Stability and Degradation Kinetics of Bioactive Compounds and Colour in Strawberry Jam during Storage

The effect of storage time and temperature on degradation of bioactive compounds such as ascorbic acid, anthocyanins, total phenols, colour and total antioxidant capacity of strawberry jam were investigated. The results indicated that lightness (L) value decreased significantly (p < 0.05) over 28 days of storage at 4 and 15 °C, with lower values measured at higher temperatures. Anthocyanins, ascorbic acid and colour degradation followed first-order kinetics where the rate constant increased with an increase in the temperature. The reaction rate constant (k) increased from 0.95 × 10⁻² day⁻¹ to 1.71 × 10⁻² day⁻¹ at 4 and 15 °C for anthocyanins. Similarly, k increased from 2.08 × 10⁻² day⁻¹ to 4.54 × 10⁻² day⁻¹ at 4 and 15 °C for ascorbic acid. In general, total antioxidant activity for strawberry jam samples stored for 28 days at 4 and 15 °C exhibited lower values as compared to control (day 0). The results showed greater stability of nutritional parameters at 4 °C compared to 15 °C.     

Water Diffusion and Concentration Profiles During Osmodehydration and Storage of Apple Tissue

The objective of this work was to study the mobility of water and sucrose during osmotic dehydration and storage of apple tissue and to conduct an analysis of the behavior of the effective diffusion coefficients determined from concentration profiles. Osmotic dehydration (OD) of apple was carried out at 40°C for 1 h, and the solution: sample ratio was 20:1 (w/w). Samples of 20-mm diameter were extracted from the dehydrated apple immediately after the OD process and after 4 and 24 h of storage at 25 °C. Moisture of these samples and soluble solids content were analyzed. Our results showed, after 1 h of OD, the outer layer of the apple sample lost 0.37 kg water/kg apple and gained 0.30 kg sucrose/kg apple. These values decreased toward the internal layers of the apple. A fine layer of greatly dehydrated cells was formed on the surface around the sample, which determined the mass transfer rate in the whole tissue. Smaller mass transport rates were observed in the development of concentration profiles during storage. Diffusion coefficients obtained for the outer layer after 1 h of OD were 1.53 × 10⁻¹⁰ and 1.05 × 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s for water and sucrose, respectively. The analysis of compositional profiles developed during osmodehydration was a useful tool to get a better understanding of the changes in the water activity of the outer layer of the apple tissue.     

Electrochemical Determination of Phenothrin in Agricultural Formulations, Vegetables, and Storage Bags of Wheat and Rice by Differential Pulse Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry (DP-AdSV)

An electroanalytical method has been developed for the determination of the pesticide phenothrin by differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry on a hanging mercury drop electrode in universal buffer as supporting electrolyte. The best adsorption conditions were found to be pH 6.0, an accumulation potential of −0.6 V, and an accumulation time of 75 s. Effects of stirring rate, scan rate, pulse amplitude, and purge time were examined for the optimization of instrumental conditions. Calibration curve is linear in the range 2 × 10⁻⁹ to 2 × 10⁻⁷ mol l⁻¹ with a detection limit of 1.9 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol l⁻¹. The correlation coefficient and relative standard deviation were 0.995% and 1.1%. The method is applied to the determination of the phenothrin in agricultural formulations, vegetables, and storage bags of wheat and rice under Food Corporation of India’s storage system.     

