Berry antioxidants: small fruits providing large benefits

Small berry fruits are consumed because of their attractive colour and special taste, and are considered one of the richest sources of natural antioxidants. Their consumption has been linked to the prevention of some chronic and degenerative diseases. The term ‘berry fruits’ encompasses the so‐called ‘soft fruits’, primarily strawberry, currants, gooseberry, blackberry, raspberry, blueberry and cranberry. The objective of this review is to highlight the nutraceutical value of berries and to summarize the factors affecting berry fruit antioxidants. Particular attention is given to postharvest and processing operation factors that may affect fruit phytochemical content. The structure–antioxidant relationships for phenolic compounds – the main group of antioxidants in this fruit group – are presented and major areas for future research are identified. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Survival of Salmonella typhimurium on Sterile Ground Chicken Breast Patties After Washing with Salt and Phosphates and During Refrigerated and Frozen Storage

ABSTRACT: This study investigated the effects of 10% (w/v) salt, trisodium phosphate (TSP), sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), and tetrapotassium pyrophosphate (TKPP) washes on removal of attached Salmonella typhimurium from sterile chicken breast patties, as well as on their injury and survival in a refrigerator for 16 d, in a –20 °C freezer for 10 mo, and after 3 freeze-thaw cycles. S. typhimurium were grown on chicken patties at 20 °C for 20 h, washed, and enumerated by plating on selective and nonselective media. Salt and phosphates washing significantly lowered the survival populations of attached S. typhimurium on patties, but did not cause any significant sublethal injury of attached S. typhimurium , irrespective of storage treatments. The TSP washes showed superior effects of removing and inactivating S. typhimurium compared to other washing treatments.     

Occurrence of 20S RNA and 23S RNA replicons in industrial yeast strains and their variation under nutritional stress conditions

We have characterized industrial yeast strains used in the brewing, baking, and winemaking industries for the presence or absence of cytoplasmic single-stranded 20S and 23S RNAs. Furthermore, the variation of intracellular concentrations of these replicons in brewing and laboratory strains under nutritional stress conditions was determined. Our results show a correlation between the relative abundance of these replicons and exposure of yeast to nutritionally stressful conditions, indicating that these RNAs could be employed as molecular probes to evaluate the exposure of 20S(+) and/or 23S(+) yeast strains to stress situations during industrial manipulation. During this study, several 20S(-)23S(+) Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains were isolated and identified. This is the first time that a yeast strain containing only 23S RNA has been reported, demonstrating that 20S RNA is not required for 23S RNA replication.     

Effect of dietary supplementation with vitamin E on characteristics of vacuum‐packed lamb

The effect of dietary vitamin E supplementation on lamb during vacuum‐packed storage was studied. Thirty‐six weaned male Manchego breed lambs were offered four dietary treatments (20, 270, 520 and 1020 mg vitamin E kg^?1 feed). Lambs were fed the vitamin E‐supplemented diet from 13 until 26 kg live weight. Pieces of M. longissimus dorsi were stored under vacuum at 2 ± 1 °C in the dark and meat quality was assessed after 5, 14 and 28 days of storage. Dietary supplementation significantly increased the α‐tocopherol concentration in the muscle (P < 0.001). Initially, lipid oxidation, meat colour and bacterial load were similar in all groups. In meat of non‐supplemented lambs the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance value increased throughout storage, whereas in meat of supplemented lambs it did not increase. Meat pigments and discolouration proportion were significantly affected by storage time (P < 0.001). The bacterial load was low initially, but after 28 days of storage it was close to 7 log₁₀ colony‐forming units (cfu) cm^?2 and Enterobacteriaceae surpassed the limit of acceptability of 2.5 log₁₀ cfu cm^?2, making the lamb unsuitable for human consumption. Meat of supplemented lambs displayed less lipid oxidation than that of their non‐supplemented counterparts, while meat colour and bacterial load were not affected by supplementation. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Influence of packaging material on pomegranate juice colour and bioactive compounds,during storage

Pomegranate juices were assessed after pasteurisation and storage in different packaging materials: transparent and green glass, and paperboard carton with polyethylene layers (Minibrik‐200). The main objective was to establish the influence of the container on the stability of colour and bioactive compounds (anthocyanins, ellagic acid and other non‐coloured phenols). Results showed that non‐coloured phenols and ellagic acid were quite stable during the storage period. In contrast, anthocyanins degraded, to an extent directly proportional to colour loss, less for those juices stored in glass bottles than for those stored in Minibrik. These results indicated that these paperboard carton containers are oxygen permeable, and that oxygen has a greater influence on anthocyanin, and consequently on colour degradation, than light on pomegranate juice during storage. Nevertheless, the antioxidant activity was not influenced by the packaging material employed. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Functionality of native and denatured cashew nut kernel protein isolates at isoelectric pH as a function of salt concentration

