In this study, proteins were extracted from sesame and perilla meals (agricultural by-products) by using hot-water defatting and acid precipitation, and their functional properties were compared with those of a commercial soy protein isolate (SPI). According to the SDS-PAGE results, the sesame meal protein extract (SMPE) exhibited a higher content of hydrophobic amino acids than the perilla meal protein extract (PMPE), alongside a relatively lower intensity of the 7S globulin band. SMPE showed 1.41-fold higher solubility than SPI at pH 10 and 1.72- and 1.66-fold higher emulsifying activity indices (EAIs) at pH 8 and 10, respectively. PMPE exhibited similar trends in solubility and EAI as SPI at the corresponding pH values. However, the emulsifying stability indices of SMPE and PMPE were lower than that of SPI. In particular, the fat absorption capacity of SMPE was significantly higher than those of SPI and PMPE, likely because of its higher content of hydrophobic or nonpolar amino acid residues. These results suggest that SMPE and PMPE are promising alternative protein sources for food applications and may promote value-added utilization of plant-derived by-products in the food industry.

In this study, conjugates were prepared via dry heat-induced glycosylation with maltodextrin (MD) to enhance the functional properties of sesame meal protein extract (SMPE). With the progress of conjugation, the specific protein bands of SMPE decreased and new bands appeared in the higher molecular weight range (approximately 170 kDa). The FT-IR spectra confirmed the structural modifications resulting from Maillard reaction-driven covalent bonding between SMPE and MD. The solubility and emulsifying properties—emulsifying activity index (EAI) and emulsifying stability index (ESI)—of the conjugates showed little variation with dry-heat treatment time, but they were significantly influenced by the dextrose equivalent (DE) of MD. Solubility was highest when SMPE was conjugated with MD of DE 4–7 at both 12 h (19.38%) and 24 h (20.54%) and decreased as DE increased. Notably, the three-way ANOVA results showed that the emulsifying properties improved significantly with higher DE of MD. The EAI and ESI of SMPE conjugated with MD of DE 16.5–19.5 increased by 1.52- and 1.41-fold, respectively, when compared with the control SMPE. These findings suggest that the SMPE-MD conjugates have promising potential for applications in food systems that require enhanced emulsifying properties.

The physicochemical properties of Korean rice flour cultivars (Saemimyeon [SM], Hanareum No. 4 [HA], and Milyang No. 328 [MY]) with different amylose contents were analyzed and the effects of rice flour blending on their physicochemical property changes were investigated in this study. The swelling power of three different cultivars was similar at 60oC, but MY showed significantly enhanced swelling power at 80oC compared to SM and HA. In the pasting profile, MY showed significantly lower final and break-down viscosities than SM and HA due to its weak granular rigidity. In the case of the 1:1 blending of SM-MY and HA-MY, the measured values of swelling power and solubility were greatly decreased at 80oC, and the setback and final viscosity were significantly increased compared to their predicted arithmetic average values, showing the non-additive effects of blending. For the dynamic viscoelastic properties, SM-MY and HA-MY showed significantly decreased G’ and increased k’ and tanδ, compared to their predicted average values. In conclusion, the selected rice flour blends had non-additive effects on swelling power, solubility, pasting, and dynamic viscoelastic properties. These results showed the feasibility of the rice flour blending to diversify the physicochemical properties of rice flour for better processing suitability.

Vitamin A, particularly all-trans retinol is excellent for anti-aging but is sensitive to oxygen, heat and light and has low solubility in water. In this study, retinol was encapsulated within oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion, protein-based particle and cycloamylose(CA). And then, it confirms that retinol contained in each delivery system is stable to UV, pH, and temperature and finally measures bioaccessibility. O/W emulsion was compared according to the type and concentration of emulsifier. UV stability of retinol increased with increasing oil concentration. More than 10 wt% of oil was required to maintain stable retinol (50% residual after 24 hours of irradiation). Using anionic emulsifier, retinol had unstable storage stability regardless of oil concentration and temperature. Protein based particle was compared according to the type of stabilizer and polysaccharide. UV stability of retinol was highest in pectin-coated particles. However, 20% retinol remains after 6 hours of irradiation and is vulnerable to UV compared to other delivery systems. In pH stability, pectin-coated particles also stably retained retinol. Inclusion complex of retinol and CA was compared according to the concentration of CA. When CA was used, the residual amount of retinol to UV was high (50% residual after 24 hours of irradiation) regardless of the concentration of the host molecule. In the case of storage stability, retinol remained significantly higher regardless of temperature when cycloamylose was used. It was finally confirmed bioaccessibility each of retinol delivery system. O/W emulsion was determined by emulsifier type, protein-based particle by coating agent, and inclusion complex by CA concentration. All O / W emulsions retained more than 50% retinol, protein based particles retained more than 80% retinol, and inclusion complex retained more than 70% retinol. The bioaccessibility of pure retinol is about 20%. This study provides important information for designing effective delivery systems for improving the stability of retinol.

