Physico-chemical properties of jackfruit seed starch (Artocarpus heterophyllus) and its application as a thickener and stabilizer in chilli sauce

This study investigates the possible utilization of starch extracted from jackfruit seed waste from the jackfruit frying industry. We first compared the physico-chemical properties of jackfruit seed starch (JFSS) with cornstarch (CS) and potato starch (PS) and then compared JFSS with CS as a thickener and stabilizer in chilli sauce. JFSS had a higher amylose content and its granules were much smaller than CS and PS granules; in addition, JFSS had a higher pasting temperature and final viscosity than CS and PS. JFSS experienced lower breakdown than CS and PS pastes which indicates that JFSS paste is more resistant to thermal and mechanical shear during cooking. The XRD patterns showed JFSS to be Type A starch, similar to corn starch. JFSS is suitable as a thickener and stabilizer in chilli sauce because chilli sauce with JFSS had the lowest serum separation and highest viscosity during storage compared with control chilli sauce and sauce containing CS. In addition, sensory evaluation demonstrated that chilli sauce containing JFSS received the highest score in terms of color, mouth feel, homogeneity and overall quality.     

HPLC快速测定辣椒及其制品中苏丹红1号方法的建立

以辣椒及其制品为研究对象,建立HPLC快速测定苏丹红1号的方法。采用反相色谱法,以V(水)∶V(乙腈)∶V(丙酮)=20∶58∶22为流动相,用二极管阵列紫外-可见光度检测器(DAD)检测辣椒制品中的苏丹红1号。该分析方法的线性范围为1.95～24.4μg/mL,加标回收率在99.0%～101.6%之间,相对标准偏差(RSD)0.42%(n=6),检出限(信噪比S/N=3)0.3μg/mL。该方法经实际应用,具有良好的准确性和重现性,且操作简单,易推广。     

Drying of hot chilli using solar tunnel drier

A mixed mode type forced convection solar tunnel drier was used to dry hot red and green chillies under the tropical weather conditions of Bangladesh. The drier consisted of transparent plastic covered flat-plate collector and a drying tunnel connected in series to supply hot air directly into the drying tunnel using two fans operated by a photovoltaic module. The drier had a loading capacity of 80 kg of fresh chillies. Moisture content of red chilli was reduced from 2.85 to 0.05 kg kg⁻¹ (db) in 20 h in solar tunnel drier and it took 32 h to reduce the moisture content to 0.09 and 0.40 kg kg⁻¹ (db) in improved and conventional sun drying methods, respectively. In case of green chilli, about 0.06 kg kg⁻¹ (db) moisture content was obtained from an initial moisture content of 7.6 kg kg⁻¹ (db) in 22 h in solar tunnel drier and 35 h to reach the moisture content to 0.10 and 0.70 kg kg⁻¹ (db) in improved and conventional sun drying methods, respectively. The use of a solar tunnel drier and blanching of sample led to a considerable reduction in drying time and dried products of better quality in terms of colour and pungency in comparison to products dried under the sun. The solar tunnel drier and blanching of chilli are recommended for drying of both red and green chillies.     

Adsorption isotherms for red chilli (Capsicum annum L.)

The adsorption equilibrium moisture contents for red chilli were determined experimentally in relative humidity range of 11–97% at the temperatures of 20, 30, 40, and 50°C. Six equilibrium moisture content models were fitted to the experimental data. The modified Oswin model was the best fitted equation for relative humidity range of 11–97% for the adsorption data of red chilli.     

固相分散萃取-高效液相色谱法测定郫县豆瓣中四种苏丹红染料的研究

建立了郫县豆瓣中苏丹红Ⅰ～Ⅳ的固相分散萃取(SPDE)-高效液相色谱(HPLC)分析方法。样品用无水硫酸钠作为分散剂,以乙腈提取样品中的苏丹红,提取液用中性氧化铝层析柱进行净化。用Inertsil ODS-sp C18柱(4.6mm×250mm,5μm))分离,流动相A为乙腈,流动相B为0.1%甲酸水溶液(A∶B为90∶10,V/V),等度洗脱,流速1mL/min,柱温40℃。二极管阵列检测器检测,检测波长为517nm,利用保留时间和光谱图定性,外标法定量。4种苏丹红染料在0.10～20.00μg/mL范围内线性关系良好,相关系数均大于0.9999,苏丹红Ⅰ～Ⅳ的检出限(LOD)分别为0.009～0.013mg/kg(信噪比S/N=3)。在添加浓度为0.5～10.0mg/kg范围内平均回收率达81.67%～93.28%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为1.07%～4.61%(n=6)。     

Determination of banned sudan dyes in chili powder by capillary electrophoresis

A simple and fast method, based on the use of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography in combination with UV detection, was developed for the determination of Sudan dyes (I, II, III and IV). The separation of a mixture of the four standards was achieved using a background electrolyte consisting of 5 mM borate (pH 9.3), 20 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 20% acetonitrile. Under optimized conditions, the four azo-dyes were baseline separated in 20 min with limits of detection ranging from 96 to 610 μg/L (S/N > 3). The applicability of the method for rapid screening and determination of Sudan dyes (I, II and III) was studied by analyzing spiked chili powder samples from India, Pakistan, Mexico, United States, Canada, and China.     

Mapping the Complex World of the Smallholder: An Approach to Smallholder Research for Food and Income Security With Examples from Malaysia,India and Sri Lanka

Smallholders continue to account for up to 87% of all agricultural holdings and 70% of the global food supply while consuming only 30% of the world's agricultural resources. However global investment in agriculture R&D is increasingly concentrated in a smaller number of countries and focusses on research concerning physical aspects of a limited number of commodity crops. While the benefits of this research to smallholders is significant. This approach to agricultural research reflects the needs of commodity food chains, rather than those of smallholder food webs. Leading to a focus on the alignment of the latter to approaches and practices more reminiscent of the former. This perspective may overlook the inherent strengths of smallholder systems and as a consequence, fail to maximise their potential and reduce the capacity of smallholders to engage in autonomous development strategies. A modified livelihood approach which allows for an exploration of complexity in smallholder systems offers a useful entry point for developing interdisciplinary research to support sustainable productivity gains in the smallholder sector.     

Risk Assessment of Mycotoxins and Predictive Mycology in Sri Lankan Spices: Chilli and Pepper

This research contributes to a better understanding of the mycotoxin problem associated with two important spices in world trade;, chilli and pepper by a multidisciplinary approach including analytical chemistry, risk assessment, food chemistry and predictive mycology. More specifically, this work provides important insights in mycotoxin contamination of these spices and associated risks in Sri Lanka. Firstly, a simple extraction method based on the QuEChERS approach was developed and successfully validated for the simultaneous determination of multiple mycotoxins using an advanced chromatographic technique, LC-MS/MS. The method was applied on complex spices for quantitative screening of seventeen mycotoxins. In addition to the classical aflatoxins and ochratoxin A, the spices were also found to be contaminated with several other toxicologically significant mycotoxins. Chilli samples (87%) were more frequently contaminated with mycotoxins than peppers (65%). Subsequently, the mycotoxins screening results and the collected consumption data were integrated in a quantitative risk assessment study. The results showed that AFB1 exposure via chilli consumption is of a public health concern in Sri Lanka, pepper is of lesser extent a risk due to the lower consumption. The toxigenic mould characterization in black peppers showed that Aspergillus flavus and/or Aspergillus parasiticus were the predominant moulds (73%) found, with considerable contamination (60%) of Penicillium spp. and A. niger. Furthermore, predictive mould growth models on peppercorns were developed at three temperatures and seven water activity levels for both A. flavus and A. parasiticus isolates. Based on the research, suitable storage conditions for black peppercorns were suggested and the way forward in managing the risk towards mycotoxins posed by the consumption of these two spices in Sri Lanka.     

Immunoaffinity removal and immunoassay for rhodamine B in chilli powder

A rapid and simple immunoassay and a sol–gel‐based immunoaffinity chromatography (IAC) purification method for Rhodamine B (RB) were developed using spiked chilli powder. A polyclonal antibody against RB was generated by immunisation of rabbits with an immunogen hapten. An enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed that achieved a 50% inhibition (IC₅₀) value of 0.94 ± 0.05 ng mL^?1. The limit of detection of the ELISA method was 1 ng g^?1 in chilli powder. For the IAC, recovery was 68.1–86.2% at 1 ng g^?1 and 72.6–89.3% at 5 ng g^?1 in spiked chilli powder. Fortified samples were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS) after IAC purification, and the results showed a good agreement between the two methods. The ELISA could be a convenient tool for screening RB residue in foods, and the IAC cleanup procedure coupled with HPLC–MS could be an effective alternative method for the determination of RB in various substances.     

红辣椒中辣椒红色素的提取工艺研究

分别采用有机溶剂法与超临界二氧化碳萃取法对通辽市开鲁县盛产的红辣椒进行了辣椒红色素的提取分离。通过分光光度法对产品品质进行了分析鉴定。采用两种方法分别得到了色价为68．4与289．3的油状辣椒红色素。结果表明：超临界二氧化碳萃取法具有产品回收率大、产率高、色价高等优点而更适于辣椒红色素的提取。