564 Jurnal Internasional Ilmu dan Teknologi Pangan 2012, 47, 564–571

Artikel asli
Proses nixtamalisasi ekologis baru untuk produksi tortilla dan dampaknya terhadap sifat kimiawi tepung
jagung utuh dan limbah air limbah

Elsa Marıa Campechano Carrera, satu Juan de Dios Figueroa Cárdenas, satu* Vila Gerónimo Arámbula, satu Héctor Eduardo Martınez Flores, 2 Sergio J.
Jiménez Sandoval satu & J. Gabriel Luna Bárcenas satu

1 Pusat Penelitian dan Studi Lanjut (CINVESTAV-IPN), Libramiento Norponiente 2000, Fracc. Real de Juriquilla, Querétaro,
CP 76230 Qro., Meksiko
2 Universitas Michoacan San Nicolás de Hidalgo. Tzintzuntzan 173, Kolonel Matamoros, Morelia Mich., Meksiko

(Diterima 15 Februari 2011; Diterima dalam bentuk revisi 18 Oktober 2011)

Ringkasan Proses nixtamalisation ekologis (EP) untuk membuat jagung utuh untuk tortilla dibandingkan dengan proses nixtamalisasi tradisional (TP). Salah satu
masalah TP adalah tingginya kerugian solid. Tujuannya adalah untuk mengevaluasi komposisi kerugian tersebut. Di EP, kehilangan bahan kering dari
nejayote dari 1,2% menjadi 1,4%, sedangkan di TP 3,2%. Nejayote dari TP menunjukkan pH 11,9, sedangkan EP menunjukkan pH mendekati netral.
Pericarp dipertahankan di EP dengan menggunakan garam kalsium, sedangkan di TP kapur menghancurkannya hampir seluruhnya. Kehilangan serat
makanan total pada padatan nejayote sekitar 41,2% untuk TP dibandingkan dengan rata-rata 17,4% untuk EP. Sebagian besar kehilangan nejayote di
TP adalah serat larut (30,4%), dibandingkan dengan EP yang berkisar antara 6,2% hingga

7,9%. Semua senyawa yang ditahan oleh nixtamal dari EP merupakan sumber nutrisi dan serat makanan yang penting.

Kata kunci Serat makanan, nixtamalisasi ekologis, nejayote, jagung utuh.

