March 17/Karnataka, India/Food Weekly News -- "Antioxidants like phenolics and carotenoids -- both as additives in foods or pharmaceutical supplements -- can scavenge reactive oxygen species and protect against degenerative diseases like cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Mango peel, which is a byproduct obtained during processing of mango products such as mango pulp and amchur, is currently discarded and, thus, causing environmental pollution," researchers in Mysore, India, report.

"In the present study, mango peel was incorporated into macaroni at three different levels (2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5%), and researchers studied its effect on the cooking properties, firmness, nutraceutical and sensory characteristics of macaroni. The total dietary fiber content in macaroni increased from 8.6% to 17.8%. The content of polyphenols increased from 0.46mg/g to 1.80mg/g and carotenoid content increased from 5mu g/g to 84mu g/g of macaroni with 7.5% incorporation of mango peel powder. The macaroni products incorporated with mango peel exhibited improved antioxidant properties.

"The cooking loss of macaroni increased from 5.84% to 8.71%, and the firmness increased from 44gf to 73.45gf upon incorporation of mango peel powder. Incorporation of 5% mango peel powder into semolina yielded macaroni with acceptable quality. Thus, the results suggest that by incorporating mango peel powder, it is possible to enhance the nutritional quality of macaroni without affecting its cooking, textural and sensory properties. Industrial relevance: Mango is one of the important tropical fruits. As mango is a seasonal fruit, it is processed into various products and during its processing, huge amount of peel is generated as a byproduct and its disposal is a major problem. The peel constitutes about 15-20% of the fresh fruit. The peel contains various bioactive compounds and the peel extract exhibited potential antioxidant properties. In the present study, mango peel was incorporated into macaroni at three different levels and found that incorporation up to a 5% level into the formulation of macaroni yielded an acceptable product with improved nutraceutical properties," wrote C.M. Ajila and colleagues.

The researchers concluded, "Thus, mango peel, a waste from mango industry can be utilized for the preparation of macaroni with improved nutritional properties."

Ajila and colleagues published their study in Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies ("Mango Peel Powder: A Potential Source of Antioxidant and Dietary Fiber in Macaroni Preparations." Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, 2010;11(1):219-224).

For additional information, contact U.J.S.P. Rao, Cent Food Technol Res Inst, Dept. of Biochem & Nutr, Mysore 570020, Karnataka, India.

From the March 29, 2010, Prepared Foods E-dition