Piyanutch Sae-koo. Effect of processing and development of appropriate techniques on isoflavones content during tofu preparation. Master's Degree(Food and Nutrition for Development). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2005.
Effect of processing and development of appropriate techniques on isoflavones content during tofu preparation
Abstract:
Soybean and soybean products have been commonly consumed in many Asian countries. There is an increase in evidence that soyfoods are beneficial in the prevention of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis. It is well accepted that isoflavone compounds play the major role. Therefore, this study aimed to determine isoflavone content and composition in commercially available tofu and soymilk available by using High Performance Liquid
Chromatography (HPLC) and to study the effect of tofu preparation on isoflavone content. In addition, modifications of tofu preparation techniques to optimize isoflavone retention were investigated. The isoflavones content in silken, soft, and hard tofu purchased from different places were 4.0 to 21.3 mg/100g wet weight. Hard tofu had the highest content (12.3+0.5 mg), followed by silken (9.0+2.4 mg) and soft tofu (6.7+2.5 mg). The total isoflavone content in soymilk ranged from 2.2 to 15.9 mg/100g wet weight. The control methods of preparation showed a loss of isoflavone and changes in composition during the process. Losses of isoflavones were found in soaking water (20.4-23.1%), okara (15.8-18.0%), whey of soft tofu, (14.3%), whey of hard tofu (22.1%) and boiling for coagulation of silken tofu (5.9%). The retention of total isoflavones content for silken, soft, and hard tofu was 45.5, 39.7 and 31.5 %, respectively. The major forms of isoflavones in silken and soft tofu were glucosides and malonyl glucosides, while aglycones and glucosides were found in hard tofu and soymilk. Two general steps of tofu preparation, soaking and soymilk extraction, and the step for coagulation of silken tofu were chosen to study possible modifications to reduce loss of isoflavones. It was found that the total content of isoflavones decreased with increasing temperature and/or time of soaking and boiling. The re-extraction with boiling and tap water showed significant increases of isoflavone retention whereas there was no change with the cooked slurry method. All modified methods resulted in higher retention of isoflavone than the control method in both soymilk and tofu. However, there was not high consumer acceptance of the modified products so the method requires improvement.
In summary, the loss of isoflavone from soymilk or tofu preparation can be minimized by choosing an appropriate processing method. However, further studies on other modified methods should be done to see whether the acceptability of soy production to the consumer can be increased.