Square-Wave Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry for Trace Determination of Dimoxystrobin and Azoxystrobin in Potatoes and Grapes

Square-wave voltammetry was used for trace determination of azoxystrobin and dimoxystrobin in potatoes, grapes, and grape juice. Experimental conditions have been optimized to achieve simultaneous determination of these analytes using the hanging mercury drop electrode. Supporting electrolyte was HCl 0.1 mol L⁻¹, and other optimized conditions were deposition potential (−300 mV), deposition time (30 s), amplitude (150 mV), frequency (150 Hz), and step height (2 mV). Azoxystrobin and dimoxystrobin redissolution peaks presented their maxima, respectively, at −928 mV and around −650 mV. Linear and homoscedastic analytical responses (r ² > 0.99) have been observed. Limits of quantification as low as 119 μg L⁻¹ (in grape juice) and 45 μg kg⁻¹ (in potatoes and grapes) were found. A previous solid-phase extraction was necessary to eliminate interferences from potato and grape samples. For grape juice, no sample treatment was required. Satisfactory recoveries (from 72.3% to 96.7% for dimoxystrobin and from 81.7% to 102.3% for azoxystrobin) were found. Interferences from other strobilurins (piraclostrobin and picoxystrobin) were evaluated.     

Determination of Rosmarinic Acid by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Its Application to Certain Salvia Species and Rosemary

This study describes a method development for the determination of rosmarinic acid (RA) by using a gradient high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and its application to certain plant materials. The analysis was performed by utilizing a two solvents system [A: methanol/water/formic acid (10:88:2; v:v:v); B: methanol/water/formic acid (90:8:2; v:v:v)] on a reverse-phase column. The flow rate and injection volume were 1 ml min⁻¹ and 10 μl, respectively. Signals were detected at 280 nm. In addition, an internal standard (IS) technique was applied for the analysis of RA to increase precision, and propylparaben was employed for this purpose. The repeatability results as RSD% were 1.66, 1.17 and 1.26 for intra-day and 1.38 was for inter-day with the employment of (3.67 × 10⁻⁵ M) RA. A limit of linearity (LOL) was observed in a wide (1.13 × 10⁻⁵–5.65 × 10⁻⁴ M) concentration range. Linearity parameters were also examined in the range of 5.95 × 10⁻⁶–7.14 × 10⁻⁵ M RA, and very good correlation was observed. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) (for inter-day) were 1.60 × 10⁻⁶ M (signal/noise [S/N] = 3.3) and 4.80 × 10⁻⁶ M (S/N = 10), respectively. The method was applied to the extracts of certain Lamiaceae plants (Salvia candidissima Vahl. subsp. candidissima, S. sclarea L., S. verticillata L. subsp. verticillata and R. officinalis L.), and reasonable results were obtained.     

Chemiluminescence Detection of 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxy Acetic Acid in Apple Juice by Digital Image Analysis

An image-based detection of an enhanced chemiluminescence enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed for 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy acetic acid with an anti-rabbit secondary antibody conjugated to peroxidase (goat anti-rabbit IgG–HRP). Data acquisition on microtiter wells is performed using a low-cost charge-coupled device camera for capturing images. The standard curve was produced for 0.01–5,000 ng mL⁻¹ of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy acetic acid. The minimum detectable concentration was 24 pg mL⁻¹, and the relative standard deviation was 5.5% (n = 10) for a 5 ng mL⁻¹ sample concentration. Similar sensitivity was obtained with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using the same polyclonal antibody and data acquisition by a spectrofluorometer. This method was applied to apple juice with recoveries between 95% and 111% and relative standard deviation between 6.1% and 11.3%.     

Spectrophotometric Determination of Trace Nitrite with Brilliant Cresyl Blue Using β-Cyclodextrin as a Sensitizer

A simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method for determination of nitrite has been described. The method is based on the oxidation of brilliant cresyl blue (BCB) by nitrite in acidic medium, which results in the decrease in absorbance at 636 nm. The decrease in absorbance is directly proportional to nitrite concentration obeying Beer’s law. The sensitivity is largely enhanced in the presence of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) because of inclusion complexation. It was calculated that β-CD and BCB could form 1:1 inclusion complexation with a formation constant of 546.6 L/mol. Linear calibration graphs were obtained for 0.02 × 10⁻³–0.8 × 10⁻³ g/L sodium nitrite at 636 nm. The detection limit for the analytical procedure was 4.0 × 10⁻⁶ g/L sodium nitrite. The relative standard deviation for determination of 0.1 × 10⁻³ g/L and 0.5 × 10⁻³ g/L sodium nitrite were 0.69% and 0.38%, for ten determinations, respectively. Twenty-two coexistent ions or species were examined, and no serious interference for most of ions was observed. The method has been applied to determine nitrite in water and vegetable samples with satisfactory results.     

