![]() Water is excreted via the kidney, skin, lung, and anus (16). On average, an adult consumes 2 to 3 L of water: 1-2 L as fluid, 1 L ingested with food, and 0.3 L from metabolism. Water maintains biological activities of proteins, nucleotides, and carbohydrates, and participates in hydrolyses, condensations, and chemical reactions that are vital for life (15). Water transports nutrients and metabolic products throughout the body to balance cell contents and requirements. ![]() The proper amount of water is also the key for sustaining and maintaining a healthy life. Homo sapiens are integral parts of the environment, and constant exchange of water unites our internal space with the external. The existence of abundant life forms enabled parasites to appear and utilize plants and other organisms. Evolution produced anaerobic, aerobic and photosynthetic organisms. Complicated life forms developed, and their numbers grew. Debates continue, but some scientists believe that primitive forms of life began to form in water (13). Philosophical conjectures abound as to how Earth evolved to provide the mantle, crust, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and life. Water is an essential component of food (12). Water is the elixir of life and H 2O is a biomolecule. The interaction of water with proteins (10, 11) is a topic in life science and food science. Research leading to our present-day understanding of water has been reviewed in the series “Water – A Comprehensive Treatise” (9). Modifying the water content of foodstuffs to extend storage life and enhance quality is an important and widely used process (7).Ī very broad view and deep insight on water can be found in “Water – A Matrix of Life” (8). Most fresh food contains large amounts of water. Wastewater from the food industry needs treatment, and the technology is usually dealt with in industrial chemistry (6). The Handbook of Drinking Water Quality (5) sets guidelines for waters used in food services and technologies. For water supplies and treatments, the Civil Engineering Handbook (4) provides practical guides. Water usage in the food processing industry is briefly described in the Nalco Water Handbook (3). Lang’s Handbook of Chemistry (2) gives solubilities of various gases and salts in water. All solutes in the dilute solutions modify the water properties. However, water is a universal solvent, and natural waters contain dissolved substances present in the environment. The basic data for the properties of pure water, which are found in the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (1), are useful for food scientists. ![]() The physics and chemistry of water is the backbone of engineering and sciences. This article can only selectively present some fundamental characteristics of water molecules and their collective properties for readers when they ponder food science at the molecular level. Facts and data about water are abundant and diverse. Water is eaten, absorbed, transported, and utilized by cells. Even in the narrow sense of food technology, water is intimately involved in the production, washing, preparation, manufacture, cooling, drying, and hydration of food. The food-science aspects of water range from agriculture, aquaculture, biology, biochemistry, cookery, microbiology, nutrition, photosynthesis, power generation, to zoology. Every aspect of life involves water as food, as a medium in which to live, or as the essential ingredient of life. Water, a natural occurring and abundant substance that exists in solid, liquid, and gas forms on the planet Earth, has attracted the attention of artists, engineers, poets, writers, philosophers, environmentalists, scientists, and politicians. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |