Powder Technology, Vol.366, 275-282, 2020
Bioactive dietary Fiber powder from asparagus leaf by-product: Effect of low-temperature ball milling on physico-chemical, functional and microstructural characteristics
By-products from asparagus processing plants exhibit similar phytochemical profiles to the edible part Processes used to reduce the size of such by-products prior to their use, however, generally result in final products of inferior quality, due mostly to heat generated during the processes. In this study, low-temperature ball milling was applied to asparagus leaf by-product and impact of such process on selected physiochemical, functional and microstructural characteristics of the milled product was determined. Ball milling resulted in decreased particle size from 62.3 to 7.5 mu m within 4 h. Milled product exhibited better hydration properties, especially water solubility, which increased from 25.74 to 32.47%. Green color of the milled product was enhanced along with increased chlorophylls content. Increased total phenolics and flavonoids contents (26.13% and 150.43%, respectively) along with increased antioxidant activity (45.37% reduction in EC50 value of DPPH radicals) were observed. A shift from insoluble dietary fiber to soluble form (soluble fiber increased from 10.33 to 19.45 g/100 g). with respective SDF:IDF ratio ranging from 022 to 0.53 was also noted. Microstructural results revealed that both size reduction and agglomeration of particles took place during milling. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.