Optimisation of Pea Protein-Stabilised Banana Foam and Evaluation of Drying Temperature on Quality Properties of Foam-Mat Dried Banana Powder

Teng, Li Kee (2025) Optimisation of Pea Protein-Stabilised Banana Foam and Evaluation of Drying Temperature on Quality Properties of Foam-Mat Dried Banana Powder. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

Bananas, with their naturally high sugar content, pose challenges during conventional drying, such as stickiness, prolonged drying time, and product instability. Foam-mat drying (FMD) offers an effective alternative by converting the sticky banana pulp into a stabilised foam before dehydration. This study aimed to optimise banana foam production using pea protein isolate (PPI) as a foaming agent and to evaluate the effect of drying temperature on the quality properties of the plant-based foam-mat dried banana powder. A face-centred central composite design with 13 runs was employed to investigate the effects of PPI concentrations (1–3% w/w) and whipping times (10–20 min) on foam properties. The impact of drying temperatures (55–85 ℃) on powder quality was investigated, including yield, moisture content, colour, bulk and tapped densities, water solubility index (WSI), water absorption index (WAI), water holding capacity (WHC), water activity, ascorbic acid content (AA), total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activities [2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP)]. Results showed that the PPI concentration and whipping time significantly (p < 0.05) affected foam density, expansion volume, and porosity, while foam stability was significantly (p < 0.05) influenced only by PPI concentration. The optimised conditions to produce pea protein-stabilised foam were 2.737% (w/w) PPI concentration and 20 min whipping time, achieving a composite desirability of 0.9173, with 0.6121 ± 0.0065 g/cm3 of foam density, 84.09 ± 1.95% of foam expansion volume, 0.4567 ± 0.0058 of foam porosity, and 73.33 ± 1.53% of foam stability (after 24 hours). Drying temperature significantly (p < 0.05) affected most quality parameters, with 65 °C identified as the most favourable drying temperature, reducing drying time by 2.5 times when comparing to non-foamed banana powder (control), while yielding high TPC of 1205.12 ± 10.31 mg GAE/100 g DW, TFC of 290.63 ± 9.80 mg QE/100 g DW, ABTS of 28.29 ± 0.18 mg TE/100 g DW, DPPH of 27.21 ± 0.64 mg AAE/100 g DW, and FRAP of 3102.01 ± 75.45 mg FeSO4E/100 g DW among the FMD banana powders. Overall, FMD is a promising method for producing banana powder with enhanced quality for food applications. Keywords: Foam-mat drying; Pea protein isolate; Foaming properties; Antioxidant properties; Banana powder