Effect of fermented red beet extracts on the shelf stability of low-salt frankfurters

The effect of fermented red beet (FRB) on shelf-life of low-salt frankfurters stored for 4 weeks was investigated. The pH, volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), lightness, and yellowness of frankfurters decreased with increasing levels of FRB, whereas the redness of frankfurters increased with increasing levels of FRB. The VBN, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance values, total viable count, and redness of all treatments decreased with increasing period of refrigeration storage. The appearance, color, and juiciness scores of the control and treatments decreased with increasing period of refrigeration storage. However, there was no significant (p > 0.05) difference among the treatments except for the color of T3 (3.0% FRB) and juiciness of T4 (5.0% FRB). The flavor, tenderness, and overall acceptability scores of all the treatments decreased with increasing storage periods. These results demonstrated that FRB can be added to low-salt frankfurters to maintain their qualities and extend the shelf-life of refrigerated storage.     

Anti-diabetic effects of mulberry (Morus alba L.) branches and oxyresveratrol in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice

Food Science and Biotechnology - Despite with accumulating evidences on the anti-diabetic effects of mulberry branch (MB), the major active component for the activity has not been known. Oral...     

Inactivation of Surface-Borne Microorganisms and Increased Germination of Seed Specimen by Cold Atmospheric Plasma

Sustaining the quality of seeds is a major task in attempting to supply nutrition to the growing world population. In this study, the seeds of Cicer arietinum were exposed to cold atmospheric plasma (CAP). A significant reduction of the natural microbiota attached to the seed surface was observed for increasing CAP treatment times—2 and 5 min were sufficient to achieve a 1 and 2 log reductions, respectively. Furthermore a 1 min CAP treatment showed a strongly improved seed germination (89.2 %), speed of germination (7.1?±?0.1 seeds/day), and increased seed vigor, beside a decrease in the mean germination time (2.7 days) compared with controls. The roughness profile of the seed cotyledon was altered significantly, only in case of longer treatment times from 5 min. These results suggest that CAP technology has the potentiality to reduce health risks associated with contaminated seeds, while improving food quality.     

Enhancement of hematite bioreduction by natural organic matter

The effects of natural organic matter (NOM), ferrozine, and AQDS (anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate) on the reduction of hematite (alpha-Fe2O3) by Shewanella putrefaciens CN32 were studied. It has been proposed that NOM enhances the reduction of Fe(III) by means of electron shuttling or by Fe(II) complexation. Previously both mechanisms were studied separately using "functional analogues" (AQDS for electron shuttling and ferrozine for complexation) and are presently compared with seven different NOMs. AQDS enhanced hematite reduction within the first 24 h of incubation, and this had been ascribed to electron shuttling. Most of the NOMs enhanced hematite reduction after 1 day of incubation indicating that these materials could also serve as electron shuttles. The effect of ferrozine was linear with concentration, and all of the NOMs exhibited this behavior. Fe(II) complexation only enhanced hematite reduction after sufficient Fe(II) had accumulated in the system. Fe(II) complexation appeared to alleviate a suppression of the hematite reduction rate caused by accumulation of Fe(II) in the system. Addition of Fe(II) to the hematite suspension, prior to inoculation with CN32, significantly inhibited hematite reduction and greatly diminished the effects of all of the organic materials, although some enhancement was observed due to addition of anthroquinone-2,6-disulfonate. These results demonstrate that NOM can enhance iron reduction by electron shuttling and by complexation mechanisms.     

Fatty Acids Released from Milk Fat by Lipoprotein Lipase and Lipolytic Psychrotrophs

ABSTRACT: The ability of 13 different strains of psychrotrophs to release free fatty acids in milk was evaluated by using GC analysis. The 13 strains could be categorized into 3 groups: Group 1 consisted of bacteria that grew well and released large quantities of free fatty acids, group 2 consisted of bacteria that grew well but released low amounts of free fatty acids, and group 3 consisted of bacteria that did not grow well nor released large quantities of fatty acids. In group 1, 3 strains were determined to be highly lipolytic, releasing short‐chain fatty acids in amounts greater than reported threshold values. Group 3 consisted of 2 strains, which did not grow well in heat‐treated milk, and the subsequent release of free fatty acids was minor during the 10‐d monitoring time. The other 8 strains tested showed no specific pattern of fatty acid release and quantities of short‐chain fatty acids were not large, despite the ability to grow to high numbers in the treated milk. This work indicates that the lipolytic activity of psychrotrophs common in raw milk is specific to the species and a general prediction of free fatty acid release may not be possible.     

Effect of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptide purified from enzymatic hydrolysates of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Styela plicata</Emphasis>

Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptide was isolated from Styela plicata. The S. plicata was hydrolyzed with various proteases including Protamex, Kojizyme, Neutrase, Flavourzyme, Alcalase, trypsin, α-chymotrypsin, pepsin, and papain. The hydrolysate prepared with Protamex had the highest ACE inhibitory activity compared to the other hydrolysates. We attempted to isolate ACE inhibitory peptides from hydrolysate prepared with Protamex using ultra-filtration, gel filtration on a Sephadex G-25 column and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) on an ODS column. IC₅₀ value of the purified ACE inhibitory peptide was 24.7 μM, and Lineweaver–Burk plots suggest that the purified peptide from S. plicata acts as mixed-type inhibitor against ACE. Amino acid sequence of the purified peptide was identified as Met-Leu-Leu-Cys-Ser, with a molecular weight 566.4 Da. The results of this study suggest that peptides derived from S. plicata may be beneficial as anti-hypertension compounds in functional foods resource.     

Chemical reduction of U(VI) by Fe(II) at the solid-water interface using natural and synthetic Fe(III) oxides

Abiotic reduction of 0.1 mM U(VI) by Fe(II) in the presence of synthetic iron oxides (biogenic magnetite, goethite, and hematite) and natural Fe(III) oxide-containing solids was investigated in pH 6.8 artificial groundwater containing 10 mM NaHCO3. In most experiments, more than 95% of added U(VI) was sorbed to solids. U(VI) was rapidly and extensively (> or = 80%) reduced in the presence of synthetic Fe(III) oxides and highly Fe(II) oxide-enriched (18-35 wt % Fe) Atlantic coastal plain sediments. In contrast, long-term (20-60 d) U(VI) reduction was less than 30% in suspensions of six other natural solids with relatively low Fe(III) oxide content (1-5 wt % Fe). Fe(II) sorption site density was severalfold lower on these natural solids (0.2-1.1 Fe(II) nm(-2)) compared tothe synthetic Fe(lII) oxides (1.6-3.2 Fe(II) nm(-2)), which may explain the poor U(VI) reduction in the natural solid-containing systems. Addition of the reduced form of the electron shuttling compound anthrahydroquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AH2DS; final concentration 2.5 mM) to the natural solid suspensions enhanced the rate and extent of U(VI) reduction, suggesting that AH2DS reduced U(VI) at surface sites where reaction of U(VI) with sorbed Fe(II) was limited. This study demonstrates that abiotic, Fe(II)-driven U(VI) reduction is likely to be less efficient in natural soils and sediments than would be inferred from studies with synthetic Fe(III) oxides.