FOOD CHEMISTRY

BINITA RANI
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR (DAIRY CHEMISTRY)
FACULTY OF DAIRY TECHNOLOGY
S.G.I.D.T., BVC CAMPUS,
P.O.- BVC, DIST.-PATNA-800014
Introduction
Water is relatively small inorganic molecule, but organic life is highly dependent on this tiny molecule. It is the only
substance on the earth that occurs abundantly in all three physical states (gas, liquid and solid).

Water is essential for life as:

(1) regulator of body temperature

(2) Solvent
(3) carrier of nutrients and waste products
(4) reactant and reaction medium
(5) lubricant and plasticizer
(6) stabilizer of biopolymer conformation
(7) facilitator of the dynamic behavior of macromolecules (e.g. catalytic activity)

Most of the fresh foods contain large amounts of water. It is one of the major component in composition of many foods.
Each food has its own characteristic amount of this component. Effect of water on structure, appearance and taste of foods
as well as their susceptibility to spoilage depends on its amount, location, and orientation. Therefore, it is essential to know
its physical properties.

Water has unusually high boiling point, surface tension, permittivity, heat capacity, and heat of phase transition values. Other
unusual attribute of water include expansion upon solidification, large thermal conductivity compared to those of other
liquids, moderately large thermal conductivity of ice compared to those of other nonmetallic solids.
Water Molecule
Some of the unusual properties of water are due to strong intermolecular attractive forces among molecules of water. The
unusual properties of water can be explained from nature of water molecules. In formation of water molecule, two hydrogen
atoms form covalent bonds with oxygen. The highly electronegative oxygen of the water molecule pulls the single electron
from each of the two covalently bonded hydrogen atoms towards itself, as a result each hydrogen atom becomes partially
positively charged and oxygen becomes partially negatively charged. Consequently, resultant covalent bond formed between
oxygen and hydrogen atoms acquires partial ionic character. The bond angle of individual water molecule in vapor state is
104.5°.

Structure of the water molecule Hydrogen bonding of water molecule in a tetrahedral

configuration
Association of Water Molecules
The shape of water molecule and the partial polar nature of the O-H bond in the water molecule create
intermolecular attraction force. Such inter molecular attraction, results in to formation of hydrogen bonds
between the water molecules. Therefore, water molecules associate with considerable tenacity.

Hydronium ion
Each water molecule involves in four hydrogen bonds with neighboring water molecules. Multiple hydrogen bonding
between water molecules, forms a structure of three-dimensional network.

Hydrogen bonding of water to two kinds of functional groups occurring in proteins

Existence of three-dimensional hydrogen bonded structure of water is responsible for many of its unusual properties. The
extra energy is needed to break intermolecular hydrogen bonds. This leads to large values for heat capacity, melting point,
boiling point, surface tension, and enthalpies of various phase transitions of water. The dielectric constant (permittivity) of
water is influenced by hydrogen bonding. Hydrogen-bonded multi-molecular dipoles increase the permittivity of water. The
hydrogen bonded arrangement of water molecules is highly dynamic, allowing individual molecules to alter their hydrogen-
bonding relationships with neighboring molecules. This phenomenon facilitates mobility and fluidity of water.
The open, hydrogen-bonded, tetrahedral structure of water molecules in ice is responsible for low density of water in ice
form. The extent of intermolecular hydrogen bonding among water molecules depends on temperature.
Hydrogen bonding in ice
 ice

Unit cell of ordinary ice

With input of heat melting of ice occurs; that is, some hydrogen bonds are broken distance between nearest neighbor
increases. The latter factor predominates at temperatures between 0 and 4°C, which causes net increase in density. Further
warming increasing distance between nearest neighbors (thermal expansion) predominates above 4°C, which causes net
decrease in density.
Water binding and chemical reactions
mediated by water
Introduction

• Mixing of solutes and water alters properties of each other.

• Hydrophilic solutes cause changes in structure and mobility of water and water causes changes in
the reactivity, and structure, of hydrophilic solutes.
• Hydrophobic groups of solutes interact only weakly with water. In interaction of solute with water,
various bonding forces existing between water and solutes.
• To understand interaction between water and solutes at the molecular level, it is essential to
knowledge about water-related phenomena and related terms like water binding, hydration, and
water holding capacity.

