Chemical Profile and Biological Activities of Two Edible Plants: Chemical Investigation and Quantitative Analysis Using Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

The objectives of this study were to define the phenolic and fatty acid profiles, anticholinesterase, antioxidant, antimicrobial activities, and total phenolic-flavonoid contents of Lycopsis orientalis and Tragopogon latifolius var. angustifolius which have been used as food source and food supplement in Anatolia and have never been examined before. Rosmarinic and quinic acids (21.11 and 11.46 mg g^–1 extract, respectively) were found to be the most abundant constituents in L. orientalis and T. latifolius var. angustifolius among the studied 27 compounds by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. In the fatty acid compositions of L. orientalis and T. latifolius var. angustifolius that were determined by gas chromatography mass spectrometry, oleic (29.1%) and palmitic (28.7%) acids were identified as the major components, respectively. The high antioxidant activity of the methanol extract of L. orientalis shows parallelism to its rosmarinic acid content. Besides, this extract showed medium anticholinesterase activity. The results of the present study proves that the L. orientalis might also be used as a food source due to its high phenolic acid content and strong antioxidant property.     

Velocity and temperature field characteristics of water and air during natural convection heating in cans

Presence of headspace during canning is required since an adequate amount allows forming vacuum during the process. Sealing technology may not totally eliminate all entrapped gases, and headspace might affect heat transfer. Not much attention has been given to solve this problem in computational studies, and cans, for example, were mostly assumed to be fully filled with product. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine velocity and temperature evolution of water and air in cans during heating to evaluate the relevance of headspace in the transport mechanism. For this purpose, canned water samples with a certain headspace were used, and required governing continuity, energy, and momentum equations were solved using a finite volume approach coupled with a volume of fluid element model. Simulation results correlated well with experimental results validating faster heating effects of headspace rather than insulation effects as reported in the literature. The organized velocity motions along the air-water interface were also shown. Practical Application: Canning is a universal and economic method for processing of food products, and presence of adequate headspace is required to form vacuum during sealing of the cans. Since sealing technology may not totally eliminate the entrapped gases, mainly air, headspace might affect heating rates in cans. This study demonstrated the increased heating rates in the presence of headspace in contrast with some studies in the literature. By applying the effect of headspace, required processing time for thermally processed foods can be reduced leading to more rapid processes and lower energy consumptions.     

Occurrence of phthalate metabolites in human urine from several Asian countries

The occurrence of 14 phthalate metabolites was found in human urine samples collected from seven Asian countries: China, India, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Phthalate metabolites were found in all samples, indicating widespread exposure of humans to phthalates in these Asian countries. The highest total (the sum of 14 phthalates) phthalate metabolite concentrations were found in samples collected from Kuwait (median: 1050 ng/mL), followed in decreasing order by samples from India (389 ng/mL), China (234 ng/mL), Vietnam (133 ng/mL), Japan (120 ng/mL), Korea (117 ng/mL), and Malaysia (94.9 ng/mL). The creatinine-adjusted median concentrations of total phthalates for urine samples from Kuwait, India, China, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia were 692, 506, 289, 119, 103, 104, and 169 μg/g creatinine, respectively. Monomethyl phthalate (mMP), monoethyl phthalate (mEP), mono (2-isobutyl phthalate) (miBP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (mBP), and metabolites of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were the dominant compounds, collectively accounting for >95% of the total concentrations in the samples from the seven countries. The profiles of urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations varied among the samples collected from the seven countries. Urine samples from Kuwait contained the highest concentrations of mEP (median: 391 ng/mL), mBP (94.1 ng/mL), and the metabolites of DEHP (202 ng/mL), whereas samples from China and Japan contained the highest concentrations of miBP (50.8 ng/mL) and mMP (17.5 ng/mL), respectively. mEP was the predominant metabolite in urine samples from India and Kuwait (accounting for 49% of the total), mBP and miBP were the predominant compounds in samples from China (52%), and DEHP metabolites were the predominant compounds in samples from Korea (46%) and Vietnam (52%). Based on the urinary concentrations of mEP, mBP, miBP, and DEHP metabolites of the samples from the seven Asian countries, we estimated daily intake rates of diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and DEHP. The results indicated that people in the seven Asian countries are exposed to DEP, DBP, and DEHP at levels well below the reference doses (RfD) suggested as unsafe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The estimated exposure doses to DEHP in Kuwait, however, were above the RfD recommended by the EPA.     

