Comparative study of the colorants monascus and cochineal used in the preparation of gels made with various gelling agents

The possibilities of using monascus to colour gels were studied by comparing it with cochineal. Gels were prepared with four gelling agents—carrageenan, gellan, gelatine and xanthan—and their colour was measured with a Hunter Lab colorimeter. The equations relating L^* and h with the concentrations of sugar [SU] and colorant [COL] were deduced, and it was found that [COL] had more influence on colour than [SU]. In general, for these four gelling agents the colour of monascus gels is orange-red and the colour of cochineal gels is purplish red. The gels made with xanthan were always the lightest, whether they were made with cochineal or with monascus.     

Effectiveness of synthetic and potential natural antioxidants in improving the stability of sheep's anhydrous butter fat during long-term storage

Sheep's anhydrous butter fat as prepared by including separately heat grits, turmeric, rosemary, sage, rue and fennel at a level of 75 g dry matter kg^?1 butter. The product as stored at room temperature in clear glass jars for a period of one year. The storage stabilities of the anhydrous butter fat samples ere compared ith a control and ith a sample treated ith a 1:1 mixture of BHA and BHT at a level of 0.25 g kg^?1. Both storage time and type of treatment had highly significant effects (P?0.01) on the peroxide value and free fatty acid content of the product. None of the treatments succeeded in keeping the peroxide value belo 5 mEq O₂ kg^?1 beyond the fourth month of storage. The BHA-BHT mixture and rosemary helped extend the peroxide induction period to 10 and 6 months respectively. Turmeric and heat grits ere as effective as BHA-BHT in controlling the oxidative rancidity during the first four months of storage. The rest of the herbs exhibited a pro-oxidant effect throughout the study hen they ere used separately. In a second experiment, some cases of positive synergistic interactions ere observed beteen turmeric and heat grits on one hand and the herbs used in the study on the other. This pattern as not regular as negative interactions ere also observed in some other cases. Free fatty acid content of all the samples remained belo 10 g kg^?1 as oleic acid; hoever, fennel had a significant (P?0.05) effect on controlling the evolution of free fatty acids.     

新型选择性减害滤棒的研制

为了利用天然植物活性成分的抗氧化性,对抗氧化剂葡萄多酚(PT)、苹果多酚(PG)、茶多酚(CY)进行了筛选,采取直接添加、依托载体添加及制备成颗粒复合添加等多种添加工艺,并通过对抗氧化剂改性提高其在卷烟中的添加量,制备了新型选择性减害滤棒并卷制成样品烟支,对滤棒的各项常规物理指标和卷烟烟气的常规化学指标及自由基含量的变化进行测试。同时,采用加速氧化法对该种减害滤棒的抗氧化性能的稳定性进行了检测和评价。结果表明:采用直接添加和复合添加相结合的加工工艺,当有效成分含量为90%的改性抗氧化剂CY1在滤棒中的添加量达到3.0mg/支后,能够实现选择性显著降低烟气自由基近30%,同时不影响烟支外观和烟气常规技术指标,卷烟吸味也未因此有明显改变。     

Development of natural anti-tumor drugs by microorganisms

Discoveries of tumor-resistant pharmacological drugs have mainly resulted from screening of natural products and their analogs. Some are also discovered incidentally when studying organisms. The great biodiversity of microorganisms raises the possibility of producing secondary metabolites (e.g., mevastatin, lovastatin, epothilone, salinosporamide A) to cope with adverse environments. Recently, natural plant pigments with anti-tumor activities such as β-carotene, lycopene, curcumin and anthocyanins have been proposed. However, many plants have a long life cycle. Therefore, pigments from microorganisms represent another option for the development of novel anti-tumor drugs. Prodigiosin (PG) is a natural red pigment produced by microorganisms, i.e., Serratia marcescens and other gram-negative bacteria. The anti-tumor potential of PG has been widely demonstrated. The families of PG (PGs), which share a common pyrrolylpyrromethene (PPM) skeleton, are produced by various bacteria. PGs are bioactive pigments and are known to exert immunosuppressive properties, in vitro apoptotic effects, and in vivo anti-tumor activities. Currently the most common strain used for producing PGs is S. marcescens. However, few reports have discussed PGs production. This review therefore describes the development of an anti-tumor drug, PG, that can be naturally produced by microorganisms, and evaluates the microbial production system, fermentation strategies, purification and identification processes. The application potential of PGs is also discussed.     

