Rose Petal Tea as an Antioxidant-rich Beverage: Cultivar Effects

ABSTRACT Twelve rose cultivars were selected by field tasting as potential sources of edible flowers. Hot water infusions (teas) of air‐dried petals of these cultivars were assayed for antioxidant activity, total phenols, and total anthocyanins contents. Their composition was analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Green tea was tested in parallel as a reference antioxidant‐rich beverage. Rose petal teas from different cultivars exhibited scavenging capacity toward 2,2′‐azino‐bis‐(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline)‐6‐sulfonate cation radical (ABTS+) ranging between 712.7 and 1770.7 μM Trolox equivalents (TE) per gram of dry petals, as compared with 1227.6 μM TE/g dry weight in the green tea. The range of total phenols content in rose teas was 50.7 to 119.5 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE) per gram of dry matter, as compared with 62.1 mg GAE/g dry weight in the green tea. The rose teas were rich in free gallic acid. The highest values of antioxidant activity, total phenols, and gallic acid contents were found in the cultivars San Francisco, Katharina Zeimet, and Mercedes and in the essential‐oil‐bearing rose Rosa damascena. The correlation coefficients between antioxidant activity, on the 1 hand, and the contents of total phenols and of gallic acid in various rose cultivars, on the other hand, were 0.79 and 0.81, respectively. No clear relationship between anthocyanin level and radical‐scavenging activity was revealed. Teas from different rose cultivars significantly differed in their sensory properties. It was concluded that dried rose petals may be used for preparing antioxidant‐rich caffeine‐free beverages, either separately or in combination with other herbal materials.     

Layer-by-Layer Electrostatic Deposition of Edible Coating on Fresh Cut Melon Model: Anticipated and Unexpected Effects of Alginate–Chitosan Combination

Edible coatings attract interest today as efficient and safe techniques for controlling the deterioration and extending the shelf-life of food products. In the present study, a layer-by-layer (LbL) electrostatic deposition of oppositely charged natural polysaccharides, a polyanion alginate and a polycation chitosan, was implemented for coating a model food: fresh-cut melon. The performance of the alginate–chitosan coating was compared with single-layer coatings and with non-coated control. The LbL coating was found to possess the beneficial properties of both ingredients, combining good adhesion to melon matrix of the inner alginate layer with antimicrobial activity of the outer chitosan layer, thereby reducing the bacteria, yeast, and fungi counts by 1–2 log CFU. The bilayer coating slowed down tissue texture degradation, so that after 14 days of storage only LbL samples maintained an appreciable firmness. An unexpected benefit of the LbL coating was that its enhanced gas-exchange properties exceeded those of both monolayer coatings and even of the non-coated control. As a result, the LbL coating prevented an increase in headspace CO₂ and ethanol concentrations, which are the signs of hypoxic stress and off-flavor development observed in other samples, especially in alginate-coated melons. The phenomenon was presumably related to swelling behavior of the chitosan layer in the humid atmosphere of the fresh-cut melon package, giving the melon pieces an attractive succulent appearance. At the same time, the LbL coating resulted in somewhat increased produce weight loss due to the reduced surface water vapor resistance. The method is cheap, simple, and can improve the quality and safety of food products.     

A Freestanding Stretchable and Multifunctional Transistor with Intrinsic Self‐Healing Properties of all Device Components

A flexible and stretchable field‐effect transistor (FET) is an essential element in a number of modern electronics. To realize the potential of this device in harsh real‐world conditions and to extend its application spectrum, new functionalities are needed to be introduced into the device. Here, solution‐processable elements based on carbon nanotubes that empower flexible and stretchable FET with high hole‐mobility (µ_h ≈ 10 cm² V^?1 s^?1) and relatively low operating voltages (<8 V) and that retain self‐healing properties of all FET components are reported. The device has repeatable intrinsic and autonomic self‐healing ability, namely without use of any external trigger, enabling the restoration of its electrical and mechanical properties, both after microscale damage or complete cut of the device—for example by a scissor. The device can be repeatedly stretched for >200 cycles of up to 50% strain without a significant loss in its electrical properties. The device is applicable in the form of a ≈3 µm thick freestanding skin tattoo and has multifunctional sensing properties, such as detection of temperature and humidity. With this unprecedented biomimetic transistor, highly sustainable and reliable soft electronic applications can be introduced.     