Influence of processing steps and fruit maturity on volatile concentrations in juices from clementine, mandarin, and their hybrids

During growth, ripening, and post-harvest, the quality of fruits can be modified by various stresses. Ample maturation allows prolonged storage and increases the quality of citrus fruits. The eight major volatile compounds in fresh juices from mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco var. Willow Leaf), clementine (Citrus reticulata × Citrus sinensis var. Commune), and their six cross-pollinated hybrids were quantified by gas chromatography. Mandarin juice contained the highest volatile concentration (2177.6 ± 110.6 mg L⁻¹), whereas the total aromatic compounds of the hybrid and clementine juices were lower (1060.6 ± 81.6–1724.2 ± 138.5 mg L⁻¹ and 864.8 ± 67.8 mg L⁻¹, respectively). Limonene was the major compound (667.3 ± 53.7–1259.9 ± 98.4 mg L⁻¹) in all juices. We observed significant differences according to the process of juice extraction used (with and without peel). The relative volatile concentration was higher when the juice was extracted with peel, and the juicing process induced differences in the relative volatile concentrations of between 20 and 40%. The levels of volatile compounds in the juice changed according to the degree of fruit maturity. The concentrations of the eight major juice components increased during ripening and until the commercial maturity stage when the juice was obtained from peeled fruits, whereas their concentrations increased until the post-maturation stage when the juices were produced from whole fruits. These two factors determined the contributions of these compounds to the characteristic aromas of Citrus juices.     

Quantification of Nitrite/Nitrate in Food Stuff Samples Using 2-Aminobenzoic Acid as a New Amine in Diazocoupling Reaction

2-Aminobenzoic acid has been used as an amine in diazocoupling reaction to form an azo dye in the quantification of nitrite/nitrate at trace level. The formed azo dye has an absorption maximum at 550 nm in aqueous phase, and the resulted dye can be extracted into organic solvent to lower the detection limit. The method obeys Beer's law in the concentration range 0–10 μg of nitrite in 25 ml of aqueous solution with a molar absorptivity of 3.6 × 10³ L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹ and 0–2 μg of nitrite in 5 ml of organic phase. The detection limit of the dye has been found to be 0.056 μg ml⁻¹. Nitrate is determined by reducing it to nitrite after passing through a copperized cadmium reductor column. The effect of interfering ions on the determination of nitrite/nitrate has been described. The developed method has been applied to determine the nitrite/nitrate trace level in vegetable, fruit juice, and milk powder samples.     

Improved Sample Preparation for Real-Time PCR Detection of Listeria monocytogenes in Hot-Smoked Salmon using Filtering and Immunomagnetic Separation Techniques

This work evaluated the application of filtration and immunomagnetic separation (IMS) as sample pretreatments for use in combination with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect and quantify Listeria monocytogenes in hot-smoked salmon. Salmon was artificially inoculated with L. monocytogenes at levels ranging from 8 × 10⁰ to 8 × 10⁵ cfu/g of sample, and homogenates obtained from these samples were filtered to recover bacterial cells without a pre-enrichment step. High recovery of bacterial cells was achieved using standard coffee filters. IMS significantly reduced the co-extraction of PCR inhibitors present in the samples to increase the assay sensitivity with regression line parameters applicable for quantification. The limit of detection and quantification were equal to 2 × 10¹–4 × 10¹ and 2 × 10² cfu/g of sample, respectively. The entire detection procedure could be completed within 3.5 h. This study demonstrated that coupling filtration and IMS with real-time PCR has contributed to improve the sensitivity of L. monocytogenes detection from hot-smoked salmon.     

