Seeds recovered from by-products of selected fruit processing as a rich source of tocochromanols: RP-HPLC/FLD and RP-UPLC-ESI/MSn study

Tocochromanol composition was analysed in the seeds of nine various fruits: apple (Malus domestica Borkh.), red currant (Ribes rubrum L.), gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa L.), grape (Vitis vinifera L.), pomegranate (Punica granatum L.), Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. ex Spach), sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai) and canary melon (Cucumis melo L.), recovered from by-products of fruit industry. The concentration range of subsequent tocopherols (Ts) and tocotrienols (T3s) was as follows: 1.29–29.30, 0.00–11.68, 0.42–95.11, 0.00–7.66, 0.03–5.03, 0.00–0.18 and 0.00–6.68 mg/100 g of seed dry weight for α-T, β-T, γ-T, δ-T, α-T3, β-T3 and γ-T3, respectively. The δ-T3 was not detected in any of the tested seeds. All tocochromanols were successfully separated by rapid RP-HPLC/FLD method and confirmed by the RP-UPLC-ESI/MS³ technique.     

Neapolitan coffee brew chemical analysis in comparison to espresso,moka and American brews

The aim of the present study was to characterize the chemical composition of Neapolitan coffee brew in comparison to espresso, American, and moka coffee brews. Despite the similarity of brewing principle of Neapolitan and American coffee-making techniques, i.e. percolation of hot water through ground coffee, the characteristics of Neapolitan coffee brew in terms of antioxidant activity, total phenolic compounds and total solids were more similar to moka coffee brew. Espresso and moka showed higher antioxidant activity, and espresso exhibited higher caffeine concentration, total phenolic compounds, and total solids with respect to other coffee brews studied. For the first time a characterization of the Neapolitan coffee aroma, a traditional Italian brewing procedure, was reported. A significant higher amount in hexanal, β-damascenone and some pyrazines was found in Neapolitan coffee aroma with respect to other procedures. These compounds could be considered as a distinctive characteristic of Neapolitan coffee aroma. Moka was characterized by higher guaiacol content with respect to other procedures, while espresso showed significantly higher levels in aldehydes and 2-furanmethanol acetate.     

Dietary fiber,amino acid,fatty acid and tocopherol contents of the edible seaweeds Ulva lactuca and Durvillaea antarctica

The nutritional composition of the edible seaweeds Durvillaea antarctica (frond and stem) and dried Ulva lactuca was determined, including the soluble (SDF), insoluble (IDF) and total (TDF) dietary fiber content, amino acid and fatty acid profiles along with tocopherols and tocotrienols (pro-vitamin E). Results show that U. lactuca contained 60.5 ± 1.5%, and D. antarctica frond and stem 71.4 ± 1.5% and 56.4 ± 0.4% of TDF, respectively. Levels for the different amino acids ranged from 0.7 ± 0.1 to 1508.4 ± 9.5 (mg/100 g protein) in U. lactuca, from 0.2 ± 0.0 to 2019.9 ± 5.2 (mg/100 g protein) in D. antarctica (stem), and from 0.3 ± 0.0 to 1052.6 ± 2.9 (mg/100 g protein) in D. antarctica (leaves). In the three seaweeds, the most abundant fatty acid was C18:1ω9cis which in U. lactuca accounted for 27.42 ± 2.60%; in D. antarctica it was 25.36 ± 3.10% and 25.83 ± 2.52% in leaves and stem, respectively. In D. antarctica, γ-tocotrienol (651.7 ± 5.1 mg/kg), δ-tocopherol (245.9 ± 3.7 mg/kg) and α-tocopherol (179.4 ± 12.1 mg/kg) were determined in fronds, α-tocopherol (258.0 ± 7.2 mg/kg) was determined in stem. U. lactuca, showed a high γ-tocopherol level (963.5 ± 3.8 mg/kg).     

Factors affecting milk flow traits in dairy cows: results of a field study

The study of milk flow curves provides useful information for enhancing milking efficiency and protecting udder health by adapting milking machine and milking procedures to the physiological requirements of the cow. The aim of this experiment was to investigate, using field data, the relationships among traits of the milk flow curves, their sources of variation, and milking performances in terms of milk production, machine-on time, and udder health. A total of 2,486 milk flow curves of the whole udder were collected in 82 Italian Holstein-Friesian dairy herds in the Lombardy region of Italy. Approximately one-third (35.1%) of milk flow curves were classified as bimodal. Most flow characteristics were influenced by lactation number, days in milk, and peak flow but also strongly affected by premilking operations. Proper udder preparation, including forestripping and predipping, resulted in better milking performances compared with poor preparation, with greater milk yield per milking, shorter milking time, and lesser bimodality. Premilking delay time, between the start of teat stimulation and cup attachment, affected milking time significantly: The shortest milking time was obtained for a range of delay time between 1 and 60 s. As the delay time increased, the percentage of bimodality dropped significantly. Increasing the number of clusters per operator led to greater percentages of bimodal curves. The greater somatic cell count of cows with bimodal curves supports the hypothesis of the negative effect of bimodality on udder health and indicates the importance of avoiding its occurrence using proper pre-milking procedures.     

