Location: Functional Foods Research
2020 Annual Report
Objectives
Objective 1: Enable new commercial processes for separating, concentrating, isolating, modifying, and improving functional components of oilseed press cakes and pulses alone and with other components for viable food, feed and non-food applications. Sub-objective 1.1: Select and acquire feedstocks; analyze and separate components. Sub-objective 1.2: Improve fractions and components by processing, chemical modification, enzymatic treatment, or combination with other materials.
Objective 2: Enable new commercial uses for components from oilseed press cakes and pulses in health-promoting food, feed and industrial applications. Sub-objective 2.1: Develop food applications for pulse components. Sub-objective 2.2: Develop non-food applications for oilseed press cake and pulse components.
Approach
Oilseed press cakes and pulse crops are two potentially valuable sources of functional food ingredients and biobased products from plant seed tissues which have not been fully exploited. New processing methods are critically needed in order to (1) identify new applications for currently low-value oilseed press cakes such as pennycress, coriander, and camelina, and (2) provide functional food ingredients from pulse crops in a form that facilitates incorporation into various food products while minimizing negative characteristics. In coordination with collaborating projects, pulse and press cake feedstocks will be obtained and their protein, starch, and fiber components separated by milling, extraction, or treatment with chemicals or enzymes. Thermo-mechanical processes such as steam jet cooking, steam explosion, and extrusion will be investigated as methods to separate, modify, or combine isolated components or remove undesirable components. Functional characteristics such as texture, particle size, microstructure, solubility, compatibility, and organoleptic properties will be determined and suitability for specific food and industrial applications will be investigated. The performance of prototype industrial products will be evaluated and the most efficient methods for the isolation of functional components determined. Anticipated biobased products include gums, adhesives, lubricants, thickeners, fibers, composite fillers, and coatings. Pulse fractions enriched in specific functional or nutritious ingredients will be incorporated into food formulations and evaluated for consumer acceptability. Successful utilization of these feedstocks will enhance the economic viability of the respective crops for farmers and thus provide agronomic benefits such as nitrogen fixation by legume crops and off-season cover crop benefits for oilseed producers.
Progress Report
This is the final report for Project 5010-41000-168-00D which has been replaced by new Project 5010-41000-181-00D, “Improved Utilization of Whole Pulses, Pulse Fractions, and Pulse Byproducts for Health-Promoting Food Ingredients and Biobased Products.” The overall project goals were to develop new processing technologies for pulses and oilseed press cakes to enable increased utilization in food and industrial products by improving functional properties, reducing undesirable components and separating useful components for new applications.
Whole bean flour properties of navy, pinto, and black beans and chickpeas were compared to flours passed through a steam jet cooker and drum dried. Jet-cooked materials formed a uniform composite matrix having color changes in the flours suggesting solubilization of seed coat pigments. Analysis of structure, particle size, color, solubility, pasting characteristics, dietary fiber, oligosaccharides and protein digestibility revealed differences from untreated flours with potential advantages for food applications, including increased soluble fiber. These results provide the potential to increase pulse flour utilization in foods.
Adjusting the pH (3-8) of black bean flour dispersions before jet cooking provided useful modifications, including bright pink and violet flours, raffinose saccharide degradation, less reduction of phenolics, lower pasting viscosity and more protein solubilization than flour jet cooked at the unadjusted pH of 6.5.
Jet-cooking was used to partition navy bean flour into readily obtained water soluble and insoluble fractions. These fractions were markedly different from those obtained after conventional cooking and soaking of the flour. Insoluble fractions could serve as fiber and protein ingredients to fortify bread or spreadable food products, while the emulsification and foam properties of soluble fractions provide potential egg white substitutes.
Steam jet-cooking blends of navy bean and soybean flours gave simply prepared milk prototypes showing improved stability over comparable milks made by traditional cooking methods. Beverage prototypes had desirable nutritional value and potential for the functional beverage market.
Gluten-free amaranth breads partially substituted with soybean, navy bean and lupin flours were found to have significantly higher or similar springiness compared to whole wheat breads. The breads showed improved nutritional values and acceptable texture qualities compared to breads made from amaranth and whole wheat flours.
Chickpea flour addition to yogurt increased the protein content by up to 15% and affected the physicochemical and sensory properties of yogurt. It promoted bacterial fermentation, reducing processing time and significantly improving the texture, without reducing acceptability.
Cookie dough characteristics and cookie quality of pulse (navy bean, kidney bean and lentil) flours significantly differed among each other and from wheat flour. Lentil flour cookie dough was closest to wheat dough. Navy bean flour cookies had spread factor and texture close to wheat flour cookies. The feasibility of the Solvent Retention Capacity (SRC) test to predict baking quality of whole pulse flour cookies was examined. SRC of pulse flours correlated well with pulse flour dough and cookie characteristics, and can be used as a predictive tool. Pulse flours can be selected for preferred cookie characteristics based on SRC.
