Output list
Journal article
Published 2025
Foods, 14, 16, 2902
The Australian native foods, despite high phytochemical composition, are severely underutilized in research and on the commercial market. One of these plants is the Davidson plum (Davidsonia jerseyana), a nutrient-dense and sustainable food ingredient. The study aimed to develop functional fruit sorbets incorporating freeze-dried Davidson plum powder (0–20% w/w) and evaluate their physicochemical, antioxidant, and sensory properties. Sorbets were created using strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate, and Davidson plum bases and analyzed for nutritional content, color, melting rate, texture, and antioxidant capacity (Total Phenolic Content (TPC), Total Flavonoid Content (TFC), Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), Cupric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity (CUPRAC), 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (Radical Scavenging Assay (DPPH)), total proanthocyanin and anthocyanin content. Sensory evaluation was also conducted using a semi-trained panel. The results showed that increasing Davidson plum concentration led to higher antioxidant activity and slower melting rates. Sorbets containing 10% and 15% Davidson plum demonstrated the highest levels of phenolic and flavonoid compounds. However, sensory analysis indicated that sorbets with 5% and 10% Davidson plum, particularly those made with a strawberry base were the most acceptable in terms of flavour, texture, and overall appeal. These findings suggest that incorporating Davidson plum into frozen desserts, especially at lower concentrations, can enhance both the functional and sensory qualities of sorbets while offering potential health benefits.
Conference presentation
Date presented 09/2024
17th World Congress on Polyphenols Applications, 19/09/2024–20/09/2024, Milan, Italy.
Newspaper article
Ask Fuzzy: What can we do about food waste?
Published 31/03/2024
The Canberra times
Response to...
Journal article
Development of a gluten free bread enriched with faba bean husk as a fibre supplement
Published 2023
Food science & technology, 173, 114362
Faba bean husks (FBH) are a high-fibre waste product of faba beans and are primarily used as animal feed with the potential of becoming a fibre supplement. In this study, different levels and particle sizes of FBH flour were used to enhance the fibre content of gluten free bread. Bread properties were evaluated by measuring specific volume, colour (crust and crumb), and crumb texture. The sensory characteristics of breads were assessed by a group of untrained panellists (n = 66) on appearance, aroma, flavour, texture, aftertaste, willingness to buy, and overall acceptability using a nine-point hedonic scale. Volume of bread was affected by the level and particle size of FBH added. Texture analysis showed the importance of level of FBH, and of its particle size in establishing hardness, gumminess, and chewiness (p < 0.05). The added FBH influenced the colour of the crust and crumb. Two formulations of FBH-enriched gluten free bread (particle sizes of 212–300 μm at 5% wheat flour weight substitution, and particle sizes of smaller than 212 μm at 15% wheat four weight substitution) increased the fibre content of the bread, while had no negative impact on sensory evaluation in comparison to control treatment (p < 0.05).
Journal article
Published 2023
Journal of functional foods, 100, 105361
This study aimed to produce and characterize of a powder mixture from tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) bone resulting from the addition to hydroxyapatite (HA) of various acids (lactic acid, citric acid, and malic acid). Structured hydroxyapatite lactate compound (SHA-Lac) and SHA-citrate malate compound (SHA-CiMa) were water-soluble and Ca and P were the most abundant minerals contained in those compounds had main elements in Ca and P. FT-IR indicated that COOH played an important role for Ca2+ binding. XRD patterns indicated these compounds were amorphous crystal. For bioavailability on preosteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells, all samples at 100 μg/mL showed no cytotoxicity, no change in morphology, and no cell apoptosis, with the percentage of cell viability higher than 80%. For ability of mineral deposition at 7, 14, and 21 days of culture, all samples significantly increased the mineralization of MC3T3-E1osteoblast cells, thereby resulting in rising of the proliferation and differentiation during the early stages.