A quantitative study on the phenolic compound,tocopherol and fatty acid contents of monovarietal virgin olive oils produced in the southeast region of Brazil

Consumption of virgin olive oil (VOO) is highly recommended due to its human health benefits. Brazil is now beginning to experimentally produce VOO, and there are no data on its chemical profile. The aim of this work was to determine the phenolic compound, tocopherol and fatty acid contents of 17 monovarietal VOOs produced from olive varieties cultivated in the southeast region of Brazil during two crop years. The chemical composition of Brazilian VOO resembles that found in the literature for well-established VOOs. The analyzed compounds comprised palmitic acid (6–12%), stearic acid (1.6–2.2%), oleic acid (70–84%), linoleic acid (3.2–11.7%), α-linolenic acid (0.6–1.4%), tyrosol (NQ–155 mg kg^− 1), (+)-pinoresinol (2.9–23 mg kg^− 1), hydroxytyrosol (ND–38 mg kg^− 1), luteolin (ND–2.2 mg kg^− 1), α-tocopherol (29–233 mg kg^− 1), β-tocopherol (ND–9.6 mg kg^− 1), and γ-tocopherol (ND—19 mg kg^− 1). There was a significant difference in the contents of almost all of the analyzed compounds between the two crop years. Principal component analysis demonstrated that some varieties can be differentiated from one another by chemical composition. The results indicated that some Brazilian monovarietal VOOs are promising and that further studies will help to improve the quality of Brazilian VOO.     

Influence of processing, storage time, and pasteurisation upon the tocopherol and amino acid contents of treated green table olives

The effect of the processing system, storage time, and pasteurisation on the contents of tocopherols and individual amino acids was determined in alkali-treated green table olives. Olives were processed following three different systems (Spanish-style, short-process, and Picholine-style), together with two modified preparations of Spanish-style (without-washing process and olives packed with fermentation brine). Processing and pasteurisation had no effect on the -tocopherol and -tocopherol contents, but significant losses of both tocopherols were found after 12 months of storage. Calculation of protein quality of each product was made from its amino acid composition. The chemical score of treated green table olives, evaluated using the FAO reference protein for adults, ranged from 46 to 60%, the limiting amino acid being lysine. With the exception of lysine, amino acids can be considered to be stable during green olive processing, storage, and pasteurisation.     

Factors affecting birth weight in sheep: maternal environment

Knowledge of factors affecting variation in birth weight is especially important given the relationship of birth weight to neonatal and adult health. The present study utilises two large contemporary datasets in sheep of differing breeds to explore factors that influence weight at term. For dataset one (Study 1; n=154 Blue-faced Leicester x Swaledale (Mule) and 87 Welsh Mountain ewes, 315 separate cases of birth weight), lamb birth weight as the outcome measure was related to maternal characteristics and individual energy intake of the ewe during specified periods of gestation, i.e. early (1-30 days; term ~147 days gestation), mid (31-80 days) or late (110-147 days) pregnancy. For dataset two (Study 2; n=856 Mule ewes and 5821 cases of birth weight), we investigated using multilevel modelling the influence of ewe weight, parity, barrenness, lamb sex, litter size, lamb mortality and year of birth on lamb birth weight. For a subset of these ewes (n=283), the effect of the ewes' own birth weight was also examined. Interactions between combinations of variables were selectively investigated. Litter size, as expected, had the single greatest influence on birth weight with other significant effects being year of birth, maternal birth weight, maternal nutrition, sex of the lamb, ewe barrenness and maternal body composition at mating. The results of the present study have practical implications not only for sheep husbandry but also for the increased knowledge of factors that significantly influence variation in birth weight; as birth weight itself has become a significant predictor of later health outcomes.     

Short communication: Factors affecting hair cortisol concentrations in lactating dairy cows

