Microbiological,chemical and sensory assessment of mussels (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mytilus galloprovincialis</Emphasis>) stored under modified atmosphere packaging

Wild mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), were packaged aerobically under vaccum packaging(VP) and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP (50%/50% CO₂/N₂: M1, 80%/20% CO₂/N₂: M2, 65%/35% CO₂/N₂: M3), and stored at 2 ± 1 °C. Quality evaluation was carried out using microbiological, chemical and sensory analyses. Microbiological results revealed that M2 and M3 delayed microbial growth compared to M1. Of the chemical indices determined, the TVB-N and TMA-N values of M2 remained lower than the proposed acceptability limits of 35 mg N/100 g and 8 mg N/100 g, respectively, up to 8 days of storage. All of the MAP and VP mussel samples exceeded these limits after 12 days of storage. All samples retained desirable sensory characteristics during the first 8 days of storage. Based on microbiological and chemical analyses along with sensory evaluation, M2 and M3 gave a longer shelf-life compared with VP and M1. M2 gas mixture was the most effective for mussel preservation.     

Influence of the degree of polymerisation in the ability of catechins to act as anthocyanin copigments

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the degree of polymerisation of flavanols in their ability to act as anthocyanin copigments. With this aim, ethyl-bridged catechin derivatives were produced by reaction between catechin and acetaldehyde. Further fractionation in Toyopearl HW-40 allowed the separation of five fractions of increasing molecular size containing mixtures of compounds in the range from monomers to hexamers as established by LC-MS. The copigmentation assays were carried out in citrate-phosphate buffer solutions in 12% ethanol at pH 3.6, using malvidin 3-O-glucoside as pigment and increasing concentrations of the different catechin fractions to obtain copigment to pigment ratios ranging 0:1–20:1. Copigmentation was assessed from the modifications in the visible spectra of the solutions; chromatic analysis in the CIELAB colour space was used to characterise the copigmentation effect. It was found that all the compounds assayed were able to interact with the anthocyanin and induced changes in the colour of the solutions. The greatest effect was induced by oligomers containing 2–3 elementary catechin units, whereas monomers were the poorest anthocyanin copigments among the compounds checked. An interesting observation was that the formation of the copigmentation complexes was not and immediate process, but it required some time to attain the equilibrium, suggesting that the phenomenon was controlled thermodynamically rather than kinetically.     

Changes in the volatile composition of red wines during aging in oak barrels due to microoxygenation treatment applied before malolactic fermentation

Microoxygenation is a wine-making technique consisting in the addition of small and controlled amounts of oxygen. This study has examined the effect of this technique on the volatile composition of two red single variety wines during two successive vintages. The microoxygenation treatment was applied at the end of alcoholic fermentation and before beginning malolactic fermentation. Once the microoxygenation treatment had finished, wines were aged in new American oak barrels for 12 months. The results obtained showed that the microoxygenation treatment did not cause significant changes in the varietal and fermentation volatile compounds, however microoxygenation slowed down the extraction of some of the volatile compounds extracted from wood. A varietal and vintage effect was also observed for some of the compounds studied.     

Photodegradation of Aflatoxin B<Subscript>1</Subscript> in peanut oil

A photodegradation study of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) in peanut oil was performed under UV irradiation at different AFB₁ initial concentrations and UV irradiation intensities. The UV intensity and the irradiation duration on the AFB₁ photodegradation ratio is more effective, when compared with AFB₁ initial concentration, and AFB₁ with initial concentration of 2 mg/kg can be degraded thoroughly within 30 min under the intensity of 800 μw/cm². The photodegradation of AFB₁ between the selected ranges of concentrations was proved to follow first-order reaction kinetics well (R ² ≥ 0.99). The Ames test, employing Salmonella typhimurium tester strains TA98 and TA100, was employed to evaluate the residual toxicity of the AFB₁ subproducts in peanut oil, and the results indicated that the mutagenic activity of UV-treated samples (800 μw/cm² × 30 min) was completely lost compared with that of untreated samples, providing clues to the assessment of safety issues of UV method applied in AFB₁ decontamination.     