di dalam pipa drainase (Martínez-Flores dkk., 2002). Nejayote, produk

pengantar
Nixtamalisation adalah proses dimana jagung direbus
air yang mengandung kapur, Ca (OH) 2, direndam semalaman, lalu dicuci dan
digiling menjadi masa jagung. Masa bisa jadi
dibentuk menjadi tortilla, dipanggang atau dikeringkan dan digiling untuk
menghasilkan masa kering kita. Di beberapa negara Amerika Latin, tortilla
adalah makanan pokoknya. Di Amerika Serikat, masakan alkali digunakan
dalam produksi produk berbasis jagung Meksiko seperti tortilla meja,
keripik jagung, dan kulit taco, di antara banyak lainnya.
Beberapa masalah yang dihadapi dalam produksi massal adalah
volume air yang besar, dan tingginya kadar padatan terlarut (3–15%),
yang dibuang selama memasak dan mencuci nixtamal (Bressani,
1958; Jackson dkk.,
1988; P fl ugfelder dkk., 1988; Gomez-Aldapa dkk.,
1999). Akibat proses ini, beberapa nutrisi hilang, termasuk vitamin, lemak,
protein, serat makanan dan beberapa mineral (Bressani, 1958; Bressani dkk., 1972;Fakta ini penting karena selama pemasakan alkali pericarp dibuang dan 17%
Gomez-Aldapa dkk., seribu sembilan ratus sembilan puluh enam; Figueroa dkk.,
2001, 2003; Maya-Cortes dkk., 2010). Selain itu, terdapat beberapa kesulitan
lingkungan dengan adanya nejayote, polutan yang memiliki pH basa tinggi
dan menyebabkan pembentukan kerak.
* Koresponden: Fax: +52.442.2119938;
e-mail: j fi gueroa@qro.cinvestav.mx
sampingan minuman keras memasak, mengandung hingga 2-6% total
padatan terlarut dan tersuspensi. Ini terutama terdiri dari jaringan pericarp
yang kaya serat, protein dan lipid (Gómez dkk., 1987; Velasco-Martinez dkk., 1997).
Nejayote sebenarnya adalah aliran limbah primer yang membutuhkan
remediasi.
Studi sebelumnya yang menggunakan proses nixtamalisation
tradisional menunjukkan efek samping dan efek dari penggunaan kalsium
hidroksida tingkat tinggi, yang bereaksi dengan polifenol perikarp
menghasilkan warna yang tidak dapat diterima dan karakteristik sensorik
negatif lainnya dari masa dan tortilla. Melepaskan pericarp selama
pemasakan alkalin umumnya diinginkan, terutama untuk jagung
komersial di industri kami (Bedolla dkk., 1983; Jackson dkk.,
1988; P fl ugfelder dkk., 1988). Namun, Bressani (1960) menunjukkan bahwa
secara proporsional lebih banyak niasin dalam jagung ditemukan di pericarp.
niacinnya hilang (Bressani, 1958; Bressani & Scrimshaw, 1958). Namun,
pengobatan jagung dengan kapur tampaknya memperbaiki sebagian
ketidakseimbangan niacin. Sementara itu, beberapa penulis menemukan
bahwa hanya dengan merebus jagung memiliki efek yang sama seperti
perlakuan kapur pada niasin 'terikat' atau ketersediaan asam amino (Pearson dkk.,
1957; Brressani
dkk., 1961). Baru-baru ini, dengan penggunaan garam kalsium sebagai a

doi: 10.1111 / j.1365-2621.2011.02878.x

! 2011 Para Penulis. Jurnal Internasional Ilmu dan Teknologi Pangan! Institut Ilmu dan Teknologi Pangan 2011