Pulse starch gels properties were examined and found to depend on starch type and concentration. Results are useful for utilizing the starch enriched coproduct fraction of protein isolation and thus enhancing the profitability of isolating protein from pulses.
The effects of gums on pasting, water absorption, freeze-thaw stability and textural properties of navy bean starch gels was investigated. Improving navy bean starch and flour properties through the addition of gums can expand their use in food products.
Pulse flour particle size affects the resistant starch content, since larger particles contain intact cells that inhibit starch digestion. We examined navy bean flour digestibility having different particle sizes processed under different moisture conditions: roasting (low moisture), baking (intermediate), and pasting (high moisture). Both starch and protein digestibility decreased by about half in the flour with the largest particle size. Digestibility was highest in flours cooked in excess water, but decreased slightly in baked flours and was much lower in roasted flours. Neither particle size nor cooking method affected extractability of raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFO).
Pulses have high levels of RFO which limit their consumption and acceptance. RFO reduction by different processing methods in three pulses were examined. Lentils had significantly higher decrease in RFO followed by dry green peas while navy beans were least influenced by processing. Germination reduced RFO most (peas>lentils> navy beans). Autoclaving and cooking had a similar intermediate effect on RFO reduction. Jet-cooking had no effect on RFO in lentils but increased RFO in peas and navy beans. Dry roasting increased RFO in all three pulses. Observed RFO increases reflect higher RFO extractability, since RFOs are not heat degradation products.
Twenty-one processed pulse flours were sent to a collaborator in Lincoln, Nebraska to determine the impact of pulses processing on colonic microbiota.
Multi-year dry pea and lentil samples were collected in five northern states as a part of the U.S. Pulse Quality Survey. Protein, moisture, ash and starch are measured by standard methods, which are time consuming. Chemometric models were developed to determine protein, moisture, ash and starch using near infrared reflectance spectrometry (NIRS).
Robust validated models to predict isoflavone composition in soybeans were developed using Multiple Linear Regression analysis of HPLC data and near infrared spectral (NIRS) scans. The models were used to determine isoflavone composition in >3200 soybean samples by NIRS from U.S. locations from four growing seasons.
Coriander seed hulls constitutes approximately 50% of the seed weight and is a low-valued co-product from coriander seed oil processing. Hulls were 86% dietary fiber (81% insoluble, 5% soluble), 8% protein and 1% oil. Extrusion of hulls shifted the insoluble and soluble dietary fiber ratio toward more soluble fiber.
Wheat bran is added to bread as a fiber supplement, but its use is limited by the rate of water uptake by bran relative to other bread ingredients. In a collaborative study with ARS researchers in Wooster, Ohio, 1.5 kg quantities of wheat bran were processed by steam jet-cooking and extrusion for analysis of water uptake kinetics. Both thermomechanical treatments improved bran water uptake.
Current approaches for manufacturing water resistant paper require chemical treatments and polymer coatings. We discovered that treatment of paper with small quantities of corn starch complexed with hexadecyl amine renders the paper hydrophobic. Starch complexes are easily made on a commercial scale allowing the use of a biobased material in place of synthetic, non-biodegradable plastic film coatings. A patent was issued, and paper manufacturing companies have shown interest.
Silver nanoparticle use in anti-microbial products has rapidly expanded in response to the growing problem of acquired antibiotic resistance. Our research has shown jet cooked corn starch complexed with sodium palmitate produced smaller and thus more effective silver nanoparticles. Treating nanoparticle dispersions with dilute acid formed gels that can be freeze-dried and later reconstituted in water. Reconstituted nanoparticles were shown by electron microscopy to be similar in size as the preparations before forming the gel. Freeze-dried nanoparticle gel can be stored indefinitely.
Biting insects cost the U.S. cattle industry more than $2.4 billion annually. ARS researchers from Lincoln, Nebraska, and Peoria, Illinois identified an effective biobased biting insect repellent from coconut oil fatty acids. We formulated the coconut fatty acids into an easily sprayable aqueous starch composite that at 6% coconut fatty acid level showed >96-hours of protection on cattle against biting flies, the longest repellency times observed for any natural product. Over three years we prepared over 150 liters of the composite to use in field studies for biting fly repellency on cattle with ARS collaborators at Lincoln, Nebraska. This biobased system provides an alternative to DEET, a synthetic chemical which persists in the environment and poses health risks.
Incorporation of flavor molecules into amylose inclusion complexes can be used for flavor delivery, and the protection and delivery of sensitive flavor compounds in foods are needed to improve food quality and flavor and extend shelf life. In collaboration with University of Illinois researchers, we examined the protection of an unstable popcorn-like aroma compound using starch complexation. The complexes retained the flavor compound for up to two weeks longer compared to the noncomplexed flavor compound that was rapidly lost within 30 minutes. Steam jet cooking was also used to prepare amylose inclusion complexes with ferulic acid, a bioactive molecule, by using the fatty ferulic acid ester, octadecyl ferulate.
