Tocol Composition and Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of Lipids from Barley Pearling Flour

Samples of whole grain and 35% pearling flour of 20 different barley varieties grown in Alberta were analyzed for their lipid contents. Total lipid contents of whole grains were within 1.9% to 3.0% (w/w), whereas those of the 35% pearling flour were 4.3% to 7.9%. Lipids of 35% pearling flour fraction of Tercel barley were extracted using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC‐CO₂) at different pressures (24, 45, and 58 MPa) and temperatures (40 and 60 °C) for 3 h. Lipid recoveries of 73% to 97% were achieved using SC‐CO₂ extraction under different operational conditions. Tocol contents and compositions of whole grain, 35% pearling flour, and SC‐CO₂ extracts were analyzed using HPLC. Tocol content of the whole grain was 53.8 to 124.9 μg/g and that of the pearling flour was 195 to 363 μg/g of flour. The hulless barley varieties were higher in tocols, with waxy, double waxy and Tercel varieties having the highest levels (P < 0.05). The ratios of total tocotrienols to total tocopherols varied within 1.6 to 3.9 range. Tocol concentrations of SC‐CO₂ extract fractions varied from 1171 to 4391 μg/g extract depending on the operational conditions. Barley oil is a good natural source of different tocol isomers rich in tocotrienols.     

Multiple thermosetting of semicrystalline polymers: Polyamide 66 and poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers

Polyamide 66 fibers were thermoset in a torsion-bending deformation at various temperatures up to 240 °C. Some of the fibers were heat-set at constant length prior to the deformation at presetting temperatures of 150 °C and 200 °C to vary the structural state of the starting material. Fractional recovery was measured after various combinations of temperature and time. It was found that heat setting of PA66 is dominated by time-dependent stress relaxation exhibiting time-temperature equivalence. Increased crystallinity, and/or other molecular rearrangements occurring during presetting, impose additional constraints on molecular mobility, which delay onset of the flow regime and increase the time constant of relaxation at a given temperature. The thermosetting characteristics of PA66 fibers are very similar to those of poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers. For both polymers, superposing the curves of fractional recovery vs. setting time at different temperatures produce satisfactory master curves, without the need for vertical shifting of the data. Arrhenius plots yield approximate activation energies for the thermosetting flow process of 35-65 kcal/mol in PA66 and 95-115 kcal/mol in PET.     

Structure characterization of heat set and drawn polyamide 66 fibers by FTIR spectroscopy

Structural changes that occur during thermally induced and strain induced crystallization of polyamide 66 fibers were studied by infrared spectroscopy, density measurement and optical microscopy. Two bands at 924 and 1136 cm^–1 were shown to arise from the amorphous phase and assignment of the bands at 936 and 1200 cm^–1 to the crystalline phase were confirmed. We demonstrated that two different infrared spectroscopic methods could be used to determine the total crystallinity of polyamide 66 fibers. One is a calibration method in which the band ratio of 1200 and 1630 cm^–1 is plotted against the crystallinity measured by density measurements. The other one is an independent infrared method. Crystallinity obtained by the independent infrared spectroscopic method showed good agreement with crystallinity observed by density measurement. Infrared dichroism was used to obtain the crystalline orientation using the band at 936 cm^–1. The transition moment angle of 48° was found for the band at 936 cm^–1 with respect to chain axis. Amorphous orientation was obtained using Stein’s equation. Received: 18 September 2000 / Reviewed and accepted: 20 September 2000     

Compositional changes in whole grain flours as a result of solvent washing and their effect on starch amylolysis

