Acoustic Method for the Quality of Tea

Non-destructive research methods have recently gained great interest in international pactice,as they do not destroy the structure of theanalyzed products and are effective,simple and reliable.In the department of Food Technology of Kaunas University of Technology a newacoustic method and acoustic device for contact free and effective measurements have been developed.The aim of the present study is to use the acoustic method to determine the quality of tea.An acoustic spectrometer by which t…     

The influence of lactic acid fermentation on biogenic amines and volatile compounds formation in flaxseed and the effect of flaxseed sourdough on the quality of wheat bread

The aim of the study was to investigate if differences in acidification, biogenic amines (BA) and volatile compounds (VC) occurred when Lactobacillus sakei KTU05-6, Pediococcus acidilactici KTU05-07 and Pediococcus pentosaceus KTU05-8 are used as starters in solid state fermentation of flaxseed and the impact of flaxseed sourdough on the wheat bread making process assessed.     

Influence of stabilization and short-term relaxation to compression generated by stocking welt

Abstract

This research was carried out to investigate the influence of yarns and knitting parameters, stabilization, and relaxation processes on compression properties of knitted fabrics, used for stocking welt or other compression products. It is well-known that there is a high correlation between the mechanical properties of the fabric and its generated pressure. Also, it is proved that generated compression values decrease during the time they are being worn. In this research, it was found that course and wale density of knitted fabric, as well as tensile force values, increased after the stabilization process. Moreover, increases of linear density of core yarn (PU) of elastomeric yarn do not have direct linear influence to its generated tensile force. The results of short-term stress relaxation tests (300?sec) showed that the major alteration of the generated compression values appears during the first 100?sec period of relaxation process.     

Bioconversion of agro‐industrial by‐products to lactic acid using Lactobacillus sakei and two Pediococcus spp. strains

The aim of this study was to evaluate the bioconversion efficiency of rich in cellulose agro‐industrial by‐products such as wheat bran (WB), spent distiller's grain with solids (DGS), brewer's spent grain (BSG) and lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.) wholemeal fraction (LF) to lactic acid (LA) using acid tolerant lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains Lactobacillus sakei KTU05‐06, Pediococcus acidilactici KTU05‐7 and P. pentosaceus KTU05‐9. Carbohydrase preparation Depol^? 692L was used for the hydrolysis of non‐starch polysaccharides. Analysed raw materials were suitable substrates for LAB propagation and L‐lactic acid production. The lowest pH (3.6) was found in LF medium after 48 h fermentation with P. acidilactici and P. pentosaceus strains. The lowest pH (3.86) was measured in WB fermented with L. sakei, and in DGS and BSG (pH 3.8 and 3.9 respectively) fermented with P. acidilactici. The highest endoxylanase activity was excreted by the P. acidilactici and P. pentosaceus (84 and 69 XU g^?1 respectively), and the highest α‐amylase activity was of L. sakei (255.6 AU g^?1) after 24 h incubation in WB medium. The L‐lactic acid concentration of 86.11 g kg^?1 was reached after the bioconversion of hydrolysed WB in combination with 48 h fermentation by P. pentosaceus KTU05‐9 strain. LA contents between 222 and 282 mg kg^?1 was produced from lupin processing residues via fermentation using P. acidilactici and P. pentosaceus KTU05‐9 strains. The major challenge within the presented study is the viability of tested LAB in cereal waste media and effective LA production at a low pH (3.6–3.8).     

Plasma Levels of 14:0, 16:0, 16:1n-7, and 20:3n-6 are Positively Associated,but 18:0 and 18:2n-6 are Inversely Associated with Markers of Inflammation in Young Healthy Adults

Inflammation is a recognized risk factor for the development of chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis. Evidence suggests that individual fatty acids (FA) may have distinct influences on inflammatory processes. The goal of this study was to conduct a cross-sectional analysis to examine the associations between circulating FA and markers of inflammation in a population of young healthy Canadian adults. FA, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and cytokines were measured in fasted plasma samples from 965 young adults (22.6 ± 0.1 years). Gas chromatography was used to measure FA. The following cytokines were analyzed with a multiplex assay: regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES/CCL5), interleukin 1-receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interferon-γ inducible protein 10 (IP-10), and platelet-derived growth factor β (PDGF-ββ). Numerous statistically significant associations (p < 0.05, corrected for multiple testing) were identified between individual FA and markers of inflammation using linear regression. Myristic (14:0), palmitic (16:0), palmitoleic (16:1n-7), and dihomo-γ-linolenic (20:3n-6) acids were positively associated with all markers of inflammation. In contrast, stearic acid (18:0) was inversely associated with hsCRP and RANTES, and linoleic acid (18:2n-6) was inversely associated with hsCRP, RANTES and PDGF-ββ. In conclusion, our results indicate that specific FA are distinctly correlated with various markers of inflammation. Moreover, the findings of this study suggest that FA profiles in young adults may serve as an early indicator for the development of future complications comprising an inflammatory component.     