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Journal article
Functional Oligosaccharides Derived from Fruit-and-Vegetable By-Products and Wastes
Published 2022
Horticulturae, 8, 10, 911
Industrial-scale food manufacturing generates high quantity of fruit-and-vegetable solid by-product and waste streams (FVSW) which have become a challenge to the environment post-production. Due to this, proposals for a better use of resources to reduce the environmental burden and to promote a circular economy have been introduced. Reintroducing discarded materials back into the production through the recovery of valuable components or through the conversion into value-added ingredients is one approach attracting strong interest in research. FVSW is rich in lignocellulosic materials which can be reused to produce bioactive ingredients. This review highlights the potential use of FVSW as low-cost raw materials and describes the valorisation of FVSW for the production of functional oligosaccharides. The focus is on the production technologies of the main functional oligosaccharides, namely pectic-oligosaccharides, inulin and fructooligosaccharides, xylooligosaccharides, and isomaltooligosaccharides.
Journal article
Utilization of date by-products in the food industry
Published 2020
Emirates journal of food and agriculture, 32, 11, 808 - 815
The fruit of date palm tree Phoenix dactylifera is among the most abundant fruits, and it is rich in essential nutrients. Quality-wise, not all cultivated date fruits meet the commercial standards, and tons of date fruit that are immature, or of poor appearance but with no reduced nutritive value are treated as date by-product and are being used for animal feed or are discarded during processing by the relevant industries. Together with the rejected fruit, date seed which is the inedible part, and the trimmed fronds of the date palm, they are all discarded, resulting in an environmental problem, and an economical loss. The objective of this review is to identify current practices on the uses of low-grade date, seed, and frond in the industry. The literature shows date fruit of low quality is typically processed to make date paste and date syrup, and both are well utilized in the food sector. The chemical composition of date seed, and increasingly of other parts are well known, and fully exploited in many industrial applications.
Book chapter
Extraction, Isolation and Utilisation of Bioactive Compounds from Fruit Juice Industry Waste
Published 2017
Utilisation of Bioactive Compounds from Agricultural and Food Waste, 272 - 313
This chapter focuses on the recovery of bioactive compounds, particularly phenolic compounds and dietary fiber, from fruit juice industry solid waste. Extraction, isolation and potential applications of phenolic compounds and dietary fiber recovered from fruit solid waste in the food industry will be discussed. With the continuity of new discoveries on extractions, isolation and characterization techniques, the use of such waste as cheap raw material to produce bioactive compounds on a commercial scale becomes tangible on a large scale. Without any extraction step prior to the fiber preparation, dietary fibers obtained directly from fruit waste contain high amounts of bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compounds, terpenes, carotenoids, depending on the fruit sources. In many reports on the use of bioactive compounds from fruit waste in food products, antioxidant activity is reported to have a synergistic effect with the addition of dietary fiber.
Journal article
Published 2017
STARCH-STARKE, 69, 1-2, 1600227
The individual and interactive impacts of guar gum and glycerol on the pea-starch-based edible film characteristics were examined using three factors with three-level Box-Behnken response surface design (BBD). The results showed that density and elongation at break were only significantly (p<0.05) affected by pea starch and guar gum in a positive linear fashion. The quadratic regression coefficient of pea starch showed a significant effect (p<0.05) on thickness, density, puncture force, water vapor permeability, and tensile strength, while tensile strength and Young's modulus were affected by the quadratic regression coefficient of glycerol and guar gum, respectively. The results were analyzed using Pareto analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the developed predictive equations for each response variable presented reliable and satisfactory fit with high coefficient of determination (R-2) values (0.96). The optimized conditions with the goal of maximizing mechanical properties and minimizing water vapor permeability were 2.5g pea starch, 0.3g guar gum, and 25% w/w glycerol based on the dry film matter in 100mL of distilled water.
Conference presentation
Development of model for optical properties of pea starch based edible films
Date presented 08/2016
18th World Congress of Food Science and Technology, 21/08/2016–25/08/2016, Dublin, Ireland.