Enzymatic Catalytic Spectrophotometric Determination of Thiamine in Food

A highly sensitive and simple spectrophotometric method for the determination of thiamine based on inhibitory effect of thiamine on the hemoglobin-catalyzed reaction of H₂O₂ with acid chrome blue K was developed. The concentration of thiamine is linear with the percentage inhibition of system under the optimal experimental conditions. The calibration curve is linear in the range 3 × 10⁻⁷ to 3.00 × 10⁻⁵ M with the detection limit of 1.2 × 10⁻⁸ M. This method can be used for the determination of thiamine in food with satisfactory results.     

Physicochemical and Enzymatic Properties of Five Kiwifruit Cultivars during Cold Storage

Samples of Abbot, Alison, Bruno, Monty, and Hayward cultivars of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) were obtained from the Iran Research Center of Citrus (Tonekabon, located in north of Iran) and their physicochemical properties were studied during cold storage (at T = 1 ± 1 °C, RH = 80 ± 5%) at 0-, 9-, and 18-week intervals. The mean chemical composition of the fruits were as follows: ash = 0.66–0.96%, moisture = 75.2–84.7%, starch = 0.3–7.0%, and ascorbic acid = 54.8–261.0; K = 125.0–372.0 mg 100 g⁻¹ fresh weight, Mg = 18.0–32.0 mg 100 g⁻¹ fresh weight, Na = 1.4–3.1 mg 100 g⁻¹ fresh weight, Fe = 0.17–0.52 mg 100 g⁻¹ fresh weight, Cu = 0.04–0.24 mg 100 g⁻¹ fresh weight, Zn = 0.16–0.49 mg 100 g⁻¹ fresh weight, Mn = 0.04–0.10 mg 100 g⁻¹ fresh weight, and P = 25.2–49.3 mg 100 g⁻¹ fresh weight; glucose = 0.7–2.39%, fructose = 1.20–3.13%, and sucrose = 0.0–5.8%. At the same time, the values of the parameters °Brix = 6.5–14.8% and acidity = 1.8–2.5% of the studied cultivars (mutual effects of cultivar and storage time) were investigated. The increase in peroxidase (POX = 0.0–6.65 U ml⁻¹) and the decrease in pectinesterase (PE; poor activity to 0) activities were also determined. The statistical analysis showed that the Bruno cultivar had the highest content of ascorbic acid (115.0–261.0 mg 100 g⁻¹ fresh weight), which is an important compound in fruits during storage, while Hayward had the best overall quality particularly with regards to its resistance to softening. This study confirms that long-term cold storage at 1 ± 1 °C and 80 ± 5% RH is suitable for maintaining the highest quality of Iranian grown cultivars of kiwifruit.     

Thin Layer Drying of African Breadfruit (Treculia africana) Seeds: Modeling and Rehydration Capacity

African breadfruit (ABF) seeds are underutilized plant resources, which have been reported to have high potential for novel food and industrial uses. The kinetics of moisture removal during air drying of the whole (WS) and dehulled (DS) seeds was studied at temperatures of 40–70 °C. Five empirical models were tested for predicting the experimental data. Drying of ABF seeds followed an exponential decay pattern, while drying predominantly took place during the falling rate periods. All the drying models predicted the experimental data above 90% accuracy while the Henderson–Pabis model gave the best fit (0.95 < r ² < 0.99) at most of the experimental conditions. Effective moisture diffusivity, D _eff, ranged from 3.65 to 7.15 × 10⁻⁹ m²/s and 3.95 to 6.10 × 10⁻⁹ m²/s for WS and DS, respectively. D _eff showed significant dependence on the moisture content (p < 0.01). Rehydration capacity of DS was not significantly affected by drying temperature while that of WS increased with drying temperature.     