Influence of the addition of Helianthus tuberosus L. fermented with different lactobacilli on acrylamide content in biscuits

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the addition of Helianthus tuberosus L. fermented with different lactobacilli (Lactobacillus sakei KTU05‐6, Pediococcus acidilactici KTU05‐7 and Pediococcus pentosaceus KTU05‐9) on acrylamide content in biscuits. Results of study indicated that submerged fermented Helianthus tuberosus L. tubers had the significantly (P ≤ 0.05) lower pH, higher total titratable acidity and from 1.2 to 1.3 times higher protease and from 1.2 to 2.0 higher alpha‐amylase activities compared with treated by solid‐state fermentation. The acrylamide content in all biscuit samples enriched with submerged fermented Helianthus tuberosus L. was measured lower than 10 μg kg^?1. Submerged fermentation with selected lactobacilli provided specific characteristics of fermented Helianthus tuberosus products which had effect on the asparagine reduction in plant additives, thus reducing acrylamide content in biscuits enriched with Helianthus tuberosus L.     

Functionalisation of rice bran assisted by ultrasonication and fermentation for the production of rice bran–lingonberry pulp-based probiotic nutraceutical

A probiotic nutraceutical based on functionalised rice bran (RB) supplemented with lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) pulp (LP) at various levels (10–50 g/100 g d.w.) was developed. Prior to immobilisation of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cells, RB-LP matrix was structured by ultrasound (US) (850 kHz; power 160 W) for 20 min at 40 °C. Xanthan gum and sodium alginate were used for the stabilisation of RB-LP matrix. Survival and fermentative activity of the immobilised LAB cells was studied by monitoring pH, cell number, antimicrobial activity, lactic acid and acetic acid production. US treatment increased by 17.5% soluble dietary fibre (SDS) contents in RB but reduced on average by 49.9% hyperoside, quercetin, quercitrin and coumaric acid contents in LP material. RB substrate supplemented with LP (20–50 g/100 g d.w.) resulted in higher antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus for Lactobacillus brevis, and against Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus for Pediococcus acidilactici. RB-LP matrix stabilised with alginate–xanthan and alginate maintained 8.09–8.67 log CFU g⁻¹ live cells of immobilised L. brevis after 7 weeks of storage at 4 °C. In the case of protection under simulated in vitro digestion conditions, RB-LP gels with sodium alginate demonstrated the highest cell survival with 4.25 CFU g⁻¹ viable cells remaining in the product and 5.23 log CFU g⁻¹ live cells in the digestion medium.     

Structural and functional characterisation of compositionally optimised rice bran and lingonberry dietary fibre-based gel-type product enriched with phytochemicals

In this study, the model gel-type delivery system containing rice bran (RB), lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) press cake (LPC) and thyme essential oil (Thymus vulgaris L.), was developed and evaluated by their texture, gelation rate and antioxidant activity changes during storage and simulated gastrointestinal digestion. For the structuring of the gel-type RB-LPC matrix, a high-intensity ultrasound (850 kHz; 1.3 W cm⁻²) treatment at 40 °C was applied. The release of total phenols and flavonoids was measured during digestion process by a spectrophotometric method and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), respectively. The contributions of xanthan and alginate as gelling agents to improve the stability of the gel texture protecting it from fast degradation under gastrointestinal digestion enable a controlled release of antioxidants, thus improving their biodistribution. Storage temperature influenced the reduction of antioxidant activity in gels depending on stabiliser used, with the lowest values from those with alginate when stored for 28 days at 4 °C. This knowledge can be used to facilitate the selection of the most appropriate plant polysaccharide-based delivery system for specific applications.     

The effect of chitosan on the properties of emulsions stabilized by whey proteins

The influence of the cationic amino polysaccharide chitosan content (0–0.5%) on particle size distribution, creaming stability, apparent viscosity, and microstructure of oil-in-water emulsions (40% of rapeseed oil) containing whey protein isolate (WPI) (4%) at pH 3 was investigated. The emulsifying properties, apparent viscosity and phase separation behaviour of aqueous WPI/chitosan mixture at pH 3 were also studied. The interface tension data showed that WPI/chitosan mixture had a slightly higher emulsifying activity than had whey protein alone. An increase in chitosan content resulted in a decreased average particle size, higher viscosity and increased creaming stability of emulsions. The microstructure analysis indicated that increasing concentration of chitosan resulted in the formation of a flocculated droplet network. This behaviour of acidic model emulsions containing WPI and chitosan was explained by a flocculation phenomenon.