The effects of rosemary extract combination with vacuum packing on the quality changes of Atlantic mackerel fish burgers

The effects of the use of antioxidant technology on the quality of mackerel burgers stored at 4 °C were investigated in terms of sensory, biochemical [thiobarbituric acid (TBA), total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB‐N), peroxide value (PV) and free fatty acids (FFA)] and microbiological analyses [total viable count (TVC)]. Fish meat was divided into three groups; the control (C) without rosemary extract, the second group with 0.4% rosemary extracts (Group A) and the third with 0.8% rosemary extracts (Group B). Results showed that the TVB‐N level did not exceed acceptability limit (30–35 mg 100 g^?1) for all groups. TBA value for the control significantly increased from 1.47 to 4.80 MA kg^?1 whereas it slightly increased in treatment groups as the storage time increased. Significantly higher PV and FFA (P < 0.05) were obtained from the control group. Rosemary extract, in combination with vacuum pack was effective in controlling the growth of bacteria and biochemical indices.     

Simplex lattice mixture design approach on the rheological behavior of glucomannan based salep-honey drink mixtures: An optimization study based on the sensory properties

The rheological properties of salep drink sweetened with different honeys were measured using a controlled-stress rheometer. Mixture design experiments were used to study the effect of interactions among pine, flower and highland honeys on the rheological properties of salep-honey drink mixture (SHDM) samples. In addition, product optimization was carried out using the ridge analysis to determine the optimum mixture proportions based on sensory properties of SHDM samples. Flower honey was the component showing the highest effect on the consistency coefficient values of SHDM samples. The preference of panelists was more prominent for the SHDM samples including the higher concentrations of highland honey with respect to odour and overall preference parameters. Optimum values of pine, flower and highland honeys in the mixture were found to be 0–85%, 0–40% and 15–100%, respectively, with respect to sensory properties. In addition, ridge analysis results revealed that the SHDM should include 65% highland honey, 35% pine honey and no flower honey to obtain the maximum overall preference score (7.24). The consistency coefficient and flow behavior index values of the sample to get maximum overall preference score (7.24) were predicted to be 3.650 Pa sⁿ and 0.435, respectively.     

Bench-scale treatments of colour-fixed cottonseed oil

Bench-scale refining of crude colour-fixed cottonseed oil was carried out using equipment and conditions similar to those at a local factory. Ethanolamine at 2–3% level resulted in 55–62% reduction in the oil colour, and 24–26% reduction in the refining loss over the factory treated oil. Sodium silicate at 0.14–0.47% level resulted in about 50% reduction in oil colour and 24–44% reduction in the refining loss. A two-step treatment, first with caustic soda lye then with either additives, and miscella refining using ethanolamine as an additive, resulted in superior oil colour, yet the refining losses were high.     

The assessment of carcass composition of Awassi male lambs by real-time ultrasound at two different live weights

The accuracy of ultrasonography to measure fat thickness (FT) and longissimus dorsi muscle (LM) traits (area, depth and width) in live Awassi male lambs and predict carcass FT and LM traits was studied.Twenty six Awassi male lambs were randomly divided into light (L) (n = 13) and heavy (H) (n = 13) finishing lambs. Slaughter weight of lambs in L and H groups were 40 and 45 kg, respectively. FT and LM traits, cross-sectional area between the 12th and 13th rib were measured using real-time ultrasound in vivo and on the carcass after slaughter. All ultrasound and carcass measurements were the same except live weight (LW) (P < 0.001), cold carcass weight (CCW) (P < 0.001) and carcass LM width (P < 0.05). Overall, correlation coefficients between ultrasound and carcass FT, LM depth, width and area were 0.79, 0.82 (P < 0.001); 0.60, 0.58 (P < 0.05); 0.48, −0.17 (P > 0.05) and 0.89, 0.87 (P < 0.001), respectively, for lambs in L and H groups. The introduction of ultrasound FT and ultrasound LM area as independent variables in addition to LW in the multiple regression equations further improved the variations for carcass FT (84%, 71%), carcass LM area (79%, 79%), CCW (72%, 65%) for lambs in light and heavy groups whereas no improvement was observed for carcass yield.These results indicate that in vivo ultrasound FT and measurement of the LM area in association with LW could be used to estimate carcass FT, carcass LM area and CCW in different LW Awassi lambs.     