Characterization of Main Anthocyanins Extracted from Pericarp Blue Corn by MALDI-ToF MS

The anthocyanic composition of pigmented Mexican corn (Zea mays) has been investigated. Two extracts (hydrolyzed and non-hydrolyzed) were analyzed by HPLC at different temperatures. The separation profile obtained in chromatography was different for minor components but the main fraction was the same in both cases. The last anthocyanin fraction was collected and analyzed by MALDI-ToF MS. The compounds identified in the fraction were cyanidin-3-glucoside and pelargonidin-3-glucoside with an approximate content of 1 × 10⁻⁶ and 1 × 10⁻⁷ M for the hydrolyzed and non-hydrolyzed, respectively.     

A Sensitive, Selective New Analytical Reagent, 2, 6-Diacetylpyridine bis-4-phenyl-3-thiosemicarbazone for Extractive Spectrophotometric Determination of Mo(VI) in Food Samples

Synthesized a new reagent 2, 6-Diacetylpyridine bis-4-phenyl-3-thiosemicarbazone (2, 6-DAPBPTSC) characterized and is proposed as a sensitive and selective analytical reagent for the extractive spectrophotometric determination of molybdenum(VI) at pH 3.5 to form a yellowish orange colored 1:1 chelate complex. The absorbance was measured at a maximum wavelength, 500 nm. This method obeys Beer’s law in the concentration range 0.90–9.00 μg mL⁻¹ and the correlation coefficient of Mo(VI)–2,6-DAPBPTSC complex is 0.954, which indicates an adequate linearity between the two variables with good molar absorptivity and Sandell’s sensitivity, 1.212 × 10⁴ L mol⁻¹cm⁻¹, 0.0079 μg cm⁻², respectively. The precision and accuracy of the method is checked with calculation of relative standard deviation (n = 5), 0.894% and the detection limit value is 0.0056 μg mL⁻¹. The instability constant of the method has been calculated by Asmus’ method as 6.476 × 10^–5, at room temperature. The interfering effect of various cations and anions has also been studied. The method was successfully applied for the determination of Mo(VI) in food and water samples. The validity of the present method was evaluated in terms of Student ‘t’ test and Variance ‘f’ test, which indicates the significance of the present method an inter comparison of the experimental values, using atomic absorption spectrometer.     

Hot Air Puffing Kinetics for Soy-fortified Wheat-based Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Snacks

The soy-fortified wheat-based flat cold extrudate, after requisite steaming, was puffed in hot air using the high-temperature short-time (HTST) whirling-bed puffing system. The hot-air puffing was conducted at five different hot air temperatures, 200 to 240 °C at constant fluidizing air velocity of 3.95 m s⁻¹ for 50 s of puffing time. The initial moisture of sample was 0.4617 kg kg⁻¹ dm. The already existing 15 different thin layer-drying models were applied to determine the hot air puffing kinetics, based on puffing temperatures. It was found that the Page model could represent hot air puffing kinetics of the steamed flat cold extrudate within 99.3% accuracy. The effective diffusivity was found to be between 1.15623 × 10⁻⁹ and 2.58631 × 10⁻⁹ m² s⁻¹ for steamed flat cold extrudate in the temperature range of 200 to 240 °C. The activation energy for diffusion was found to be 2,341.824 kJ kg⁻¹. The optimum puffing conditions with respect to expansion ratio (ER) and sensory color score were found at puffing temperature of 220 °C and puffing time of 30 s. The variation in ER for the product was found to follow a linear relationship with moisture content of steamed flat cold extrudate during puffing. The Dincer Number for steamed flat cold extrudate puffed in fluidizing air at temperature 220 °C and 3.95 m s⁻¹ velocity was determined to be 276,223.8. This Dincer Number was used to predict the puffing time required to achieve predetermined moisture content of product. The prediction was found to be effective within 10% deviation from the values of experimental puffing time except during the initiation of puffing.     

