Safety Assessment of Canola Oil Extracted by Aid of Pulsed Electric Field: Genetic, Acute and Subacute Toxicity.

Pulsed electric field (PEF) is a nonthermal technology resulting in the rupture of cell membranes and increasing the electrical conductivity and the permeability of intracellular material. There was little work about the safety of food treated by PEF. The acute, subacute oral, and genetic toxicities were investigated to explore the safety of canola oil extracted by aid of PEF treatment (PTCO). The results showed that no negative consequences were caused by PEF. PTCO was regarded as practically non-toxic with a LD50 higher than 40 g/kg bw. No oil intake-related mortality, clinical, weight gain and organ coefficient abnormalities were observed. The histopathological symptoms indicated a mild load but not obvious toxicities on liver and kidney. The 28-day subacute toxicity test confirmed that less than 10 g/kg·d bw of oil intake did not exhibit any intake-related changes in physical, physiological, biochemical, hematological, and histopathological signs. The less than 4 of atherosclerosis index suggested that no risk of cardiovascular disease caused by PTCO intake. It was speculated that the PEF treatment would not cause any safety issues to food products.

In Vitro Anti-Obesity Effect of Shenheling Extract (SHLE) Fermented with Lactobacillus fermentum grx08.

Obesity is a common global problem. There are many fat-reducing herbal prescriptions in traditional Chinese medicine that have been proven to be safe and functional during long-term application. Microbial fermentation can improve the efficacy of herbal medicine and improve the unsavory flavor. In this study, Shenheling extract (SHLE) composed of six medicine food homology materials was used as the research object. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Lactobacillusfermentum grx08 fermentation on the antiobesity efficacy and flavor of SHLE. We found that L. fermentum grx08 grew well in SHLE. After 72 h of fermentation, the total polysaccharides, total flavonoids, total polyphenols and total saponins of SHLE decreased, but the lipase inhibitory activity and total antioxidant capacity (FRAP) were significantly increased (p < 0.01). There were no significant differences in the α-glucosidase inhibition rate and DPPH· clearance rate before or after fermentation (p > 0.05). In addition, the fermentation reduces the unpleasant flavors of SHLE such as bitterness and grassy and cassia flavors. This study demonstrates that SHLE fermented by L. fermentum grx08 improved some anti-obesity functions and improved the unpleasant flavor.

Improvement of pasting and gelling behaviors of waxy maize starch by partial gelatinization and freeze-thawing treatment with xanthan gum.

To improve the pasting and gelling behaviors of waxy maize starch, an aqueous dispersion with or without xanthan gum was subjected to partial gelatinization (5 ℃ above the onset melting temperature of starch) and freeze-thawing treatment. After the treatments, starch granules were slightly deformed, with partial loss of birefringence, and tended to aggregate. The relative crystallinity and thermal stability of waxy maize starch crystals decreased by the treatments. These changes indicated that the treatment affected the inner structure and chain arrangement of the granules. The treated waxy maize starches, however, showed a higher overall pasting viscosity with shorter and more cohesive pastes than that of the native starch. The treated starches formed rigid gels with increased stability against freeze-thawing. The addition of small amounts of xanthan gum enhanced the effects of the treatments.