• The terms “water binding” and “hydration” are often used to represent tendency of water to
associate with hydrophilic substances in foods.
• The extent and tenacity of water binding or hydration depends on several factors like nature of
solute, salt composition, pH, and temperature.
Water holding capacity

• Term generally used to describe ability of a matrix of molecules to physically entrap large
amounts of water in such a way that prevents exudation of the water.
• The food matrices that entrap water in this manner include pectin and starch gels and
tissue cells of plant and animal.
• This physically entrapped water does not flow from food even when they are cut or
minced. But this water behaves almost like pure water during food processing operations
like drying, freezing, etc. it is also available as a solvent.
• Thus, bulk flow of this water is restricted, but movement of individual molecules almost
remains same as that of water molecules in a dilute solution.
• Impairment in this entrapment of water (i.e. holding capacity) of foods has a significant
effect on quality of food.
• Some of the typical examples are oozing out of liquid from gel (syneresis) and exudation of
liquid on thawing of frozen foods.
Bound Water
Bound water is not an easily identifiable entity. It is poorly understood term. Number of definitions proposed. The bound
water is that water which

❑ is in equilibrium water of sample at appropriate temperature and relative humidity

❑ does not contribute significantly to permittivity and has restricted mobility
❑ does not freeze at low temperature (e.g. -40°C)
❑ unavailable as a solvent to dissolve additional solutes
❑ migrate with a macromolecule during sedimentation or flow
The bound exists in vicinity of solutes molecules. Properties of this water are significantly different from that of the “bulk”
water in the same system. In high water content foods, the bound water account for very minute amount of the total water
present. Generally, the first layer of water molecules adjacent to hydrophilic groups comprises the bound water.
Interaction between water and ions
Ions and ionic groups of organic molecules hinder mobility of water molecules to a greater extent than other types of
solutes. The strength of water-ion interaction is greater than that of hydrogen bonds, between the water molecules, however,
it is much less than that of covalent bonds. Water and inorganic ions (e.g. NaCl) undergo dipole-ion interactions.
Water as solvent
• The ions compete for water and alter water structure, influence the permittivity of the
aqueous medium and influence thickness of the electric layer around colloids particle
“degree of hospitality” provided to other nonaqueous solutes and to substances suspended
in the medium.
• Thus, conformation of proteins and stability of colloids are profoundly influenced by
nature and concentration of ions present in the system.
• Salting-in and salting-out of protein are the important examples of such effect of ions.

Interaction between water and hydrophilic solutes forming hydrogen bond

• Interactions between water and nonionic, hydrophilic solutes are weaker than that of the
interactions between water and ions and of the almost same strength as that of the hydrogen
bonds between water molecules.
• Solutes capable of hydrogen bonding enhance or at least not disrupt the normal structure of
pure water.
• However, in some instances solutes have a disruptive influence on the normal structure of
water.
• Urea is good example which markedly disrupts normal structure of water.
Interaction between water and non-polar substances
The mixing of water and hydrophobic substances (e.g. apolar groups of fatty acids, amino acids, proteins, etc.) is
thermodynamically unfavorable event (ΔG>0). Water forms a special structure in vicinity of the incompatible apolar entities.
This process has been referred to as hydrophobic hydration. Since hydrophobic hydration is thermodynamically unfavorable,
water tends to minimize its association with the apolar entities. Therefore, the incompatible aqueous environment will
encourage two separate apolar groups to associate, to decrease waterapolar interfacial area. This process is termed as
“hydrophobic interaction”.