Characterisation of malolactic conversion by Oenococcus oeni to reduce the acidity of apple juice

The high concentration of malic acid is responsible for the acidity and sourness in apple juice. Bio‐conversion of malic acid to lactic acid through malolactic conversion (MC) in apple juice using Oenococcus oeni was investigated. When apple juice was inoculated with O. oeni (1 × 10⁶ CFU mL^?1), over 90% of malic acid was converted into lactic acid within 96 h at room temperature. When pH of apple juice was adjusted to 4.1 prior to inoculation, MC was completed within 60 h. MC was enhanced at a higher temperature (30°C) when compared with room temperature. The rate of MC was directly proportional to the number of bacteria added and MC was completed within 24 h at 1 × 10⁹ CFU mL^?1 initial cell density. MC occurred equally under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The sensory analysis of partial MC‐applied juice when compared against control revealed potential for use of MC for manufacture of low‐acid apple juice.     

Co-production of Lactic Acid and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lactobacillus rhamnosus</Emphasis> Cells from Whey Permeate with Nutrient Supplements

Lactic acid and cell production from whey permeate by Lactobacillus rhamnosus with different nutrient supplements were investigated in this study. Yeast extract was identified as the most effective nutrient affecting lactic acid production. Increase in inoculum size from 0.05% to 1% (v/v) resulted in a substantial increase in lactic acid productivity from 0.66 to 0.83 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹ (P < 0.001). The optimal temperature for lactic acid production was 37 °C, while the highest cell production was obtained at 42 °C. When whey permeate and yeast extract concentrations were 6.8% (w/v) and 3 g L⁻¹, respectively, lactic acid productivity reached 0.85 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹ after 48-h cultivation, which is 3.40 times of those without nutrient supplements.     

Photodegradation kinetics of acesulfame-K solutions under UV light: effect of pH

 The objective of this research was to study the effect of pH on the photodegradation of aqueous solutions of 5×10^–5 M acesulfame-K (λ_max, 226 nm;ε, 11 400 mol^–1 L cm^–1). Photodegradation followed first-order kinetics and was found to be pH-dependent. The degradation rate constant was calculated to be 6.7×10^–2 min^–1, 4.5×10^–2 min^–1, 3.4×10^–2 min^–1 and 17.4×10^–2 min^–1, respectively, at pH 3, pH 9 and pH 12. Received: 21 April 1998 / Revised version: 9 June 1998     

Storage Properties of Low Fat Fish and Rice Flour Coextrudates

In the present study, response surface method (RSM) and genetic algorithm (GA) were used to study the effects of process variables like screw speed, rpm (x ₁), L/D ratio (x ₂), barrel temperature (°C; x ₃), and feed mix moisture content (%; x ₄), on flow rate of biomass during single-screw extrusion cooking. A second-order regression equation was developed for flow rate in terms of the process variables. The significance of the process variables based on Pareto chart indicated that screw speed and feed mix moisture content had the most influence followed by L/D ratio and barrel temperature on the flow rate. RSM analysis indicated that a screw speed > 80 rpm, L/D ratio > 12, barrel temperature > 80 °C, and feed mix moisture content > 20% resulted in maximum flow rate. Increase in screw speed and L/D ratio increased the drag flow and also the path of traverse of the feed mix inside the extruder resulting in more shear. The presence of lipids of about 35% in the biomass feed mix might have induced a lubrication effect and has significantly influenced the flow rate. The second-order regression equations were further used as the objective function for optimization using genetic algorithm. A population of 100 and iterations of 100 have successfully led to convergence the optimum. The maximum and minimum flow rates obtained using GA were 13.19 × 10⁻⁷ m³/s (x ₁ = 139.08 rpm, x ₂ = 15.90, x ₃ = 99.56 °C, and x ₄ = 59.72%) and 0.53 × 10⁻⁷ m³/s (x ₁ = 59.65 rpm, x ₂ = 11.93, x ₃ = 68.98 °C, and x ₄ = 20.04%).