substitusi kapur dalam proses nixtamalisation, masalah teknologi ini
telah terpecahkan. Masa dan tortilla menunjukkan warna bersih dan
karakteristik sensorik yang sangat baik (Figueroa dkk., 2006), dan
kualitas nutrisinya juga meningkat, seperti yang terlihat pada tikus
yang diberi makan tortilla dari proses tradisional atau tortilla komersial
(Maya-Cortés dkk., 2010).
Berkenaan dengan pencemaran, ada beberapa penelitian yang dilakukan untuk
menyelidiki cara pembuangan alternatif atau penggunaan kembali aliran produk sampingan
massal. Di antara mereka, González-Martı́nez (1984) menyelidiki empat opsi perawatan
biologis untuk nejayote pada skala laboratorium, termasuk pemrosesan lumpur aktif,
pemrosesan kontak anaerobik, perawatan kaskade film tetap aerobik terendam dan
perawatan tempat tidur kemasan anaerobik. VelascoMartinez dkk. ( 1997) menyelidiki
kesesuaian penerapan padatan nejayote dalam pakan ayam pedaging unggas dan tidak
menemukan perbedaan dalam kinerja pertumbuhan antara diet kontrol dan diet yang
menggunakan padatan ini. Rosentrater (2001) menyelidiki penerapan ekstrusi bahan ini
untuk mengembangkan nilai tambah bahan pakan ternak, baik pada skala laboratorium
dan skala percontohan. Pilihan lain untuk mengolah limbah nejayote telah diterapkan dan
mencakup pemrosesan ulang, daur ulang, pembakaran, pengomposan, produksi energi
dari biomassa, aplikasi ke lahan sebagai pengkondisi tanah dan penggunaan kembali
sebagai aditif untuk pakan ternak (Rosentrater, 2006). Namun, tidak ada metodologi
perawatan untuk mengatasi kontaminasi nejayote yang disebutkan sebelumnya, atau
perawatan lain yang dilaporkan untuk air limbah sayuran (Arvanitoyannis & Varzakas,
2008), limbah jagung dan beras (Arvanitoyannis & Tserkezou, 2008a) dan gandum dan
gandum (Arvanitoyannis & Tserkezou, 2008b), menyarankan penggunaan zat selain kapur,
kecuali yang mengubah pH untuk meningkatkan biodegradasi limbah dan yang umumnya
diterapkan pada langkah akhir pemrosesan karena fungsinya berbeda-beda. Dalam
penelitian ini digunakan garam kalsium, yang banyak digunakan dalam industri makanan
untuk pembuatan keju, tahu dan untuk meningkatkan kandungan kalsium pada susu.
Dalam kasus khusus ini, diusulkan untuk mengaplikasikannya saat memasak jagung
sebagai pengganti kalsium hidroksida selama proses nixtamalisation untuk menghilangkan
limbah padat nejayote (Figueroa menyarankan penggunaan zat selain kapur, kecuali yang
mengubah pH untuk meningkatkan biodegradasi limbah dan yang umumnya diterapkan
pada tahap akhir pemrosesan karena fungsinya berbeda. Dalam penelitian ini digunakan
garam kalsium, yang banyak digunakan dalam industri makanan untuk pembuatan keju,
tahu dan untuk meningkatkan kandungan kalsium pada susu. Dalam kasus khusus ini,
diusulkan untuk mengaplikasikannya saat memasak jagung sebagai pengganti kalsium
hidroksida selama proses nixtamalisation untuk menghilangkan limbah padat nejayote
(Figueroa menyarankan penggunaan zat selain kapur, kecuali yang mengubah pH untuk
meningkatkan biodegradasi limbah dan yang umumnya diterapkan pada tahap akhir
pemrosesan karena fungsinya berbeda. Dalam penelitian ini digunakan garam kalsium,
yang banyak digunakan dalam industri makanan untuk pembuatan keju, tahu dan untuk
meningkatkan kandungan kalsium pada susu. Dalam kasus khusus ini, diusulkan untuk
mengaplikasikannya saat memasak jagung sebagai pengganti kalsium hidroksida selama proses nixtamalisation untukat 260 "C and
Proses nixtamalisation ekologis dipatenkan oleh Figueroa dkk. ( 2006) D.F. México) using a hammer head and a 0.5mm mesh screen.
tampaknya menghindari pencemaran cairan masak atau nejayote
dengan residu kulit buah, karena garam kalsium tidak menghidrolisis
kulit buah jagung seperti halnya kapur. Ini memberi jagung hasil
tinggi fl produk kami, serta meningkatkan kualitas gizi dan reologi
(Figueroa dkk., 2006). Tujuan utama penelitian ini adalah untuk
mengurangi atau menghilangkan pencemaran produk limbah,
terutama pericarp, yang dihasilkan dari cairan pemasakan atau
nejayote dalam proses nixtamalisasi. Tujuan lainnya adalah untuk
mengevaluasi komposisi kimia nejayote tersebut
! 2011 The Authors
International Journal of Food Science and Technology ! 2011 Institute of Food Science and Technology
Proses nixtamalisasi ekologis baru untuk produksi tortilla EMC Carrera dkk. 565
Bahan-bahan serta seluruh bahan jagung yang diperoleh dari
proses nixtamalisasi ekologis dan membandingkannya dengan
produk yang diperoleh dari proses nixtamalisasi tradisional.
Bahan dan metode
Bahan
Jagung putih keras endosperm komersial diperoleh di pasar
komersial di Queretaro, México. Itu disimpan pada suhu 4 "C, dan
kelembaban relatif adalah 65-100%
kapur terhidrasi atau kalsium hidroksida Ca (OH) 2 dan garam:
kalsium klorida CaCl 2, kalsium sulfat CaSO 4,
kalsium karbonat CaCO 3 dan kalsium asetat Ca (CH 3-
MENDEKUT) 2 mereka 97–99% kemurnian dan food grade.
Proses nixtamalisasi tradisional
Untuk mendapatkan fl kami, biji jagung diproses dengan metode
tradisional: 1 kg dimasak dengan dua liter air dan 1,0% (w ⁄ w) kalsium
hidroksida hingga 90 "C selama 23 menit, dan biji-bijian yang dimasak
direndam selama 16 jam pada suhu kamar. Minuman keras atau
nejayote dikumpulkan, dan nixtamal dari proses tradisional dibilas.
Nixtamal digiling dalam a stone mill untuk mendapatkan masa baru.
Masa tersebut dilewatkan melalui pengering abu pada suhu 260 "C
selama 4 detik untuk mendapatkan masa dehidrasi. Selanjutnya, kain
ini digiling di penggilingan (Pulvex-200 México DF México)
menggunakan kepala palu dan saringan jaring 0,5 mm.
Proses nixtamalisasi ekologis
Tepung diperoleh dengan menggunakan metode baru menurut
Figueroa dkk. ( 2006). Jeruk nipis diganti dengan garam kalsium
untuk mendapatkan biji-bijian utuh. 1 kg jagung dimasak selama 23
menit dengan 2 L air dan 1% (w ⁄ w) of one of the selected calcium
salts such as calcium chloride, calcium carbonate, calcium sulphate
and calcium acetate; the cooked grains were steeped for 16 h at
room temperature. The pericarp-free water was separated from the
grain, and the liquor (nejayote) was collected. The nixtamal was
milled in a stone mill to obtain the masa. The masa was dehydrated
in a flash dryer
menghilangkan ground
limbah padatin a mill(Figueroa
nejayote (Pulvex-200 México
yang banyak dimanfaatkan dalam industri makanan u
Physico-chemical analysis of nejayote
The following analyses were performed on the nejayote liquor from
both treatments with lime and the calcium salts. The pH was
measured (Method 02-52 AACC,
1997); the percentage of dry solids was measured according to the
norm NMX-FF034-2002-SCFI; the
International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2012
566 New ecological nixtamalisation process for tortilla production E.M.C. Carrera et al.