Cortisol has long been used as a marker of the stress response in animals. Cortisol can be analyzed from different media, most notably from the blood, saliva, and feces; however, the collection of cortisol from some of these media requires invasive procedures or excessive handling of the animals. Furthermore, it is not possible to capture long-term increases in circulating concentrations of cortisol from the blood, saliva, or feces. Hair cortisol has been found to be a reliable alternative for measuring chronic stress. With this emerging measure, appropriate sampling methodology must be developed and validated. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of hair color, sampling location, and processing method on cortisol concentrations in hair from lactating black and white Holstein cows (n = 18). Furthermore, we aimed to measure the hair growth rates at different body locations (n = 12) and test hair cortisol levels when resampled over short intervals (n = 37). Both black- and white-colored hair was collected from the shoulder, top line, hip, and tail switch of Holsteins; due to breed characteristics only white hair was harvested from the tail switch. All samples were cleaned with water and isopropanol, and then ground in a ball mill or finely cut with scissors once dry. Cortisol was extracted with methanol before being measured using a commercially available ELISA kit. Concentrations of cortisol were greater in white than in black hair (7.8 ± 1.1 vs. 3.8 ± 1.1 pg/mg). When only white samples were analyzed, hair from the tail switch had more cortisol than hair from the shoulder (11.0 ± 1.2 vs. 6.2 ± 1.2 pg/mg), whereas no difference was found when compared with the hip and top line. Samples ground with a ball mill had greater concentrations of cortisol extracted than those minced with scissors (10.4 ± 1.2 vs. 4.7 ± 1.2 pg/mg). The growth rate of hair was significantly greater at the tail switch compared with the hip and shoulder (0.51 ± 0.05 vs. 0.04 ± 0.05 vs. 0.03 ± 0.05 mm/d). When hair was collected every 3 wk after calving, a tendency was detected for multiparous cows to have greater concentrations of hair cortisol and significantly greater concentrations of cortisol on d 0 and 21 after calving compared with d 42, 84, and 126. In Holsteins, the hair on the tail switch is always white, grows more rapidly than other sites, and is sensitive enough to capture changes in cortisol over intervals as short as 3 wk, making it the ideal location for measuring hair cortisol.     

Effect of cold press and soxhlet extraction systems on fatty acid,tocopherol contents,and phenolic compounds of various grape seed oils

In this study, fatty acids, tocopherol contents, and phenolic compounds of the grape seed oils obtained with cold‐pressed and soxhlet extraction systems from several grape seeds were investigated. Linoleic acid contents of cold‐pressed oils varied between 59.61 and 72.13%. In addition, linoleic acid contents of oils obtained with soxhlet system changed between 58.51 and 71.17%. While α‐tocotrienol contents of oil samples extracted with cold‐pressed change between 13.21 and 34.71 mg/100 g, α‐tocotrienol contents of oils obtained by soxhlet system in all grape varieties varied between 8.89 and 33.89 mg/100 g. In addition, while ?‐tocotrienol contents of cold‐pressed oils range from 15.47 to 39.95 mg/100 g, ?‐tocotrienol contents of soxhlet extraction oils in all grape varieties were determined between 13.47 and 35.75 mg/100 g. Both systems' oils are rich in catechin, gallic acid, and chlorogenic acid. While catechin contents of cold‐pressed oils change between 427.80 and 847.14 mg/kg, catechin contents of soxhlet extraction oils in all grape seeds ranged from 537.11 to 836.88 mg/kg.

Practical applications

Cold‐pressed grape seed oil stands out as a suitable alternative to other commonly used vegetable oils because of its higher amounts of essential fatty acid, and many others bioactive compounds. Grape seed oil is being used in various fields such as cosmetics and cooking. Because the cold‐pressing does not need both heat and chemical treatments, cold‐pressed oils are being preferred for natural and safe food products by consumer. The consumption of vegetable oils rather than solid fats is crucial to maintaining health. As known, grape seed oil is an environment friendly oil due to a by‐product of wine and grape juice‐making processes.     

Silage review: Factors affecting dry matter and quality losses in silages

An overview was made of dry matter (DM) and quality losses that occur during the ensiling process from the field through the feeding phase. The aim was to review the relevant published literature of the last 15 yr focusing on developments achieved after the publication of the book Silage Science and Technology. This review discusses the factors affecting DM and quality losses in terms of field and pre-ensiling conditions, respiration and temperature at ensiling, fermentation patterns, methods of covering and weighting the silage cover, and management of aerobic deterioration. The possibility of reducing DM and quality losses during the ensiling process requires knowledge of how to measure losses on farm and establish the status of the silage during the feed-out phase, implementing the most effective management practices to avoid air exposure during conservation and reduce silage aerobic deterioration during feeding. The paper concludes with future perspectives and recommended management practices to reduce losses and increase efficiency over the whole ensiling process in view of increasing sustainability of the livestock production chain.     

Effect of roasting conditions and grinding on free radical contents of coffee beans stored in air

The influence of roasting and storage conditions on free radical contents of individual Arabica coffee beans was examined during storage of whole, half and ground beans in air over a 1-month period. Free radical contents increased with increasing roasting time (roasting degree), but the atmosphere (air vs. N₂) used in the roasting and cooling process had little effect. There was a progressive increase in free radical contents with storage time, but the rate was much lower in whole beans than with half and fully ground beans, for which the rate was similar. These results suggest that exposure to O₂, rather than physical grinding is the main mechanism for storage-related free radical generation, and strongly indicate that roasted coffee is best kept as whole beans in order to minimise changes during prolonged periods of aerobic storage. Furthermore, they demonstrate that EPR measurements can contribute to understanding the process and storage related changes in coffee.     

