Traditional and Emerging Feedstocks for Food and Industrial Bioproduct Manufacturing - Food and Industrial Bioproducts and Bioprocessing - page 18

Brandon, 2001). The individual isoflavones may have different biological activity and
certain combination of isoflavones may act synergistically or antagonistically (Rayburn
et al ., 1995). The presence of other phytoestrogens (biochanin A, coumesterol, and
formononetin) in the soybean diet could also influence the results (Kudou et al ., 1991 ).
Soybeans contain about 20% oil on dry basis. Refined soybean oil contains more than
99% TAG. There are large variations in the fatty acid composition of soybean oil obtained
from different genotyped and beans grown under different agronomic conditions. The
reported range of main fatty acids are as follows: C16:0, 8-17%; C18:0, 3-30%; C18:1,
25-60%; C18:2, 25-60%; and C18:3, 2-15% (Hammond and Glatz, 1989). Soybean oil
contains health beneficial lipid soluble vitamins and phytosterols. Crude soybean oil
contains about 2 mg/kg vitamin K 1 or phylloquinone, which have blood coagulation
properties (Piironen et al ., 1997). Tocopherols and phytosterols comprise 0.12 and 0.24% of
the crude oil (Mounts et al ., 1996 ).

1.3.2.3 Utilization

Soybean oil is an important edible oil extensively used in many food formulations and as
cooking and frying oil by the food industry. Salad dressings, margarine shortening and
confectionary coatings are commonly made with soybean. Food applications of soybean oil
have been extensively reviewed by other authors (Liu, 1997; Hammond et al ., 2005 ).
Oriental or traditional soy foods are classified into two groups, fermented and non-
fermented foods. Popular non-fermented foods include tofu, soy milk and sprouts. Miso,
tempeh, natto and soy sauce are the most common fermented soy products. Traditionally,
soy protein has not been a major part of the Western diet. Yet, in recent years soy protein has
been getting a lot of attention as an ingredient in infant formulas, extended meat products,
baked goods and dairy foods. Soy flour is used in high protein breakfast cereals to improve
amino acid balance in the product. Soy protein is the main ingredient in many specialty
products, such as nutritional or weight loss beverages, confectioneries, simulated nutmeats,
spreads and puddings. Protein concentrates and isolates derived from soybean are often used
as emulsifiers in soups and sauces. Edible films are typically made with proteins, lipids or
carbohydrates or a combination of the three. They provide protection to foods and drugs
against desiccation and oxidative and microbial deterioration. Yuba is a soy-milk-based film
and a traditional food known for its unique flavor and texture (Liu, 1997).
Soy-based biopolymers for packaging applications and drug delivery systems have been
extensively studied (Swain et al ., 2004 ; Guerrero et al ., 2011 ; Schmidt et al ., 2005 ; Sue
et al ., 1997 ; Chen et al ., 2008 ; Ogale et al ., 2000). Poor mechanical properties and the
hygroscopic nature of the films derived from soy protein limit their applications (Gennadios
et al ., 1994). Physical, chemical and enzymatic modifications and compositing with
hydrophobic materials are being explored to improve the properties of soy films (Stuchell
and Krochta, 1994 ; Rhim et al ., 2007 ).
Utilization of soy-based plastics (Paetau et al ., 1994 ; Wang et al ., 2007 ), adhesives
(Hamarneh et al ., 2010 ; Prasittisopin and Li, 2010 ), composites (Huang and Netravali,
2007 ; Husic et al ., 2005 ), elastomers (Wang et al ., 2010 ; Jong, 2006 ) and coatings (Madrigal-
Carballo et al ., 2010) are being considered for manufacturing agricultural equipment and
automobile parts and infrastructure and building materials (Wool et al ., 2000 ). Textile fibers,
foams for fire extinguishers, resins as binders and lubricants are other products that can be
made from soy straw, protein and oil (Altuna et al ., 2010 ; Reddy and Yang, 2009 ; Situ et al .,
2007 ; Lathi and Mattiasson, 2007 ; Honary, 1996 ).