article · Polish Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
Moisture desorption and thermodynamic characteristics were examined across four flour blends combining nixtamalised or non-nixtamalised maize with fermented or non-fermented cassava at a two-to-one ratio. Desorption isotherms recorded between 10°C and 40°C showed type II behaviour across all formulations. Mathematical modelling confirmed that the Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB) equation provided the closest fit to the desorption data. Monolayer moisture content decreased as temperatures rose, with formulations containing fermented cassava flour displaying lower monolayer values. Furthermore, blends containing nixtamalised maize flour exhibited reduced net isosteric heat compared to untreated mixtures, reflecting altered binding energy requirements during moisture removal. Overall, the modifications caused by nixtamalisation and fermentation directly influence flour moisture retention and thermodynamics, offering clear implications for drying efficiency and product shelf life.
Understanding how flours bind and release water is crucial for optimising industrial drying processes and preventing spoilage during storage. By showing how traditional processing methods like nixtamalisation and fermentation alter flour thermodynamics, these findings support the development of stable, composite flour products that dry more efficiently and maintain quality over longer periods.
This early-stage experimental research provides thermodynamic data that can inform flour millers and food manufacturers seeking to dry and package composite flours. The findings suggest potential gains in drying efficiency and shelf-life stability for blends made with nixtamalised maize and fermented cassava. However, the work remains at laboratory scale, and further testing under pilot or commercial processing conditions would be required before implementation.
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This study examined the moisture desorption and thermodynamic characteristics of four blends from nixtamalized/non--nixtamalized maize flour and fermented/non-fermented cassava flour.Maize grains were nixtamalized by their cooking in 1% Ca(OH) 2 solution and 18 h steeping.Cassava flour was fermented by the backslopping method.The flour blends were constituted in the ratio of 2:1 (w/w) of maize to cassava flour.Desorption isotherms were determined at temperatures ranging from 10°C to 40°C using a gravimetric method.The experimental data were fitted to the Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and Oswin models to characterize the moisture desorption behavior.Results revealed that the use of nixtamalized and fermented flours in blends significantly influenced the desorption isotherms yielding type II isotherms.BET and GAB models exhibited percent root mean square of error at <10%, with the GAB equation showing the best fit for the desorption data.The monolayer moisture content (M 0 ) decreased with increasing temperature for all blends, and those with fermented cassava flours had lower M 0 .The net isosteric heat of desorption decreased as equilibrium moisture content increased, reflecting the progressive saturation of high-energy binding sites.The blends with nixtamalized flour exhibited reduced isosteric heat compared to the sample with untreated flours.The differential entropy of desorption increased as the equilibrium moisture content increased and, thus, indicated thermodynamic compensation.The study demonstrates that nixtamalization and fermentation influence the water-binding characteristics of maize and cassava flour blends, with implications for improved drying efficiency and extended shelf-life.
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DOI: 10.31883/pjfns/205003
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