moisture was analysed according to the Method AACC 44-19, ash Table 1 Physical properties and organic matter content in the cooking water of calcium

according to Method AACC 08-03, fat according to Method AACC salts and lime from the nixtamalisation process*

30-25, protein according to Method AACC 46-13 and dietary fibre

Parameter † Ca(OH) 2 CaCl 2 CaCO 3 CaSO 4 Ca(CH 3 COO) 2
according to the method reported by Prosky et al. ( 1988).
Water recovery (mL) 735b 997a 930ab 950ab 890ab
pH 11.9a 5.5bc 6.4b 5.8c 6.5b
Nejayote losses (%) 3.2a 1.2c 1.2c 1.4b 1.4b
Nejayote solids Soluble solid (g L) 1) 33.7a 13.2b 12.5b 14.8b 14.5b
Remaining after drying 23.9a nejayote 13.0b 12.1b 14.1b 13.9b
All recovered cooking water-containing solids were evaporated at 50
slurry (g)
"C. The concentrated solids were freeze-dried in a Labconco
freeZone 4.5 (vacuum 0.090 mBar, collect )52 "C chamber hiC) for Mean values with a different letter in the same row are statistically different ( P < 0.05) ( n = 2).
12 h to remove the excess water and obtain a dry sample. The
sample obtained was kept in polyethylene tubes for subsequent * Lime and calcium salt were used at 1% in the cooking water.
† Dry weight.
analysis.