Rapid physicochemical characterization of innovative fucoidan/fructan powders by ATR–FTIR

Functional food has been highly demanded lately because of its benefits in counteracting diseases. Fucoidan and agave fructan are ingredients that enhance the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut (prebiotics). This mixture has great potential to develop innovative products but it has never been explored before. Because of fucoidan is more expensive than agave fructan, the innovative proposed mixture is vulnerable to adulteration. This research was aimed to assess the accuracy of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (ATR–FTIR) coupled with chemometrics to identify and predict concentration of both polysaccharides in powder mixtures (0–100%). Absorption bands at 1240–1255 and 836–840 cm^?1 were attributed to fucoidan and a strong peak at ~ 936 cm^?1 confirmed the fructan presence. Peak areas were best fitted into linear models (\({\text{R}}_{\text{adj}}^{2}\) ≥ 0.92, RMSE ≤ 3.54%). This achievement may be useful to certificate ingredients contained in fucoidan–fructan mixtures, preventing adulteration.     

Optimization of ultrasonic-assisted extraction of phenolic compounds from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Justicia spicigera</Emphasis> leaves

A Box–Behnken design (Extraction-time, pulse-cycle, sonication-amplitude) was employed to extract phenolic compounds from Justicia spicigera leaves by ultrasonic-assisted extraction. The muicle leaves extracts were analyzed measuring total phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity. According to response surface methodology the optimal conditions of ultrasonic-assisted extraction to obtain the highest soluble phenolic content were 2 min (extraction time) for 0.7 s (pulse cycle) at 55% of sonication amplitude. Under these optimal conditions, the total phenolic content was higher when was used ultrasonic-assisted extraction (54.02 mg/g) than stirring (46.46 mg/g) and thermal decoction (47.76 mg/g); however, the antioxidant capacity from J. spicigera extracts did not increase by ultrasonic-assisted extraction. The extracts or aqueous infusions from J. spicigera leaves are used for therapeutic proposes, therefore the ultrasonic-assisted extraction is a useful technology to improve the extraction of phytochemicals from J. spicigera leaves.     

Characterization of aromatic compounds and biological activities of essential oils from Tunisian aromatic plants

The aromatic compounds and biological activities of essential oils from six Tunisian aromatic plants including Artemisia herba-alba, Rosmarinus officinalis, Thymus capitatus, Mentha piperita, Ocimum basilicum and Artemisia absinthium were investigated. Hydro-distillation was used to extract essential oil from these plants. The identification of compounds from essential oils was performed using GC–MS analysis. Camphor (28.47%) was the major compound of A. absinthium essential oil. High contents of verbenone (20.99%) and camphor (19.72%) were found in R. officinalis. In the case of T. capitatus, carvacrol (81.09%), gamma terpinene (6.61%) and caryophyllene (4.87%) were identified as the major compounds. While eugenol (24.69%), linalool (18.00%) were characteristic compounds of O. basilicum essential oil, camphor (39.10%) and farnesol (14.25%) together with bornyl acetate (12.31%) were the main constituents of A. absinthium. These oils were also subjected to a screening for their antioxidant activity and essential oil from A. absinthium showed a greater antioxidant activity (IC₅₀?=?0.0063 mg/mL) compared to the standard Vitamin E (IC₅₀?=?0.019 mg/mL). The antibacterial activities of the oils against seven pathogenic strains, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Micrococcus luteus, were tested. The highest and broadest activity was shown by M. piperita; however, Ocimum basilicum was inactive against all strains. Essential oils were also evaluated for antidiabetic and anti-acetylcholinesterase activities. The IC₅₀ values of A. herba-alba and O. basilicum against α-amylase were respectively 17.76 and 16.32 µg/mL suggesting a powerful anti-diabetic effect comparable to that of acarbose (IC₅₀?=?14.88 µg/mL). R. officinalis, M. piperita and A. absinthium exhibited an interesting acetylcholinesterase inhibition with IC₅₀ equal to 22, 24 and 58 µg/mL respectively.     

