Endogenous factors responsible for the textural characteristics of buckwheat products.
Endogenous factors responsible for the textural characteristics of buckwheat products were studied. An analysis with various buckwheat samples showed that there were variations in protein, starch, amylose and amylopectin contents among the various buckwheat flours examined. The protein contents of the buckwheat flours were significantly negatively-correlated to the starch, amylose and amylopectin contents of buckwheat. A texturometric analysis showed that the springiness of heated-dough made from buckwheat flour was positively correlated to its starch content and amylopectin content, and the springiness and chewiness was negatively correlated to the protein content. Experiments adding isolated buckwheat protein or starch to buckwheat dough confirmed the above-mentioned correlation between texture and components. This study suggests that both the protein and starch present in buckwheat flour may be important factors responsible for the textural characteristics of buckwheat products.
Composition And Functional Properties Of Common Buckwheat ( Fagopyrum Esculentum Moench ) Flour And Starch
Buckwheat, a pseudo cereal, is an alternative crop belonging to the family Polygonaceae. Buckwheat is generally grouped with cereals due to similarity in cultivation and utilization though it is not cereal grain. Two types of buckwheat are used around the world: common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) and tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) depending on the production zone. Generally, common buckwheat is grown more in Asian buckwheat growing countries, such as Japan, Korea, and the central and northern parts of China and the same is true in Europe, USA, Canada, Brazil, South Africa and Australia. In India, both types of buckwheat are grown (Li and Zhang, 2001; Bonafaccia et al., 2003). The cultivation of buckwheat had declined for many years, but in recent times there has been a reappearance of interest in its cultivation because high nutritional value of buckwheat grain due to high levels of protein, starch, dietary fibre, some minerals, vitamins, flavonoids and other bioactive components (Krkoskova and Mrazova, 2005). Buckwheat is a basic food item in porridges and soups, while it is marketed primarily in pancake mixes, which may contain buckwheat flour mixed with wheat, maize, rice or oat flour together with a leavening agent in North America (Joshi and Rana, 1995). Starch is the major component of buckwheat endosperm, which plays a significant role in appearance, structure and quality of food products. Buckwheat seeds mainly contain starch ranging from 59% – 69% which is 15-25% amylose, rest is apmylopectine and 7-37% of resistant starch (Skrabanja et al., 2004). Buckwheat starch granules are spherical, oval and polygonal in shape with large flat areas due to compact packing in the endosperm (Christa and Soral-Śmietana, 2008). Buckwheat is generally utilized as food in the form of flour; Abstract: Common buckwheat is a pseudo-cereal used in food industry as a functional ingredient in the form of flour and starch. The aim of this study was to isolate the starch from buckwheat grain and assess the physicochemical (Composition, hunter color, and paste clarity) and functional properties (water and oil absorption capacities, swelling power and solubility, least gelation concentration and bulk density) of flour and starch fraction. Process of isolation of starch removed all other components such as protein, fibre and fat which resulted in production of good quality of starch isolate with high proportion of starch and low level of other components except amylose. Chemical composition of flour showed higher nutritional value of buckwheat flour than starch. Color of starch had higher luminosity that increases scope of its utilization as a food ingredient. Paste clarity and gelation capacity of starch were better than flour indicating it a better thickening agent. Swelling power of starch was higher than flour indicating its suitability for application in processed foods. Solubility, oil absorption and water absorption capacities of flour and starch representing their technologically important properties meeting the demand of consumer preference in food industry.
Drivers of Live Cattle Price in the Livestock Trading System of Central Cameroon
Livestock production and trade are critical for the food security and welfare of rural households in sub-Saharan Africa. In Cameroon, animal trade consists mainly of live cattle commercialized through livestock markets. Identifying the factors contributing to cattle price formation is critical for designing effective policies for sustainable production and for increasing food availability. In this study, we evaluated the influence of a range of individual- and market-level factors on the price of cattle that were sold in all transactions (n = 118,017) recorded over a 12-month period from 31 livestock markets in the main cattle production area of the country. An information-theoretic approach using a generalized additive mixed-effect model was implemented to select the best explanatory model as well as evaluate the robustness of the identified drivers and the predictive ability of the model. The age and gender of the cattle traded were consistently found to be important drivers of the price (p < 0.01). Also, strong, but complex, relationships were found between cattle prices and both local human and bovine population densities. Finally, the model highlighted a positive association between the number of incoming trading connections of a livestock market and the price of the traded live cattle (p < 0.01). Although our analysis did not account for factors informing on specific phenotypic traits nor breed characteristics of cattle traded, nearly 50% of the observed variation in live cattle prices was explained by the final model. Ultimately, our model gives a large scale overview of drivers of cattle price formation in Cameroon and to our knowledge is the first study of this scale in Central Africa. Our findings represent an important milestone in designing efficient and sustainable animal health management programme in Cameroon and ensure livelihood sustainability for rural households.