Investigating the multifaceted changes in physicochemical and nutritional attributes of chicken-based nutri cereal mix under cold plasma treatment

Abstract

In this study multifaceted changes in physicochemical and nutritional properties of nutri-cereal mix (NC_M) under cold plasma treatment (CPT) were investigated. In present investigation NC_M was prepared and treated under CPT using a DBD-based plasma source for 5 min, 10 min, and 15 min at 9 kv. The results revealed that the water and oil absorbing capacity of cold plasma treated Nutri cereal mix (CPT-NC_M) increased with increasing CPT time. The carbohydrate content in CPT-NC_M decreased with increasing CPT time. From the colour analysis it was observed that the total colour difference (TCD) and whiteness index (WI) increased from 0.23 (NC_M -5) to 0.97 (NC_M -15), and 55.11 (NC_M -5) to 56.08 (NC_M -15), respectively. Additionally, the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis suggested that the thermostability of CPT-NC_M is likely affected by NC_M levels and changes in protein structure and conformation. The diffractograms and micrographs confirmed the crystallinity and microstructural changes in protein content, respectively. Amino acid profiling confirmed that NC_M -10 comprises the higher amount of most of the analysed amino acids. Overall, the current study recommends that CPT enhances the physicochemical and nutritional properties of NCM, making it suitable for producing a variety of food products with improved quality characteristics.