics and functional properties of different millet cultivars as well as developing value added products from millets.

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Abstract:In recent years, China has become an increasingly important and the largest chestnut producer in the world. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional value and microbiological quality of the roasted freeze-dried Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima) (RFDC) coated with dark chocolate (DCC) and milk chocolate (MCC) for industrial use and commercial consumption. Chocolate coating significantly improved the nutritional value of chestnut. RFDC had high levels of starch (66.23%) and fibers (3.85%) while DCC and MCC contained significantly high amounts of sucrose, protein, fat and minerals. Furthermore, the protein content doubled in MCC rather than in DCC. This could be attributed to the different formulations in the two products. Milk powder and whey protein constituted the source of protein in MCC while cocoa powder added to MCC formulation constituted an additional source of minerals. The amino acid profile showed differences in amino acid composition related to the sample's protein content, indicating their good nutritional quality. The moisture contents in all RFDC, DCC and MCC were suitable for industrial processing. These results provide information about the additional nutrients of chocolate-coated chestnut and confirm that the product is an interesting nutritional food. The combination of freeze-drying and chocolate-coating generally results in greater reductions on microbiological loads, extending shelf life of harvested chestnut for commercial application. This is an alternative strategy to add value to chestnut, minimizing the significant losses in harvested fruits and providing a wider range of choices of new products to the consumer disposal.

The interest in application of biocatalysis during natural milk fat flavours development has increased rapidly and lipases have become the most studied group in the development of bovine milk fat flavours. Lipozyme-435, Novozyme-435 and Thermomyces lanuginosus Immobilized (TL-IM) lipases were used to hydrolyze anhydrous milk fat (AMF) and anhydrous buffalo milk fat (ABF) and their volatile flavouring compounds were identified by solid-phase micro-extraction gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS) and then compared at three hydrolysis intervals. Both AMF and ABF after lipolysis produced high amount of butanoic and hexanoic acids and other flavouring compounds; however, highest amount were produced by Lipozyme-435 and Novozyme-435 followed by TL-IM. The hydrolyzed products were assessed by Rancimat-743 for oxidative stability and found both that, for AMF and ABF treated butter oil, Lipozyme-435 and TL-IM were generally more stable compared to Novozyme-435. For both AMF and ABF treated butter oil, Lipozyme-435 was observed to cause no further oxidation consequences which indicates Lipozyme-435 was stable during hydrolysis at 55°C for 24 h.

Dairy products remain valuable components of human diet due to their balanced nutritive value and pleasant flavour. In this study, triacylglycerols (TAGs) from anhydrous milk fats were hydrolysed by Lipozyme-435 and Novozyme-435 and later on analysed by using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Results revealed that the percentages of TAGs (CN 28-34) and TAGs (CN 36-42) with at least two short-chain fatty acids and with short-and medium-chain fatty acids were respectively decreased after 24 h of enzymatic hydrolysis. On the other hand, TAGs (CN 44-54) with at least two long-chain fatty acids were found to increase in both Lipozyme-435-and Novozyme-435-treated anhydrous milk fat (AMF). Meanwhile, the melting and crystallization profiles of both Lipozyme-435-and Novozyme-435-treated AMF were modified and significantly different when compared with the untreated AMF.

Tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (EAB) and elastic modulus (EM) of edible films prepared from 5, 7 and 9% whey protein isolate (WPI) plasticized with different levels of glycerol (Gly) (WPI : Gly = 3.6:1, 3:1 and 2:1) were investigated in order to completely characterize WPI‐Gly films. On increasing protein concentration an increase in TS and EAB was observed. On the other hand, increasing Gly led to a decrease in TS and EM, while EAB increased. The addition of pullulan (Pul) into the film forming solution (FFS) increased EAB while TS, EM and thermal properties were reduced. This suggested that Pul had a similar effect as plasticizers. Films with higher Pul content showed lighter protein bands on sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that hydrogen bonding was high in WPI : Pul films as compared with the control. This is attributed to the protein‐polysaccharide interactions brought about by the dominance of Pul in the FFS. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS This work describes some physical properties of films based on blends of whey protein isolate (WPI) and pullulan (Pul), made after a previous study on some characteristics of films based on pure WPI plasticized by glycerol. The most studied proteins in the edible films technology being gluten and WPI, the use of Pul in mixture with WPI is considered as a new investigation to explore the utilization of WPI‐Pul in edible film and coating materials applied to food products. Furthermore, the use of WPI‐Pul films and coatings could potentially extend the shelf life and improve the stability of the coated products as shown by the resultant properties in this investigation and previous works.

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