pH values close to neutral, especially CaCO 3 and

Environmental scanning electron microscopy
To study the nixtamalised corn grain morphology, an environmental
scanning electron microscope (ESEM; Philips model XL30) with a
beam of 20 kV (50 l A) and a gaseous secondary electron (GSE)
detector was used. The images were taken at 350x, 1 torr, and a spot
size of
4.6 to observe the pericarp layer (Narváez-González
et al., 2006). One of the parts was selected and cut with a diamond
blade disk of a deformation-free cutting machine (Acuttom-5
Struers).
Statistical analysis
Data are presented as the mean of two determinations. A
randomised complete block design was used. The treatments with
calcium salts and lime were considered as the blocks. Significant
differences were measured by
anova and Tukey analysis ( P < 0.05) using the statistical package
SAS 9.2 (SAS Institute, 2009).
Ca(CH 3 COO) 2, both being obtained from weak acids. The treatment
accomplished with CaCl 2 had a pH value
similar to CaSO 4.
For traditional nixtamalisation with lime, several
authors reported strongly alkaline wastewater. TrejoGonzález et al. ( 1982)
reported a pH range from 10.5 to
11.2 with different varieties of corn; González-Martı́nez (1984)
reported pH from 11.5 to 11.6; Ibarra-Mendı́vil
et al. ( 2008) reported a pH value of 11.0. The pH values depend on
the lime concentration, the removal of the excess lime after cooking
the corn and the rinsing step, which may reduce the pH to about 8.5.
The present research uses calcium salts that do not have to be
rinsed, and the pH remains relatively neutral. According to
Maya-Cortés et al. ( 2010), the relatively neutral pH values with the
use of calcium salts may be an advantage given the strong alkaline
conditions that occur with the traditional process, which can cause
fouling of drain pipes and also costly waste and wastewater disposal
problems.

An important economic issue in the tortilla industry is the nejayote

Results and discussion
Physico-chemical properties of nixtamalisation wastewater effluents
The tortilla industry employs large amounts of water, which is later
discarded with its load of organic solutes and calcium. Table 1
shows the content of recovered water from the traditional
nixtamalisation process
(Ca(OH) 2) and several variants of the ecological nixtamalisation
process, where no differences were detected
except for the CaCl 2 treatment that showed higher water recovery ( P
< 0.05) than the traditional process. Poor
water recovery values were also found by Trejo-González et al. ( 1982),
who measured 620 mL using the traditional process with lime and
normal corn.
The nejayote liquor from the traditional process shown in Table 1
presented differences ( P < 0.05) from the variants of the ecological
process that showed low
losses. The traditional nixtamalisation process showed 3.2% (Table
1). The nejayote losses from the ecological variants ranged from
1.2% to 1.4%; for the treatment with calcium salts, all values were
significantly different ( P < 0.05) with respect to the traditional
process. The highest nejayote loss for the
ecological process variants was for Ca(CH 3 COO) 2.
Bedolla et al. ( 1983), Gómez et al. ( 1987) and Pflugfel-
der et al. ( 1988) reported values from 2.0% to 12.5%. The extremely
wide range in the published data may be a consequence of the high
degree of inconsistency between the process parameters used in
each of these studies. The corn dry matter losses that occur during
nixtamalisation are primarily influenced by several key processing
parameters, including corn hybrid, endosperm hardness, kernel
quality, cooking and steeping times and temperatures. When cooking
sound kernels, the combined effects of lime and heat degrade the
waxy pericarp cover.

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2012 ! 2011 The Authors

International Journal of Food Science and Technology ! 2011 Institute of Food Science and Technology
 New ecological nixtamalisation process for tortilla production E.M.C. Carrera et al. 567

