Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in Refined and Cold-Pressed Vegetable Oils Distributed in Ahvaz, Iran: a Probabilistic Health Risk Assessment.

The concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in vegetable oils using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was measured. Probabilistic non-carcinogenic risk in consumers was estimated using the target hazard quotient (THQ) and total target hazard quotient (TTHQ) by Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method. The highest content of PTEs was found in blend oil for As (0.39 ± 0.07 mg/L), in cold-pressed rapeseed oil for Cd and Cu (0.07 ± 0 and 0.40 ± 0.06 mg/L) respectively, in cold-pressed sunflower oil for Fe (0.15 ± 0.10 mg/L), in refined sesame oil for Ni and Pb (0.44 ± 0.07 and 0.65 ± 0.07 mg/L, respectively), and in cold-pressed sunflower and rapeseed oils for Zn (0.19 ± 0.04 mg/L). THQ in adults and children due to individual vegetable oils (cold-pressed and refined vegetable oil) was lower than 1 value. TTHQ in adults and children due to consumption of cold-pressed vegetable oils was 0.05 and 0.26, and also refined vegetable oil was 0.51 and 0.33, respectively. TTHQ due to consumption of both types of oils was less than 1; therefore, the population is not at risk of non-carcinogenicity.

Developing novel synbiotic low-fat yogurt with fucoxylogalacturonan from tragacanth gum: Investigation of quality parameters and Lactobacillus casei survival.

Tragacanth gum (TG) displayed a prebiotic activity, but its application was restricted due to high viscosity and deterioration of organoleptic and textural characteristics of food. In this study, TG was depolymerized by Pectinex Ultra Color enzyme followed by membrane separation (30 kDa) to get pectinase hydrolyzed fraction of tragacanth gum (PHFTG) with molecular weight more than 30 kDa. The average molecular weight of PHFTG was 147.7 ± 11.5 g/mol having a fucoxylogalacturonan structure. The prebiotic activity was tested using PHFTG, TG, and inulin as a carbon source. The results showed that the count of Lactobacillus casei in PHFTG- and inulin-supplemented media increased significantly during the 48-hr fermentation (p < .05). Five batches of low-fat set yogurts were prepared by the following formulation: Control (without both L. casei and prebiotic), LC-Cont (containing L. casei), LC-PHFTG (containing L. casei + 0.5% PHFTG), LC-TG (containing L. casei + 0.05% TG), and LC-In (containing L. casei + 0.5% inulin), and L. casei population and physicochemical properties were monitored during 21-day storage at 4°C. The number of L. casei remained highly acceptable (8.54-8.61 log CFU/g) during 7-21 days of storage in LC-PHFTG. LC-In and LC-PHFTG presented significantly lower syneresis and higher sensory acceptability than LC-Cont and Control during storage (p < .05). LC-TG displayed weaker body and texture, lower sensory acceptability, and higher syneresis than other samples. This study provides support for expanding the utilization of PHFTG as a potential prebiotic and fat replacer in non- or low-fat dairy products with satisfactory sensory quality.

Extraction, characterization and immunomodulatory property of pectic polysaccharide from pomegranate peels: Enzymatic vs conventional approach.

Molecular characteristics, structural properties and immunostimulatory activities of polysaccharides from pomegranate peel were evaluated after 0.1 M HCl, Cellic CTec2 and buffer extractions. The isolated polysaccharides were mainly formed of neutral sugars (32.1%-51.1%) and uronic acids (19.9%-30.8%) as well as varying levels of proteins (15.0%-39.5%). Different levels of sugars including glucose (44.9%-68.1%), galactose (14.6%-19.4%), mannose (3.4%-18.1%), arabinose (3.1%-18.1%) and rhamnose (3.5-6.0%) constructed the structure of isolated polysaccharides. The average molecular weight (Mw) of polysaccharides differed notably and ranged from 422.5 × 103 to 18,631.8 × 103 g/mol. Polysaccharide molecules obtained using Cellic CTec2 enzyme induced RAW264.7 murine macrophage cells to release considerable amount of inflammatory mediators including nitric oxide, IL-1ß, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10. The polysaccharide stimulation of macrophage cells initiated through NF-κB and MAPKs signaling pathways and activation of p-NF-κB, p-JNK, p-ERK and p-p38 proteins. The most potent immunostimulatory polysaccharides were consisted of (1 → 3)-linked glucose, (1 → 6)-linked galactose, (1 → 4)-linked mannose and (1 → 4)-linked arabinose residues with branching points at C6 and C3. These results indicated that the lower molecular weight of polysaccharides isolated with Cellic CTec2 enzyme could be one of the major determinant structural characteristics in stimulating macrophage cells.