In vitro antimicrobial effects of Myristica fragrans essential oil on foodborne pathogens and its influence on beef quality during refrigerated storage

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) seed was subjected to the hydro-distillation method to extract its essential oil (NEO). Its main constituents were α-pinene (20.16%), sabinene (14.45%), and β-pinene (13.26%) with great antimicrobial and antioxidant actions. A novel edible coating was then fabricated based on the sage seed mucilage (SSM) and NEO, to ameliorate the quality and shelf-life of beef slices. The NEO-loaded SSM coating was able to significantly decrease the population of total viable count, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, psychrotrophic bacteria, and fungi. Moreover, lipid oxidation of beef slices was remarkably suppressed upon the application of bioactive NEO-loaded SSM edible coating, as compared with the control by Day 6. The coated beef sample, especially NEO-rich SSM coated ones perceived a higher consumer acceptance and firmness than the SSM coated and noncoated samples. The SSM edible coating containing NEO could therefore have the potential to control the growth of pathogenic microorganisms and lipid oxidation, and to improve the color stability and sensory properties of meat and meat products.     

Quality retention and shelf life extension of fresh beef using Lepidium sativum seed mucilage-based edible coating containing Heracleum lasiopetalum essential oil: an experimental and modeling study

Food Science and Biotechnology - The instability and strong flavor or odor of essential oils (EO) limit their direct incorporation into food products. In this study, the antioxidant and...     

Comparison of Canola and Soy Flour with Added Isocyanate as Wood Adhesives

Canola is widely grown in the northern latitudes for its vegetable oil, generating large quantities of residual, low value canola flour used as animal feed. The common wood adhesive poly(diphenylmethylene diisocyanate) (pMDI) should react with the wide variety of functional groups in proteins. Therefore, it would seem that canola flour with added pMDI could be an effective adhesive. Two main questions are addressed in this study: How do the wood adhesive properties of canola flour compare to the better-studied soy flour? How well do proteins, which contain an abundance of functional groups, cure with the very reactive pMDI? These questions were addressed using the small-scale adhesive strength test ASTM D-7998, with various adhesive formulations and bonding conditions for canola flour plus pMDI compared to soy adhesives. The more challenging wet cohesive bond strength was emphasized because the dry strengths were usually very good. Generally, soy adhesives were better than canola ones, as was the polyamidoamine-epichlorohydrin cross-linker compared to pMDI, but these generalizations can be altered by the conditions selected. Three-ply plywood tests supported the small-scale test results.     

Highly efficient electrocatalysts fabricated via electrophoretic deposition for alcohol oxidation,oxygen reduction,hydrogen evolution,and oxygen evolution reactions

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is a versatile technique that has drawn attention due to its ease of use and performance in depositing high-quality layers at room temperature. This technique principle is based on the deposition of charged particles from a stable colloidal suspension on a conductive substrate using either a direct or alternating current. Using relatively simple and low-cost equipment, the EPD technique enables the deposition of layers with controlled microstructures at nanoscale. The EPD technique has been particularly successful in the fabrication of the electrocatalyst layers for low-temperature fuel cells, which are anchored on the top of the fuel cell electrodes. In comparison with other electrocatalyst layer deposition techniques such as drop-casting, the EPD technique offers clear advantages for the control of the thickness and packing density of the electrocatalyst layers. Owing to the dense packing density, electrocatalyst layers deposited by EPD could achieve enhanced conductivity and efficiency. The present review aims at comprehensively evaluating the recently published results on the electrocatalyst layers fabricated by EPD and applied in oxygen reduction reactions, alcohol electro-oxidation reactions, hydrogen evolution reactions, and oxygen evolution reactions.