Effect of raspberry pomace extracts isolated by high pressure extraction on the quality and shelf‐life of beef burgers

Raspberry pomace extracts isolated with supercritical carbon dioxide (SCE) and pressurised ethanol/water (ETE) were tested in beef burgers. Only ETE additives effectively inhibited lipid oxidation and the growth of microorganisms, as it was observed by measuring the changes of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, bacterial counts and the content of O₂ and CO₂ during storage in the modified atmosphere package. ETE additives also demonstrated some meat colour preservation effects, which were assessed by the intensity of hamburger colour and metmyoglobin concentration. However, ETE additives did not alter burger's taste at the applied concentrations (up to 1%). It may be concluded that the most effective extracts possessing strong antioxidant and antimicrobial activity may be isolated from raspberry pomace by the pressurised liquid extraction with a hydroethanolic solvent; such extracts may be considered as promising additives in meat products for improving their stability and enriching with beneficial to health phytochemicals.     

Chemical composition,sensory and cooking quality evaluation of durum wheat spaghetti enriched with pea flour

The goal of the study was to obtain spaghetti enriched with pea flour with sensory properties close to conventional pasta. To this aim, the study has been organised in two subsequent trials. In the first, the pea flour amount added to the spaghetti was continuously increased until the overall sensory quality reached its threshold value (pea flour concentration = 15%). In fact, the spaghetti samples supplemented with 15% pea flour (15%S‐P) showed less elasticity, unpleasant colour and higher firmness compared to the control sample (CTRL). The second step was aimed to improve the overall sensory quality of the 15%S‐P spaghetti by means of guar gum (GUAR). The sample with GUAR (15%S‐P/GUAR) showed a pleasant colour, odour and taste. Furthermore, the 15%S‐P/GUAR sample recorded a low starch digestibility value (i.e. 54) and a higher soluble fibre content with respect to the 15%S‐P sample.     

HPLC quantification of biogenic amines in cheeses: correlation with PCR-detection of tyramine-producing microorganisms

The consumption of food and beverages containing high amounts of biogenic amines (BA) can have toxicological effects. BA found in foods and beverages are synthesized by the microbial decarboxylation of certain amino acids. This paper reports the concentrations of BAs in a number of commercial cheeses, as determined by HPLC. The cheeses studied were made from raw and pasteurized milk of different origin, and were subjected to different ripening periods. BA concentrations were lower in short ripening period than in long ripening period cheeses, and higher in cheeses made from raw milk than in those made from pasteurized milk. The highest BA concentrations were recorded in blue cheeses made from raw milk. Tyramine was the most commonly recorded and abundant BA. The presence of tyramine-producing bacteria was determined by PCR, and a good correlation obtained between the results of this method and tyramine detection by HPLC. These methods could be used to complement one another in the detection and quantification of tyramine in cheese prevention of tyramine accumulation in cheese.     

Stability of copigmented anthocyanins and ascorbic acid in muscadine grape juice processed by high hydrostatic pressure

ABSTRACT:  Intermolecular copigmentation is one of the mechanisms of stabilization of anthocyanins in nature and is also responsible for the characteristic color and stability of aged red wines. In the present study, the effect of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity on phytochemical stability of an ascorbic acid-fortified muscadine grape juice following high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) processing (400 and 550 MPa for 15 min) and after 21 d of storage at 25 °C was investigated. Addition of rosemary and thyme polyphenolic extracts (copigmentation) was evaluated as a means to stabilize anthocyanins and ascorbic acid during pressurization and subsequent storage. Polyphenolic extracts were partially purified in order to reduce their content of PPO substrates, and improve their stabilization properties within juice matrix. Overall PPO activity increased (3- and 2.5-fold) following HHP at 400 and 550 MPa, respectively, although it was significantly lower in copigmented treatments. Higher anthocyanin losses occurred at 400 (∼70%) than at 550 MPa (∼46%), which were correlated to antioxidant losses ( r = 0.89). Similarly, greater ascorbic acid losses were observed at 400 (84%) than at 550 MPa (18%). Copigmentation increased anthocyanin retention in reference to pressurized controls (3- and 3.2-fold for rosemary and thyme treatments, respectively) and decreased ascorbic degradation (20 to 32%). In stored samples, higher anthocyanin content (>2-fold) and antioxidant capacity (>1.5-fold) was observed for copigmented treatments when compared to control juices. Addition of partially purified copigments increased muscadine grape juice color, antioxidant activity and also reduced phytochemical losses during HHP processing and storage.     

