Combine starch, pectin, calcium to create new microstructures.Scientists at Finland's VTT Biotechnology unit are continuing research in encapsulation technology and structure-modifying enzymes. By harnessing these techniques, it is possible to create certain properties in products, such as improved stability, novel textural properties and the ability to control the release of bioactive components. VTT scientists have been focusing on the relationship between physical structure--microstructural and rheological parameters--and the sensory perception of texture. They also have looked into the relationship between a food's structure and its nutritional properties. In their studies of biopolymer-based microencapsulation microencapsulation a manufacturing process in which an active agent is contained in microcapsules, suspended in a liquid. As the vehicle dries, the capsules dry out and the contents become active. technologies, they've found that they can enhance the ability of a biopolymer bi·o·pol·y·mer n. A macromolecule, such as a protein or nucleic acid, that is formed in a living organism. biopolymer any protein or nucleic acid produced by a living organism. to act as a gelling agent by adding another macromolecule macromolecule, term that may refer either to a crystal such as a diamond, in which the atoms are identical and held by covalent bonds (see chemical bond) of equal strength, or to one of the units that compose a polymer. . Depending on the ratio of biopolymers, the gelling technique and other components, it is possible to form different types of structures. In one project, VTT scientists generated different microstructures by mixing amylose-rich maize starch and pectin pectin, any of a group of white, amorphous, complex carbohydrates that occur in ripe fruits and certain vegetables. Fruits rich in pectin are the peach, apple, currant, and plum. Protopectin, present in unripe fruits, is converted to pectin as the fruit ripens. with different amounts of calcium. The addition of pectin to starch gel made the gels harder and less smooth. They also melted less in the mouth. Instrumentally measured hardness correlated very well with perceived hardness. The melting behavior, studied by measuring the storage modulus of gels by viscoelastic Adj. 1. viscoelastic - having viscous as well as elastic properties natural philosophy, physics - the science of matter and energy and their interactions; "his favorite subject was physics" measurement, correlated with perceived smoothness. Microscopic studies showed that smoothness in the gels was related to the absence of huge aggregated starch particles. The melting of the gels decreased when aggregated starch particles were present. A very smooth and sensorially different type of gel structure could be generated by mixing LM-pectin that has a low calcium content with amylose-rich maize starch and 25% saccharose sac·cha·rose n. See sucrose. Noun 1. saccharose - a complex carbohydrate found in many plants and used as a sweetening agent sucrose . Further information. Anita Mikkonen, VTT Biotechnology, P.O. Box 1500, FIN-02044 VTT, Tietotie 2, Espoo, Finland; phone: ?9-4561; fax: ?9-455 2103; URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. : www.vtt.fi/bel. |
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