Whole grain flour is used most often as raw material for fuel alcohol production. However, the dry-milling process and the non-starch components of flours may impact the enzymatic hydrolysis of starch to glucose. The particle size distributions of flours prepared from whole grain triticale, barley, wheat and corn were determined and the effects of pre-washing with water, hexane, 100% ethanol or 50% ethanol on flour composition and the amylolysis of starch were studied. Scanning electron microscopy of the flours revealed that grinding grain to pass a sieve with an aperture size of 0.5 mm effectively released starch granules from endosperm cells. Pre-washing with water or 50% ethanol decreased the protein, phytic acid and total free phenolic contents of flours and, except for corn flour, increased starch content. Pre-washing with water reduced the ash contents of all flours, and reduced the ??-glucan content of barley flour by 98%. Pre-washing with hexane or 100% ethanol removed much of the lipid from the flours. Pentosan content was affected only slightly by any of the pre-washing treatments. Each of the pre-washings was associated with a significant change, positive or negative, in the extent of ??-amylolysis for one or more of the flours. The degree of ??-amylolysis in unwashed flours ranged from 22.4 to 26.1%, and from 21.6 to 28.1% in pre-washed flours, varying with flour source and solvent treatment. Pre-washing of flours increased the degree of hydrolysis achieved with sequential ??-amylase/amyloglucosidase treatment, with values ranging from 61.4 to 72.8% in pre-washed flours compared to 56.2-57.8% in unwashed flours. The highest degrees of hydrolysis were achieved with 50% ethanol pre-washing (72.4 and 72.8% for triticale and barley flours, respectively). The degree of ??-amylase/amyloglucosidase hydrolysis obtained for isolated starches ranged from 83.7 to 93.0%. This study demonstrated clearly that the partial removal of non-starch components from whole grain flours by solvent pre-washing enhanced the degree of amylolysis of starch.     

Soybean Isoflavones: Effects of Processing and Health Benefits

Isoflavones belong to a group of compounds known as flavanoids that share a basic structure consisting of two benzene rings linked through a heterocyclic pyrane C ring. Soybean provides the most abundant source of isoflavones, which have been linked to the prevention of several diseases, including cancer (prostate, colon, and breast cancer), hypercholesterolemia, cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, and relief of menopausal symptoms in certain women. Currently, isoflavone use is targeted as a nutraceutical. In this article, we review the structural aspects and the effect of processing on the different forms of isoflavones in soy protein. We also discuss the impact of these changes on the health benefits of eating foods containing isoflavones. Isoflavones, as a class of phytoestrogens, are gaining a lot of interest in clinical nutrition.     

Structure and physicochemical properties of palmyrah (Borassus flabellifer L.) seed-shoot starch grown in Sri Lanka

Starch from palmyrah (Borassus flabellifer L.) seed-shoot flour was isolated and its composition, morphology, structure and physicochemical properties were determined. The yield of starch was 38.4% on a whole flour basis. The shape of the granule ranged from round to elliptical. Bound lipid, total lipid, apparent amylose, total amylose and resistant starch contents were 0.03%, 0.04%, 30.9%, 32.7% and 32.2%, respectively. The X-ray pattern was of the A-type and relative crystallinity was 34.1%. Palmyrah starch exhibited a high proportion (31.8%) of short amylopectin chains (DP 6–12) and a low proportion (1.2%) of long amylopectin chains (DP > 36). Gelatinization temperatures were 73.1–82.0 °C and enthalpy of gelatinization was 13.6 J/g. Pasting temperature, viscosity breakdown and set-back were 76.5 °C, 147 and 74 BU, respectively. Palmyrah starch exhibited high granular swelling, and restricted amylose leaching. Susceptibility towards in vitro α-amylolysis and retrogradation was low. The results showed that physicochemical properties of palmyrah starch were largely influenced by strong interactions between amylose–amylose and/or amylose–amylopectin chains within the granule interior.     

