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Dietetics, Nutrition and Biological Sciences

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/23

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    Reformulation of Biscuit and Oatcake Products With Nutritional and Environmental Benefits Using a Novel Palm Shortening Substitute
    (Wiley, 2025-08-28) Mora-Gallego, Hector; Craddock, Robert; Euston, Stephen R.; Liddle, Catriona; Lonchamp, Julien
    This paper assessed the feasibility of replacing palm shortening with a novel sustainable ingredient composed of rapeseed oil, linseed meal, and beta-glucan (PALM-ALT) in hard-texture bakery products (biscuit and oatcake). There is currently no palm shortening alternative that is functional, sustainable, nutritionally-balanced, and competitive. The PALM-ALT ingredient was characterized by oil droplet size distribution, rheology, confocal microscopy, and scanning-electron microscopy, whilst the biscuits and oatcakes were profiled by sensory, texturometry, colorimetry, water activity, and moisture analyses. The PALM-ALT ingredient exhibited a stable emulsion-gel structure (32 µm oil droplet size, 62 Pa.s viscosity, 40 Pa yield stress). Linseed proteins contributed to the formation and stabilization of oil droplets, whilst linseed mucilage, oat beta-glucan, and aggregates of linseed proteins and/or beta-glucan (observed in the continuous phase) further stabilized the emulsion. Three formulations were prepared with either palm shortening, rapeseed oil, or PALM-ALT. PALM-ALT biscuits and oatcakes respectively showed an 86% and 75% saturated fat reduction in comparison with their palm-based control product. PALM-ALT products displayed similar sensory and instrumental profiles to their palm-based controls, whereas rapeseed oil formulations exhibited significantly different color, odor, and texture profiles than the controls (p < 0.05). Rapeseed oil biscuits showed a lower overall sensory quality than their palm-based control, whilst PALM-ALT oatcakes displayed a higher acceptability than the control and rapeseed oil products (p < 0.05). This study showed that PALM-ALT was able to replace palm shortening in hard-texture bakery formulations with maintenance of their sensory profiles, whilst providing nutritional and sustainability benefits.
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    Extraction of an emulsifying agent from the cellulose-based filtration aid of cold-pressed rapeseed oil
    (Elsevier, 2025-01-18) Lonchamp, Julien; Euston, Stephen R.
    This study aimed to extract an emulsifying agent from the cellulose-based filtration aid of cold-pressed rapeseed oil. This material is currently a low-value stream but contains phospholipids retained during filtration and proteins from residual seed peel and pulp particles. A range of two-step extraction methods were assessed, with oil removal using diethyl ether (DE) or petroleum ether followed by chloroform-methanol (CM) extraction (2:1, 3:2 or 5:4 ratios) or the reversed order. Emulsions prepared with the DE/CM3:2 extract displayed the highest emulsifying activity and stability indexes (35.52 m2/g and 2,045.18 min) and similar small mean oil droplet sizes (3 μm) to those of whey protein concentrate emulsions. A range of extracted compounds contributed to the DE/CM3:2 functionality, including napins, cruciferins and phospholipids. This study demonstrated for the first time the potential to upcycle this co-product by recovering emulsifying agents. Future studies will focus on optimising the extraction process and yield.
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    Novel palm shortening substitute using a combination of rapeseed oil, linseed meal and beta-glucan
    (Elsevier, 2024-06-19) Sampaio, Shirley L.; Chisnall, Timothy; Euston, Stephen R.; Liddle, Catriona; Lonchamp, Julien
    This study investigated the potential of a novel sustainable ingredient composed of rapeseed oil, linseed meal and beta-glucan (PALM-ALT) to mimic palm shortening functionality in cake. The combined functional properties of linseed meal and beta-glucan led to stable semi-solid emulsion-gels (20–31 μm oil droplet size, 105–115 Pa.s viscosity and 60–65 Pa yield stress). PALM-ALT contained 25 and 88% less total and saturated fat than palm shortening, whilst PALM-ALT cakes contained 26 and 75% less total and saturated fat than the palm-based control. PALM-ALT cakes matched the flavour profile of the palm-based control, while rapeseed oil cakes tasted more sour and less sweet than the control (p < 0.05). PALM-ALT cakes proved less hard and more cohesive than the control (p < 0.05), with 100% of the consumer panel preferring PALM-ALT formulations. This study demonstrated the unique potential of PALM-ALT as healthier, sustainable and competitive alternative to palm shortening.
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    Molecular simulation of partially denatured β-lactoglobulin
    (Elsevier, 2023-04-29) Zhang, Zhuo; Arrighi, Valeria; Campbell, Lydia; Lonchamp, Julien; Euston, Stephen R.
    The unfolding of β-lactoglobulin (β-lac) upon heating was comprehensively studied through molecular dynamics computer simulations. A β-lac molecule in the aqueous solution was firstly heated at 500 K for unfolding and then annealed at 300 K to collect stable conformations. There were five meta-stable conformations observed based on the Free Energy Landscape (FEL). The β-lac molecule was found to exhibit an open and extended conformation on heating followed by limited refolding upon cooling. The cysteine residues –SH121 and S–S66-160 in the most open conformation were located at the opposite ends of the β-lac molecule. This would favour the intermolecular –SH/S–S interchange reactions that are known to occur in β-lac as part of the inter-molecular aggregation process. Furthermore, the unfolding of the β-lac increased the hydrogen bond forming capacity between water molecules and the protein and between water molecules themselves. The interactions and the properties of the water molecules in the protein hydration shell also indicated that the hydration shell was stabilized by protein unfolding. However, it was found that the unfolding of β-lac increased diffusion of hydration water molecules, including those in the first hydration shell that interact more strongly with the protein. This may partly explain why unfolded proteins are more likely to aggregate even though there were more hydration water molecules protecting them. Such results provided more detailed information on the structure-functionality relationship of β-lac based on both the protein molecule and its hydration shell. This provides insight into how we can control the processing of proteins for desirable functional properties such as thickening and gelation, which are modified through protein-water interactions.