鱼明胶提取及其品质影响因素

明胶是一种由哺乳动物胶原蛋白热水解而得到的天然大分子物质,由于其独特的凝胶性质和合理的价格使其在食品、医药行业得以广泛的应用,但出于疾病安全及宗教信仰等问题,哺乳动物明胶的应用受到质疑与排斥,现急需一种新型来源的明胶以取代,目前研究最深入的是鱼明胶。鱼明胶的品质受多种因素影响而限制其应用,该文对影响鱼明胶产量和品质的原因进行了综述,并总结了近年来与鱼明胶传统提取法相结合以获得符合市场需求的更佳品性的明胶的新技术新手段,以期为相关科研工作者进一步提高鱼明胶产量和品质、扩大鱼明胶的应用前景提供参考和理论依据。     

Factors affecting survival, growth, and retrieval of Salmonella Poona on intact and wounded cantaloupe rind and in stem scar tissue

Studies were done to determine the survival and recovery of Salmonella enterica serotype Poona from cantaloupe rind as affected by environmental conditions between the time of contamination and analysis. Detection and enumeration of the pathogen as influenced by analytical methods were also investigated. Combinations of preenrichment broth (lactose broth or universal preenrichment broth), enrichment broth (Rappaport–Vassiliadis broth or tetrathionate broth), and selective agar medium (bismuth sulfite agar or xylose lysine desoxycholate agar) for detecting S. Poona on inoculated cantaloupes stored at 4°C for 7 days or 21°C for 3 days were equivalent in performance. The use of nalidixic acid resistance as a marker in S. Poona and nalidixic acid in media used to enhance detection or enumeration of the pathogen by inhibiting background micro-flora in sanitizer efficacy studies, for example, would not adversely affect its survival on or recovery from cantaloupes. Overall, the composition of the carrier (water or 5% horse serum, a high organic matrix) used to prepare inocula did not influence the number of S. Poona recovered from the intact rind surface, wounds in the surface, or the stem scar tissue. Regardless of inoculation site or composition of the carrier, populations on spot inoculated melons stored at 4°C remained constant between 2 and 24 h after inoculation. The pathogen grew within 24 h in wounds of spot- and dip-inoculated cantaloupes stored at 21°C and 37°C. The addition of up to 1.0% Tween 80 to 0.1% peptone used to remove S. Poona from the rind surface did not adversely affect viability and may have enhanced detachment. Consideration of these observations is recommended when developing a method to test the efficacy of sanitizers in killing salmonellae on the rind surface of inoculated cantaloupes and to detect or enumerate salmonellae that may be natural contaminants.     

Factors affecting production of melon seed kernel protein: Yield,composition and protein isolates quality

Extraction and precipitation were investigated to determine the opti-mal conditions for preparation of protein concentrates from defatted melon seed kernels flour. Protein concentrates were prepared by extraction with distilled water, salt or alkaline solution. Alkaline so-lution led to the highest extraction yield of 84.5%. The protein concen- trate has a good digestibility of 90.8% as determined by in vitro enzy-matic method. The protein is rich in lysine 6.35% but poor in sulphur-containing amino acids such as methionine 0.27%, and cystine 0.33%. The protein isolate showed good whipping and emulsifying character-istics as well as water and oil absorptions.     

Factors affecting days open, gestation length, and calving interval in Florida dairy cattle.

Effects of several factors on reproductive performance were evaluated. Mean performance and number of observations were for days from parturition to first service, 93 and 7730; days from first to successful service, 35 and 11,751; days open, 123 and 8571; gestation length, 280 and 13,612; and calving interval, 400 and 8524. Data covered 52 yr during which no detectable trends in calving interval occurred; other variables changed slightly. Jerseys had 8 fewer d from parturition to first service, 16 fewer d from first service to conception, 8 fewer d open, and 8-d shorter calving intervals than did Guernseys and Holsteins, which did not differ. Cows freshening in warm rather than cool weather suffered by 7, 7, 12, and 13 d for these variables. Repeatabilities ranged from .05 to .12; heritabilities were .05 and .06. Nonmaternal estimate of heritability of gestation length was .22. Phenotypic and genetic correlations between days from parturition to first service and calving interval were .48 and .87; for days open and calving interval, they were .97 and .96. Although days from first to successful service were essentially uncorrelated with days open and calving interval phenotypically (.05), genetic correlations were greater than 1.0 and estimated as unity. Results show no discrepancy between estimates for measures of reproductive performance in a subtropical environment and numerous studies in temperate areas. Large studies from subtropical areas are sparse; essentially none concerns long-term trends.