A novel 29-kDa chicken heat shock protein

The family of small heat shock proteins is the more variable among the highly conserved superfamily of heat shock proteins (HSP). Using a metabolic labeling procedure with tissue explants, we have detected in chickens a new member of the small HSP family with an apparent molecular weight of 29-kDa. This protein was induced in broiler chickens' heart muscle and lungs following an in vivo heat stress. The 29-kDa band appears after 3 h of heat stress, much later than the induction of HSP 90, HSP 70, and HSP 27. The late onset of induction suggests that HSP 29 plays a more specific role of a "second stage defense protein".     

High-Throughput Screening of Nanoparticle-Stabilizing Ligands: Application to Preparing Antimicrobial Curcumin Nanoparticles by Antisolvent Precipitation

Nano-Micro Letters - Water-dispersible curcumin nanoparticles were prepared by bottom-up antisolvent precipitation approach. A new high-throughput screening technique was developed for selecting...     

Tietze's syndrome in children and infants

Tietze's syndrome, characterized by isolated swelling and tenderness of a costochondral junction, usually occurs in adults. We describe eight cases of Tietze's syndrome in children, four of them aged 1 year or less. The clinical aspects and laboratory and imaging findings should enable the clinician to recognize this benign entity, thereby avoiding invasive diagnostic procedures to rule out other conditions.     

MR findings in growth hormone deficiency: correlation with severity of hypopituitarism

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Growth hormone deficiency may present as an isolated deficit (IGHD) or in association with multiple deficiencies (MPHD). Previous studies have not compared the MR imaging findings with the severity of hypopituitarism. Our purpose was to determine whether MR imaging can distinguish between IGHD and MPHD. METHODS: Forty-four patients with growth hormone deficiency who were examined by MR imaging were included in this retrospective study. On the basis of the endocrinologic findings, 21 were determined to have IGHD and 23 to have MPHD. The presence, size, location, and morphologic characteristics of the stalk, the neurohypophysis, and the adenohypophysis were recorded in each case. Findings in the two groups were compared. Statistical significance was determined by t-test. RESULTS: The stalk was normal in one patient with IGHD and in none of those with MPHD; it was truncated or thin in 19 patients with IGHD (90%) and in only one with MPHD (4%); it was absent in 22 patients with MPHD (96%) and in only one patient with IGHD (5%). These differences between the two groups were highly significant. In 81% of the IGHD patients and in 91% of the MPHD patients the location of the neurohypophysis was ectopic. This difference between the two groups was not significant. Among IGHD patients, the adenohypophysis was of normal size in 13 patients (62%), small in six (29%), and absent in two (9%); the corresponding findings in MPHD patients were seven (30%), six (26%), and 10 (44%). CONCLUSION: The majority of IGHD patients had a truncated or thin stalk and a normal or small adenohypophysis. An absent stalk and adenohypophysis are characteristic of MPHD. MR imaging can contribute to the prediction of the pattern and severity of hypopituitarism in patients with growth hormone deficiency.     

The effect of sorbic acid on loss reduction during storage of orange peels

Sorbic acid (SA) at 0·25, 0·5 and 1·0 g kg^?1 was applied to fresh orange peels before ensiling in special 18 litre fermentation containers in two separate experiments. The higher two concentrations of sorbic acid were effective in reducing dry matter (DM) loss throughout the ensiling period, up to 90 days. Chemical analysis revealed that SA at the higher concentrations slowed down the fermentation rate, with less water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) converted into organic acids and ethanol after 5 days of ensiling. However, after 30 and 90 days of ensiling, similar amounts of lactic acid were found in all silages, but less ethanol and more residual WSC were found in the silage treated with the higher SA concentrations. This indicates a more efficient fermentation pattern in the SA-treated silages. Microbial examination of the fresh and ensiled peels indicated large numbers of yeasts, the activity of which was probably inhibited by the sorbic acid.