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The overall objective is to add value to foods, increase food safety, and enhance the utilization of Pacific Northwest food and/or oilseed processing co-products by using novel extraction and dehydration methods. <P>The specific objectives are to (1) extract antioxidants and antimicrobial compounds in food and biofuel processing co-products using power ultrasound and/or microwave energy; (2)investigate the effect of incorporating antioxidants and antimicrobials into food matrices (including biopolymer films and coatings) to improve food safety and extend shelf life; (3) determine the effect of Refractance Window drying technology, either singly or in combination with other hurdle technologies, to improve product quality and safety; and (4) to prepare antimicrobial films or coatings incorporating silver nanoparticles and other antimicrobial compounds on food surfaces to establish levels of protection against select pathogens. <P>This IAES project will contribute to the following NC-1023 multistate project objectives; namely, (1) advancing the fundamental science and application of technologies to ensure safety and improve quality of food products; (2) utilize innovative methods to characterize food materials; (3) develop new and improved processing technologies; (4) develop pedagogical methodologies for improved learning of food engineering principles.
Non-Technical Summary:<br/>
The Pacific Northwest region is endowed with diverse agricultural, aquatic and other natural resources that are of critical importance to the US economy. Among these are grains, legumes, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, fish, and other aquatic products that are usually processed for human consumption. During the processing steps, large quantities of byproducts and co-products are generated. These byproducts can and should be converted into enhanced valued food and other non-food products to increase the profitability of the various commodities. Brassica seed meals (BSM) and fish processing byproducts can be made into value added films with bioactive and antimicrobial properties to improve food safety (which has been listed by USDA NIFA as one of the five societal challenge areas). These enhanced value products can be prepared using novel processing technologies, including ultrasound and microwave-assisted extraction followed by drying into continuous films, powders, or flakes for direct use or further processing into other products. This project will lead to the development of new processing techniques and products while solving environmental problems associated with the disposal food processing byproducts.
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Approach:<br/>
Biopolymer films (made from fish gelatin or Brassica seed meals) will be prepared in the lab by solution casting onto specially prepared Teflon plates after degassing the solutions to remove air bubbles. The dried films will be removed and put inside a relative humidity chamber to equilibrate at 50% RH for 2 days. Films without antioxidants and metal (oxide) nanoparticles (NPs) will serve as a control. The antimicrobial agents including silver NPs will be incorporated into the films prior to casting using procedures previously developed. The specific tasks will be as follows: (1) Extraction of Bioactives using Microwave and Ultrasound: Microwave (MW) energy will be applied from a 2450MHz lab system with controls to measure input power. The product will be heated at different power levels (1.0, 2.0, and 4 W/g) for 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 minutes. The effect of power level and time on antioxidants will be analyzed using the DPPH and photochemiluminescence methods to determine the optimal extraction conditions. The second approach will be to use a laboratory scale high power ultrasound (HPU) generator UP200S and Branson Sonifier S-450A. The temperature of product will be controlled using cold water in an outer jacket. (2) Evaluation of Chemical and Thermophysical Properties: Extracts obtained after microwave and/or power ultrasound treatments will be analyzed for anthocyanin content (ACY) and total antioxidant activity (TAA). ACY will be measured by the pH differential method. Absorbance at 515 nm will be recorded at different intervals until the readings become steady. The data generated will be analyzed statistically to understand the effect of HPU or MW on extraction at different power levels and treatment durations. Thermal transitions, including glass transition temperature (Tg) of dehydrated extracts and films will be determined using a modulated DSC while consistency of film-forming solutions will be measured using either cone and plate to elucidate the rheological (structural) properties of the materials. Sonication of liquid-phase media will be used to break up any agglomerates and uniformly disperse the metal (oxide) NPs throughout the film-forming solution. A laser particle size analyzer will be used to measure particle sizes before and after sonication and high pressure homogenization. The films conditioned after drying will be tested for water vapor permeability (WVP), tensile strength (TS), and percent elongation at break (%E) using a texture analyzer while water mobility will be measured using dynamic vapor sorption analyzer (VSA, Decagon Devices, Pullman, WA). (3) The extracts/film forming solution prepared by power ultrasound and high pressure homogenization will be dried in a pilot scale Refractance Window dryer (MCD Technologies, Tacoma, WA). The moisture content will be measured before and after drying process. The dried films or Brassica seed meal products will be analyzed for TAA and for color quality using CIE L,a, b color values (Minolta color meter CR-400).
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Progress:<br/>
2012/01 TO 2012/12<br/>
OUTPUTS: Power ultrasound is applied at different frequencies/amplitude to extract bioactive compounds in Brassicaceace seed meal, including mustard (Brassica juncea and Sinapis alba) which is an important oilseed and rotational crop in the state of Idaho. Brassicaceae oilseeds exhibit rotational and environmental benefits that make them excellent crops for the production of biofuel. The benefits of extracting residual bioactive and antimicrobial compounds that are discarded with the seed meals have not been fully investigated. An increased incentive to grow the oilseed crops will occur if the oils and byproducts from their seeds demand higher prices, which can be achieved through the extraction of valuable bioactive compounds in seed meals. The goal of this part of the study is to investigate the extraction of antioxidants from Brassicaceae seed meal (BSM) utilizing high-intensity power ultrasound. One graduate student who is supported by this USDA grant was recruited in 2011. This student has made excellent progress extracting antioxidants from mustard meals - a byproduct of biofuel industry that are of economic importance to Idaho oilseed growers. This student is scheduled to graduate in spring 2013. One poster based on this work was presented at ASABE meeting in Dallas TX (Aug 2012). Another abstract based on this project was submitted for presentation at IFT Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL (July 2013). During this reporting period, project progress was also presented at a Project Directors' meeting in Washington DC.
<br/>PARTICIPANTS: Two graduate students (Jeremiah Dubie and Amir Golmohamadi) were supported with funds from this project.
<br/>TARGET AUDIENCES: Oilseed processors, equipment manufacturers, and researchers.
<br/>PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
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IMPACT: There is a growing interest to apply novel processing technologies such as power ultrasound to extract valuable bioactive compounds from byproducts of seed, fruit, and vegetable processing. The application and proper control of power ultrasound frequencies in the range of 20-100 kHz (known to cause cavitational effects) may improve the recovery of phenolic compounds in seeds or byproducts of vegetable/biofuel processing. Application of ultrasound assisted extraction is environmentally friendly and has the potential to improve the recovery of those bioactives with minimal to no use of organic solvents.Investigation of this technology will lead to development of new value added products, including edible films containing antioxidants and/or antimicrobials that extend the shelf life of food, increase food safety, and make the oilseed crops produced in Idaho and other Pacific Northwest states more profitable. If oilseed crops are fully integrated into PNW cereal-based cropping systems, it is estimated that the region will produce over 150 M gal of biofuel oils and nearly 0.3 M tons of seed meal with residual bioactive compounds that could be extracted for use in diverse platforms, including the ever growing functional foods and nutraceuticals sector - a $39 billion industry in 2010 (according Nutraceuticals World Magazine, Sept 2011 (www.nutraceuticalsworld.com).