Functional Quality Attributes Research Articles

Effect of Blanching Time Variation on Nutritional and Functional Quality Attributes of Pea Pods

Effect of Blanching Time Variation on Nutritional and Functional Quality Attributes of Pea Pods

Effect of foaming agents and dilution ratio on physicochemical and bioactive compounds profile of dried palmyra pulp

The study was carried out to observe the effect of glycerol monostearate (1.0 %, 2.0 %, and 3.0 %), soy protein isolate (0.5 %, 1.0 %, and 1.5 %) and dilution ratio (1:1, 1:1.5) on foam characteristics at whipping time of 4 min. All the samples were incorporated with 0.5 % methyl cellulose (MC) as foam stabiliser and 5 % maltodextrin (MD) as drying aid. The effect of different drying air temperatures (60 °C and 70 °C) at foam thickness of 4 mm on phytochemical, biochemical and functional quality attributes was studied. The efficacy of artificial neural network (ANN) on foam-mat drying kinetics was tested. Foam expansion of the palmyra pulp increased to 108 % when added with 2 % GMS and diluted to 1:1.5. The increase was even more up to 138 % when the same diluted pulp was added with 1.5 % SPI. On the contrary, the foam retention and the foam stability were reduced at a higher dilution ratio. GMS (2 %) or SPI (1 %), each diluted at a 1:1 ratio, exhibited better foaming and colour characteristics. Drying was faster in pulp foamed with SPI (1 %) than in pulp incorporated with GMS (2 %). Non-foamed pulp showed lower drying rates and produced a compact sheet-like mat with a relatively harder and sticky texture. Effective moisture diffusivity values ranged from 1.820 × 10−8 to 2.721 × 10−8 (m2/min) and increased with an increase in the drying temperature. The tansig transfer function of ANN modelling could best predict the moisture ratio with drying time for all the foamed and non-foamed samples. Quality analysis showed that the palmyra pulp foamed with 0.5 % MC, 5 %, MD, and 1 % SPI, diluted at a 1:1 ratio, whipped for 4 min, and dried at 70 °C with foam thickness of 4 mm could produce the powder with best quality attributes. The developed powder was found to possess 79.341 ± 0.998 mg GAE/100 g of total phenolic content, 72.669 ± 0.964 % of antioxidant activity, 60.526 ± 0.975 mg/100 g of ascorbic acid content, 35.287 ± 0.973 % of reducing sugar, 15661 ± 192 µg/100 g of β-carotene with water absorption and hygroscopicity of 2.374 ± 0.827 g/g and 38.487 ± 1.020 % respectively.

The Effect of Germination and Fermentation on the Physicochemical, Nutritional, and Functional Quality Attributes of Samh Seeds.

This study investigated the effects of fermentation and germination on the physicochemical, nutritional, functional, and bioactive quality attributes of samh seeds. Regardless of the processing treatment, samh seeds were found to be a rich source of phenolic compounds, namely gallic acid (79.6-96.36 mg/100 g DW), catechol (56.34-77.34 mg/100 g DW), and catechin (49.15-84.93 mg/100 g DW), and they possessed high DPPH antiradical activity (65.27-78.39%). They also contained high protein content (19.29-20.41%), essential amino acids content (39.07-44.16% of total amino acids), and unsaturated fatty acid content (81.95-83.46% of total fatty acids) and a low glycemic index (39.61-41.43). Fermentation and germination increased L*, b*, foaming capacity, oil absorption capacity (OAC), water absorption capacity (WAC), swelling power, microbial counts, antioxidant activity, total flavonoid content (TFC), total phenolic content (TPC), in vitro protein digestibility, protein efficiency ratio, and total essential amino acids and reduced water solubility, emulsion stability, tannin, and phytate contents compared to raw samh seeds (p < 0.05). The highest levels of pH, ash, carbohydrate, fiber, and glycemic index were observed in raw samh seeds, and both germination and fermentation processes reduced these attributes to various degrees (p < 0.05). Germination increased the redness (a*), moisture content, essential and non-essential amino acids, potassium, zinc, phosphorous, stearic acid, and oleic and unsaturated fatty acids and reduced total solids, fat content, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, sodium, palmitic acid, and total saturated fatty acids of the samh seeds compared to the raw ones. Fermentation increased the total solid, acidity, fat, protein, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorous, iron, zinc, palmitic acid, and total saturated fatty acids and reduced the a* value, moisture, non-essential amino acids, and total unsaturated fatty acids of the samh seeds compared to the raw ones. In conclusion, samh seeds are a rich source of nutrients that could generally be enhanced by germination and fermentation processes. The reported information facilitates strategies towards the application of these underutilized seeds in foods.

Sensory Evaluation, Biochemical, Bioactive and Antioxidant Properties in Fruits of Wild Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa L.) Genotypes from Northeastern Türkiye

Wild edible fruits are an important source for agriculture worldwide suffering from genetic erosion due to a severe genetic diversity reduction and domestication hindrance. In Türkiye, underutilized Prunus spinosa fruits are increasingly being considered as genetic resources and are marginally used by small farmers constituting a real safety valve for the sustainability of the processing plum value chain. Fruits of those plum genotypes differ in their biometric, processing and functional quality attributes. In this study, fruits of eight wild grown blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) genotypes were sampled from the Ispir district of the Erzurum province and subjected to sensory, morphological, biochemical and antioxidant characterization. Aroma, taste and juiciness were used as the criteria for sensory analysis, and a trained panel of ten experts established and evaluated the sensory characteristics of the fruits of the blackthorn. Fruit weight, fruit skin and flesh color as L*, a* and b* values were the main morphological parameters. For biochemical and bioactive analysis, organic acids, SSC (Soluble Solid Content), vitamin C, total anthocyanins, total phenolic content and total antioxidant capacity were determined. Antioxidant capacity was determined by FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) assay. The results indicated significant differences among genotypes for most of the traits. The fruit weight was found between 2.78–3.67 g. The skin L*, a* and b* values were 13.11–16.12, 2.56–3.85 and 2.01–3.44, respectively. The flesh L*, a* and b* values were in the ranges of 17.45–20.37, 4.88–6.73 and 4.12–5.66, respectively. The SSC content ranged from 18.66% to 21.07%. The total phenolic content (TPC), total anthocyanin content (TAC) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were between 372–504 mg GAE/100 g; 53–72 mg cy-3 g eq./100 g and 107–134 mmol Fe (II) eq./g, respectively. The dominant organic acid was malic acid for all genotypes and varied from 1.04 g/100 g to 1.52 g/100 g fresh weight base. The data showed that the analyzed blackthorns, particularly PS-5, PS-3 and PS-2 had bigger fruits indicate their suitability for fresh and dried consumption, PS-1 and PS-3 had higher juiciness, indicating their suitability for processing, and PS-4 and PS-6 had higher human health promoting compounds (higher total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity), making them suitable for future use as functional foods and as promising sources of natural antioxidants.

The effect of extended cold storage on the functional quality attributes of different potato genotypes

AbstractPotato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a staple food widely consumed in Tunisia and represents a source of various secondary metabolites with human health benefits. However, cold storage of potato tuber affects their bioactive properties and functional quality. Despite the importance of this fact, few studies have examined the effects of extended cold storage on potato tubers quality. Therefore, the objective of the present work was to evaluate the effect of cold storage on the main quality traits of different potato genotypes grown in Tunisia. This investigation focused on four cultivated potato varieties including three commercial (Selena, Elbeidha, and Naima) and a selected clone CL27 grown under late cropping season conditions with planting at the beginning of autumn and a winter tuberization. The tubers from this trial were stored for 90 days at 8°C. The results obtained showed that quality traits of potato tubers were strongly influenced by storage at 8°C throughout 90 days. Additionally, disregarding the genotype, total carotenoids, phenolics, and flavonoids contents increased significantly following 90 days storage at 8°C. However, genotypic differences underlying the antioxidant activity in both hydrophilic and lipophilic fractions were detected suggesting their sensibility to cold storage. This study might be useful for breeders working on potato genotypes suitable for extended storage duration and for growers storing their material for extended period under low temperature.

Exogenous Growth Regulators and Water Stress Enhance Long-Term Storage Quality Characteristics of Onion

Exogenous growth regulators (GRs) play a crucial role in alleviating water stress and sustaining crop yields in water-stressed areas. However, their effects on onions post-harvest quality, particularly post-monsoon onion—often preferred for long-term storage—were never studied. Therefore, this led us to investigate the interaction between water stress and GRs on the physiochemical and functional quality attributes of onions during long-term storage (9 months, at 25 ± 1 °C and 65 ± 5% RH). Onion crop was raised under four water stress levels i.e., 1.00–0.85, 0.84–0.70, 0.69–0.40, and 0.39–0.10 IW: CPE, designated as no, low, medium, and severe water stress, respectively, using a line source sprinkler system (LSS). GR treatments include potassium nitrate (PN, 15 g L−1), sodium benzoate (SB, 100 mg L−1), thio-urea (TU, 450 ppm), and gibberellic acid (GA, 25 ppm). Results reveal that the significant temporal changes in the dry matter, rehydration ratio, total soluble sugar (TSS), protein, and total phenolics content (TP) of the onion bulbs during storage, indicate the cumulative impact of the treatments on overall physicochemical status. Water stress increased onion biochemical attributes, especially pyruvic acid content, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) activity. Storage quality of onions progressively decreased with the increase in storage period. Stressed onions, especially those produced under severe water stress condition, showed high weight losses, presenting poor keeping quality. However, application of GRs, especially SB, TU, and PN, reduced bulb weight losses together with maintaining slightly better bulb physicochemical properties, thereby improving the overall storage quality, particularly with a moderate level of water stress (0.69–0.40 IW:CPE). The exogenous application of GRs with moderate water stress is suggested as a key strategy in improving the keeping quality of onion bulbs and ensuring its availability during the lean season.

