Effect of Osmotic Treatment on Drying Kinetics and Antioxidant Properties of Dried Mulberry

Air drying is widely used in fruit preservation. However, this causes a reduction in the nutritive value of the product. Osmotic treatment has been used as prior to drying. The objectives of this research were to study osmotic treatment in combination with air drying of mulberries and to evaluate the influence of different osmotic solutions on drying kinetics, reaction kinetics, and antioxidant capacity, with a focus on anthocyanins and phenolics. Mulberries, either untreated or osmotically treated with sucrose, sorbitol, and maltose, were dried in a tray dryer at 60°C with a velocity of 1 m/s. The drying kinetics of mulberries were explained using the Page model based on the R ² values, which ranged from 0.985 to 0.993, and E _s , which ranged from 0.031 to 0.091. Air drying caused degradation of anthoyanins and phenolics, which followed a zero-order reaction with R ² values ranged from 0.866 to 0.996. Osmotic treatment with maltose was found to be a good treatment for mulberry drying and preserved the phenolic and anthocyanin contents and provide high antioxidant capacity.     

Seed maturity differentially mediates metabolic responses in black soybean

The soybean seed is placed in the middle of the morphological and developmental alterations, such as changes in seed size, weight, and colour, and alteration of the composition and contents of metabolites during maturation. In this study, we used black soybean seeds to investigate the effect of maturity on metabolite levels at different maturity stages. Seeds were sorted into five maturity categories, from M1 to M5, based on seed size and external pigmentation. Maturity stages M1, M3, and M5 are equivalent to R6, R7, and R8 on the soybean reproductive growth stage scale, indicating full seed, beginning maturity, and full maturity, respectively. As seed maturation progressed, the seed size decreased and the water soluble extract changed, indicating that a change of seed pigmentation occurred. At the same time, numerous metabolites responded differentially to seed maturation. The partial least squares (PLS) scores plot indicated that the metabolic alteration during maturation was clearly visible. Furthermore, isoflavones were highly associated with seed maturity on the PLS loading plot while fatty acids, glucose, fructose, and sucrose were less linked with seed maturity, indicating that those metabolites responded less to seed maturation. Overall, the results indicate that each category of metabolites is mediated differentially during maturation in black soybean seeds.     

Changes on indigenous microbiota,colour, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of pasteurised pomegranate juice

Juices prepared from arils of ‘Mollar’ pomegranates were analysed for naturally occurring microorganisms, CIE Lab colour parameters, total phenols, anthocyanins and punicalagins, ellagic acid content and antioxidant capacity before and after low-, mild- and high-temperature pasteurisations (LTPs, MTPs and HTPs): 65, 80 and 90 °C for 30 or 60 s. Mean aerobic plate count (APC), yeast and mold count (YMC), and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for fresh juices were 5.7, 5.36 and 4.0 log CFU/mL, respectively. MTPs and HTPs were sufficiently effective to decrease APCs to nil or negligible levels. An increase in CIE a values and decrease in CIE b values were the characteristic colour changes in heat-treated juices. The effect of pasteurisations showed that total phenols, punicalagins and ellagic acid were not much affected by thermal processing. Total anthocyanin content and antioxidant capacity were substantially and significantly influenced by the heat treatment applied. A linear relationship was observed between Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) values and total anthocyanins, suggesting that they contributed strongly to the antioxidant capacity of pomegranate juice.     

Parameter optimization for spray-drying microencapsulation of jaboticaba (Myrciaria jaboticaba) peel extracts using simultaneous analysis of responses

The present study aimed to conduct a simultaneous optimization of different carrier agents and temperatures for the production of jaboticaba extracts by spray-drying microencapsulation. The 30% maltodextrin (control), 25% arabic gum + 5% maltodextrin and 25% Capsul™ + 5% maltodextrin carriers were used at air-drying inlet temperatures of 140, 160 and 180 °C. The following responses were evaluated: anthocyanin retention (AR), moisture content (MC), total solids (TS), hygroscopicity (H), overall color difference and antioxidant activity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was also performed. The AR, MC, H and overall color difference parameters were selected for simultaneous optimization by the desirability approach. The results showed that the highest desirability (0.7–0.8) was achieved when 30% maltodextrin was used at 180 °C. According to the SEM analysis, the use of maltodextrin and gum arabic allowed for the formation of more homogeneous particles, which is recommended in spray-drying microencapsulation.     

Varietal Comparison of The Chemical,Physical, and Mechanical Properties of Five Colored Table Grapes

The visual attributes of table grapes, their chemical constituents, and mechanical properties are involved in consumer acceptability because they are correlated to sensory perception. Usually, instrumental measurements are preferred to the sensory evaluations because they reduce variations in subjective judgments and can be carried out more easily. In this work, chemical-physical attributes and texture properties of five black table grapes (Alphonse Lavallée, Black magic, Cardinal, Perlon, Regina nera) were studied in order to identify significant varietal differences. Spectrophotometric and HPLC methods and texture analysis test were used to evaluate color index, sugars and acid composition, phenolic characteristics, and mechanical properties of the skin and the pulp of berries. Many differences were found among varieties in technological maturity indexes, hydroxycinnamic acid, anthocyanin content and profile, and relative CIE L*, a*, b* parameters, but the more relevant differences were found in mechanical properties. Principal component analysis showed that the texture profile analysis parameters (hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess, and resilience) and berry skin characteristics (break skin energy, skin modulus of elasticy) were the best indices able to fulfill the aim of this work. Almost all of the parameters showed differences among cultivars, confirming their importance in the characterization of the variety as well as in the assessment of potential consumer acceptability. In particular, the cultivars demonstrated different reactions to the compression test; thus, the texture analysis parameters can be appropriate to explain varietal differences and to allow their differentiation.     