Most of the solid losses from the sound kernels occur during the Regarding fat content, the lowest value (Table 2) was
washing step because of the removal of the kernel outer layers. In for the CaCl 2 variant and was statistically different ( P < 0.05) from all
commercial operations, the stirring, pumping and washing are other variants of the ecological
responsible for most of the dry matter losses that occur after cooking process, including the traditional process. The highest
(Almeida Domı́nguez et al., 1998; Rosentrater, 2006). Regarding the values for loss of fat were for CaSO 4 and for
soluble solids, the traditional process with lime had 33.7 g L) 1 that Ca(CH 3 COO) 2, which did not have a significant difference between
was significantly different ( P < 0.05) from the values of the ecological them ( P < 0.05). In the traditional
process variants that had a range of 12.5–14.8 g L) 1 ( Table 1). process, the fat range reported was from 0.74% to
Velasco-Martı́nez et al. ( 1997) reported 50.00 g L) 1 that is a higher 5.76% (Rosentrater et al., 1999), while Velasco-Martı́nez et al. ( 1997)
value than those found in this research, probably due to longer reported 0.49% and Maya-Cortés et al.
cooking time. Trejo-González (2010) reported 0.12%. Nutritionally, nixtamalisation by-products
have been shown to be very low in fat (Rosentrater, 2006). The
protein content of the nejayote liquor showed a large variability,
et al. ( 1982) reported a value of 17.00 g L) 1. which may be due to the solubility effect of different salts and lime
The remainder after drying the nejayote slurry from the traditional with the proteins. The values found ranged from 2.9% in the
process was 23.9 g, with significant differences compared to the
treatment with calcium salts that ranged from 12.1 to 14.1 g. traditional process to 5.0% for CaCl 2, with some
significant differences. Velasco-Martı́nez et al. ( 1997)
Table 2 shows the chemical composition of the nejayote solids. reported 7.42%, Pflugfelder et al. ( 1988) 1.3–2.2% and Rosentrater et
The variants of the ecological process with calcium salts and the al. ( 1999) 4.76–4.90%. These losses of protein have been reported
traditional process with lime showed no significant difference ( P < 0.05) for a commercial alkaline cooking operation. Almeida Domı́nguez et
in ash al. ( 1998) indicated that the variability was because of the use of
content, except the treatment with CaCl 2 that showed high protein corn and advised the application of minimum cooking
differences with the traditional process and CaSO 4 during commercial processing to achieve high product yield.
variant. Recently, Maya-Cortés et al. ( 2010) reported According to the Hofmeister (lyotropic) series, anions coupled with
47.29% with respect to the treatment with CaSO 4. For the traditional constant cations, for instance calcium (Ca++), increased the
process, Almeida-Domı́nguez & Millán solubility of
(1986) reported 23.15% of ash. Velasco-Martı́nez et al.
(1997), Rosentrater et al. ( 1999) and Maya-Cortés et al. protein in the order SO 2)< CH 43 COO)<Cl) (Jane & Ames, 1993; Zhang
(2010) reported a wide range from 17.41% to 23.15%. Most of the & Cremer, 2006). This solubility
ash is probably due to the presence of residual calcium from the effect could explain the values of protein obtained in nejayote from
nixtamalisation process (Rosentrater, 2006). the variants of the ecological process,
where CaCl 2 showed the highest protein loss value. Related to the
total dietary fibre, as expected, the
losses in nejayote were significantly greater using the
Table 2 Chemical composition of nejayote solids from the nixtamalisation process using
traditional process. The total dietary fibre losses were lower for the
lime and calcium salts*
variants of the ecological process with
Parameter † Ca(OH) 2 CaCl 2 CaCO 3 CaSO 4 Ca(CH 3 COO) 2 significant differences compared with the traditional process with
lime ( P < 0.05). Most of the total dietary fibre in the traditional
Ash (%) 31.2b 45.6a 40.5ab 34.1b 40.5ab process that went to the nejayote was soluble fibre (30.4%),
Fat (%) 0.3b 0.2c 0.4b 0.9a 0.9a
compared with the ecological variants that ranged from 6.2% to
Protein (%) 2.9b 5.0a 3.1ab 3.9ab 4.4ab
7.9%, a significant difference. The content of insoluble fibre for the
Total dietary 41.2a 19.6bc 23.6b 15.6bc 10.8c
variants with calcium salts ranged from 3.2% to 17.4%, and the
fibre (TDF)%
Soluble dietary 30.4a 7.9b 6.2b 7.9b 7.6b
fibre (%) nixtamalisation with Ca(OH) 2 showed 10.8%. The
Insoluble dietary 10.8abc 11.6ab 17.4a 7.8bc 3.2c highest insoluble fibre was for the treatment with
fibre (%) CaCO 3 and the lowest value was for the treatment with Ca(CH 3 COO) 2,
Extract free of 24.4 29.6 32.4 45.5 43.4 which were significantly different
nitrogen! ( P < 0.05), including the case with CaSO 4.
Several authors indicated that the vast majority of dry
Mean values with a different letter in the same row are statistically different ( P < 0.05) ( n = 2).
nejayote solids are carbohydrate molecules (GonzálezMartı́nez,
* Lime and calcium salt were used at 1% in the cooking water.
1984; Rosentrater, 2006). These are primarily fibrous constituents,
† Dry weight. especially cellulose and hemicelluloses, and most of the
! Extract free of nitrogen: 100)(ash + fat + protein + total dietary fibre). TDF, total dietary fibre (IDF + contaminants, organic or inorganic, are found in a soluble form
SDF); IDF, insoluble fibre; SDF, soluble dietary fibre. (González-Martı́nez, 1984; Rosentrater, 2006). Carvajal-Millán et al. ( 2007)