Genotypic Differences Affecting Biometric, Processing and Functional Quality Attributes in Tomato Fruits

Processing tomato is an important agricultural crop worldwide suffering from genetic erosion due to a severe genetic diversity reduction and domestication hindrance. In Tunisia, some old underutilized tomato cultivars are increasingly being considered as genetic resources and are marginally used by small farmers constituting a real safety valve for the sustainability of the processing tomato value chain. Those tomato cultivars differ in their biometric, processing and functional quality attributes. Therefore, there is an increasing interest to examine their performances for processing and fresh market quality improvement. Recently, there was also a particular focus on improving the quality of fresh fruit via the introgression of high-pigment genes in processing tomato in order to obtain a high quality processed products. The results are important as large differences are highlighted and the main traits affecting tomato quality are also reported and clearly discussed. This suggest that maintaining of the existing genetic pools among cultivated tomato is as important as creating novel hybrids.

Biostimulatory Action of Vegetal Protein Hydrolysate Compensates for Reduced Strength Nutrient Supply in a Floating Raft System by Enhancing Performance and Qualitative Features of "Genovese" Basil.

The floating raft constitutes a valuable system for growing herbs as it effectuates high yield and prime functional quality. However, the pressing need for advancing sustainability in food production dictates the reduction of chemical fertilizer inputs in such intensive production schemes through innovative cultivation practices. In this perspective, our work appraised the productive and qualitative responses of two “Genovese” basil genotypes (Eleonora and Italiano Classico) grown in a floating raft system with nutrient solutions of varied electrical conductivity (EC; 2 and 1 dS m−1) combined with root application of protein hydrolysate biostimulant at two dosages (0.15 and 0.3 0 ml L−1 of Trainer®). The phenolic composition, aromatic profile, and antioxidant activities (ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP) of basil were determined by UHPLC/HRMS, GC/MS, and spectrophotometry, respectively. “Eleonora” demonstrated higher number of leaves (37.04 leaves per plant), higher fresh yield (6576.81 g m−2), but lower polyphenol concentration (1440.81 μg g−1 dry weight) compared to “Italiano Classico.” The lower EC solution (1 dS m−1) increased total phenols (+32.5%), ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP antioxidant activities by 33.2, 17.1, and 15.8%, respectively, and decreased linalool relative abundance by 5.5%. Biostimulant application improved crop performance and increased total phenolic concentration in both genotypes, with the highest phenolic concentration (1767.96 μg g−1 dry weight) registered at the lowest dose. Significant response in terms of aromatic profile was detected only in “Eleonora.” Our results demonstrate that the application of protein hydrolysate may compensate for reduced strength nutrient solution by enhancing yield and functional quality attributes of “Genovese” basil for pesto.

Profiling carotenoid and sugar contents in unique Cucumis melo L. cultigens harvested from different climatic regions of the United States

The sensory and functional quality attributes of muskmelons (Cucumis melo L.), such as flavor, sweetness, color, and texture, determine consumer preferences. Genetic makeup primarily regulates these traits, but environmental factors such as soil type, irrigation, and temperature affects yields and quality. Here, we investigated variation in quality traits of diverse melon cultigens (advanced breeding lines or cultigen) grown in multiple locations (California, Texas, Georgia, Arizona, and North Carolina) across the United States. Mesocarp sugar and carotenoid concentrations varied significantly as a function of production location and cultigen. Multivariate analyses revealed significant cultigen, location, and interactive effects on fruit quality. The highest sugar content was found in a honeydew melon cultigen (HD-150; 83.1 ± 2.36 mg/g) grown in Georgia and the Western Shipper type cantaloupe (F-39; 70.8 ± 2.85 mg/g) grown in North Carolina compared to the other cultigens. The Tuscan type (Da Vinci) grown in Texas and Georgia had the highest β-carotene contents (29.1 ± 3.37 and 33.6 ± 1.73 μg/g, respectively) compared to the other cultigens. These findings suggest that cultivar and location significantly influenced melon phytochemical composition, will help melon breeding programs improve the sensory and functional qualities of melons and identify suitable cultivars for specific environments to maximize fruit quality.

