Content uploaded by Noor Shazliana Aizee Abidin
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Noor Shazliana Aizee Abidin on Jun 05, 2018
Content may be subject to copyright.
e-ISSN: 2289-8131 Vol. 10 No. 1-17 65
Atmospheric Pressure Cold Plasma (ACP)
Treatment a New Technique to Improve
Microstructure and Textural Properties of Healthy
Noodles Fortified with Mango Flour
Noor Shazliana Aizee Abidin1, Ibni H. Rukunudin1, Siti K. Zaaba1, Wan A. W. Omar2
1Pusat Pengajian Kejuruteraan Bioproses, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kompleks Pengajian Jejawi, 02600 Arau,
Perlis, Malaysia.
2Institut Perubatan dan Pergigian Termaju, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Bertam, 13200, Kepala Batas,
Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
shazliana@unimap.edu.my
Abstract—The effect of atmospheric pressure cold plasma
(ACP) on microstructural, textural and sensory properties of
healthy noodles fortified with mango flour was studied.
Atmospheric pressure cold plasma was carried out using helium
gas with a flow rate of 1000 ml/min at room temperature. The
electrodes were powered by a direct current (DC) power supply
voltage of 16.6 kV wrapped around the quartz glass tube to
develop plasma plume. SEM for microstructural observation
was done to study the changes in surface morphology of plasma
treated noodles. It was observed that after the plasma treatment
the gluten and fiber content on the noodles surface more
coherent and smoother between gluten network and starch
granules than the control with respect to plasma power and time
of treatment. Atmospheric pressure cold plasma treatment
maintained the hardness, springiness and gumminess of control
noodles without mango flour (CNT) and noodles fortified with
mango flour (NMFT) significantly (P<0.05) compared to
untreated control noodles (CN) and untreated mango flour
fortified noodles (NMF). The results suggest that ACP is an
effective technique for enhancing the gluten strength and
improving the qualities of noodles fortified with mango flour.
Index Terms—Atmospheric Pressure Cold Plasma; Mango
Flour; Noodles; SEM Microstructure; Sensory Properties;
Texture.
I. INTRODUCTION
Noodles are popular foods in a lot of Asian countries,
prepared by using primary simple item consist of wheat flour,
salt and water. Noodle is proclaimed to be deficient in the
important dietary element in the form of nutritive fibers,
antioxidants and bioactive compounds, which are vanished
through wheat flour refinement. Therefore, noodles that
signify a main usage of flour is relevant to be fortified with
composite flour as an added value product for health as it
improves the essential nutrients and benefits.
The consumption of added value products take place as
people are more towards a healthy lifestyle is one of the
factors of the growing awareness of diet and health, as well
as new processing technologies [1]. Ready-to-eat added value
products such as noodles, bread and biscuits turn out to be a
crucial part in the ration industry because of their uniqueness
of staple, adjustable caloric content and active promotion of
using fruit as a basic substitution component of a healthy diet.
Hence, innovative interest in food industry requires the
improvement of novel soaring and quality convenient added
value products attuned to a healthy diet.
Plasma is a matter that contains partially or wholly ionized
gas with a net neutral charge and is often referred to as the
fourth state of matter as it shares properties similar to both
those of gases and liquids. One of the most common forms of
artificially produced plasma is the fluorescent or neon light.
In more recent years the application of low-temperature
plasmas at both atmospheric and low pressures to heat
sensitive surfaces has evolved. There has been much already
published in the literature about the effect of plasmas on the
inactivation of bacterial spores, particularly Bacillus
atrophaeus (subtilis), which provides a common target for
attempted comparisons between different plasma
technologies and with heat inactivation [2].
Mango flour noodle is an added value product source of
phenolic and possesses high antioxidant activity. It is
important to evaluate the effect of cold plasma on the textural,
microstructural and sensory properties of mango flour
noodles immediately after treatment compared to the
untreated sample. Several researchers have reported that the
cooking and textural properties of the rice can be altered using
nonthermal processing techniques like ultrasound, gamma
irradiation, etc. [3] and [4]. However, the uses of plasma
technique to improve properties of fortified noodles are not
explored yet. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine
the effect of atmospheric pressure cold plasma on
microstructural and textural properties of freshly prepared
mango flour noodles.
II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
A. Materials
Commercial noodle flour was obtained locally from the
Yumi Food Sdn. Bhd, Malaysia. Mango (Mangiferaindica cv.
Perlis sunshine) was obtained from the local market in Perlis.
B. Mango Flour (Mangiferaindica cv. Perlis sunshine)
Preparation
The sliced mangoes were dried at 60°C for 48 hours, using
a hot-air dryer (Binder). The dried mangoes were then ground
and sieved into the flour using a laboratory scale mill.
Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer Engineering
66 e-ISSN: 2289-8131 Vol. 10 No. 1-17
C. Noodle Preparation
Noodles formulation of 100% wheat flour and with 3% of
mango flour ratios to 97% wheat flour w/w, were blended in
a noodles mixer (Automatic noodles and pasta machine) with
a salt solution until it achieved the final optimum water
absorption for 10 min. The mixture was then extruded into
noodles strands. The noodles were pre-cooked in boiling
water for 1 min and rinsed with cool water. Noodles from
wheat flour treated (CNT) and noodles from mango flour
treated (NMFT) and with ACP were compared to wheat (CN)
and mango flour noodles (NMF) untreated with ACP served
as control noodles respectively.
D. ACP Treatment on Mango Flour Noodles
ACP was set up as shown in Figure 1 with two copper
electrode wrapped around the quartz glass tube that has the
outer diameter of 2.0 mm and the inner diameter of 1.5 mm.
The distance between these two electrodes was 2 cm and the
distance plasma source from the end of the quartz glass tube
to the target sample was 5 cm.
A sample of treated noodles was exposed to the ACP for 5
min after cooking. Helium gas with a flow rate of 1000
ml/min was used as the main gas source. The gas flow rate
was controlled by the gas system controllers developed in
Centre of Excellence for Advanced Sensor Technology
(CEASTech), Universiti Malaysia Perlis. The electrodes were
powered by a direct current (DC) power supply voltage of
16.6 kV. The plasma was generated and bombarded the
surface of the samples when the flowing gas penetrates
through the quartz glass tube. The treated samples were
immediately tested for microstructural surface analysis using
SEM and texture profile analysis compared with untreated
samples as control.
Figure 1: Plasma jet device and plasma when exposed to the sample.
E. Microstructure of Noodles Surface
In order to understand the changes in the surface of noodles
morphology caused by plasma, the surface was sputter-coated
with platinum for 10 minutes and observed by scanning
electron microscopy (Jeol, Tokyo, Japan).
F. Texture Profile Analysis
Textural profile analysis (TPA) of cooked noodle was
determined using a Texture Pro CT Texture Analyzer
(Brookfield Engineering Labs). Cooked noodles were
prepared by removing the excess water on noodle surface, the
drained noodles were placed in a covered container and three
uniform long noodle strands were taken and cut to a length of
6.0 cm. Five short strands were randomly selected and placed
side by side on the base plate, and compressed with a TA7
knife edge probe by using a 5 kg load cell. The compression
strain was 70% of the noodle thickness, and the averages of
at least eight analyses were calculated. Five textural
parameters, including hardness, cohesiveness, springiness,
gumminess and chewiness were recorded from the TPA.
G. Statistical analysis
All measurements were performed at least in triplicate.
Statistical analyses were carried out with SPSS 16.0 for
Windows, using one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA).
P<0.05 was considered to be significant by using Tukey’s
test.
III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
A. SEM Microstructure
The surface of noodles was examined using Scanning
Electron Microscopy at magnifications of 500x (Figure 2A
and 2B). The surface structure of noodles was heavily
covered by non-uniform amorphous gluten protein. The
starch granules (both for wheat noodles untreated and treated
CN and CNT) were embedded deeply in the gluten network
(Figure. 2A). Morphology of mango flour noodle surface,
both for untreated and treated (Figure. 2B) differed greatly
from wheat noodles. Mango flour noodles appeared to have
a different protein-starch binding pattern, where the NMF
and NMFT cell wall appeared to align and form part of the
noodles surface structure with irregular and discontinuous
matrix around the starch granules. However, the formation of
continuity starch-protein matrix was disrupted by the
addition of mango flour in conjunction with the treatment of
ACP for NMFT.
No apparent distinction was observed on the micro-
morphology of the surface between controls and samples
treated with ACP. However, the surface of noodles treated
with ACP (CNT and NMFT) were more coherent and
smoother between gluten network and starch granules than
the controls without ACP treatment (CN and NMF),
indicating that ACP treatment could improve the surface
connectivity between starch granules and gluten for noodles,
which may further influence the surface properties of cooked
noodles [5].
2A (i)
Atmospheric Pressure Cold Plasma (ACP) Treatment a New Technique to Improve Microstructure and Textural Properties of Healthy
Noodles Fortified with Mango Flour
e-ISSN: 2289-8131 Vol. 10 No. 1-17 67
Figure 2A: (i) Untreated wheat noodles (CN) and (ii) Treated wheat
noodles (CNT), SEM Micrographs at 500x noodles magnification
Figure 2B: (i) Untreated mango flour noodles (NMF) and (ii) Treated
mango flour noodles (NMFT). SEM Micrographs at 500x noodles
magnification
B. Texture Profile Analysis
From the Table 1 it can be seen that the cold plasma
affected the textural properties of noodles. The hardness and
springiness are the important parameters which are
considered for the texture evaluation and consumer
acceptability [6]. There is a significant difference (P<0.05)
between the treated and untreated samples for hardness. This
result contradicts with hardness reported by Thirumdas et al.
