The chemical properties that serve as major determinants for the glycemic index (GI) of starchy food and recommended low-GI, carbohydrate-based foods have remained enigmatic. This present work performed a systematic assessment of linkages between chemical properties of foods and GI, and selected low-GI starchy foods. The data were sourced from literature published in various scientific journals. In total, 57 relevant studies and 936 data points were integrated into a database. Both in vitro and in vivo studies on GI values were included. The database was subsequently subjected to a meta-analysis. Meta-analysis from in vitro studies revealed that the two significant factors responsible for the GI of starchy foods were resistant starch and phenolic content (respectively, standardized mean difference (SMD): −2.52, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): −3.29 to −1.75, p (p-value) < 0.001; SMD: −0.72, 95%CI: −1.26 to −0.17, p = 0.005), while the lowest-GI crop type was legumes. Subgroup analysis restricted to the crop species with significant low GI found two crops, i.e., sorghum (SMD: −0.69, 95%CI: −2.33 to 0.96, p < 0.001) and red kidney bean (SMD: −0.39, 95%CI: −2.37 to 1.59, p = 0.001). Meta-analysis from in vivo studies revealed that the two significant factors responsible for the GI of starchy foods were flavonoid and phenolic content (respectively, SMD: −0.67, 95%CI: −0.87 to −0.47, p < 0.001; SMD: −0.63, 95%CI: −1.15 to −0.11, p = 0.009), while the lowest-GI crop type was fruit (banana). In conclusion, resistant starch and phenolic content may have a desirable impact on the GI of starchy food, while sorghum and red kidney bean are found to have low GI.

The aim of this study was to synthesize and characterize Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) prepared by precipitation method. Zinc nitrate and sodium hydroxide was used as starting materials with biopolymer pectin as capping agent. ZnO-NPs were synthesized at three levels of temperatures (60, 80 and 100 °C) without or with calcinations (500 °C). Particle size analyzer (PSA) analysis results showed that the samples without calcination (T60, T80 and T100) having an average particle size respectively 105.13, 78.53, and 76.43 nm, whereas at the samples by calcination (T60C, T80C and T100C) each have average particle size of 88.73, 44.30 and 543.77 nm. The results showed that preparation of ZnO-NPs by using heating at 80 °C followed with calcinations at 500 °C (T80C) produced the smallest size. T80C samples further were analyzed using XRD, SEM and the antimicrobial activity compared with the ZnO-NPs commercials. XRD analysis confirmed that ZnO-NPs were successfully obtained and have form of pure nanostructure. SEM analysis showed that ZnO-NPs obtained has a spherical shape. Furthermore, this ZnO-NPs (T80C) has a better antimicrobial activity compared than commercial ZnO-NPs in market.

Chitosan is a biopolymer with great potential as food packaging due to its ability to create a film without additives and its better mechanical and antibacterial qualities compared to other biopolymers. However, chitosan film still has limitations due to its high moisture sensitivity and limited flexibility. Incorporating ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) and stearic acid (SA) into chitosan films was expected to improve tensile strength, water vapor barrier, and antibacterial capabilities. This study aims to find the optimal formula for biohybrid nanocomposite films composed of chitosan, ZnO-NPs, and SA. The full factorial design approach—4 × 2 with 3 replicates, i.e., two independent variables, namely %ZnO-NPs at 4 levels (0%, 0.5%, 1%, and 3%, w/w) and %SA at 2 levels (0% and 5%, w/w)—was utilized to optimize chitosan-based biohybrid nanocomposite films, with the primary interests being antibacterial activities, water vapor barrier, and tensile strength. The incorporation of ZnO-NPs into chitosan films could increase antibacterial activity, while SA decreased it. The addition of SA had a good effect only in decreasing water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) values but a detrimental effect on other film properties mentioned above. The incorporation of ZnO-NPs enhanced all functional packaging properties of interest. The suggested solution of the optimization study has been validated. As a result, the formula with the inclusion of 1% ZnO-NPs without SA is optimal for the fabrication of active antibacterial films with excellent multifunctional packaging capabilities.

PLA grafting on chitosan has been successfully prepared with two different methods: a direct grafting method and the ROP method. The thermal properties showed that the copolymerization of PLA on the chitosan’s chain by direct grafting is more thermostable than the one obtained by the ROP method.