Evaluation of Different Conventional Breading Materials on Functional Quality Attributes of Battered and Breaded Fish Cutlets

ABSTRACT Breading and battering of fish results in a physically superior product with a higher economic value from low-value fish. The present work was undertaken to evaluate three conventional breading materials for fish cutlets. Standard sized fish cutlets were molded with and dipped in a batter mix, followed by breading with bread crumbs (CB), pressed rice (PR), or noodle vermicelli (NS). The products were evaluated for coating parameters such as pickup, adhesion degree, cooking loss, and frying yield. The coating pickup ranged from 10.95% to 36.00%, and a maximum pickup was found with pressed rice (PR). Similarly, the adhesion degree in PR was 26.47%, which was highest among the three. Cooking loss was highest with control (conventional breadcrumb) at 15.92%. After analyzing the frying yield, it was found that PR yielded the maximum at 16.75% and less oil absorption. PR also had significantly (p < .05) higher hue angle value than both the NS and CB. Maximum browning and tough texture was observed in the NS sample. Frying tolerance was better with PR breading, which maintained better color during deep frying operations. This study can help industries to utilze low-cost breading material in preparing enrobed snack products.

Variability of bioactive properties and antioxidant activity in commercially grown cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) cultivars grown in India

In this study, six commercial cherry tomato cultivars were analysed for variations in biochemical and technological parameters. Significant differences were observed among cultivars with respect to their technological and functional quality attributes. About 2.48-fold variation in titratable acidity, 2.47-fold variation in total phenolics, 4.13-fold variation in total carotenoid and 7.68-fold variation in lycopene contents were recorded. The total antioxidant activity and respiration rate were also found to vary about 1.85-fold and 1.48-fold, respectively. The highest antioxidant activity and total phenolic content were found in the Cherry tomato hybrid no.1 followed by Pusa cherry tomato-1. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that Cherry tomato hybrid no. 1, Pusa cherry tomato-1, and Nagmoti cultivars were abundantly rich in phytochemical and bioactive compounds.

Evaluation of Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma (CAPP) and plasma-activated water (PAW) as alternative non-thermal decontamination technologies for tofu: Impact on microbiological, sensorial and functional quality attributes.

The efficacy of Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma (CAPP) for the inactivation of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 on tofu was evaluated. The potential of using Plasma Activated Water (PAW) as an immersion solution for controlling microbial growth in tofu throughout its shelf-life was also investigated. The effects of these strategies on the physical and functional properties of treated tofu were also studied. CAPP treatment of tofu caused a limited inactivation of microbial populations, with log10 reductions attained ranging from 0.2 to 0.6 log10 for S. Enteritidis and E. coli O157:H7, respectively, after a 15min treatment. CAPP did not affect tofu's water holding capacity, but it dried it and gave rise to changes in color and texture, which were reverted by immersing the treated product in distilled water. Refrigerated storage of tofu using PAW as an immersion solution was effective in controlling microbial growth. Thus, total counts obtained after 28days of storage were around 3 log10 units lower than those observed for tofu stored immersed in non-treated deionized water. In addition, this strategy led to a product with a higher functional value than thermally-treated commercial tofu, retaining up to 80% of the initial content of total polyphenols, with better texture properties, less hardness and springiness (approximately 20-30% lower) and with minor changes in its characteristic color. Overall, these results evidence that PAW is a promising non-thermal technology which can facilitate the control of pathogenic microorganisms on tofu while retaining its physical and functional properties.

Variability models for generating efficient configurations of functional quality attributes

Context: Quality attributes play a critical role in the architecture elicitation phase. Software Sustainability and energy efficiency is becoming a critical quality attribute that can be used as a selection criteria to choose from among different design or implementation alternatives. Energy efficiency usually competes with other non-functional requirements, like for instance, performance.Objective: This paper presents a process that helps developers to automatically generate optimum configurations of functional quality attributes in terms of energy efficiency and performance. Functional quality attributes refer to the behavioral properties that need to be incorporated inside a software architecture to fulfill a particular quality attribute (e.g., encryption and authentication for the security quality attribute, logging for the usability quality attribute).Method: Quality attributes are characterized to identify their design and implementation variants and how the different configurations influence both energy efficiency and performance. A usage model for each characterized quality attribute is defined. The variability of quality attributes, as well as the energy efficiency and performance experiment results, are represented as a constraint satisfaction problem with the goal of formally reasoning about it. Then, a configuration of the selected functional quality attributes is automatically generated, which is optimum with respect to a selected objective function.Results: Software developers can improve the energy efficiency and/or performance of their applications by using our approach to perform a richer analysis of the energy consumption and performance of different alternatives for functional quality attributes. We show quantitative values of the benefits of using our approach and discuss the threats to validity.Conclusions: The process presented in this paper will help software developers to build more energy efficient software, whilst also being aware of how their decisions affect other quality attributes, such as performance.

