1.Tertiary Butyl Hydroquinone (TBHQ)
Tertiary Butyl Hydroquinone (TBHQ) is the synthetic food grade antioxidant, which was developed to be used in stabilizing various vegetable oils, fats and food against oxidative deterioration, thus retrading development of rancidity in these products and extending their storage life.TBHQ exhibits an outstanding stabilizing effect in unsaturated fats, particularly in Polyunsaturated vegetable oils, and inedible animal fats.
Advantage from the use of TBHQ :
• Excellent antioxidant potency can be obtained in edible oils and fats.
• Reduction in nutritional losses.
• Extended storage life.
• Crude oil can be transported maintaining their quality
Method Of Application :
TBHQ antioxident is readily soluble at use levels in fats& oils and in a number of solvents. It can be applied by the basic technigues in general use for applying antioxidants to fats & fatty foods.
The fundamental rule to follow in applying antioxidant to food products is to ensure that the antioxidants are throughly dissolved and dispersed in the fat or oil portions. Since only small amounts of anitioxidants are required for protection of food, the method of incorporationg the antioxidant may determine the sucess of stabilization. Choice of method depend on the product, processing methods and available equipment.
TBHQ antioxidant can be applied by one or more of the following techniques:
Direct Method : A fat, oil or wax can be stabilzed by heating 60° C minimum non-aerated agitation sufficiently to dissolve the TBHQ. The agitation should be continued for additional 20 minutes to ensure uniform distribution.
Concentrate Method : Concentrated solution of antioxidant can be prepared by dissolving the TBHQ in a small quantity of fat at 90 ° C 120 ° C. The hot concentrate or a pre-dissolved antioxidant formulation can be introduced into the main bod of fat , directly or by metering. Agitation is required for thorough distribution.
Proportionate Method : TBHQ or antioxidant formulation may be proportioned or metered into a pipeline through which fat or oil to be stabilized is being pumped. A stainless steel proportioning pump should be used to meter the desired amount of antioxidant into the fat or oil. The sucess of this technique depend o the turbulence created within the pipeline being sufficent to thoroughly disperse the antioxidant.
Spray Method : Food products such as nuts can be sprayed directly with a dilute antioxidant solution. The concentration of the solution is adjusted t provide the desired amount of antioxidant and to ensure uniform deposition on the surface of the products.
Other Method : Other innovative means could be used to apply TBHQ antioxidant to various food products. For instance, meat products such as sausages may be effectively stabilized by blending the antioxidant formulation into the sausages along with the seasoning mix.
2. Monosodium Glutamate
Monosodium glutamate, also known as MSG, Ve-tsin or E621 is used as a flavour enhancing agent, in many kinds of food products to enhance their original flavour. Glutamic acid as well as different salts of glutamic acid other than MSG, like monopotassium glutamate, show the same effect. Glutamate also imparts an unique taste called ‘umami' in food, and it was scientifically recognized as the fifth basic taste along with sweet, sour, salty and bitter. As glutamate is a major component of protein, it is found naturally in virtually all protein-containing foods such as meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables and milk. Naturally occurring glutamate has been traditionally used to impart the umami taste.
Monosodium glutamate, is a salt of glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is one of the 20 amino acids making up proteins. From a nutritional standpoint it is called a non-essential amino acid which means that it can be synthesized in our body.
In food as well as in tissue glutamic acid can be present in two forms: in a ‘bound' form when it is linked to other amino acids to make up proteins or in a ‘free' form when present as a single amino acid. Only free glutamate plays an important role in food flavour.
Recent studies have demonstrated that food-derived glutamate is the main energy source of the intestine. The intestine has such a voracious appetite for glutamate, and it has been shown that of all the glutamate eaten as food only about 4% passes into the body. This implies that the rest of the body has to synthesize nearly all of the glutamate that it needs.
Any glutamate in the food, whether bound in protein or free, or added, is converted in the intestine into free glutamate, and used for energy production by the intestine. Glutamate is also used in the brain as a neurotransmitter. However, the blood brain barrier which controls what type of molecules can enter the brain, does not allow its passage. Therefore, the brain has to synthesize its own glutamate from glucose and other amino acids. Due to the central position of glutamate in metabolism, it has important functions such as substrate for protein synthesis, precursor of glutamine, nitrogen transport, and so on.
