Query: Taro

title: Characterization of spray drying microencapsulation of almond oil into taro starch spherical aggregates
abstract: Taro starch spherical aggregates have good potential as wall material for microencapsulation of hydrophobic compounds. This study considered these spherical aggregates for protection of almond oil against oxidative stress. Encapsulation efficiency, microcapsules morphology and physical and chemical stability of the microcapsules were determined. The total encapsulation efficiency (TE) was 56.0 0.6% while the effective encapsulation efficiency was 37.5 0.5% The size of the microcapsules was in the range 1.6 31.1 mm, with porous structure that allows the flow of solvents through the intraparticle cavities. It was found that the almond oil was located mostly in the internal cavities of the spherical aggregates. Spray drying induced an increase in the peroxide value of the almond oil at the time of microencapsulation, which in turn enhanced the chemical stability. The maximum physical stability of the microcapsules was found around 8.2 g100 g 1 of moisture content for temperatures in the range 25 45 degC of storage. Overall, the results showed that the spherical aggregates provide protection against oxidation reactions to microencapsulated almond oil.

title: Effects of different combined drying methods on drying uniformity and quality of dried taro slices
abstract: In this study, hot air drying (HAD) low power intermittent microwave vacuum drying (LPIMVD) and high power intermittent microwave vacuum drying (HPIMVD) were combined to dry taro slices. Microwave only drying showed the highest drying rate, but the worst drying uniformity. Combined HAD and microwave drying improved uniformity and quality (color, ascorbic acid content, texture) of dried products. Taro slices dried by HAD HPIMVD LPIMVD showed high L* value, ascorbic acid content, and suitable texture. Furthermore, the drying time was reduced by 62.5% as compared to IMVD HAD. For HAD HPIMVD LPIMVD, the surface moisture evaporated during the HAD process, this may contribute to improve texture of samples and uniformity of temperature distribution during the subsequent microwave.

title: Physical stabilities of taro starch nanoparticles stabilized Pickering emulsions and the potential application of encapsulated tea polyphenols.
abstract: In this research, Pickering emulsion stabilized by taro starch nanoparticles was successfully prepared, and the potential application of encapsulating tea polyphenols was investigated. The nanoparticle size (about 460 nm) and contact angle (81.5deg) of taro starch indicate that it is suitable for adsorbing on the oil water interface and forming a dense interfacial layer. Emulsion stability at different particle concentrations, oil water ratios, and sodium chloride concentrations has been systematically studied. By considering the particle size, zeta potential, and stability index of Pickering emulsion, it is considered that the emulsion has the best stability when the particle concentration is 7% and the oil fraction is 0.5. Low concentration of salt ions (0.04 mM NaCl) will cause a slight flocculation to improve the stability, but adding high concentration of salt will make emulsion break. In addition, we found that this Pickering emulsion could encapsulate the tea polyphenols greatly with a retention rate of up to 67% The findings may have great significance for the design and fabrication of native starch particle stabilized emulsion.

title: Stable isotope natural abundances (d13C and d15N) and carbon water relations as drought stress mechanism response of taro (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott)
abstract: Taro (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott) is an important staple food crop in tropical and developing countries, having high water requirements. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition (d13C and d15N) as a physiological indicator of taro response to drought, and elucidation of the relationship between the water use efficiency (WUE) under drought conditions and carbon isotope discrimination (D13C) As an alternative to WUE determination, obtained by measuring plant growth and water loss during an entire vegetative cycle, we have used D13C to determine the tolerance of C3 taro plants to drought. Seven taro accessions from Madeira, Canary Islands and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (Fiji) collections were grown under greenhouse conditions and subjected to different watering regimes during a one year cycle. Total plant biomass (TPB) WUE and d15N were determined at the whole plant level (WP) Corms and shoots were evaluated separately for nitrogen content (N) d13C, D13C and d15N. WUE showed positive correlation with TPB (r 0.4) and negative with D13C (r 0.3) Corm d15N showed positive correlations with WP d15N (r 0.6) and corm N (r 0.3) Accordingly, the taro plants with enhanced WUE exhibited low D13C and d15N values as a physiological response to drought stress. The approach used in the present study has developed new tools that could be used in further research on taro response to environmental stresses.

title: Evaluation and selection of taro [Colocasia esculentra (L. Schott] accessions under dryland conditions in South Africa
abstract: Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L. Schott] is an important underutilised staple food crop in South Africa, with a lot of potential to address food insecurity among poor rural households. Development of high yielding stable taro cultivars is one of the most important goals of plant breeders. Twenty nine taro accessions collected from major taro producing regions of the country were evaluated for growth performance, yield potential and stability under dryland conditions at two sites (Umbumbulu and Roodeplaat) in 2013, 2014 and 2015 cropping seasons. The experiment was laid in a randomised complete block design replicated three times. Growth and yield traits were measured. Analysis of variance and correlation analysis was done on all measured traits. The genotype by environment interaction was analysed using additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) As a result, significant variation was observed for most of the traits except number of leaves and leaf width as well as number of suckers, while all the traits showed significant variation for location by year interaction. Number of corms showed significant variation for location by year by genotype interaction among all the traits evaluated. Genotype effect was highly significant (p .01) on plant height, corm length, number of corms and significant (p .05) on yield. The significant difference between genotypes for these traits proves that there was a genetic variability and there is a scope for selection. The correlation study also reveals that majority of the characters were positively correlated with each other. Total yield was positively and highly significantly (p .01) correlated with all the measured traits. AMMI was effective in identifying stable genotypes. The top ranking cultivars per environment may be considered for cultivation under the specific environment, the stable cultivars may be considered for cultivation across all the taro growing regions.

