Utilization Of Corncob Silk In Producing Functional Foods

Daily intake of functional foods containing adequate amount of dietary fiber within daily diet has many health benefits. Corncob silk is a by-product of corn processing, is a rich source of dietary fiber and bioactive compounds. The present study aims to investigate the effect of using corncob silk powder (CSP) as a functional ingredient in bakery products. Also, the influence of corncob silk extract (CSE) on cancer cell proliferation was investigated. Four different concentrations (5, 10, 15 and 20% as a substitution of wheat flour) of CSP were used. The chemical composition results showed that corncob silk contains 10.2% moisture, 16.65% total protein, 0.86% crude fat, 5.25% ash and 39.25% total dietary fiber. Also, increasing the level of replacement from 5 % to 20% of CSE induced an improvement in total protein, crude fat, crude fiber and ash content in all cake samples. Cake blends which prepared by substitution of wheat flour (72%) with 5, 10, 15 and 20% CSP showed a significant (p≤0.05) increase in the cake weights and volumes, while, specific volume was decreased significantly. Texture properties of cake were affected, the hardness, cohesiveness and chewiness values were in the range of 19.07-27.63, 0.57- 0.42 and 75.40- 95.70%, respectively. Sensory evaluation results indicated that replacement of wheat flour with 5 and 10% CSP in the cake mixture didn't impact the general acceptability. Additionally, total scores of sensory evaluation showed that all cake samples recorded 75% higher than the control samples. Inhibitory concentration (IC50) of corncob silk extraction cancer cell proliferation from colon was 18.5 µg/ml. In conclusion, these findings confirm that by-products corncob silk has great potential in food applications especially in development of functional foods