Location: Functional Foods Research
2017 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
Water holding capacity (WHC) is an important functional property for pulse flours or proteins because it influences ingredient functionality and shelf stability. This is particularly important in the case of baked goods, where water takes part in starch gelatinization, protein unfolding and yeast activation during mixing and baking. American Association of Cereal Chemists International (AACCI) has a method (AACC 56-30.01) for measuring water hydration capacity of protein materials, but it was found that the method produced inconsistent results for pulses and their protein materials. Therefore, a collaborative study to determine the precision of the new AACCI method for measuring WHC for pulse flours was conducted.
Multi-year (2015, 2016) dry pea and lentil samples have been collected from Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Washington as a part of U.S. Pulse Quality Survey. Protein, moisture, ash and starch are measured by standard methods, but these methods are time consuming. Therefore, calibration models are being developed for prediction of protein, moisture, ash and starch using near infrared reflectance spectrometry (NIRS).
Pulses are gluten-free, non-allergenic, and an excellent source of protein, soluble fiber, vitamins and minerals and thus offer advantages for replacement of cereal flours. Germination is an economical and low-cost process used to improve the nutritional value by converting macromolecules into more digestible molecules. But there is limited information on the effect of germination on the functional and pasting properties of pulses. We found that germination of pulses resulted in a significant drop in the peak viscosity of lentil flour, followed by navy bean flour, but for pinto bean flour the drop in peak viscosity was not significant. This difference could be attributed to the presence of amylase inhibitor in pulse flours. These findings suggest that pulses differ in the effects of germination on their enzymatic activity, functional and pasting properties of whole pulse flours.
Solvent retention capacity (SRC) is a test widely used to evaluate the quality of soft wheat flours. The test measures the ability of flour to retain a set of four solvents (water, 5% lactic acid, 5% sodium carbonate, and 50% sucrose) after centrifugation, which establishes a practical quality/functionality profile useful for predicting baking performance. But no studies have been reported on the use of SRC to assess the dough characteristics and baking quality of pulse flour cookies. The feasibility of using the SRC test to predict the baking quality of whole pulse flour cookies was examined, since pulse flours have the potential to replace wheat flour in cookies. SRC of pulse flours correlated well with pulse flour dough and cookie characteristics, and therefore can be used as a predictive tool, and pulse flours can be selected for preferred cookie characteristics based on the SRCs.
Concentrated alternative protein and carbohydrate sources with unique functional properties are important for food and nonfood applications. Investigation is underway to examine the composition and properties of soluble protein/carbohydrate fractions obtained through cold and hot water extraction of dried beans. These fractions contain approximately 12-20 % protein and 6-9 % carbohydrate, can form thick, stable foams, exhibit emulsification properties, and represent a potentially marketable byproduct of the canning industry.
Zika, lyme disease, a variety of livestock diseases caused by mosquitoes, ticks, and biting flies have large negative economic impacts. The development of effective and safe botanical-based repellents is important as public resistance to synthetic-based repellents grows. In collaboration with ARS researchers in Lincoln, Nebraska, coconut fatty acid mixtures are being examined as an effective biting fly repellent for livestock. An all-natural aqueous based formulation has been developed to deliver the active ingredients in a safe, easily sprayed format and has been scaled for cattle field trials.
Technology was developed to prepare highly porous materials from starch. These solid materials are extremely light (~95 % air) and can have roughly the surface area of a tennis court contained in one gram of material. In collaboration with a global food ingredient company through a material transfer research agreement (MTRA), this technology is being further developed and examined for potential food and ingredient delivery applications.
Wheat bran is added to bread as a fiber supplement, but its use is limited by the rate of water uptake by the bran relative to other bread ingredients. To explore potential methods to enable higher bran use levels by improving water uptake, wheat bran was processed by excess steam jet-cooking and extrusion for analysis of water uptake kinetics. Utilization of a jet cooker model permitting adjustment of the combining tube gap during operation enabled continuous excess steam jet-cooking of bran having larger particle size than starch granules.
Accomplishments
1. Development of pulse-based milks. There is unprecedented consumer demand for healthy protein- and fiber-rich products that are free of lactose, animal protein, and cholesterol. In order to increase bean flour utilization, Agricultural Research Service researchers in Peoria, Illinois, prepared pulse-based milk prototypes that have high protein and dietary fiber and low fat. By steam jet-cooking blends of navy bean and soybean flours, the milk prototypes can be simply prepared and show improved stability over comparable milks prepared by traditional cooking methods. This study is the first to report soybean–navy bean beverage prototypes having desirable nutritional value, providing a healthier choice in the expanding beverage market.
2. Gums improve navy bean starch properties. Pulses are typically consumed as whole beans or flours, but there is also growing interest in the use of pulse protein concentrates and isolates, which leads to a coproduct of pulse starch that can be utilized. Starches are often unsuitable to be used directly in food applications, but gums can improve starch properties without chemical modification. Agricultural Research Service researchers in Peoria, Illinois, investigated the effects of gums on pasting, water absorption, freeze-thaw stability and textural properties of navy bean starch gels. Improving navy bean starch and flour properties through the addition of gums, can guide their use in food products. Utilization of the starch coproduct will enhance the profitability of isolating protein from pulses to meet the increasing demand for protein supplements in foods and beverages.
Review Publications
Compton, D.L., Goodell, J., Berhow, M.A., Kenar, J.A., Cermak, S.C., Evans, K.O. 2017. Feruloylated products from coconut oil and shea butter. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society. 94:397-411.
Doll, K.M., Cermak, S.C., Kenar, J.A., Walter, E.L., Isbell, T.A. 2017. Derivatization of castor oil based estolide esters: Preparation of epoxides and cyclic carbonates. Industrial Crops and Products. 104:269-277.
Hay, W.T., Behle, R.W., Fanta, G.F., Felker, F.C., Peterson, S.C., Selling, G.W. 2016. Effect of spray drying on the properties of amylose-hexadecylammonium chloride inclusion complexes. Carbohydrate Polymers. 157:1050-1056. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.10.068.
Finkenstadt, V.L., Kenar, J.A., Fanta, G.F. 2016. Corrosion protection of steel by thin coatings of starch-oil dry lubricants. In: Sharma, B.K., Biresaw, G., editors. Environmentally Friendly and Biobased Lubricants. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p. 407-417.
Liu, S.X., Singh, M., Wayman, A.E., Chen, D., Kenar, J.A. 2017. Evaluation of soybean-navy bean emulsions using different processing technologies. Beverages. doi: 10.3390/beverages3020023.
Byars, J.A., Singh, M., Kenar, J.A. 2017. Effect of hydrocolloids on functional properties of navy bean starch. Starch/Starke. doi: 10.1002/star.201600305.
Fanta, G.F., Felker, F.C., Hay, W.T., Selling, G.W. 2017. Increased water resistance of paper treated with amylose-fatty ammonium salt inclusion complexes. Industrial Crops and Products. 105:231-237.
