Meththa Ranasinghe’s research while affiliated with United Arab Emirates University and other places

Functional biscuit was formulated by fortifying them with polyphenolic extract and fiber‐rich residue of defatted date seed powder (DDSP) obtained through microwave‐assisted extraction. Effect of particle size (small, medium, and large) and substitution level (2.5%, 5%, and 7.5%) of fiber‐rich residue, along with the phenolic extract, on bioactive, physical, textural, and gastrointestinal digestion of fortified biscuits was studied followed by sensory and shelf‐life studies. The total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant properties of biscuits increased with increasing substitution levels and particle size. DDSP residue fortification increased the fiber content in biscuits. Large particles of the residue‐fortified biscuits showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) hardness compared to the control biscuits. Diameter of the biscuits decreased with increasing substitution level and particle size of fiber‐rich residue with the lowest value of 50.66 mm in 7.5% substitution of large particles. The 7.5% substitution level of small particles resulted in the lowest spread ratio of 8.97 and the highest thickness of 5.79 mm. Consumer perceptions were at an acceptable level after the fortification, with an average sensory score of 6.02 out of 9 for overall acceptability. After 24 weeks storage, TPC decreased in biscuits, but TPC retention increased with increasing substitution level and particle size of residue. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value of biscuits increased with storage. The highest phenolic recovery was observed in the intestinal phase of the gastrointestinal digestion with the highest recovery of 102.33 at 2.5% level of large particles. Thus, phenolic extract and fiber‐rich residue incorporation was effective to enhance the nutritional and functional properties of biscuits. Practical Application Date seeds are rich in bioactive components and fiber. This study demonstrated the feasibility of utilizing date seeds to improve nutritional and functional properties of bakery products. The incorporation of the microwave‐assisted polyphenolic extract and the fiber‐rich residue of defatted date seed powder into biscuit enhanced the bioactive, nutritional, and functional characteristics while maintaining the consumer acceptance. This research contributes to the valorization of byproducts in the agriculture and food industries, promoting sustainability and a bio‐circular economy.

Aligning with sustainable food system development, in this study, date seeds derived compounds were utilized as functional ingredient to formulate value-added biscuits. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was employed as a non-thermal method to extract polyphenolic compounds from small, medium and large particles of defatted date seed powder (DDSP). The remaining fiber-rich fraction (residue) was further utilized. Water content in biscuit formulation was replaced by the extract, and the fiber-rich fraction was substituted at three substitution levels; 2.5 %, 5 % and 7.5 %. Effects of baking on bioactive properties of dough, nutrient composition, sensory analysis, bioaccessibility of polyphenols, and shelf-life of biscuits were analyzed. Total phenolic content (TPC) increased in dough and biscuit with incorporated fiber-rich fraction. TPC of dough decreased with increasing particle size of fiber-rich fraction while biscuits exhibited an opposite trend. Similar tendency was observed with antioxidant activity of dough and biscuit. TPC was higher in biscuits than dough, with the highest values of 0.46 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g and 2.26 mg GAE/g in dough and biscuit, respectively. Fiber and moisture contents in biscuits increased while protein content decreased with fortification. Consumers showed moderate acceptance of fortified biscuits with overall acceptability comparable with the control biscuits. Bioaccessibility index of polyphenols upon gastrointestinal digestion was high in biscuits with 5 % and 7.5 % substitution of small and medium sized particles of fiber-rich fraction. Phenolic retention increased with fiber fortification and at the end of 6 months the lowest thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value of 18.23 nmol malondialdehyde (MDA)/g sample, was observed in 7.5 % large particle substituted biscuit. Thus, utilizing date seeds in the form of green extracted polyphenols and fiber-rich fraction, as functional and bioactive ingredients highlight sustainable processing and utilization of date-fruit processing by-products which is in line with the circular economy approach.

In the present study, non-conventional and green technology (ultrasonication) was utilized to recover bioactive compounds from the small, medium and large sized defatted date seed powder (DDSP) particles. Bioactive compounds recovered from DDSP and the remaining fiber-rich residue were incorporated as functional ingredient in the biscuit dough to enhance the functionality and the quality characteristics of the dough and biscuit. The polyphenolic extract and 2.5 %, 5 % and 7.5 % substitution levels of fiber-rich extraction residue were incorporated in formulations followed by investigating the effect on rheological, physical and microstructural properties of dough and biscuit. Loss and storage moduli, G’’ and G’, respectively, of dough increased with decreasing particle size and increasing substitution level while tan δ decreased with increasing substitution level of fiber-rich extraction residue. The smallest particles at 7.5 % substitution level resulted in the lowest creep strain value in dough. Hardness of the dough and biscuit increased with decreasing particle size and increasing substitution level of the residue. The 7.5 % substitution level of the smallest particle size resulted in the darkest dough and biscuit. Spread ratio and diameter of the biscuit decreased with increasing substitution level of the residue. The smallest diameter of 50.61 mm and spread ratio of 8.36 was observed in the biscuits substituted with the largest particle size with 7.5 % substitution level. Microstructural images of dough and biscuit revealed that the continuity of the gluten network was disrupted by the incorporation of the fiber-rich extraction residue. This study provided valuable insights into extracting bioactive components from date by-products using green ultrasonication technique and utilizing such compounds to improve functional attributes of bakery products, as a sustainable approach for valorizing date by-products.

Milk proteins are important components that confer several nutritional and functional properties to milk and dairy products. As these proteins have complex nature and wide variability, their analysis is not trivial and requires several methods to be used individually or J o u r n a l P r e-p r o o f 2 in combination. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of conventional and more advanced methods used in the analysis of milk protein content, composition, and structural properties. Different traditional methods (mainly titration and spectrophotometric) are still used for the determination of total protein content, while chromatographic and electrophoretic techniques, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and infra-red spectroscopy are used to separate, identify, and quantify individual proteins. For advanced structural identification of separated proteins, nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray diffraction, and mass spectroscopic techniques can be used. Of these methods, the analyst may select those relevant to different applications in milk and dairy products research.

Utilising major waste products from the food industry can have both a great environmental impact and be a means to improve consumer health. Date seed is a food industry byproduct that has been proven to have high nutritional value. The aim of this work was to measure the total polyphenolic content (TPC), flavonoids, and antioxidant activity of the seeds of six date fruit varieties, Fard, Khalas, Khinaizi, Sukkary, Shaham, and Zahidi, and to use those seeds to enhance the antioxidant value of cookies by partially substituting flour with ground date seed. Date seed powder (DSP) was extracted at three levels of sample to solvent ratio (5:1, 10:1 and 15:1 mg/mL). Cookies were prepared using three substitution levels of wheat flour (2.5, 5.0, and 7.5%, w/w) by DSP and two types of flour (white and whole wheat), and were baked at two different temperatures, 180 and 200 °C. The composite cookies were found to contain a significant amount of TPC and flavonoids, and showed increased antioxidant activity compared with the control samples.