hydrophobic interaction
Water orientation at hydrophobic surface
• A clathrate hydrate is a cage-like structure inclusion compound, in which hydrogen-bonded
water layer entraps a small apolar molecule.
• Formation of clathrate hydrates is an extraordinary ability of water to minimize contact with
hydrophobic groups.
• This structure influences conformation, reactivity, and stability of molecules like proteins.
• Hydrophobic interaction is of primary importance in maintaining the tertiary structure of most
proteins.
• It provides a major driving force for protein folding, causing many hydrophobic residues to
assume positions in the protein interior.
• Such association of water with hydrophobic groups of proteins has an important influence on
functionality of the protein.
• The non-polar groups of other compounds such as alcohols, fatty acids, and free amino acids
also can participate in hydrophobic interactions.
• Therefore, association of water with hydrophobic groups in proteins is very important in food.
• Reduction in temperature causes hydrophobic interactions to become weaker and hydrogen
bonds to become stronger.
Globular protein undergoing hydrophobic interaction
Water Activity

A definite relationship exists between water content of food and its perishability. Concentration
and dehydration of food is carried out primarily to decrease its water content, with a view to
increase concentration of solutes and thereby increase shelf life of the food. However, various
foods with same amount of water content may differ significantly in perishability, which indicates
that the water content alone is not a reliable indicator for susceptibility of food towards
perishability. This is largely due to differences in intensity of association of the food constituents
with water molecules. Water having strong associations with food constituents has lower ability
to support deteriorative activities like microbial growth and chemical degradation reactions
(e.g.hydrolysis), than that of the weakly associated water. Consequently, term water activity (aw)
was developed to account for the intensity with which water associates with various nonaqueous
constituents. Food stability, safety, and other properties can be predicted far more reliably
from aw than from water content. The term “activity” was derived from laws of equilibrium
thermodynamics by G. N. Lewis and its application to foods was pioneered by Scott.
Definition

Water activity may be defined as ratio of tendency of a solvent to escape from solution (ƒ0) to tendency of the solvent to
escape from pure solvent (ƒ). At ambient pressure, ƒ/ƒ0 is almost equal to relative vapour pressure of the solution. Therefore,
aw may also be defined as ratio of relative vapour pressure of solvent upon dissolving nonvolatile solute to the vapour
pressure of pure solvent. Therefore, relative vapor pressure is also used interchangeably for aw. The relative vapour is related
to per cent equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) of the product environment.

Temperature Dependence

Relative vapor pressure is temperature dependent. The degree of temperature dependence is a function of moisture content.
This behavior can be important for a packaged food because it will undergo a change in relative vapour with a change in
temperature, causing the temperature dependence of its stability to be greater than that of the same product unpackaged.

Moisture sorption isotherms

A plot of water content of a food (g water/g dry material) versus aw at constant temperature is known as a moisture sorption
isotherm (MSI).
Information derived from MSIs are useful for concentration and dehydration processes, formulation of food mixtures so
as to avoid moisture transfer among the ingredients, determination of moisture barrier properties needed in a packaging
material, determination of what moisture content will curtail growth of microorganisms of interest and prediction of the
chemical and physical stability of food as a function of water content.
Resorption (or adsorption) isotherms are prepared by adding water to previously dried samples. Desorption isotherms are
isotherms prepared by removing water from samples Isotherms with a sigmoidal shape are characteristic of most foods.
Foods such as fruits, confections, and coffee extract that contain large amounts of sugar and other small, soluble molecules and
are not rich in polymeric materials exhibit a J-type isotherm.

moisture sorption hysteresis

Generalized moisture sorption isotherm
 As water is added (resorption), sample composition moves from Zone I (dry) to Zone III (high moisture). Properties of
water associated with each zone differ significantly.
Water in Zone I of the isotherm

The water in Zone I of the isotherm is most strongly sorbed and least mobile, associated with accessible polar sites by
water-ion or water-dipole interactions, unfreezable at -40°C, not able to dissolve solutes, not present in sufficient amount to
have a plasticizing effect on the solid, behaving simply as part of the solid and constituting a tiny fraction of the total
water in a high-moisture food material.
Water in Zone II of the isotherm

Water in Zone II of the isotherm occupies first-layer sites that are still available, associates with neighboring water molecules
and solute molecules primarily by hydrogen bonding, slightly less mobile than bulk water, most of it is unfreezable at - 40°C,
exerts a significant plasticizing action on solutes, lowers their glass transition temperatures and causes swelling of the solid
matrix. This action, coupled with the beginning of solution processes, leads to acceleration in the rate of most reactions.
Water in Zones I and Zone II usually constitutes less than 5% of the water in a high moisture food material.

