Proteolysis in model Portuguese cheeses: Effects of rennet and starter culture

To shed further light onto the mechanisms of proteolysis that prevail throughout ripening of Portuguese cheeses, model cheeses were manufactured from bovine milk, following as much as possible traditional manufacture practices – using either animal or plant rennet. The individual role upon proteolysis of two (wild) strains of lactic acid bacteria – viz. Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus brevis, which are normally found to high viable numbers in said cheeses, was also considered, either as single or mixed cultures. Our experimental results confirmed the influence of rennet on the proteolysis extent, but not on proteolysis depth. On the other hand, the aforementioned strains clearly improved release of medium- and small-sized peptides, and contributed as well to the free amino acid pool in cheese.     

Revalorisation of vine trimming wastes using Lactobacillus acidophilus and Debaryomyces hansenii

BACKGROUND: Mild acid treatments of vine‐shoot trimmings result in the hydrolysis of hemicellulosic sugars that can be utilised by Lactobacillus acidophilus CECT‐4179 (ATCC 832) and Debaryomyces hansenii NRRL Y‐7426 as carbon sources to obtain food additives. Since the high content of glucose in these hydrolysates reduces the effective bioconversion of xylose into xylitol by D. hansenii, the use of Lactobacillus acidophilus, one of the main probiotic species, allows this problem to be solved by the selective consumption of glucose. In order to use both sugars (glucose and xylose), hemicellulosic vine‐shoot trimming hydrolysates can be sequentially fermented by both micro‐organisms. RESULTS: It was found that, in the first step, L. acidophilus generated almost exclusively lactic acid (32.7 g of lactic acid L^?1, Q_LA = 1.363 g L^?1 h^?1, Y_LA/S = 0.72 g g^?1) by homofermentative degradation of sugars (mainly glucose), and in the second step, the remaining hemicellulosic sugars were transformed primarily into xylitol by Debaryomyces hansenii (31.3 g of xylitol L^?1, Q_Xylitol = 0.708 g L^?1 h^?1, Y_Xylitol/S = 0.66 g g^?1). Furthermore, L. acidophilus proved to be a strong cell‐bounded biosurfactant producer. Cell extracts were able to reduce the surface tension (ST) of PBS in 18 mN m^?1 units. Lactobacillus acidophilus cells showed no difference in viability before or after PBS extraction of biosurfactants, achieving values of 0.9 × 10⁹ colony‐forming units (CFU) mL^?1 in both cases. CONCLUSIONS: These results have made a serious contribution to the re‐evaluation of a useless and pollutant residue, producing a wide range of natural food additives. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of dry‐salt processing on the textural properties and cell wall polysaccharides of cv. Thasos black olives

BACKGROUND: Thasos is an olive variety cultivated mainly in Greece used to produce ‘naturally black dry‐salted olives’. This process consists in placing the olives in disposed layers with coarse sodium chloride. The loss of water and other solutes gradually debitters and wrinkles the fruits. In this study, the effect of dry‐salt processing on the texture and cell wall polysaccharide composition was investigated. RESULTS: This type of processing affected primarily the mechanical properties of the olive flesh. In processed olives, this tissue was approximately 4.5 times stronger and also more deformable up to failure and stiffer than that from the raw olives. The dry‐salt processing had its strongest effect on pectic polysaccharides. This included the increment of solubilization of arabinose‐rich polymers in aqueous solutions, and thus their partial loss to the soak medium during dry‐salting. Contrarily, galacturonic acid‐rich polymers were further retained in the processed olives, probably by their stabilization within the cell walls by reduction of the electrostatic repulsion between the acidic groups of these polysaccharides due to sodium ions. CONCLUSION: The texture improvement of olive flesh by dry‐salt processing seems to be correlated with the reorganization of the galacturonic acid‐rich pectic polysaccharides into the cell wall of the fruit. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Differential effect of organic cultivation on the levels of phenolics,peroxidase and capsidiol in sweet peppers