Rosemary (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rosmarinus officinalis</Emphasis>) oil: composition and functionality of the cold-pressed extract

The aim of this work was to investigate cold-pressed rosemary oil (RO) for its lipid classes, subclasses, fatty acid composition, tocochromanols and total phenolics amount. Antiradical activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH^?) and galvinoxyl radicals, antioxidant activity, as measured by the Rancimat test, as well as antimicrobial activity against food-borne bacteria, and dermatophytic fungi of RO were evaluated. In RO, the amount of neutral lipids was highest (ca. 86%), followed by phospholipids (0.92%) and glycolipids (0.88%). The percentages of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated fatty acids were 41.7, 42.3, and 15.8%, respectively. Linoleic acid (41.7%) and oleic acid (41.2%) were the major fatty acids while linolenic acid accounted for 1.3% of total fatty acids. The following tocochromanols were detected: α-, β-, γ- and δ-tocopherols, which accounted for 291, 22, 1145, and 41 mg/100 g oil, respectively, as well as α-, β-, γ- and δ-tocotrienols, which accounted for 18, 12, 29, and 158 mg/100 g oil, respectively. RO also contained high levels of phenolic compounds (7.2 mg GAE/g). After 60 min of reaction with free radicals, 67% of DPPH^? and 55% of galvinoxyl radicals were quenched by RO. Rancimat test showed that blending RO with sunflower oil increased the induction period (IP) for blends. The IP of the RO: sunflower oil blend (1:9, v/v) was 390 min, and RO: sunflower oil blend (2:8, v/v) was longer (540 min). RO exhibited high antimicrobial potential against food-borne pathogenic bacteria (E. coli, S. enteritidis, and L. monocytogenes) and high antifungal potential against dermatophyte fungi (T. mentagrophytes, and T. rubrum). RO had unique high level of γ-tocopherol, which is a scavenger of reactive nitrogen species making it a promising material in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications.     

Bioactive properties of Kilka (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Clupeonella cultriventris caspi</Emphasis>) fish protein hydrolysates

Whole common Kilka fish was hydrolyzed separately using four commercial enzymes, Alcalase, Neutrase, Protamex at 50 °C and Pepsin at 37 °C for 30, 60 and 90 min. Degree of hydrolysis, angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity and antimicrobial activity of each hydrolysate against Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria innocua) bacteria were studied. Results showed that the degree of hydrolysis for all enzymes was in the range of 2.63–3.36%. Electrophoresis profiles of the Kilka protein hydrolysates showed that most of produced peptides were in the range of 30 D but Alcalase and Neutrase had a better performance in the production of low molecular weight peptides in the range of 10 D. This led to increase the antimicrobial activity against the examined bacteria at the concentration of 200 µg/mL peptide solution. The Neutrase enzyme produced hydrolysate with the highest ACE inhibitory activity (53%?±?1.8 at 500 µg/mL). Antimicrobial activity of Kilka protein hydrolysates using Protamex and Pepsin was lower than the others due to lack of considerable amount of small peptides. The current research has demonstrated that the peptides derived from the enzymatic hydrolysis of Kilka fish protein in optimum conditions are capable of being converted to antimicrobial and antihypertensive agents to be used in functional foods.     

Impact of Temperature Cycling and Isothermal Storage on the Quality of Acidic and Neutral Shelf-Stable Dairy Desserts Packaged in Flexible Pouches

The aims of the present study were, first, to identify the quality changes occurring in sterilized vanilla and strawberry pudding during storage at 20 °C; second, to understand the effect of storage temperature on aging; and, third, to determine if temperature could be used as an accelerating factor for shelf life or stability studies. Shelf-stable pudding was produced industrially and packaged in flexible pouches. Different ingredients were used to produce strawberry and vanilla pudding, and the resulting pH was 4.1 and 6.5, respectively. Pudding pouches were kept for 7 days at 20 °C and stored for up to 112 days at ??18, 4, 20, and 30 °C, or cycled repeatedly between ??18 and 20 °C, 4 and 20 °C, and 30 and 20 °C with a frequency of two cycles per week. Color, pH, apparent viscosity, flow behavior, and fluorescence spectra measurements were conducted up to 112 days of storage. The most relevant indicators to monitor quality changes in vanilla pudding were η, pH, b*, and tryptophan emission spectra, and in strawberry pudding, a*, b*, and riboflavin, tryptophan, and vitamin A emission spectra. Indeed, the temperature of 30 °C was identified as the most suitable accelerating factor for accelerated aging tests regarding changes in pH, color, riboflavin, and tryptophan fluorescence spectra of pudding, while cycles of 4/20 °C and isothermal storage at 4 °C were the most appropriate tests to accelerate changes in apparent viscosity of pudding.