Effect of tea polyphenols on the physical and chemical characteristics of dried-seasoned squid (Dosidicus gigas) during storage

The effects of tea polyphenols (TP) dip treatment on the physical and chemical characteristics of dried-seasoned squid (Dosidicus gigas) during storage at 25 °C were assessed. After the storage, the b* value increased significantly, while the free amino acids (FAA) including Ser, Gly, Arg, Tyr and Lys, and the dominant reducing sugar (RS), lactose, decreased remarkably, which revealed the occurrence of browning reaction in dried-seasoned squid. The progressive conversion of trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) and production of thiobarbituric acid (TBA) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) were found during the entire period of storage. Furthermore, the advantages of reducing moisture loss, inhibiting oxidation of lipids, depressing TMAO breakdown and TVB-N accumulation were observed, while the browning reaction exhibited no significant decrease for the TP samples. These results indicated that the addition of TP could maintain quality of dried-seasoned squid.     

Gas–liquid absorption reaction between (NH4)2SO3 solution and SO2 for ammonia-based wet flue gas desulfurization

In order to investigate the characteristics of the reaction between ammonium sulfite, the main desulfurizing solution, and the flue-gas-contained sulfur dioxide during the process of ammonia-based WFGD (wet flue gas desulfurization) in a power plant, the gas–liquid absorption reaction between sulfur dioxide and an ammonium sulfite solution was studied in a stirred tank reactor. The experimental results indicate that the absorption of sulfur dioxide is controlled by both the gas- and liquid-films when the ammonium sulfite concentration is lower than 0.05 mol/L, and mainly by the gas-film at higher concentrations. In the latter case, the reaction rates are found to be zero-order with respect to the concentration of ammonium sulfite. The absorption rates of sulfur dioxide increase as the concentration of sulfur dioxide in inlet gas and the temperature increase. The reaction rate is of 0.6th-order with respect to the concentration of sulfur dioxide.     

Simultaneous determination of acetoin and tetramethylpyrazine in traditional vinegars by HPLC method

A rapid and selective HPLC method was developed for the simultaneous analysis of acetoin (ACT) and tetramethylpyrazine (TMP). The chromatography was performed on a Zorbax SB-C18 column at 45 °C, with an aqueous mobile phase (1% acetic acid and 0.05% trifluoroacetic acid in water, pH 2.5)–(methanol) (45:55, v/v). The flow rate was 0.8 mL/min and UV detection wavelength was 297 nm. This method permits the simultaneous determination of ACT and TMP in fermentative foods with detection limits of 5.625 and 0.033 μg/mL, respectively. The recovery was 96.03% for ACT and 92.06% for TMP. Correlation coefficients were greater than 0.9999 for the two compounds. The linearity ranges for ACT and TMP were in the range of 0.02–20 mg/L and 0.12–80 μg/mL, respectively. The proposed method could be used for routine quality control of foods, beverages, natural products, or pharmaceuticals. Current data suggest that the content of TMP in vinegars is positively correlated with that of ACT.     

A new one parameter viscosity model for binary mixtures

The Grunberg & Nissian equation with one parameter is widely recommended in the viscosity calculation. However, it is demonstrated that this equation fails to generate satisfactory results for size‐asymmetric mixtures containing large and small molecules. In this work, a new one parameter viscosity model for binary mixtures has been developed on the basis of Eyring's absolute reaction rate theory and the Flory‐Huggins equation. The concept of molecular surface fraction is introduced for modeling liquid mixture viscosities. The viscosity calculations of the new equation are compared with the Grunberg & Nissian equation for a broad range of chemical mixtures including 527 binary systems (containing 63 binary ionic liquid cosolvent systems) and total 17,268 viscosity points. The new equation was found to have an improved performance over the frequently employed Grunberg & Nissian equation, especially for size‐asymmetric mixtures containing large and small molecules. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 57: 517–524, 2011     

Antiproliferative and antioxidant properties of anthocyanin-rich extract from açai

An anthocyanin-rich extract, generated from açai (AEA), was investigated for its antioxidant properties and antiproliferative activity against C-6 rat brain glioma cells and MDA-468 human breast cancer cells. AEA has an ORAC value of 2589 μmoles trolox equivalents (TE)/g dried powder and a DPPH radical-scavenging activity of 1208 μmoles TE/g, suggesting that AEA is an exceptional source of natural antioxidants. In addition, AEA remarkably suppresses proliferation of C-6 rat brain glioma cells, but has no effect on the growth of MDA-468 human breast cancer cells. Further experiments demonstrated that the AEA treatment dose-dependently inhibited the growth of C-6 rat glioma cells with an IC₅₀ of 121 μg/ml. The DNA ladder fragmentation results indicated that AEA induced apoptosis of C-6 rat brain glioma cells. To compare açai with other anthocyanin-rich extracts, a number of berry extracts, including blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and wolfberry, were assessed for potential antiproliferative activity against C-6 rat brain glioma cells. However, none of them showed suppressing effect. The results suggest that the active antiproliferative constituents in AEA are unlikely to be anthocyanins normally found in common berries.