! 2011 The Authors International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2012
International Journal of Food Science and Technology ! 2011 Institute of Food Science and Technology
568 New ecological nixtamalisation process for tortilla production E.M.C. Carrera et al.

and Niño-Medina et al. ( 2009) reported the arabinoxylan gum
composition of traditional nejayote solids on a dry basis originating
from the pericarp. They found that these nejayote solids were
74–81% of arabinoxylans,
5.1% of glucose, 3.7% of galactose, 0.6% of mannose,
4.5% of protein, 5.1% of ash, 0.23% of ferulic acid,
0.58% of diferulic acid and 0.3% of triferulic acid. It was assumed
that glucose was not coming from starch because the aleurone layer
kept these chemical compounds in the endosperm. Saulnier et al. ( 1993) corn (Table 3). The average content for total dietary fibre (TDF) in
reported cellulose ⁄ arabinoxylan mixtures alkali extracted with yields the variants of the ecological process was 19.4%, insoluble fibre
of 60% from which about 50% were heteroxylans and 20% cellulose.
Chemical properties of the traditional and whole corn flours
The ash content in the samples showed no significant
difference ( P < 0.05), except Ca(CH 3 COO) 2 flour that was different
from the raw corn (Table 3). Flores-Farı́as
et al. ( 2002) reported ash content in commercial flour samples with
values from 1.28% to 1.44%. Bressani
et al. ( 2001) reported 1.75% in commercial nixtamalised corn flours,
which is a value higher than that found in whole corn flours.
The fat content in the whole corn flour was 4.4–5.3% and had no
significant differences ( P < 0.05) with the traditional process (Table
3). Palacios-Fonseca et al.
(2009) reported 3.89–4.13%. The protein content of the flours from the
ecological process showed values of 8.5–
8.9% with no significant difference ( P < 0.05) with respect to the
traditional process. Ayala-Rodrı́guez
et al. ( 2009) reported that the protein content of commercial
nixtamalised corn flours was similar to that of raw corn (7–12%).
Palacios-Fonseca et al. ( 2009)
reported 8.34–9.64%. These values match those found in flours
elaborated with the ecological process with calcium salts.
Flores-Farı́as et al. ( 2002) reported a range of 9.2–10.27% in
commercial flour samples. This is slightly above the range observed
in this study because of the protein content in the corn kernel, and
also, the salts probably solubilise a greater amount of protein. In
addition, the percentage of fibre content in whole corn flour was
significantly higher compared with the traditional flour and the raw
(IDF) of 16.5% and soluble dietary fibre (SDF) of 2.9%. The value for
the traditional method for TDF, IDF and SDF had a significant
difference ( P < 0.05) from the variants of the ecological process.
Several authors reported a similar increment in TDF in flours and
corn-based products (Martı́nez-Flores et al., 2002; Gutiérrez-Dorado et
al., 2008). Martı́nez-Flores et al. ( 2002) reported a 36.2% increment
in dietary fibre for tortilla from extruded masa with respect to the raw
corn and 49.10% greater than tortilla from traditional nixtamalisation.
Gutiérrez-Dorado et al. ( 2008) found values of dietary fibre in raw
corn of 13.18%, in the traditional nixtamalisation process 9.06% and
for nixtamalisation with extrusion of 15.54%, similar to those found in
the present research. Rendón-Villalobos et al. ( 2002) indicated that
part of that fibre in corn-based products is because of the formation
of resistant starch, while Martı́nez-Flores et al. ( 2002) indicated that
the increase in dietary fibre was attributable to the fact that there
was no loss of pericarp. Rooney & Serna-Saldı́var (1987) mentioned
that cooking corn with the alkaline thermal process results in
changes in proteins and dietary fibre. According to Gutiérrez-Cortez et
al. ( 2010), the combination of heat and alkali during traditional
nixtamalisation acts aggressively on the outer layers of the pericarp
and promotes partial removal of hemicelluloses and partial lignin
from the fibre matrix of the pericarp. In contrast, in the EP, the matrix
of the pericarp is retained in the nixtamalised whole grains, as
illustrated in Fig. 1. These values were higher than those reported by
Bressani et al. ( 2001) whose value for TDF was