Phenolic composition,enzyme inhibitory,and antioxidant activity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bituminaria bituminosa</Emphasis>

This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory activities of ethyl acetate, methanol, and water extracts of Bituminaria bituminosa. In phosphomolybdenum assay, the methanol extract showed the highest activity (166.78 μmol TEs/g dry plant). The water extract exhibited the highest scavenging activity on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH^?) and 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazloine-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS^?+). In addition, it exhibited the highest activity in cupric ion reducing (CUPRAC) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays (41.26 and 46.82 μmol TEs/g dry plant). The extracts did not show cholinesterase and tyrosinase inhibitory activity. However, α-glucosidase inhibition assay resulted in the superiority of water extract (1233.86 μmol ACEs/g dry plant). In the case of α-amylase inhibitory assay, the ethyl acetate extract showed the highest activity (53.65 μmol ACEs/g dry plant). The water extract exhibited the highest phenolic content (31.70 μmol GAEs/g dry plant). In contrast, the methanol extract was found rich in flavonoid compounds (5.29 μmol REs/g dry plant). The water extract contained considerable amounts of rosmarinic acid, luteolin, quercetin, and rutin. Therefore, it can be used as a source of new and alternative antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory agents.     

Effects of sodium caseinate‐ and milk protein concentrate‐based edible coatings on the postharvest quality of Bing cherries

Bing cherries were coated with sodium caseinate‐ or milk protein concentrate‐based edible coatings. Besides the proteins (100 g kg^?1), the coating formulations also included glycerol (about 300 g kg^?1 protein) and either beeswax or a stearic–palmitic acid blend at a concentration of 0, 100 or 300 g lipid phase kg^?1 of protein. All coatings, especially those containing 300 g kg^?1 stearic–palmitic acid blend, successfully reduced water loss of the fruits. The edible coatings had a beneficial effect on the sensory quality of the cherries, and there were significant (p < 0.05) effects of the coating treatments on soluble solids, titratable acidity and pH. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Performance of dairy cows fed roasted sunflower seed

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects on milk yield, milk composition, ruminal fermentation and total tract nutrient utilization of feeding roasted whole sunflower seed to dairy cows. Three diets were formulated: a control diet with no sunflower seed (NSF), a raw sunflower seed diet (USF) and a roasted sunflower seed diet (RSF). The level of sunflower seed in USF and RSF was 78 g kg^?1 of dry matter (DM). The effects of dietary treatments on yield and composition of milk were determined using nine Holstein cows in three 3 × 3 Latin squares. Three ruminally fistulated cows were used to determine the effects of dietary treatments on ruminal fermentation and total tract nutrient digestibilities. Cows fed sunflower seed diets consumed 8% less (P < 0.05) DM but produced similar amounts of milk as cows fed NSF. However, milk fat content (30.7 vs 33.5 g kg^?1) and yield (1.33 vs 1.47 kg day^?1) were lower (P < 0.05) for cows fed USF and RSF than for those fed NSF. Supplemental sunflower seed had no effect on concentrations and yields of other milk components. The concentrations of short‐chain (C_4:0 to C_12:0) and medium‐chain (C_14:0 to C_16:0) fatty acids were, respectively, 27% and 29% lower (P < 0.05) while those of long‐chain fatty acids (C_18:0 to C_18:3) were 51% higher (P < 0.05) in the milk of cows fed USF and RSF than for cows fed NSF. Ruminal pH, ammonia N and total volatile fatty acids were not affected by dietary treatments. Feeding sunflower seed (USF or RSF) reduced (P < 0.05) the concentration of acetate and increased (P < 0.05) the concentration of propionate. Total tract nutrient digestibilities were not affected by sunflower seed supplementation or by heat treatment. Supplementing dairy cow diets with unheated or roasted sunflower seed improved the efficiency of milk production and increased concentrations of long‐chain and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Feeding sunflower seed at up to 78 g kg^?1 of diet DM had no adverse effects on nutrient utilization. Roasting had no additional benefits on milk yield or milk fatty acid composition. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry