The Hygroscopic Properties and Sorption Isosteric Heat of Coix Seeds

Xiao-hong Luo, Chang Liu, Meng-ya Wang, Xing-jun Li, Yu-shan Jiang — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0800

Coix seeds are one of the most difficult-to-store cereal foods, and in order to maintain their quality during storage, the present study was conducted to determine the moisture adsorption and desorption isotherms of five varieties of coix seeds in the ranges of 10-35 °C and 11.3%-96.0% equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) using a static gravimetric method. The isotherms showed sigmoidal curves, and there was a hysteresis between adsorption and desorption isotherms. Six equilibrium moisture equations were used to fit the isotherms, and the Modified Chung-Pfost (MCPE), Modified Guggenheim-Anderson-deBoer (MGAB), Modified Henderson (MHE), Modified Oswin (MOE) and our developed modified Caurie (MCaurie) equations were suitable for fitting the data, among which MCPE was the best fitting equation. The monolayer water content decreased with increasing temperature, and the content of monolayer water, the density and layer number of adsorbed water, and the content of bound water for desorption were significantly higher than those of adsorption. The absolutely (ERH 65%) and relatively (ERH 70%) safe moisture contents (MC, wet basis, w.b.) of coix seeds were respectively 12.45%-12.82% and 13.15%-13.69% at 25 ℃. At equilibrium moisture content (EMC) less than 14.9% w.b., the desorption isosteric heats of coix seed were greater than the adsorption isosteric heats, and both decreased sharply in a hyperbolic form, approaching the latent heat of pure water at 14.9% w.b. The sorption isosteric heat of large-grain coix seed was slightly less than that of small-grain seed due to more cracks in the kernel back surface and more micropores in starch granular surface and resultantly more moisture sorption capacity. These results suggest that the desorptive and adsorptive behaviors of coix seeds should be differentiated for cooldown aeration, demoisturizing and remoisturizing operation, and the average isotherm can be used for common storage management.

Immunomodulatory Potential of Coridius nepalensis on Cyclophosphamide Induced Mice: Most Desired Edible Insect among Ethnic People of Arunachal Pradesh, India

Jharna Chakravorty, Sonam Drema Tukshipa, Pompi Bhadra, Nending Muni — Mon, 13 May 2024 00:00:00 +0800

The traditional practice of consuming insects and exploring their medicinal usage around the world has aroused interest in the search for novel pharmaceuticals derived from natural biological resources, offering a promising avenue for drug discovery with minimal side effects and serving as a viable alternative to conventional medications. The intake of insects as food by humans is widespread among various ethnic groups of Arunachal Pradesh and other North Eastern regions of India. For centuries, Coridius nepalensis (Cn), a hemipteran bug, has been valued as a traditional culinary delicacy by the ethnic people of Arunachal Pradesh. Cn is rich in dietary fibres, fats, essential fatty acids, amino acids, protein, minerals and vitamins. In order to take full advantage of Cn, the current study was designed to explore the possible immunomodulatory potential of Cn on immune suppressed mice induced through cyclophosphamide (CP). The results of the present study indicate that Cn could attenuate the effect of cyclophosphamide on mice models, where Cn could restore: indices of both thymus and spleen, body weight, red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) count, could stimulate the response of delayed type hypersensitivity, elevate the levels of the immune factors interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in addition to the proliferation of Concanavalin A induced mitogenic response for lymphocyte proliferation. Our findings suggest that Cn extract has the potential for immunomodulation, and can act as a health food supplement and a strategy to prevent the well-known immunosuppressant effects of CP. This study also reflects how sensibly the ethnic people of Arunachal had chosen this insect as one of the most preferred foods that often is little known.

Food Science and Engineering

The Hygroscopic Properties and Sorption Isosteric Heat of Coix Seeds

Immunomodulatory Potential of Coridius nepalensis on Cyclophosphamide Induced Mice: Most Desired Edible Insect among Ethnic People of Arunachal Pradesh, India