Supplemental choline for prevention and alleviation of fatty liver in dairy cattle

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate if supplementing rumen-protected choline (RPC; Reashure, Balchem Encapsulates, Slate Hill, NY) could prevent or alleviate fatty liver in dairy cattle. The first experiment evaluated the effect of supplementing RPC on hepatic triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation during fatty liver induction. Twenty-four dry cows between 45 to 60 d prepartum were paired by body weight (BW) and body condition score (BCS) and randomly assigned to control or supplementation with 15 g of choline as RPC/d. From d 0 to 6, before treatment application, all cows were fed 1.4 kg/d of concentrate and forage ad libitum. Samples of blood and liver, obtained during the pretreatment period, were used for covariate adjustment of blood metabolites and liver composition data. During fatty liver induction (d 7 to 17), cows were fed 1.4 kg/d of concentrate with or without supplementation with RPC, and forage intake was restricted, so cows consumed 30% of the total energy requirements for pregnancy and maintenance. Supplementation with RPC during fatty liver induction did not affect plasma glucose and plasma β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) concentration but did decrease plasma nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA; 703 vs. 562 μEq/L, SE = 40) and liver TAG accumulation (16.7 vs. 9.3 μg/μg of DNA, SE = 2.0). In the second experiment, we evaluated the effect of supplementing RPC on the clearance of liver TAG when cows were fed ad libitum after the induction of fatty liver by feed restriction. Twenty-eight cows between 45 and 60 d prepartum were paired according to BCS and BW and assigned to treatments. Fatty liver was induced by feeding 1.4 kg/ d of concentrate (without RPC) and restricting forage intake, so cows consumed 30% of maintenance and pregnancy energy requirements for 10 d. From d 11 to 16, after feed restriction, cows were fed forage ad libitum and 1.4 kg/d of concentrate with or without RPC. Treatments were not applied during fatty liver induction; however, following feed restriction, liver for cows assigned to control and RPC treatments contained 6.8 and 12.7 μg of TAG/μg of DNA, respectively. Measurements obtained before treatment served as covariates for statistical analysis. During the depletion phase, plasma glucose, BHBA, and NEFA were not affected by treatment. Liver TAG, expressed as covariate adjusted means, was 6.0 and 4.9 μg/μg of DNA (SE = 0.4) on d 13, and 5.0 and 1.5 μg/μg of DNA (SE = 0.9) on d 16 for control and RPC, respectively. Rumen-protected choline can prevent and possibly alleviate fatty liver induced by feed restriction.     

Protease activity higher in postmortem water buffalo meat than Brahman beef

We previously demonstrated that postmortem water buffalo meat had higher tenderness than Brahman beef. In order to explain this difference in tenderness, the objective of the current study was to investigate the protease activity in these two meats. Five female crossbred water buffalo (Philippine Carabao×Bulgarian Murrah) and five female crossbred cattle (Brahman×Philippine Native) were slaughtered at 30months of age, followed by immediate sampling of Longissimus thoracis muscle for measurement of protease activity. Results showed that buffalo meat had significantly higher protease activity compared to beef (P<0.05). Furthermore, calpain inhibitor 1, a specific inhibitor of calpains 1 and 2, was the most effective inhibitor of protease activity. There was no difference in calpastatin activity, and no major differences were observed in calpains 1, 2, and calpastatin expression by Western blotting. This study suggests that higher calpain activity in early postmortem buffalo meat was responsible for the increased tenderness of water buffalo meat compared to beef.