Functional Properties of Protein Isolate from Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.)

ABSTRACT: Functional properties of protein isolates prepared from 3 cowpea varieties and 2 soybean varieties in each of 2 y were determined. Both cowpea protein isolate (CPI) and soy protein isolate (SPI) showed a u-shaped curve for solubility with the minimum solubility occurring at pH 4.5. The CPI had lower emulsifying activity than SPI but was similar in stability. Foaming capacity and foaming stability ranged from 58.6 to 60.2 mL and 63.7 to 64.4 min for CPI and from 31.9 to 33.0 mL and 43.4 to 45.0 min for SPI, respectively. Gels were formed at 70 °C for 40 min and 30 min for CPI (12%) and SPI (10%), respectively. The CPI needs modification to enhance functional properties for potential application in food products.     

Influence of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L Walp) variety on protein quality and sensory properties of akara,a popular West African cowpea‐based food

The influence of newly developed cowpea varieties (IT81D‐699, IT82E‐18, IT84S‐2246‐4 and TV_x3236) on the proximate composition, protein quality and sensory properties of akara, a popular West African cowpea‐based food, was investigated and the results obtained were compared with those for akara prepared from a local blackeye cowpea variety. Protein quality was evaluated using weanling albino rats fed diets which were formulated to supply 10% protein using defatted akara samples, with casein as a control. Akara samples prepared from IT81D‐699 and TV_x3236 had crude protein contents, texture and overall acceptability comparable to those of akara prepared from the blackeye variety. Also, akara diets formulated using IT81D‐699 and TV_x3236 showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher values for weight gain, protein efficiency ratio, net protein ratio and true digestibility than diets formulated with IT82E‐18, IT84S‐2246‐4 and blackeye, suggesting an improvement in the nutritional quality of akara produced using these (IT8ID‐699 and TV_x3236) newly developed cowpea varieties. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Finite Element Modeling of Heat and Mass Transfer During Steaming of Cowpea Seeds

One of the major constraints in utilization of cowpeas is from storage losses due to cowpea weevil infestation. Appropriate steaming of cowpeas has been known to prevent weevil infestation during storage. A finite element model was developed to describe simultaneous heat and mass transfer, which could be further used in examining physicochemical changes in seeds. Predicted temperature and moisture profiles in the seeds agreed well with experimental results. The average deviations of center and surface temperatures between predicted and observed values after 15 min of steaming were 0.91 °C (relative error, 1.0%) and 0.85 °C (relative error, 0.85%), respectively. The maximum error between observed and predicted moisture uptake was 8.60%.     

Kinetics of Thermal Inactivation of Peroxidase and Color Degradation of African Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) Leaves

Cowpea leaves form an important part of the diet for many Kenyans, and they are normally consumed after a lengthy cooking process leading to the inactivation of peroxidase (POD) that could be used as an indicator for the potential shelf life of the vegetables. However, color degradation can simultaneously occur, leading to poor consumer acceptance of the product. The kinetics of POD in situ thermal (for thermal treatments in the range of 75 to 100 °C/120 min) inactivation showed a biphasic first‐order model, with Arrhenius temperature dependence of the rate constant. The kinetic parameters using a reference temperature (T_ref) of 80 °C were determined for both the heat‐labile phase (k_ref = 11.52 ± 0.95 × 10^?2 min^?1 and E_a of 109.67 ± 6.20 kJ/mol) and the heat‐stable isoenzyme fraction (k_ref = 0.29 ± 0.07 × 10^?2 min^?1 and E_a of 256.93 ± 15.27 kJ/mol). Color degradation (L*, a*, and b* value) during thermal treatment was investigated, in particular as the “a*” value (the value of green color). Thermal degradation (thermal treatments between 55 and 80 °C per 90 min) of the green color of the leaves followed a fractional conversion model and the temperature dependence of the inactivation rate constant can be described using the Arrhenius law. The kinetic parameters using a reference temperature (T_refC = 70 °C) were determined as k_refC = 13.53 ± 0.01 × 10^?2 min^?1 and E_aC = 88.78 ± 3.21 kJ/mol. The results indicate that severe inactivation of POD (as an indicator for improved shelf life of the cooked vegetables) is accompanied by severe color degradation and that conventional cooking methods (typically 10 min/100 °C) lead to a high residual POD activity suggesting a limited shelf life of the cooked vegetables.     

豇豆食品的开发现状与展望

豇豆是一种营养丰富的传统大宗蔬菜。该文概述了豇豆的生理特征、豇豆食品的种类及特点,并且总结了近年来发酵豇豆食品的相关研究现状,指出了特定乳酸菌在豇豆食品中的应用潜力和其特点以及优势,展望了豇豆食品的发展趋势,为今后豇豆的研究提供了一定的理论依据。     

不同豇豆中酚类含量与抗氧化活性

为深入了解豇豆的营养价值,以11个不同品种的豇豆样品为原料,对其总酚含量、总黄酮含量及抗氧化活性(总还原能力、1,1-二苯基-2-三硝基苯肼(1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl,DPPH)自由基清除能力、·OH清除能力)进行分析,并讨论酚类物质含量及抗氧化活性的相关性。结果表明,不同品种的豇豆酚类物质含量和抗氧化活性差异显著。在测定的样品中,新杂1号表现出最高的总酚含量(5.59 mg GAE/g)、总黄酮含量(4.12 mg CAE/g)及抗氧化活性(总还原能力和DPPH自由基清除能力);豇豆中总酚含量、总黄酮含量与总还原能力、DPPH自由基清除能力之间有极显著相关性(P0.01),与·OH清除能力之间没有显著相关性。     

热泵式长豇豆干燥工艺优化

为保证热泵干燥后长豇豆产品的复水性和色泽等品质参数良好,同时降低豇豆干燥过程中的能量消耗,提高豇豆干燥生产的效率,采用Box-Behnken试验设计,分析干燥温度、漂烫时间和铺料密度3 个因素对豇豆产品的复水率、色差、单位耗能量和耗时4 个参数的影响,建立多元回归模型,并对干燥工艺参数进行优化,得到热泵式长豇豆干燥工艺的最佳条件为漂烫时间3 min、铺料密度2 kg/m2、干燥温度50 ℃。在该工艺条件下,实际测得长豇豆复水率1.15,色差值22.39,单位耗能量14.31（kW·h）/kg,耗时7 h,与预测值误差极小,为豇豆在实际热泵式干燥设备生产加工中的应用提供一定的理论依据。