Table 3 Chemical composition of raw corn meal and the whole corn flour obtained with
calcium salts and traditional process with lime*

Raw
Parameter † Corn Ca(OH) 2 CaCl 2 CaCO 3 CaSO 4 Ca(CH 3 COO) 2

Ash (%) 1.3ab 1.4ab 1.3ab 1.3ab 1.4ab 1.5a

Fat (%) 5.3a 5.0a 5.0a 4.8a 4.6a 4.4a
Protein (%) 8.9a 8.6a 8.4a 8.5a 8.9a 8.9a
10.24%, IDF was 8.12% and SDF was 2.11%. The differences
Total dietary 15.6d 12.4e 19.8b 18.4c 18.2c 21.3a between these data could be in the measurement methods, the
fibre (TDF) % nature of the corn and the process to obtain the flour. The high value
Insoluble dietary 12.9c 9.4d 16.6ab 15.2bc 15.4bc 18.9a of the dietary fibre content denotes the recovery of pericarp. The
fibre (%) range for the whole corn flour was from 18.2% to 21.3% in total fibre
Soluble dietary 2.7a 2.9a 3.2a 3.3a 2.8a 2.4a content. These values were significantly different ( P < 0.05) from the
fibre (%) traditional corn flour with lime and were a result of the use of calcium
salts. In the flour, the insoluble fibre is only because of the presence
Mean values with a different letter in the same row are statistically different ( P < 0.05) ( n = 2).
of pericarp, and the range for the whole corn flour was from 15.2%
* Lime and calcium salt were used at 1% in the cooking water. to 18.9%, which was significantly different ( P < 0.05) from the
† Dry weight.
traditional process.
TDF, total dietary fibre (IDF + SDF); IDF, insoluble fibre; SDF, soluble dietary fibre.

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2012 ! 2011 The Authors

International Journal of Food Science and Technology ! 2011 Institute of Food Science and Technology
 New ecological nixtamalisation process for tortilla production E.M.C. Carrera et al. 569

(a) variants may retain most of the pericarp layer in the nixtamal. The
calcium chloride nixtamal variant showed a pericarp thickness of
about 70 l m. The lime did not attack the aleurone layer that is the last
barrier found in
traditional nixtamal. Ca(OH) 2 is an alkali that dissolved the cellulose
and hemicellulose compounds found in the
pericarp layer, while the calcium salts and weak acids did not attack
these compounds.

Conclusions

On the basis of the results, it can be concluded that the new

ecological process reduced the losses of dry matter in the nejayote
(b) by 50%, with the pH close to neutrality. These results were possible
because the calcium salts used did not attack the corn pericarp. The
pericarp in the traditional alkaline cooking process was completely
lost to the nejayote waste. As a result of the use of calcium salts,
higher total dietary fibre was retained in whole corn flours made from
the ecological process compared with flour from the traditional
process. Also, owing to the low soluble solids and neutral pH of
nejayote from the ecological process, this waste is less
contaminating to the environment, and the cost of effluent
management could be reduced.

(c) Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the Ph D scholarship from

CONACYT to Elsa Marı́a Campechano Carrera. Also, we wish to
acknowledge Juan Véles and Marcela Gaytán from CINVESTAV
Querétaro for their technical assistance.

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