Engineering Efficient Self-Assembled Plasmonic Nanostructures by Configuring Metallic Nanoparticle’s Morphology

We reveal the significance of plasmonic nanoparticle’s (NP) shape and its surface morphology en route to an efficient self-assembled plasmonic nanoparticle cluster. A simplified model is simulated in the form of free-space dimer and trimer nanostructures (NPs in the shape of a sphere, cube, and disk). A ~200% to ~125% rise in near-field strength (gap mode enhancement) is observed for spherical NPs in comparison with cubical NPs (from 2 nm to 8 nm gap sizes). Full-width three-quarter maximum reveals better broad-spectral optical performance in a range of ~100 nm (dimer) and ~170 nm (trimer) from spherical NPs as compared to a cube (~60 nm for dimer and trimer). These excellent properties for sphere-based nanostructures are merited from its dipole mode characteristics.     

Enhancement of Resistant Starch (RS3) in Amylomaize,Barley, Field Pea and Lentil Starches

Native starches isolated from amylomaize. Glacier high amylose barley, field peas and lentils contained 3–5% (w/w) resistant starch (RS3). Retrograded gels that were prepared from these starches had higher RS3 (6–9%) contents. The effects of gel concentration (% starch), storage temperature and time on the RS3 content of the retrograded gels were investigated; the optimum RS3 content was determined in gels prepared at = 10% (w/v) starch concentration and stored under = 20°C for = 5 days. Annealing of the retrograded starch gels by heating and cooling cycles, further enhanced RS3 content to 9–19%; the effect of annealing temperature and number of heat-cool cycles on the RS3 content of the annealed gel were studied. The hydrolysis of retrograded starch gels by pulanase enzyme or acid (2.2 N HCl), prior to annealing, enhanced the RS3 formation during annealing; the enzyme or acid treatment increased RS3 content of the annealed gel to 15–24% or 17–24%, respectively. The potential molecular mechanism that is responsible for the RS3 increase is discussed.     

Synergistic enhancement in the co-gelation of salt-soluble pea proteins and whey proteins

This paper investigated the enhancement of thermal gelation properties when salt-soluble pea proteins were co-gelated with whey proteins in NaCl solutions, using different blend ratios, total protein concentrations, pH, and salt concentrations. Results showed that the thermal co-gelation of pea/whey proteins blended in ratio of 2:8 in NaCl solutions showed synergistic enhancement in storage modulus, gel hardness, paste viscosity and minimum gelation concentrations. The highest synergistic enhancement was observed at pH 6.0 as compared with pH 4.0 and 8.0, and at the lower total protein concentration of 10% as compared with 16% and 22% (w/v), as well as in lower NaCl concentrations of 0.5% and 1.0% as compared with 1.5%, 2.0%, 2.5%, and 3.0% (w/v). The least gelation concentrations were also lower in the different pea/whey protein blend ratios than in pure pea or whey proteins, when dissolved in 1.0% or 2.5% (w/v) NaCl aqueous solutions.     

The Reactivity of Native and Autoclaved Starches from Different Origins Towards Acetylation and Cationization

Native potato, waxy corn, corn, wheat, filed pea and lentil starches were autoclaved at 15 psi, 121°C for 1min. Scanning electron micrographs of the native and autoclaved starches showed no changes in granular surfaces and shapes. In all starches, the X-ray intensities at most of the d-spacings between 3-18 Å increased upon autoclaving, being more pronounced in potato. The X-ray patterns of cereals and legumes remained unchanged, while that of tuber (potato) became more cereal-like. Differential scanning calorimetry of the starch samples revealed that autoclaving increased the gelatinization transition temperatures of wheat but decreased that of potato; the changes observed in waxy corn, corn, field pea and lentil starches were very small. The gelatinization enthalpy of all native starches decreased upon autoclaving while the percentage decrease was highly marked in potato. Image analysis of the native and autoclaved starches revealed changes in the granule size distribution patterns. Also, the population mean area of all native starch granules considerably increased upon autoclaving. Acetyl binding capacity, measured at 5% and 10% acetic anhydride addition levels, was higher in autoclaved than in native starches. Furthermore, autoclaving had no influence on starch cationization, studied at 3% and 6% reagent addition levels. The results indicated that the changes in starch molecular organization caused by autoclaving enhanced its reactivity towards acetylation but not cationization.