BACKGROUND: Coincident with the changes in agricultural practices from conventional to organic, changes in the nutrient composition of fresh fruits and vegetables have been identified. The levels of peroxidase, total phenolics content, and capsidiol activity in organic as compared with conventional sweet pepper fruit were examined in this study. In order to avoid interferences of environmental factors on the studied parameters, the sweet peppers were grown (organically and conventionally) in a greenhouse under the same soil and climate conditions. RESULTS: Peroxidase was partially purified using the Triton X‐114 method and both organic and conventional peppers had the same isoenzymatic form. However, peroxidase activity in organic sweet peppers was higher than in conventional ones, in both maturity stages studied. The level of total phenolics compunds was also higher in organic than in conventional sweet peppers. With respect to the capsidiol activity, expressed as inhibition of fungus growth, it was not affected by the cultivation method at the green mature stage. However, at the red mature stage, organic sweet peppers showed higher capsidiol activity than those grown under the conventional system. CONCLUSION: Sweet peppers grown under organic culture have a maturity‐related response, with high levels of phenolic compounds, and peroxidase and capsidiol activity that contribute to disease resistance in organic farming. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Modeling of biodiesel production: Performance comparison of Box-Behnken,face central composite and full factorial design

The performances of the response surface methodology (RSM) in connection with the Box-Behnken, face central composite or full factorial design (BBD, FCCD or FFD, respectively) were compared for the use in modeling of the NaOH-catalyzed sunflower oil ethanolysis. The influence of temperature, catalyst loading, and ethanol-to-oil molar ratio (EOMR) on fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) content was evaluated. All three multivariate strategies were efficient in the statistical modeling and optimization of the influential process variables but BBD and FCCD realization involved less number of experiments, generating smaller costs, requiring less work and consuming shorter time than the corresponding FFD. All three designs resulted in the same optimal catalyst loading (1.25% of oil) and EOMR (12:1). The reduced two-factorinteraction (2FI) models based on the BBD and FCCD defined a range of optimal reaction temperature (25℃-75℃) and 25℃, respectively while the same model based on the 3³ FFD appointed 75℃. The predicted FAEE content of about 97%-98.0% was close to the experimentally obtained FAEE content of about 97.0%-97.6% under the optimal reaction conditions. Therefore, the simpler BBD or FCCD might successfully be applied for statistical modeling of biodiesel production processes instead of the more extensive, more laborious and more expensive FFD.     

Effect of hydrolyzed collagen on thermal,mechanical and biological properties of poly(lactic acid) bionanocomposites

Iranian Polymer Journal - Bionanocomposites based on poly(lactic acid) (PLA), plasticized with commercial tributyl o-acetyl citrate (ATBC) and containing hydrolyzed collagen (HC) up to...     

Chemical Characterization of Virgin Almond and Hazelnut Oils and Their By‐Products

Various cultivars of almonds (“Ferragnes,” “Guara,” “Largueta,” and “Marcona”) and hazelnuts (“Negret,” “Pauetet,” and “Tonda”), particularly their virgin oils and by‐products, are evaluated in this study. The almond and hazelnut virgin oils present high contents of oleic acid (59–73% and 76–80%, respectively) and α‐tocopherol (420–542 and 310–378 mg kg^–1, respectively), as compared with other virgin vegetable oils. Aldehydes are the major contributors to their aromatic profile (54–74% almond oil and 30–40% hazelnut oil of total content), especially, benzaldehyde in almond oils (1.35–7.52 mg kg^–1), and hexanal in hazelnut oils (0.99–1.27 mg kg^–1). Statistical differences exist between the virgin almond and hazelnut oils and their varieties, for most of the chemical compounds studied. While all the nut varieties are high in polar phenolic compounds, “Ferragnes” almonds (1262 mg kg^–1) and “Negret” hazelnuts (1720 mg kg^–1) stand out. Accordingly, high antioxidant activity is also observed. Finally, the residual cakes may be considered a good source of polar phenolic compounds (823–2064 mg kg^–1 almond cakes, 2261–4179 mg kg^–1 hazelnut cakes), possessing high antioxidant capacity with potential applications of these by‐products as functional ingredients in food and non‐food formulations. Practical Applications: Virgin nut oils are gaining consumers’ preference due to their unique organoleptic attributes and potential health effects. It is therefore very relevant to establish their specific chemical composition, directly related to their properties, and that are greatly affected by the cultivar.