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Spice oleoresins guarantee superior flavour and aroma
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Thursday, 01 May, 2014, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nidhi Shukla
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fiogf49gjkf0d Spices are essential ingredients of foods. But their use is not limited to only food. They serve many other functions in industries. For example, ingredients of spices are extracted and used in various applications in industries such as flavouring, food canning, perfumery and soap, sauces, soft drinks, and confectionery and bakery. Oleoresins, oils and other ingredients are obtained from spices for various uses.
Oleoresins are true essence of spices with handling convenience. They are extracted in the form of concentrated viscous liquids from spices. They can be extracted with non-aqueous solvents followed by removal of the solvent by vacuum distillation. These spice derivatives have the same character, flavour and property of the spice it is obtained from. It contains both the volatile and non-volatile constituents of the spices. They have two main flavour attributes. The first being one that immediately catches attention of a consumer is the spice aroma. This is contributed by essential oil that is detected by the olfactory organ of the nose. The other flavour is the hot, pungent taste felt in the mouth while masticating. This pungency is contributed by the non-volatile chemicals present in the spice. Hence, they fully reproduce the character of the respective spice and spice oil.
Oleoresins can replace whole/ground spices without impairing any flavour and aroma characteristic. Spice oleoresins guarantee superior quality of flavour and aroma and are complete and balanced, consistent and standardised.
The oleoresins and spice oils are preferred because of their microbiological advantages, uniformity in flavour and pungency, and easy storage and transportation. They have several applications like in the preparation of beverages, soup powders, confectionery, curries, noodles, sauces, canned meat and so on. Compliance under the FSS Act is mandatory. ISI has specified quality standards vide IS 5832 & 7826 of 1975.
Oleoresin containing spices and products exported from India
Black Pepper, Capsicum, Cardamom, Cassia, Celery, Cinnamon, Clove, Coffee, Coriander, Coriander, Cumin, Curry Leaf, Dill Seed, Fennel, Fenugreek, Garlic, Ginger, Hing, Jalapeno, Pepper, Mace, Mustard, Nutmeg, Onion, Paprika, Rosemary, Tamarind, Turmeric, and White Pepper.
Few of the above-mentioned spices / products and their uses in various industries
Chilli spice is well known for its pungent and colouring effects. This is used in food as a flavour and also for lending colour to it. Chilli oleoresin has ‘complete essence of its features’ like pungency and colour.
Chilli oleoresin is an oil-soluble extract (Red chillies). It is composed of capsaicin, the main flavouring compound giving pungency in higher concentrations, and capsanthin and capsorubin, the main colouring compounds (among other carotenoids).
Capsaicin is the main capsaicinoid in chilli peppers and is the cause of its pungent effect. Other capsaicinoids like dihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, and homocapsaicin may also be present in the oleoresin. These capsaicinoids are known for their pungency effects and produce different levels of pungency when applied.
Capsanthin and capsorubin are colour-creating compounds. Capsanthin is the main and commercially available compound for colouring application. Chilli oleoresin is used to colour cheese, orange juice, spice mixtures, sauces, sweets and emulsified processed meats. In poultry feed it is used to deepen the colour of egg yolks.
Botanical Sources
Red Chilli (Capsicum frutescens) or the fruits of Capsicum annum Linn.
Applications
1. Flavouring Agent: Due to its pungent effect it is used to provide flavour to food products.
2. Colouring Agent: Colouring of food, eatables and medicines is a common application where chilli oleoresin gives a range of red colour.
3. Safety Gear: It is used in making safety gear for girls and can make a person blind for few minutes.
4. Preservative: Capsaicinoids help to preserve the meet and other food items against microbial activity.
Benefits
1. Dense Colour: Its red colour is the most used natural red colour in the world.
2. Pharmacology: Chilli oleoresin has antioxidant, analgesic, anti-cancer and anti-inflammation features. It radically reduces free radicals in our body.
Industry
1. Pharmaceuticals: Chilli oleoresin compounds are used extensively in pharmaceuticals industry. Capsaicinoids are quite effective as they have analgesic, anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, antioxidant and anti-obesity properties. Capsaicinoids may have potential application in pain relief, cancer prevention and weight loss. In addition, capsaicinoids also display the benefits on cardiovascular and gastrointestinal system.
2. Food: Chilli extract has been used for colouring various types of food.
Tomato oleoresin is concentrated extract of tomato, which contains its intense red colour.
Botanical Sources
Tomato is the main source of lycopene oleoresin though there are many other natural sources, which contain lycopene such as watermelon.