Fluctuations in the Levels of Antioxidant Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity of Ten Small Fruits During One Year of Frozen Storage

The fluctuations in antioxidant capacity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, 2,2´-azinobis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid), and ferric reducing/antioxidant power assays), total phenol, total flavonoid, and total anthocyanin contents of 10 small fruits (sweet cherries, sour cherries, strawberries, red currants, raspberries, blackberries, hawthorn, cornelian cherries, and red and white grapes) were monitored during storage at ?20°C. After one year in storage, all varieties except hawthorn and white grapes retained equal or slightly greater total phenol content in comparison to the initial values. The total flavonoid and total anthocyanin levels also remained stable or even increased after 12 months in all fruits exept hawthorn and strawberries. Red currants and raspberries exhibited optimal preservation of antioxidant capacity, while hawthorn showed a decrease in the antioxidant capacity during different time points in storage as well as at the end of storage. Analyzed fruits were classified into four main groups based on hierarchical cluster analysis.     

花青素生理功能研究进展

对花青素的抗氧化、抗突变、减轻肝机能障碍与心血管疾病及抗坏血酸的作用等生理功能进行了讨论。     

Acceptance and willingness to pay for health-enhancing bakery products – Empirical evidence for young urban Russian consumers

Our study provides first empirical evidence on young Russian consumers’ attitudes towards novel functional bakery products. We employ two different bakery products, namely bread rolls and biscuits, in our experimental auctions. Both products are derived from purple wheat, an old wheat variety that is naturally rich in anthocyanins (ACNs). ACNs are assumed to possess anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic and ocular-health-enhancing properties. Participants are 207 students aged 18–30 years from Moscow and Irkutsk. Our results indicate a low level of knowledge about ACNs among participants. However, our results also show that in the presence of information about the health-enhancing characteristics most participants value these products over base products. Our findings also reinforce the idea that the base product matters. Purple wheat bread rolls were better accepted than purple wheat biscuits. Moreover, our results also highlight that the information strategy matters. Participants in our study exhibited a higher willingness to pay for purple wheat biscuits under an old variety information scenario in comparison to an anthocyanin information scenario. Moreover, while our results indicate no significant difference in the perception of the anthocyanin attribute between the two cities, the perception of old grain variety products was slightly different. The share of respondents considering old variety products as healthy was significantly higher in Irkutsk, whereas the share of respondents considering these products as exclusive was significantly higher in Moscow. Thus, while planning future marketing strategies such differences in underlying motives should be taken into account.     

Evaluation of the effect of processing on cocoa polyphenols: antiradical activity,anthocyanins and procyanidins profiling from raw beans to chocolate

The content and composition of anthocyanins and procyanidins in fermented cocoa beans (from different geographic origins: Ecuador, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria), roasted nibs, cocoa mass and chocolate were determined, beside the determination of the total antiradical capacity. Concerning geographic origin, cocoa beans and processed products from Ecuador showed the highest levels of anthocyanins, followed by Nigeria and Cameroon. Generally, as cocoa beans were further processed, the levels of anthocyanins and flavan‐3‐ols decreased. The largest observed losses of phenolics occurred during roasting. A progressive decreasing trend in polyphenol concentration was observed in the other processed samples as well. Despite the original content of polyphenols in raw cocoa beans, technological processes imply a significant impact on cocoa quality, confirming the need of specific optimisation to obtain high value chocolate.     

In vitro gastrointestinal digestion of polyphenols from different molasses (pekmez) and leather (pestil) varieties

In this study, to evaluate the in vitro bioaccessibility of eight different pekmez and pestil samples, total phenolics, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins and antioxidant capacity were determined at different phases of simulated gastrointestinal (GI) digestion. For the analysis of antioxidant activity, four different methods were used including 2,2‐azinobis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline)‐6‐sulfonic acid, 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazil, ferric reducing antioxidant power and cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity. The results revealed that the dialysed fraction (IN) represented 12–50%, 3–17% and 3–72% of the total phenolics, flavonoids and proanthocyanidins, respectively. Moreover, total antioxidant capacity of IN fraction was 2–57% of the initial values obtained for pekmez and pestil samples. To identify the influence of simulated in vitro GI digestion on total anthocyanins, only black mulberry molasses (pekmez) and plum leather (pestil) were analysed and according to the results no anthocyanins were detected in the IN fraction for both samples. The present study presented a detailed insight of bioaccessibility of polyphenols in various pekmez and pestil samples.