The Effect of Technical and Functional Quality on Guests’ Perceived Hotel Service Quality and Satisfaction: A SEM-PLS Analysis

ABSTRACTNumerous models on perceived service quality are discussed in literature besides SERVQUAL including technical and functional quality model. Functional quality attributes have been well studied but studies about technical quality attributes are rather limited. This article aims to integrate existing frameworks and propose antecedents towards perceived service quality and resulting customer satisfaction. A total of 204 questionnaires were collected from the guests staying at hotels in Malaysia. Partial least squares (PLS-SEM) method was employed to test the proposed relationships. Findings from the study support the significant relationship between functional quality, technical quality, overall perceived service quality and guest satisfaction. Furthermore, the first order constructs on the designated second order constructs support that both functional quality and technical quality as second order reflective constructs with five and three first order dimensions respectively. Practical implications and limitations of the study are discussed in detail.

An automatic process for weaving functional quality attributes using a software product line approach

Some quality attributes can be modelled using software components, and are normally known as Functional Quality Attributes (FQAs). Applications may require different FQAs, and each FQA (e.g., security) can be composed of many concerns (e.g., access control or authentication). They normally have dependencies between them and crosscut the system architecture. The goal of the work presented here is to provide the means for software architects to focus only on application functionality, without having to worry about FQAs. The idea is to model FQAs separately from application functionality following a Software Product Line (SPL) approach. By combining SPL and aspect-oriented mechanisms, we will define a generic process to model and automatically inject FQAs into the application without breaking the base architecture. We will provide and compare two implementations of our generic approach using different variability and architecture description languages: (i) feature models and an aspect-oriented architecture description language; and (ii) the Common Variability Language (CVL) and a MOF-compliant language (e.g., UML). We also discuss the benefits and limitations of our approach. Modelling FQAs separately from the base application has many advantages (e.g., reusability, less coupled components, high cohesive architectures).

Physicochemical and Functional Quality Attributes of Dairy Whitener Prepared from Ultrafiltration Process

Dairy whiteners are increasingly being used in food/beverage products. An ideal dairy whitener, in tea/coffee, should remain stable with better mouthfeel and whitening ability. In general, these properties are imparted by milk protein that can be increased with ultrafiltration. Hence, present investigation was conducted to study the physicochemical and functional quality attributes of dairy whitener prepared from ultrafiltration process. Developed dairy whitener had significantly (P < 0.01) greater protein (40.07 ± 0.66%) and calcium (1.42 ± 0.05%) contents compared to market samples and also had good solubility index (0.25 mL) and significantly (P < 0.01) higher dispersibility (92.08%) and L* value (93.87). Dairy whitener, even at lower solids level, had an edge over the market samples in terms of sensory and instrumental color characteristics in both tea and coffee without leaving any undissolved suspended particles. There could be clear 17% solids quantity saving, utilized per cup of tea or coffee, as compared to market dairy whitener samples. Practical Applications The results of this research provide a scientific basis for the development of value added good quality milk protein-based dairy whitener employing ultrafiltration process rather than traditional process-based dairy whitener. Preparation of dairy whitener employing ultrafiltration process is a novel technique with added advantage of cheaper cost of product with improved nutritional, sensory and instrumental color attributes. Eventually, this study will grant a ready to transfer technology to the dairy processers that would be able to prepare value added dairy whitener commercially that would increase their profitability.

The Role of Corporate Image in the Evaluation of Business-to-Business Professional Services

ABSTRACT The objective of this research is to examine the relative impact of quality attributes on the evaluation of consulting engineering services and to investigate how corporate image is influenced by technical and functional quality attributes. Findings provide evidence that the two technical-related dimensions, competence and reliability, have a significant impact on perceived quality, and the evaluation of service quality is also improved when perceived corporate image mediates these relationships. With regard to functional-related dimensions, communication had no significant impact on perceived quality, or on corporate image, and customer participation only had an impact on quality. The strongest relationship was between corporate image and perceived quality. The implication is that one of the consulting engineers' challenge is to better understand why technical-related dimensions are so prominent in the evaluation of their services.