Influence of Soaking and Cooking Techniques on Physical and Hydration Properties of Moringa oleifera Kernels

Oluwatosin J. Oginni^1, , Babatunde S. Ogunsina², Gbenga A. Olatunde³ and Kehinde F. Jaiyeoba⁴

¹School of Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown WV, USA

²Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

³Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA

⁴Department of Agricultural Science, Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, Nigeria

Cite this paper:
Oluwatosin J. Oginni, Babatunde S. Ogunsina, Gbenga A. Olatunde and Kehinde F. Jaiyeoba. Influence of Soaking and Cooking Techniques on Physical and Hydration Properties of Moringa oleifera Kernels. American Journal of Food Science and Technology. 2016; 4(6):168-172. doi: 10.12691/ajfst-4-6-2

Abstract

Prior to consumption, most human foods are subjected to certain processing techniques such as soaking, roasting, parboiling and cooking, which causes important changes in their physical and hydration properties. Several physical and hydration properties were evaluated as function of soaking time as well as cooking methods. Standard methods were followed to investigate changes in the axial dimensions, shape indices, hydration and swelling capacity of Moringa oleifera kernels that were soaked in distilled water for 2, 4 and 6 h and subjected to cooking by conventional and microwave methods. For conventional and microwave cooking, minimum cooking time reduced from 46 to 44.3 min and from 25 to 23 min, respectively. The hydration capacity of the cooked kernels (g/kernel) decreased from 0.16 to 0.15 (conventional cooking); whereas it increased from 0.10 to 0.14 (microwave cooking). The axial dimension of kernels that were soaked for 2, 4 and 6 h and cooked were found to be 7.9 and 7.48 mm, 7.94 and 7.18 mm, 8.12 and 7.13 mm for length; 8.48 and 7.61 mm, 8.11 and 7.26 mm, 8.14 and 7.26 mm for width and 8.09 and 7.12 mm, 7.64 and 7.14 mm, 7.77 and 7.06 mm for thickness, respectively. Understanding the properties of specific food products with respect to different methods of processing is vital to their overall utilization.

Keywords:
Moringa physical properties hydration properties soaking cooking

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Figures

References:

[1]	Olson, M.E, “Moringaceae Martinov. Drumstick Tree Family”, Flora of North America, 7, 167-169, 2010.
[2]	Janick, J., and Paull, R.E, The Encyclopedia of Fruit & Nuts, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2008.
[3]	Chawla, S., Saxena, A., and Seshadri, S, “In-vitro availability of iron in various green leafy vegetables”, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 46, 125-127, 1988.
[4]	Abdulkarim, S.M., Long, K., Lai, O.M., Muhammad, S.K.S., and Ghazali, H.M., “Some physico-chemical properties of Moringa oleifera seed oil extracted using solvent and aqueous enzymatic methods”, Food Chemistry, 93(2), 253-263, 2005.
[5]	Ogunsina, B.S., and Radha, C, “Comparative study of the functional and physico-chemical properties of debittered Moringa oleifera seeds and soybeans flours”, Ife Journal of Technology, 19(1), 85-92, 2010.
[6]	Anwar, F., and Bhanger, M.I, “Analytical characterization of Moringa oleifera seed oil grown in temperate regions of Pakistan”, Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, 51(22), 6558-6563, 2003.
[7]	Levicki, K, “A catchment to consumer approach to rural water resource assessment- Baseline Study and Safe Drinking Water Supply Strategy for Orongo Village, Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya”, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, 2005.
[8]	Khatoon, N., and Prakash, J, “Nutritional quality of microwave cooked and pressure-cooked legumes”, International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition 55, 441-448, 2004.
[9]	Bakr, A.A., and Gawish, R.A., “Nutritional evaluation and cooking quality of dry cowpea (Vigna sinensis L) grown under various agricultural conditions. I. Effect of soaking and cooking on the chemical composition and nutritional quality of cooked seeds”, Journal of Food Science and Technology- Mysore, 28, 312-316, 1991.
[10]	Wang, N., Hatcher, D.W., Warkentin, T.D., and Toews, R., “Effect of cultivar and environment on physicochemical and cooking characteristics of field pea (Pisum sativum)”, Food Chemistry. 118, 109-115, 2010.
[11]	De Leon L.F., Elias I.G., and Bressani R, “Effect of salt solution on the cooking time. Nutritional and sensory characteristics of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)”, Food Research International, 25(2): 131-136, 1992.
[12]	Prodanov, M., Sierra, I., and Vidal-Valverde, C, “Influence of soaking and cooking on the thiamin, riboflavin and niacin contents of legumes” Food Chemistry 84(2): 271-277, 2004.
[13]	Singh, R.P., and Sarkar, A., “Thermal Properties of Frozen Foods”, In: Rao, M.A., Rizvi, S.S.H., Datta, A.K. (Eds.), Engineering Properties of Foods, Taylor & Francis Group: Boca Raton, FL, 761 pp, 2005.
[14]	Zanella-Díaz, E., Mújica-Paz, H., Soto-Caballero, M.C., Welti-Chanes, J., and Valdez-Fragoso, A., “Quick hydration of tepary (Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray) and pinto beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) driven by pressure gradients”, LWT - Food Science and Technology, 59(2), 800-805, 2014.
[15]	Ibarz, A., González, C., and Barbosa-Cánovas, G.V., “Kinetic models for water adsorption and cooking time in chickpea soaked and treated by high pressure”, Journal of Food Engineering, 63: 467-472, 2004.
[16]	Mohsenin, N.N., Physical Properties of Plant and Animal Materials: Structure, Physical Characteristics and Mechanical Properties, 2nd Edn. Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, New York, 891 pp, 1986.
[17]	Omobuwajo, T.O., Akande, E.A., and Sanni, L.A., “Selected physical, mechanical and aerodynamic properties of African breadfruit (Treculia africana) seeds”, Journal of Food Engineering, 40(4), 241-244, 1999.
[18]	Bernhart, M., and Fasina, O.O., “Moisture effect on the storage, handling and flow properties of poultry litter”, Waste Management, 29, 1392-1398, 2009.
[19]	Berton, B., Scher, J., Villieras, F., and Hardy, J., “Measurement of hydration capacity of wheat flour: Influence of composition and physical characteristics”, Powder Technology, 128(2-3), 326-331, 2002.
[20]	Quinn, J.R., and Paton, D., “A practical measurement of water hydration capacity of protein materials”, Cereal Chemistry, 56, 38-40, 1979.
[21]	Narasimha, H.V., and Desikachar, H.S.R., 1978. “Objective methods for studying cookability of tur pulse (Cajanus cajan) and factors affecting varietal differences in cooking”, Journal of Food Science and Technology India, 15(2), 47-50, 1978.
[22]	Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC International. (2005). AOAC International, Gaithersburg, MD, USA, Official Method.
[23]	Jain, R.K., and Bal, S., “Physical properties of pearl millet. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 66, 85-91, 1997.
[24]	Karababa E, and Coskuner Y, “Physical properties of carob bean (Ceratonia siliqua L.): An industrial gum yielding crop”, Industrial Crops and Products, 42, 440-446, 2013.
[25]	Williams, P.C., Nakoul, H., and Singh, K.B., “Relationship between cooking time and some physical characteristics in chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.)”, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 34, 492-496, 1983.
[26]	Oko, A.O., Ubi, B.E., and Dambaba, N., “Rice Cooking Quality and Physico-Chemical Characteristics: A Comparative Analysis of Selected Local and Newly Introduced Rice Varieties in Ebonyi State, Nigeria”, Food and Public Health, 2(1): 43-49, 2012.
[27]	SAS, 2010. SAS Users’ Guide, SAS Institute Inc, Car, NC.
[28]	Tarighi, J., Mahmoudi, A., and Rad, M.K., “Moisture-dependent engineering properties of sunflower (var. Armaviriski)”, Australian Journal of Agricultural Engineering, 2, 40-44, 2011.
[29]	Sobukola, O.P., and Onwuka, V.I., “Effect of moisture content on some physical properties of locust bean seed (Parkia fillicoidea L.)”, Journal of Food Process Engineering, 34, 1946-1964, 2011.
[30]	Ahromrit, A., Ledward, D.A., and Niranjan, K., “High pressure induced water uptake characteristics of Thai glutinous rice”, Journal of Food Engineering, 72(3), 225-233, 2006.
[31]	Simonyan, K.J., Yiljep, Y.D., Oyatoyan, O.B., and Bawa, G.S, “Effects of Moisture Content on Some Physical Properties of Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet Seeds”, Agricultural Engineering International: CIGR Ejournal Manuscript 1279, 11, 2009.
[32]	Black, R.G., Brouwer, J.B., Meares, C., and Iyer, L., “Variation in physico-chemical properties of field peas (Pisum sativum)”, Food Research International, 31(2), 81-86, 1998.
[33]	Colley, Z., Fasina, O.O., Bransby, D., and Lee, Y.Y, “Moisture effect on the physical characteristics of switchgrass pellets”, Transactions of the ASABE, 49(6), 1845-1851, 2006.
[34]	Sefa-Dedeh, S., and Stanley, D.W., “The relationship of microstructure of cowpeas to water absorption and dehulling properties”, Cereal Chemistry 56, 379-386, 1979.
[35]	Kaur, A., Kaur, P., Singh, N., Virdi, A.S., Singh, P., and Rana, J.C., “Grains, starch and protein characteristics of rice bean (Vigna umbellata) grown in Indian Himalaya regions”, Food Research International, 54, 102-110, 2013.
[36]	Thomas, R., Wan-Nadiah, W.A., and Bhat, R., “Physiochemical properties, proximate composition, and cooking qualities of locally grown and imported rice varieties marketed in Penang, Malaysia”, International Food Research Journal, 20(3), 1345-1351, 2013.