Rice starch is a natural source of polysaccharides that can be used as a stabilizer, thickener, binder and fat mimetic in various foods. However, untreated starch possesses limited functionality due to its poor water solubility with a densely packed granular structure of amylopectin and amylose chains. Also, it shows weak complexing ability as the only amylose participates in complex formation with a chemical compound. The objective of this study is to improve complexation ability and water solubility of rice starch by 4-α-glucanotransferase (4αGTase) treatment. Complex forming capacity was examined by fully dissolving the 4αGTase-treated rice starch in 90% DMSO by mechanical stirring and mixing with iodine solution with following UV/Vis spectrophotometer measurements. Water solubility of the starch was measured by dissolving in distilled water (5% w/v) with mechanical stirring at 25 °C and 60 °C, and drying the supernatant after centrifugation. The complexing ability of starch was enhanced after the 4αGTase treatment. The absorbance at a peak wavelength increased, as well as the peak wavelength was shifted leftward, indicating that the type of molecules got involved in the complexation was changed. Alteration in the molecule composition and starch composition during the enzyme treatment may be due to disproportionation and cyclization by the 4αGTase. The water solubility (%) of the starch at 25 °C and 60 °C increased by 28-fold with the 4αGTase treatment regardless of the treatment time. The untreated starch showed solubility of 0.15 %, while the solubility of the 4αGTase-treated starch was about 4 - 4.5 % (w/v). It may be due to heat treatment and recrystallization which melted a granular structure and made it easier to be solubilized in water. Moreover, the increased solubility might be attributed to increase in the number of short branched chains and decrease in molecular weight.

Carnosic acid from rosemary extract is one of the natural phenolic compounds which show the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Nevertheless, the use of rosemary extracts in food matrix is highly limited due to the low water solubility and poor chemical stability of active constituents of extract. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the functionality and effect of starch based polymers on rosemary extract in aqueous solution for improving their efficiency of food application. To manufacture the rosemary-starch polymer complex, starch based polymers (cycloamylose; CA, cyclodextrin; CD, hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin; HP-b-CD, maltodextrin; MD, clustered dextrin; ClusD) were firstly dispersed in 5mM phosphate buffer (pH7) according to each concentrations. Rosemary extract was then dissolved in solution to react with the polymers. Enhanced water solubility of rosemary extract was measured using a spectrophotometer. Antioxidant (ABTS assay) & antimicrobial activity (MIC test) were also tested. In aqueous solution containing CD and HP-b-CD, the solubility of rosemary extract increased almost twice or more (189% and 248% respectively). CA, MD, and ClusD solutions also showed the results of increasing the solubility about 126%~129%. As rosemary extract dissolved better, it was also found to have increased antioxidant and antibacterial activity of rosemary-starch polymer complex. Especially, the degree of antioxidant activity has been increased much larger than the increased solubility level. Consequently, more studies are needed to determine why these results are produced. If further studies and experiments are conducted on this, it could be beneficial for food industry interested in utilizing rosemary extract.

Different strategies are studied to incorporate lipid-soluble bioactive molecules into water-based food systems. However, these systems solely cannot protect the core compound through the storage period, especially when the core is exposed to environmental stress factors. Water soluble fraction of the crude extract from Enteromorpha prolifera was analyzed for its physicochemical characteristics including chemical composition, structure, rheological and thermal properties. The extract was added to O/W emulsion system containing retinol and stabilized with Tween 20, WPI and sodium caseinate to improve storage stability through different modes of action; as a chelator of metal ions and as a scavenger of radicals. Storage stability was mainly determined by zeta potential, particle size distribution, and retinol retention. The water-soluble extract of E.prolifera mainly consisted of anionic polysaccharide, while impurities of protein, mineral and other pigments were present. Mode of action analysis showed that the extracts had both ferrous ion chelating ability(EC50=0.67%) and free radical scavenging ability(EC50=0.23%), indicating a multifunctioning mechanism of the heterogeneous extract. Addition of extract (0.1%~1% in total emulsion) did not affect the physical stability during 1 week storage. Protective materials are often added to food systems to improve the stability of core materials but excessive use of additives may be repulsive to consumers. In contrast, the optimum concentration range of E.prolifera extract is much lower compared to that of conventional usage of other materials and has lower toxicity to that of strong chelators while providing effective protection.