Effect of popping on physicochemical, technological, antioxidant, and microstructural properties of makhana seed

Abstract

Makhana (Euryale ferox) seed, commonly known as gorgon nut or fox nut, is an aquatic crop cultivated in stagnant water bodies like ponds, land depressions, lakes, swamps, and ditches. It belongs to water lily family, Nymphaeaceae, which has cultivation history exceeding more than 2000 years in Asia. This black seed is round in shape with a diameter ranging from 4.5 to 14.5 mm and having hard shell as an outer most structure (Jha & Prasad, 1993). The edible part of the seed is the starchy kernel, which cannot be separated easily from its hard shell. Therefore, the raw makhana seeds are generally processed (popping) to obtain popped makhana for edible use. The consumption of popped makhana has been increased worldwide in the past few years due to its health benefits, lightness, and crispiness (APEDA, 2017). Popped makhana is highly nutritious due to its negligible fat content, high quality protein, and presence of various health promoting bioactive compounds. The high amino acid index (89%-93%) and better arginine + lysine/proline ratio (4.7-7.6) make it superior in comparison to other cereals for achieving the amino acid requirements of the human body (Jha, Barat, & Jha, 1991). The popping is done by initial roasting (270-280°C), tempering (48 hr), final roasting (260-270°C) and breaking of the hard shell for expansion of seed in hot condition (Jha & Prasad, 1996). In the initial roasting of raw seeds, the gelatinization, and retrogradation of starch molecules take place. The initial roasting brings characteristic changes and results in expansion of kernels (popping) during the second roasting. Popping process of makhana seeds is entirely different from rice and cocoa beans. The hull of paddy is removed after parboiling and then puffing is done through roasting (Mir, Bosco, Shah, & Mir, 2016). In cocoa beans, roasting and puffing is done in a single operation (Hu

Effect of Thermal Treatment on the Physicochemical, Ultrastructural, and Antioxidant Characteristics of Euryale ferox Seeds and Flour

“…It has been reported that changes in OAC during processing were associated with the solubilization and dissociation of proteins into subunits at the same time as the increase or decrease in polar and nonpolar binding sites, which contribute to the OAC increase [ 31 ]. In addition, this study found that roasted EFS flour OAC increased with microwave and IHFH treatments, which might be attributed to the increased porous structure and physical entrapment of the oil on the non-polar side chains of the protein [ 34 ].…”

Application of Image Analysis for Detecting the Browning of Unripe Banana Slices

“…The whiteness index (WI) was calculated for pretreated dried banana slices by using eq 3. 34 with slight modifications. The dried banana chips were powdered using a pestle and motor.…”

“…The DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging activity was estimated by using a UV–vis spectrophotometric method, which was earlier carried by Yogesh et al in 2014 and Devi et al in 2020 with slight modifications. The dried banana chips were powdered using a pestle and motor.…”

Technical Report on the notification of roasted and popped kernels from the seeds of Euryale ferox Salisb. as a traditional food from a third country pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283

“…EFSA notes that the fat content of unroasted makhana is very low (up to 0.5%) compared to fat content of the five roasted samples analysed by the applicant. EFSA considers that this is a consequence of the roasting with the olive oil as indicated by Devi et al (2020) who noted an increase of the oil absorption capability as an effect of the roasting. Thus, EFSA considers that the amount of fat and its profile in roasted and popped makhana presented in Table 1 is largely derived from the oil used for the roasting and not from the kernels as such.…”