Water in Zone III of the isotherm

Water in Zone III of the isotherm causes glass-rubber transition in samples containing glassy regions, very large decrease in
viscosity, very large increase in molecular mobility and commensurate increases in the rates of many reactions. This water is
referred to as bulk-phase water, having properties of bulk-phase water and will not alter properties of existing solutes,
freezable, available as a solvent, readily supports the growth of microorganism and constituting more than 95% of the total
water in a high-moisture food. It is the most mobile fraction of water existing in any food sample governs stability.
Hysteresis

An additional complication is that an moisture sorption isotherm( MSI) prepared by addition of water
(resorption) to a dry sample will not necessarily be superimposable on an isotherm prepared by desorption. This
lack of superimposability is referred to as “hysteresis”. The magnitude of hysteresis, the shape of the curves,
and the inception and termination points of the hysteresis loop can vary considerably depending on factors such as
nature of the food, physical changes it undergoes when water is removed or added, temperature, rate of desorption
and degree of water removal during desorption

Relation of food stability with its water activity

Food stability and its aw are closely related in many situations. The rates of many reactions are influenced by
the extent of water binding in food in which water content is less than TS (<50%). The effect of water activity on
processes that influence quality of food is depicted in figure. It is clear that water activity has profound influence
on the rate of many chemical reactions in food as well as on the rate of microbial growth.
Water activity and a number of reaction rates
Water activity and a number of reaction rates – stability isotherm
Water activity and a number of reaction rates – moisture sorption isotherm
Decreased water activity retards growth of microorganisms, slows enzyme catalyzed reactions and also retards non-
enzymatic browning. Enzyme activity is virtually non-existent in monolayer water (aw<0.25). Therefore growth of
microorganisms at this level of activity is also zero. Mold and yeast start to grow when water activity reaches between 0.7-
0.8, which is the upper limit of capillary water. Bacterial growth takes place when water activity reaches 0.8, which is the
limit of loosely bound water. However yeast and mold are usually inhibited between 0.8-0.88. Enzyme activity increases
gradually between water activity of 0.3-0.6 and than rapidly increases in the loosely bound water range i.e. water activity of
about 0.8.

Water activity and a number of reaction rates – Water activity and a number of reaction rates –
enzyme activity microorganism proliferation
Maillard reaction strongly depends on water activity and reaches a maximum rate at a value of 0.6 to 0.7. Beyond this
range the rate of reaction decreases. The explanation for such behaviour is that in intermediate water activity range, the
reactants are all dissolved and further increase in aw leads to dilution of reactants, which adversely affects the reaction
rate.

Water activity and a number of reaction rates – browning reaction

The effect of water activity on oxidation of lipids is complex. Lipid oxidation rates are at a high in the monolayer
water range of water activity, reach a minimum at water activity of 0.3-0.4 and then increases to a maximum at
0.8. If we start at very low water activity value, it is apparent that rate of oxidation decreases as water is added.
Further addition results in increased rate of reaction followed by another reduction.
The interpretation for such a behaviour is that :
first addition interferes with oxidation probably by—
1.Binding hydroperoxides and thereby interfering with their decomposition which hinders the progress of
oxidation.
2.Hydration of metallic ions thereby reducing their effectiveness as catalyst of oxidation.
3.Quenching free radicals and by preventing access of O2 to the lipid which further provides protection against
oxidation.
The increases observed by further addition of H2O maybe due to—
1.Increased solubility of O2, thereby increasing the mobilization of O2 as well as catalysts
2.The swelling of macromolecules which exposes more catalytic sites
The second decrease observed at aw 0.8 may probably be due to dilution of the catalysts that decreases their
effectiveness.
 Relationship between water activity and a number of reaction rates

Water activity and a number of reaction rates – lipid oxidation

Therefore, the storage stability of foods is highest when the aw lies between 0.2-0.4. Food
must be prevented against microbial spoilage when aw is between 0.6-0.8.