Effects of non-thermal plasma treating wheat kernel on the physicochemical properties of wheat flour and the quality of fresh wet noodles

The effects of non-thermal plasma (NTP) on the physicochemical properties of wheat flour and the quality of fresh wet noodles ( FWN) were investigated. The results showed that NTP effectively decreased the total plate count (TPC), yeast and mould count (YMC) and Bacillus spp. in wheat flour. Wet gluten contents and the stability time reached the maximum when treated for 20 s. The viscosity of starch increased significantly after treatment due to the increased of damaged starch. The contents of secondary structure were altered to some extent, which was because that the ordered network structure of gluten protein broken. Furthermore, compared with the control, texture properties of FWN were enhanced significantly at 20 s, and the darkening rate of FWN was greatly inhibited due to the low polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity. Consequently, the most suitable treatment was 500 W for 20 s, providing a basis for the application of NTP in flour products.     

Impact of cryoconcentration on casein micelle size distribution,micelles inter-distance,and flow behavior of skim milk during refrigerated storage

Cryoconcentration combined with a cascade effect was used to concentrate skim milk up to 25.12% total dry matter. Size, shape, and inter-micellar distance of casein micelles were characterized by ZetasizerNano-ZS, transmission electron microscopy, and ImageJ analyses. Flow properties of the cryoconcentrated skim milk were evaluated during 5 weeks of storage under refrigerated condition at 4 °C. Milk color was also evaluated according to the L*, a*, and b* system. The cryoconcentrated skim milk obtained after three cryoconcentration cycles was characterized by a monomodal distribution of its micelles with a tendency to smaller casein micelles. Approximately 60% of the total micellar volume was occupied by the casein micelles with a size of 100–200 nm, less than 18% of the volume with a size of 50–100 nm and only less than 1% was occupied by micelles with a size > 350 nm. This result shows that cryoconcentration changed the distribution of the mean size of the casein micelles to smaller units. No significant difference was observed on the inter-micellar distance. Cryoconcentration significantly improved the color of skim milk by increasing the L* value up to 67 which was similar to that of whole milk. Transition from a Newtonian to a non-Newtonian behavior was observed from the fourth week storage with a slight increase of casein micelle size.Industrial relevanceA concentration procedure of skim milk based on a complete block cryoconcentration technique was proposed. Application of this sub-zero technology permitted the concentration of skim milk total dry matter up to 25%. The casein micelle size was positively affected by moving the major part of the micelles toward the smaller size, whereas the inter-micellar distance was not affected. This new knowledge can be exploited in milk-based products to enhance the product stability. The cryoconcentrated skim milk color was positively affected since its L* value, which represents the milk whiteness, was significantly improved. The flow behavior of the cryoconcentrated milk was of Newtonian type up to 4 weeks of storage at 4 °C. The generated knowledge in this study can be easily used by the milk processing industry in order to make stable milk product with high dry matter content without adding milk powder, which negatively affects the product sensory properties (floury consistency).     

Quercetagetin loaded in soy protein isolate–κ-carrageenan complex: Fabrication mechanism and protective effect

In the present study, the potential of soy protein isolate (SPI)–κ-carrageenan (κ-CG) complex as a protective carrier for quercetagetin was investigated at different pH values (pH 2.3 and 6.5). The particle size of the ternary aggregates was slightly increased at pH 2.3, yet dramatically decreased at pH 6.5 with increasing quercetagetin concentration. Moreover, the negative ζ-potential of the ternary aggregates was increased significantly (p < 0.05) at pH 6.5. The addition of quercetagetin to the SPI–κ-CG complex could highly quench the intrinsic fluorescence of SPI. Circular dichroism spectra further suggested that the bound quercetagetin could induce the rise of β-sheet and β-turn contents at the cost of α-helix and unordered coil fractions of SPI. In addition, quercetagetin could increase the viscoelasticity of the ternary aggregates at both pH. Furthermore, the SPI–κ-CG complex was found to be superior to single SPI or κ-CG in terms of improving light stability and radical scavenging ability of quercetagetin.     

Detection of the residues of nineteen pesticides in fresh vegetable samples using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

In this study, we investigated the presence of 19 different agricultural pesticides in 210 samples of eight types of domestic vegetables collected from several vegetable-growing regions in Bangladesh. A multiresidue method was developed to detect the pesticide levels in the collected samples using gas chromatography with mass spectrophotometry (GC–MS). Pesticide residues were detected in 51.30% of the total samples, and among the positive samples, 38.89% contained levels above the maximum residue levels (MRLs). The most frequently detected pesticides were chlorpyrifos (34) followed by carbofuran (17), diazinon (16), carbaryl (14), malathion (11), endosulfan (8), cypermethrin (7) and dimethoate (6). Some (10.47%) of the samples contained multiple residues. It is concluded that the continuous monitoring and strict regulation of pesticide use on food crops, especially vegetables, are necessary.     