Efficacy of various plant hydrosols as natural food sanitizers in reducing Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium on fresh cut carrots and apples

In the present study, inhibitory effects of the hydrosols of thyme, black cumin, sage, rosemary and bay leaf were investigated against Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7 inoculated to apple and carrots (at the ratio of 5.81 and 5.81 log cfu/g for S. Typhimurium, and 5.90 and 5.70 log cfu/g for E. coli O157:H7 on to apple and carrot, respectively). After the inoculation of S. Typhimurium or E. coli O157:H7, shredded apple and carrot samples were washed with the hydrosols and sterile tap water (as control) for 0, 20, 40 and 60 min. While the sterile tap water was ineffective in reducing (P > 0.05) S. Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7, 20 min hydrosol treatment caused a significant (P < 0.05) reduction compared to the control group. On the other hand, thyme and rosemary hydrosol treatments for 20 min produced a reduction of 1.42 and 1.33 log cfu/g respectively in the E. coli O157:H7 population on apples. Additional reductions were not always observed with increasing treatment time. Moreover, thyme hydrosol showed the highest antibacterial effect on both S. Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7 counts. Inhibitory effect of thyme hydrosol on S. Typhimurium was higher than that for E. coli O157:H7. Bay leaf hydrosol treatments for 60 min reduced significantly (P < 0.05) E. coli O157:H7 population on apple and carrot samples. In conclusion, it was shown that plant hydrosols, especially thyme hydrosol, could be used as a convenient sanitizing agent during the washing of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables.     

Activity of plant extracts for preserving functional food containing<Emphasis Type="Italic"> n</Emphasis>-3-PUFA

The ability of antioxidants obtained from natural sources to stabilise foodstuffs containing long n-3 fatty acids of marine origin has been determined. Food systems enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were: emulsified horse mackerel (Trauchurus trauchurus) muscle, fish oil-in-water emulsions (4% of n-3 PUFA) and fish oils (40% of n-3 PUFA). Rosemary leaves and extra virgin olive oil (EVO) were employed as sources of natural phenolic antioxidants. Both vegetable extracts were able to retard lipid oxidation in the different lipid systems. Rosemary extracts with a high content of carnosoic acid showed a significant synergism with fish proteins, by reinforcing their antioxidative effectiveness. Fish proteins and EVO-phenolics showed minor cooperative effects for inhibiting oxidation. The antioxidative partition into the different phases in the emulsified systems showed minor amounts of phenolics in the aqueous phases, except hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol, and a high adsorption on fish muscle.An erratum to this article can be found at     

天然食品防腐剂

本文简要介绍了一些天然食品防腐剂以及在食品工业中的应用，包括动物性来源、植物性来源、微生物来源、天然有机化合物以及矿物质来源等种类。进一步说明防腐剂具有广阔的应用和发展前景。     

天然抗氧化剂在油脂中的应用研究

本文介绍了油脂的天然抗氧化剂的种类，以及其抗氧化的机理和产生的效果，为以后的开发利用提供参考。     

The effects of sodium bicarbonate on conformational changes of natural actomyosin from Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)

Changes in natural actomyosin (NAM) from Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) treated with sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) at different concentrations (0–1 M) in the absence or the presence of 2.5% NaCl were studied. Turbidity of NAM solutions decreased with coincidental increase in solubility as the concentration of NaHCO₃ increased. Surface hydrophobicity (S_oANS) and total sulfhydryl content of NAM also increased when NaHCO₃ concentration increased. Greater decreases in Ca²⁺- and Mg²⁺-ATPase activity were found in all NAM as NaHCO₃ concentration increased, suggesting the denaturation of myosin head and the dissociation of actomyosin complex. The zeta potential (ζ) analysis suggested that the surface of NAM became more negatively charged (−12.12 to −26.98) as NaHCO₃ concentration increased. Those changes were more intense in the presence of 2.5% NaCl. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the structure of actomyosin was more dissociated and lost the filamental structure when NaHCO₃ at higher levels was used.