title: Genetic Diversity in Taro Colocasia esculenta
abstract: Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L. Schott] is an ancient, tropical root crop that is morphologically diverse with over 10,000 landraces. It is the fifth most produced root crop in the world and is mainly grown in tropical Africa, China, New Guinea, and many Pacific islands. Taro typically is grown for its starchy corm (i.e. underground stem) although leaves and flowers also are eaten as vegetables. There is controversy over its geographic center of origin, but this is likely to be in the Indo Malayan area. Evidence indicates that it was domesticated, possibly independently, across an area that ranges from northeast India to Yunnan province in China to New Guinea. Within Micronesia and Polynesia, where taro is a staple crop, the genetic base is very narrow. Genetic diversity within the taro germplasm is significantly greater in Asia and New Guinea. The exploitation of this diversity could lead to the development of cultivars with greater disease resistance, and improved yields and corm quality. Taro is a neglected crop in terms of recent advances in molecular biology, with only a limited number of studies utilizing next generation transcriptome and genome sequencing. At present, a high quality reference genome is lacking; however, recent genotyping by sequencing (GBS) approaches promise to improve our understanding of taro genetics.

title: THERMOMECHANICAL AND MORPHOLOGY OF BIODEGRADABLE FILM MADE OF TARO STARCH AND CHITOSAN PLASTICIZED BY CASTOR OIL
abstract: A biodegradable film made of taro starch and chitosan plasticized by castor oil was created through a casting solvent method. This study examined the influence of taro starch and chitosan composition on the thermo mechanical and morphological properties of the film. We have successfully obtained a film with a smooth surface and compact structure of taro starch. The results showed that the higher proportion of chitosan in the polymer matrix succeeded in increasing the tensile strength and thermal stability of the film. The addition of chitosan into taro starch samples resulted in reducing the water uptake of the film. The film with a balanced ratio of taro and chitosan starch had excellent water resistance, its absorption of water is the lowest of all compositions.

title: Pyrolytic preparation of gold nanoparticle coated taro carbon and its application for the selective detection of dopamine
abstract: A highly selective and sensitive electrochemical method was developed for the detection of dopamine (DA) based on a gold nanoparticle (AuNP) coated taro carbon (TC) modified glassy carbon electrode (AuNP TC/GCE) This novel AuNP TC material was simply prepared by carrying out a pyrolysis of a composite material obtained by treatment of an acid treated taro stem powder with HAuCl4. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) Raman spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X ray diffraction (XRD) were employed to characterize the AuNP TC material. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) were used to characterize the modified electrode. The modified GCE exhibited a well defined current response only toward the electrochemical oxidation of DA in a mixture solution of ascorbic acid (AA) DA, and uric acid (UA) This designed electrochemical sensor showed a linear response in the concentration range of 0.5 mM to 250 mM DA and a sensing limit (S/N 3) of 0.25 mM was found. The sensor was also able to successfully detect DA in a dopamine hydrochloride injection (DAI) Moreover, the sensor exhibited excellent stability and reproducibility.

title: Physicochemical studies of taro starch chemically modified by acetylation, phosphorylation, and succinylation+
abstract: Modified starches are some of the mostly used ingredients in the food industry as flavor encapsulants or carrier materials. Therefore, the aim of this research has been to determine the physicochemical characteristics of taro modified starches. Taro starch was used to obtain modified starches such as: succinylated, phosphorylated and acetylated. Measurement of the native starch composition: 15.3% amylose, 92.3% total starch, 3.0 protein and 5.0 moisture. The morphology of taro starch granule and the changes undergone by the different chemical modifications were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) The degree of substitution (DS) of the modified starches was found, and such results were complemented with the ones obtained using the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to demonstrate that the three different modifications took place, replacing hydroxyl groups with ester groups. It was also possible to determine whether the starches underwent a high or low degree of substitution. Pasting profiles were made using the RVA and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) was used to study the thermal changes due to the modification process. It was possible to determine that the chemical modifications made to taro starch produced important changes in the physicochemical properties mainly in the starch structure.

title: Effects of extruder die head temperature and pre gelatinized taro and broken rice flour level on physical properties of floating fish pellets
abstract: Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of pre gelatinized (PG) taro and broken rice and extruder die temperatures on the physical properties of extruded pellets. The first experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of PG taro and extruder die head temperature (125, 140, 155 and 170 degC) and a subsequent experiment was conducted using PG broken rice instead. All the blends were preconditioned to a 40% moisture content and then extruded using a single screw extruder. The three zones of the barrel temperature profile (70, 90 and 100 degC) and screw speed (150 rpm) of the extruder were constant throughout the extrusion cooking process. The physical properties of the pellets included floatability, expansion ratio, bulk density, pellet durability, water absorption and solubility, moisture content and pellet microstructure. The findings showed in both experiments that PG taro and broken rice inclusion levels and die temperature had significant effects on most of the physical properties of the pellets except for pellet durability index. Changing the inclusion rate of PG taro and broken rice from 15 to 25% significantly increased the expansion ratio and floatability of the extruded pellets. Similarly, as the die temperature was elevated in both experiment, the floatability of the extruded pellets in diet containing PG taro and broken rice increased by 114.62% and 21.88% respectively. It was also noted that use of PG taro and broken rice resulted in highly durable pellets in all treatments. Further, microstructure analysis of the extruded pellets revealed that using PG taro and broken rice, the surface of the extruded pellets became coarser when the die temperature was elevated from 125 to 170 degC and the PG taro and broken rice inclusion level was at 15% In conclusion, pre gelatinized taro and broken rice could be used to manufacture higher quality floating pellets.