Applications
1. It is used in food industry as a raw element in place of tomato.
2. Lycopene is intended for use as a colouring agent and a nutrient supplement as it has certain antioxidant properties.
Benefits
1. Acts as anti-ageing agent and helps to prevent radical degradation of cells.
2. Coronary heart disease prevention.
3. Cancer prevention as it possesses antioxidant properties.
Industry
1. Bakery: Cereal, energy bars crackers and crisp breads.
2. Beverages: Carbonated beverages, meal replacements, tea and ready-to-drink beverages.
3. Dairy: Dry milk, fermented milk beverages, flavoured milk, milk drinks, milk-based meal replacements and yogurt.
4. Processed food: Energy, sport, and isotonic drinks and chewing gums.
5. Soup: Canned soups
Black pepper oleoresin is dark green viscous oil extracted out of dried berries plant called piper nigrum. Black peppercorns contain alkaloids. The main pungency principle is piperine. Other minor pungent principles are piperidine, piperettine, piperyline, piperanine and piperolein A and B.
Botanical Sources
Black pepper oleoresin is extracted from dried berries of piper nigrum. It is widely cultivated in India.
Applications
1. Food: Used as a flavour in food applications and as a table condiment.
2. Preservative: In meat products it is used for curing and preserving.
3. Pharmaceuticals: Due to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties it has many applications in pharmaceuticals.
Benefits
1. Stimulant to appetite as well as an aid in the relief of nausea, dysentery, dyspepsia.
2. Acts as a central nervous system depressant and suppresses fever and pain.
3. Exhibits anti-inflammatory and insecticidal properties.
4. Used in arthritis as a pain reliever.
5. Piperine enhances the bioavailability of various nutrients through increased absorption.
Industry
1. Pharmaceuticals: Due to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties it has many applications in pharmaceutical industry.
2. Food: Used as a preservative and as raw oil for food and a flavouring agent.
3. Safety Gear: Due to pungent properties it is used to make safety gear for girls.
4. Savoury: Its pungent effect is useful in savoury applications.
5. Cosmetics: Due to aromatic properties it has applications in cosmetics.
Turmeric (Curcuma longa root) has been used medicinally for thousands of years for its incredible range of benefits. Equipped with latest technologies in extraction today we can obtain turmeric's benefits in various forms like powder and oil for food and medicines.
Turmeric oil is much popular for its medicinal as well as colouring and flavouring properties. It is extracted from the turmeric rhizomes, which is widely cultivated because of its utility as a yellow-orange culinary spice. It can also be extracted from turmeric oleoresin.
Botanical Sources Curcuma Longa
Constituents
Turmeric oil contains varying concentration of curcumin, zingiberine, ketone, essential oils, phellandrene, limonene, ar-turmerone, a-turmerone, ß-turmerone, 1,8-cineole. Among these turmerone is the major constituent.
Applications
Turmeric oil finds applications in the pharmaceutical industry because of its role in relieving pain, anxiety and stress; fighting physical and mental depression, and so on. It is also a popular insect repellant. The benefits of turmeric on the skin have been well proved.
Industry
1. Food: Turmeric oil is used in food for colouring and spice effect.
2. Turmeric oil is used extensively for cosmetics as it makes our skin glow.
3. It can also be used as an ingredient in toothpastes.
Spent turmeric oleoresin (STO), which is being used as an industrial waste, showed good anti-diabetic activity by inhibiting the key enzymes linked to type 2diabetes. STO exhibited potent a-glucosidase and amylase inhibitory efficacy in a dose-dependent manner. Results indicating that STO inhibited the glucosidase and amylase enzymes more effectively than the reference standard. The anti-diabetic property of STO is reported for the first time by this experiment.
Image sourced from: India’s spice oleoresin industry; way forward initiatives. Shanavas Bavu.
Backward Integration Programme in India
The map of India shows the regions of major backward integration programmes. The respective crops are indicated.
Conclusions
Indian exports of spice oleoresins are increasing; driven by quality, cost and consistency. There have been conscious efforts from the industry towards sustainability in farming and supply chain management. It is aiming at a steady increase of agricultural productivity, focussing on quality and reducing environmental impact.
References
1. Suresh V Nampoothiri. P C Lekshmi. V V Venugopalan. A Nirmala Menon: “Antidiabetic and antioxidant potentials of spent turmeric oleoresin, a by-product from curcumin production industry” Agroprocessing and Natural Products Division National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) CSIR, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
2. Paper presented at the IFEAT International Conference in Singapore, 4 - 8 November 2012 ‘Essential Asia’Pages 39-49 in the printed Conference Proceedings by India’s Spice Oleoresin Industry: Way Forward Initiatives; Shanavas Bavu, Synthite Industries Ltd, Cochin – 682311.
3. http://www.ozonenaturals.com/products/turmeric-oil.html
(The author is junior research fellow, Kasturba Health Society Medical Research Centre, Mumbai. She can be contacted at nidhishukla67@yahoo.in)
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