[7] suggesting that leaching components can be responsible
for a decrease in hardness and an increase in adhesiveness of
cooked rice samples differed in noodles samples.
Prasert and Suwannaporn [8] defined that the chewiness is
the number chews required for the cooked rice suitable for
swallowing during mastication. Chewiness tends to increase
when treated in plasma. The increase in hardness is directly
correlated to chewiness, which shows that more work is
required to chew the noodles plus with the addition of mango
flour make the noodles more chewable. Control sample had
a cohesiveness of 0.65, which was increased to 232.3 and
244.0 in plasma treated noodles CNT and NMFT
respectively. There is a significant difference found for
springiness and gumminess after the treatment of both types
of noodles compared to untreated samples.
Table 1
Texture Profile Analysis of ACP Treated Noodles
CN
CNT
NMF
NMFT
Hardness
(g)
101.33
±3.21a
232.33±6.
81b
107.67±8.
62a
244.00±9.
17b
Cohesiveness
0.65±0
.02a
0.86±0.03b
0.7100±0.
01c
0.8867±0.
01c
Springiness
(mm)
1.12±0
.03a
1.43±0.03c
1.38±0.02b
1.25±0.02c
Gumminess
(g)
78.00±
1.00a
196.67±2.
08c
92.00±1.0
0b
195.00±5.
00c
Chewiness
(mJ)
0.77±0
.05a
2.700±0.1
0d
1.27±0.12b
2.33±0.06c
The values that do not share the same letter in the same row
and column are significantly different (P<0.05).
IV. CONCLUSION
Results from this research clearly showed that noodles
fortified with mango flour at3% level treated with
atmospheric pressure cold plasma (ACP) have a significant
impact on the microstructure and texture profile analysis.
SEM micrographs showed that noodles treated with ACP
significantly (P< 0.05) improved the noodles gluten strength
and texture. These improvements were not observed in both
control noodles and mango noodles untreated with ACP. The
obtained results from physical analyses are explained by the
SEM analysis; it can be observed that noodles from both
control wheat and mango flour treated with ACP had more
consistent and even linkage between gluten network and
starch granules which could result in improving the hardness,
springiness and gumminess of noodles texture that can be
similar to pasta.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors thank Ministry of Higher Education of
Malaysia for the scholarships, Universiti Malaysia Perlis
(UniMAP) and Centre of Excellence for Advanced Sensor
Technology (CEASTech), UniMAP, for the use of ACP
equipment.
REFERENCES
[1] Danalache, F., Mata, P. and Mold, M. (2015). Novel mango bars using
gellan gum as gelling agent: Rheological and
microstructural studies. LWT - Food Science and Technology 62,
576–583.
[2] Philip, N., Saoudi, B., Crevier, M., Moisan, M., Baarbeau, J., &
Pelletier, J. (2002). The respective roles of UV photons and oxygen
atoms in plasma sterilization at reduced gas pressure: the case of
N2eO2 mixtures. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 30, 1429-
1436.
[3] Cui, L., Pan, Z., Yue, T., Atungulu, G. G., & Berrios, J. (2010). Effect
of ultrasonic treatment of brown rice at different temperatures on
cooking properties and quality. Cereal Chemistry, 87, 403–408.
[4] Sung, W. C. (2005). Effect of gamma irradiation on rice and its food
products. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 73, 224–228.
[5] Ross, A. (2006). Instrumental measurement of physical properties of
cooked Asian wheat flour noodles. Cereal Chemistry, 83, 42–51.
2B (i)
2B (i)
2A (ii)
2B (ii)
Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer Engineering
68 e-ISSN: 2289-8131 Vol. 10 No. 1-17
[6] Chen, H. H., Chen, Y., & Chang, C. H. (2012). Evaluation of
physicochemical properties of plasma treated brown rice. Food
Chemistry, 135, 74–79.
[7] Thirumdas, R., Deshmukh, R. R., & Annapure, U. S. (2015). Effect of
low temperature plasma processing on physicochemical properties and
cooking quality of basmati rice. Innovative Food Science & Emerging
Technologies, 31, 83–90.
[8] Prasert, W., & Suwannaporn, P. (2009). Optimization of instant
jasmine rice process and its physicochemical properties. Journal of
Food Engineering, 95, 54–61.