The work carried out in the past five years has validated jet-cooking and germination as useful, commercially viable technologies for expanding utilization of pulses while bringing to fruition several new applications for amylose complexes and starch-lipid composites produced by jet cooking. It has resulted in 39 peer reviewed scientific papers, one new invention disclosure and patent application, one issued patent, three new Cooperative Research Agreements and four Material Transfer Agreements.
Accomplishments
1. Novel pulse ingredients from jet-cooked pulse flours separated into water-soluble and water-insoluble fractions. Pulses (dried beans) provide valuable health benefits in the diet, but are a relatively minor component in the United States food economy due to factors such as long cooking time, beany taste, flatulence, and abdominal discomfort issues. New processing methods are needed to provide pulse-based functional food ingredients in a form that facilitates their incorporation into various food products while minimizing negative characteristics. ARS scientists in Peoria, Illinois, successfully used jet-cooking to separate navy bean flour into readily obtained water soluble and insoluble fractions. The researchers discovered the insoluble fractions could serve as a fiber and protein ingredient to fortify bread or spreadable food products, while the soluble fraction has good emulsification and foam properties, making it a potential substitute for egg whites. Some properties of soluble and insoluble fractions obtained by steam jet-cooking were markedly different from those obtained after conventional cooking and soaking of navy bean flour. These results provide a basis for using these novel fractions as innovative pulse-based food ingredients. Since the isolated fractions can be either use directly or dried and reconstituted, food producers and consumers can readily adapt them into their manufacturing or food preparation processes.
Review Publications
Winkler-Moser, J.K., Anderson, J.A., Byars, J.A., Singh, M., Hwang, H. 2019. Evaluation of beeswax, candelilla wax, rice bran wax, and sunflower wax as alternative stabilizers for peanut butter. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society. 96(11):1235-1248. https://doi.org/10.1002/aocs.12276.
Berhow, M.A., Singh, M., Bowman, M.J., Price, N.P.J., Vaughn, S.F., Liu, S.X. 2020. Quantitative NIR determination of isoflavone and saponin content of ground soybeans. Food Chemistry. 317:126373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126373.
Liu, S.X., Chen, D., Singh, M., Xu, J. 2019. Extraction of proteins and pasting and antioxidant properties of soybean hulls. Journal of Food Research. 8(6):66-77. https://doi.org/10.5539/jfr.v8n6p66.
Roh, G., Zhou, X., Wang, Y., Cermak, S.C., Kenar, J.A., Lehmann, A.T., Han, B., Taylor, D.B., Zeng, X., Park, C., Brewer, G.J., Zhu, J.J. 2020. Spatial repellency, antifeedant activity and toxicity of three medium chain fatty acids and their methyl esters of coconut fatty acid against stable flies. Pest Management Science. 76(1):405-414. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5574.
Laraba, I., Kim, H.-S., Proctor, R.H., Busman, M., O'Donnell, K., Felker, F.C., Aime, M.C., Koch, R.A., Wurdack, K.J. 2019. Fusarium xyrophilum, sp. nov., a member of the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex recovered from pseudoflowers on yellow-eyed grass (Xyris spp.) from Guyana. Mycologia. 112(1):39-51. https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2019.1668991.
Vaughn, S.F., Moser, J.K., Berhow, M.A., Byars, J.A., Liu, S.X., Jackson, M.A., Peterson, S.C., Eller, F.J. 2020. An odor-reducing, low dust-forming, clumping cat litter produced from Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana L.) wood fibers and biochar. Industrial Crops and Products. 147. Article 112224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2020.112224.
Compton, D.L., Appell, M., Kenar, J.A., Evans, K.O. 2020. Enzymatic synthesis and flash chromatography separation of 1,3-diferuloyl-sn-glycerol and 1-feruloyl-sn-glycerol. Methods and Protocols. 3(1):8. https://doi.org/10.3390/mps3010008.
Winkler-Moser, J.K., Anderson, J., Felker, F.C., Hwang, H.-S. 2019. Physical properties of beeswax, sunflower wax, and candelilla wax mixtures and oleogels. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society. 96(10):1125-1142. https://doi.org/10.1002/aocs.12280.
Kenar, J.A., Felker, F.C., Singh, M., Byars, J.A., Berhow, M.A., Bowman, M.J., Moser, J.K. 2020. Comparison of composition and physical properties of soluble and insoluble navy bean flour components after jet-cooking, soaking, and cooking. LWT - Food Science and Technology. 130. Article 109765. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2020.109765.
Gargouri, S., Balmas, V., Burgess, L., Paulitz, T., Laraba, I., Kim, H.-S., Proctor, R.H., Busman, M., Felker, F.C., Murray, T., O'Donnell, K. 2020. An endophyte of Macrochloa tenacissima (esparto or needle grass) from Tunisia is a novel species in the Fusarium redolens species complex. Mycologia. 112(4):792-807. https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2020.1767493.
