# Production and Physicochemical Characterization of the Gel Obtained in the Fermentation Process of Blue Corn Flour (Zea mays L.) with Colletotrichum gloeosporioides

## TL;DR

This study produces and characterizes a gel from blue corn flour fermented with a fungus, finding it has good thermal resistance and is made mostly of polysaccharides like pectin.

## Contribution

The novelty lies in producing and characterizing a novel gel from blue corn flour using Colletotrichum gloeosporioides fermentation.

## Key findings

- The gel shows resistance to high temperatures and reversible behavior in rheological tests.
- The gel is soluble in polar solvents like ethanol and water.
- FT-IR analysis confirms the gel is primarily composed of polysaccharides, likely pectin.

## Abstract

Food gels are viscoelastic substances used in various gelled products manufactured around the world. Polysaccharides are the most common food gelling agents. The aim of this work was the production and characterization of a gel produced in a blue corn flour fermentation process, where different proportions were used of blue corn (Zea mays L.) flour and Czapek Dox culture medium (90 mL of culture medium with 10 g of blue corn flour, 80 mL of culture medium with 20 g of blue corn flour, and 70 mL of culture medium with 30 g of blue corn flour) and were fermented for three different durations (20, 25, and 30 days) with the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides fungus. A characterization of the gel was carried out studying the rheological properties, proximal analysis, toxicological analysis, microscopic structure, and molecular characterization, in addition to a solubility test with three different organic solvents (ethanol, hexane, and ethyl acetate, in addition to water). The results obtained showed in the rheological analysis that the gel could have resistance to high temperatures and a reversible behavior. The gel is soluble in polar solvents (ethanol and water). The main chemical components of the gel are carbohydrates, especially polysaccharides, and it was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy that the gel may be composed of pectin.