The study was aimed to develop cake supplemented by beetroot powder and to evaluate its quality parameter. Four samples were prepared to contain different proportions of beetroot powder (5, 10, 15, and 20% w/w) in combination with wheat flour. The nutritional and sensory properties of plain cakes were also evaluated. The cake supplemented with 15% (w/w) beetroot powder had significantly (p<0.05) improved the nutritional quality compared to control one (without beetroot powder). The mean sensory scores of highly acceptable beetroot powder cake S3 (85:15) had better color (8.57±0.53), flavor (8.43±0.53), texture (8.29±0.49), taste (8.57±0.53) and overall acceptability (8.47±0.13) than other samples. The nutritional and sensory analysis suggested that the cake formulated by 15% (w/w) beetroot powder was comparatively more acceptable than other formulations (0, 5, 10 and 20% w/w).

Natural colorants have been used in several ways throughout human history, such as in food, dyes, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and many other products. The study aimed to isolate the natural colorant-producing filamentous fungi Aspergillus niger from soil and extract pigments for its potential use specially for food production. Fourteen soil samples were collected from Madhupur National Park at Madhupur Upazila in the Mymensingh district, Bangladesh. The Aspergillus niger was isolated and identified from the soil samples by following conventional mycological methods (cultural and morphological characteristics), followed by confirmatory identification by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of conserved sequences of ITS1 ribosomal DNA using specific oligonucleotide primers. This was followed by genus- and species-specific primers targeting Aspergillus niger with an amplicon size of 521 and 310 bp, respectively. For pigment production, a mass culture of Aspergillus niger was conducted in Sabouraud dextrose broth in shaking conditions for seven days. The biomass was subjected to extraction of the pigments following an ethanol-based extraction method and concentrated using a rotary evaporator. Aspergillus niger could be isolated from three samples. The yield of extracted brown pigment from Aspergillus niger was 0.75% (w/v). Spectroscopic analysis of the pigments was carried out using a UV–VIS spectrophotometer. An in vivo experiment was conducted with mice to assess the toxicity of the pigments. From the colorimetric and sensory evaluations, pigment-supplemented products (cookies and lemon juice) were found to be more acceptable than the control products. This could be the first attempt to use Aspergillus niger extracted pigment from soil samples in food products in Bangladesh, but for successful food production, the food colorants must be approved by a responsible authority, e.g., the FDA or the BSTI. Moreover, fungal pigments could be used in the emerging fields of the food and textile industries in Bangladesh.

Introduction. Nowadays, health-conscious consumers attend to nutritional, health, and easy-to-use products. Demand for healthy snacks is significantly increasing. Our study aimed to develop high protein nutrition bars by incorporating pumpkin seed flour and banana flour and assess their quality. Study objects and methods. We analyzed three bar samples for nutritional, textural, and sensory quality. The bars contained banana flour, pumpkin seed flour, and the mixed flour. Proximate analysis was performed following the AOAC method. The mineral content and antioxidant properties of the bars were determined by using emission spectrophotometry and the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging modified method, respectively. Results and discussion. The mixed flour nutrition bar had significantly higher total phenolic content and antioxidant activity than the bar with banana flour and the bar with pumpkin seed flour. Textural analysis demonstrated that the mixed flour sample had significantly (P < 0.05) higher hardness and color parameters compared to the other bar samples. Nutritional analysis indicated that mixed flour bar contained significantly higher amounts of protein, fat, and calcium; while pumpkin seed flour bar had higher ash, iron, and magnesium contents. The mixed flour sample also had better sensory parameters. Conclusion. The mixed flour demonstrated good quality. Hence, both banana and pumpkin seed flour have a potential to be used in bar formulations.

Natural pigments and colorants have seen a substantial increase in use over the last few decades due to their eco-friendly and safe properties. Currently, customer preferences for more natural products are driving the substitution of natural pigments for synthetic colorants. Filamentous fungi, particularly ascomycetous fungi (Monascus, Fusarium, Penicillium, and Aspergillus), have been shown to produce secondary metabolites containing a wide variety of pigments, including β-carotene, melanins, azaphilones, quinones, flavins, ankaflavin, monascin, anthraquinone, and naphthoquinone. These pigments produce a variety of colors and tints, including yellow, orange, red, green, purple, brown, and blue. Additionally, these pigments have a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, including immunomodulatory, anticancer, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antiproliferative activities. This review provides an in-depth overview of fungi gathered from diverse sources and lists several probable fungi capable of producing a variety of color hues. The second section discusses how to classify coloring compounds according to their chemical structure, characteristics, biosynthetic processes, application, and present state. Once again, we investigate the possibility of employing fungal polyketide pigments as food coloring, as well as the toxicity and carcinogenicity of particular pigments. This review explores how advanced technologies such as metabolic engineering and nanotechnology can be employed to overcome obstacles associated with the manufacture of mycotoxin-free, food-grade fungal pigments.

The study was conducted to prepare healthy and nutritious margarine from sunflower oil (SO) and coconut oil (CO). Quality evaluation of the prepared margarine samples were done by determining the nutritional value and sensory evaluation. Three samples of margarine were formulated from sunflower oil and coconut oil on a 100 gram basis. The average composition of margarine was found as follows: 84% fat, 10.5% moisture, 4.75% protein and 0.58% total carbohydrate. The three formulations are: A (sunflower oil: coconut oil=1:1), B (sunflower oil: coconut oil=3:2), C (sunflower oil: coconut oil=2:3). The three formulations were analyzed for chemical composition. A sensory evaluation of the processed margarine was also done with the help of 10 panelists on the basis of organoleptic properties such as color, flavor, taste and overall acceptability. Both the statistical analysis and proximate analysis (moisture, fat, protein, total carbohydrate and ash content comparison) showed that formulation B (sunflower oil: coconut oil=3:2) is more acceptable than other formulations. So, it may be concluded that by processing margarine (sample B) in Bangladesh, it will be helpful for both vegetarian and general people to consume butter like nutritious product and to fulfil the daily intake of fat per capita to ensure good health.