Effects of light exposure on chlorophyll,sugars and vitamin C content of fresh‐cut celery (Apium graveolens var. dulce) petioles

Effects of light exposure (24 μmol m^?2 s^?1) on fresh‐cut celery nutritional quality were evaluated during 8‐day storage at 7 °C using darkness as control. Light exposure preserved 47% chlorophyll a and 48% chlorophyll b contents more than darkness at the end of storage. Sucrose, reducing sugar and glucose contents in light‐stored petioles were 17%, 25% and 67% higher than those in dark‐stored petioles after 8‐day storage, respectively, thus resulting in higher total soluble solids content in light condition. Moreover, l ‐ascorbic acid content increased at 2‐day storage in light condition and was 46% more than in darkness at the end of storage. The fresh weight loss significantly increased in all petioles, and this increase was markedly accelerated by light exposure with a maximum of 1.43% at the end of storage. Dry matter content was induced more by light exposure than by darkness at 2‐day storage.     

Effect of ozone treatment on aflatoxin B1 and safety evaluation of ozonized corn

This paper studies the ozone treatment effect on degradation of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) in corn with different moisture content (MC). The toxicity of the degradation products (DPs) of the ozone-treated AFB₁-Contaminated Corn (ACC) was also evaluated using the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2) as model cells. The degradation rate of AFB₁ in corn increases with ozone concentration and treatment time. The results showed that ACC with 13.47% MC was easier to be degraded by ozone than with 20.37% MC. Treated with 90 mg L⁻¹ ozone for 20 min and 40 min, AFB₁ in corn with 13.47% MC decreased from 83 μg kg⁻¹ to 18.12 μg kg⁻¹ and 9.9 μg kg⁻¹, respectively, well meeting the China National Standard of AFB₁ in corn (20 μg kg⁻¹). In order to evaluate the safety of ozone used on ACC, the impacts of AFB₁ as well as untreated and ozone-treated ACC with the same level of AFB₁ content on HepG2's survival rate, morphology, and apoptosis were studied. The results showed that ACC had high cell toxicity while the toxicity of ozone-treated ACC had no significant difference with that of the AFB₁-free culture solution. It is concluded that ozonation can quickly and effectively degrade AFB₁ in corn and diminish ACC's toxicity, and therefore, ozonation is expected to be an effective, fast, and safe method for AFB₁ degradation in ACC.     

Rapid detection method for aflatoxin B1 in soybean sauce based on fluorescent microspheres probe

Soybean sauce, a Chinese traditional and daily condiment, is often contaminated by aflatoxin B₁. An extract-free immunochromatographic assay was proposed based on fluorescent microspheres probe for the' detection of aflatoxin B₁ in soybean sauce. The probe was prepared by coupling fluorescent microspheres with anti-aflatoxin B₁ antibody by the 1-ethyl-3(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimides hydrochloride-mediated method. The background from the soybean sauce sample on strip was eliminated because of the optical property of the probe. The sample without extracting procedure was directly detected by diluting with 10% methanol solution. The visible detection limit for the qualitative analysis of aflatoxin B₁ in the proposed method was 2.5 μg/L, which was lower than the maximum level of 5 μg/L set by the Chinese government. The results were well agreed with those obtained by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The method showed satisfactory characteristics, such as rapid detection, easy operation, and high sensitivity, and can thus be applied for the large-scale and on-site screening of soybean sauce contaminated with aflatoxin B₁. To our knowledge, this report is the first one on the qualitative detection of aflatoxin B₁ in dark colored food samples directly by fluorescent microspheres probe-based immunochromatography.     

牛背最长肌高铁肌红蛋白还原酶的分离及其酶学性质

以冷鲜牛背最长肌为原料,采用硫酸铵盐析、超滤法对原料肉中的高铁肌红蛋白还原酶进行粗分离,并研究温度、pH、金属离子对高铁肌红蛋白还原酶活性的影响.结果表明:在硫酸铵饱和度65％,超滤(＞50 kDa)条件下,牛背最长肌高铁肌红蛋白还原酶可得到分离与纯化.试验范围内,牛背最长肌高铁肌红蛋白还原酶的分子量为29.0～66....     

添加甘氨酸对天冬酰胺/葡萄糖模拟体系中丙烯酰胺形成的抑制作用

美拉德反应目前被认为是形成丙烯酰胺的重要途径,极探讨了甘氨酸在葡萄糖/天冬酰胺模拟体系中抑制丙烯酰胺形成的规律。模拟体系分别在90、100、110、120℃下反应4h,丙烯酰胺的生成、褐变度的增加、产物的减少以及对天冬酰胺和甘氨酸降解动力学的分析表明,甘氨酸的添加能够显著降低美拉德反应生成的丙烯酰胺,且在该反应体系中甘氨酸与天冬酰胺之间存在竞争关系。     

苹果渣脱色工艺研究

对苹果渣脱色工艺进行了初步研究,以过100目筛苹果渣为原料,用有机溶剂浸泡,提取其中色素得到脱色后的果渣。通过正交实验确定苹果渣脱色的最佳工艺条件:料液比1∶20,浸提时间40min,以乙醇为浸提剂,浸提级数2级,可以获得最佳脱色效果。