The reduced solubility of proteins near the isoelectric pH limits their use in food formulations whose pH lies in the range 5.0–6.0 because of poor functionality. In the present study, the effect of salt on the functionality of native and denatured cashew nut kernel protein isolates at the isoelectric pH was investigated. Both isolates showed improvement in their functional properties, but the improvement was greater for the denatured protein isolate. The solubilities of denatured and native protein isolates at the isoelectric pH increased from 26.4 g l^?1 and 64 g l^?1, respectively, without salt to maxima of 363 and 308 g l^?1, respectively, at 0.75 M salt concentration. The water binding capacity of the isolates increased with increase in NaCl concentration from 1.70 ml g^?1 to 1.77, 1.82, 1.92 and 2.2 ml g^?1 for denatured protein isolate and from 1.45 ml g^?1 to 1.65, 1.69, 1.82 and 1.97 ml g^?1 for native protein isolate at 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.0 M salt concentrations, respectively. When the properties of the isolates in 0.75 M NaCl solutions were compared with those in salt‐free water there were 15% and 116% increases in emulsifying capacity, 40‐fold and 45‐fold increases in emulsifying activity and 4.6‐fold and 40‐fold increases in emulsion stability for native and denatured protein isolates, respectively, whilst the corresponding foaming capacities increased from 4 to 5.5 and 0 to 8.9 ml g^?1 protein. Statistically, no difference in the foaming capacity of either of the isolates was observed above 0.5 M NaCl. The foam stability also exhibited similar behaviour. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content in commercial Spanish fatty foods

The levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection in different fatty foods from a Spanish market. The average concentration of the sum of total PAHs in edible vegetable oils was below 25 ng/g, whereas the sum of heavy PAHs did not surpass 5 ng/g. Olive pomace oils obtained before the summer of 2001 were an exception because they were highly contaminated. The effects of different technological processes, such as bleaching, deodorization, and hydrogenation, on PAH concentration in edible oils have been studied. The PAH profiles, as well as the influence of cooking procedures, of other fatty foods (margarine, mayonnaise, and oils from canned fishes) have been examined.     

Pistachio nut allergy: An updated overview

Pistachio nut (Pistacia vera) is highly appreciated for its organoleptic characteristics and potential health benefits. However, this tree nut is also responsible for triggering moderate to severe IgE-mediated reactions in allergic individuals. Currently, pistachio nut allergy has gained some special attention, mainly due to its intrinsic relation with cashew nut allergy. Like for other nuts, the prevalence of pistachio nut allergy seems to be increasing at a global scale. Until now, there are five allergenic proteins officially listed for pistachio nut (Pis v 1, Pis v 2, Pis v 3, Pis v 4 and Pis v 5). Relevant data on their biochemical classification has become available, enabling establishing a correlation with the respective clinical symptoms. The establishment of an effective allergen risk assessment is a key issue for the food industry, policy makers and regulatory agencies. Thus, the availability of fast, specific and sensitive methods to detect trace amounts of allergens in processed foods is crucial. In the specific case of pistachio nut, there are some protein- and DNA-based methods for its detection/quantification in foods, which can aid to verify label information. Accordingly, all relevant research advances on this topic were summarised, updated and critically discussed in this review.     

Fungal dyes for textile applications: testing of industrial conditions for wool fabrics dyeing

Natural dyes and pigments have been proposed as an eco-friendly alternative to artificial pigments. Among the diverse organisms able to synthesize natural dyes and pigments, several wood inhabiting fungi produce extracellular compounds which have been tested to dye fabrics at laboratory conditions with good results. However, the dyeing conditions used at laboratory level not necessary meet the real conditions in which dyeing of fabrics is conducted at industrial level. In this work, yellow and red dyes producing fungi, Penicillium murcianum and Talaromyces australis, respectively, were isolated from wood samples and used to dye wool fabrics at conditions of temperature, pH, additives, and equipment similar to those used at industrial level. After dyeing treatments, color fastness to washing, wet and dry rubbing, and tensile strength were tested. Satisfactory results were found when the dyes were used individually and mixed to different proportions. According to the results, natural dyes synthesized by these two wood inhabiting fungi have great potential to be used for dyeing of wool at industrial level.