Evaluating the Probiotic Profile, Antioxidant Properties, and Safety of Indigenous Lactobacillus spp. Inhabiting Fermented Green Tender Coconut Water.

This study isolated and characterized four indigenous lactic acid bacterial strains from naturally fermented green tender coconut water: Lactiplantibacillus plantarum CWJ3, Lacticaseibacillus casei CWM15, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei CWKu14, and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus CWKu-12. Notably, among the isolates, Lact. plantarum CWJ3 showed exceptional acid tolerance, with the highest survival rate of 37.34% at pH 2.0 after 1 h, indicating its higher resistance against acidic gastric conditions. However, all strains exhibited robust resistance to bile salts, phenols, and NaCl, with survival rates exceeding 80% at given concentrations. Their optimal growth at 37 °C and survival at 20 °C and 45 °C underscored adaptability to diverse environmental conditions. Additionally, all strains showed sustainable survival rates in artificial saliva and simulated gastrointestinal juices, with Lact. plantarum CWJ3 exhibiting significantly higher survival rate (70.66%) in simulated gastric juice compared to other strains. Adherence properties were particularly noteworthy, especially in Lact. rhamnosus CWKu-12, which demonstrated the highest hydrophobicity, coaggregation with pathogens and autoaggregation, among the strains. The production of exopolysaccharides, particularly by Lact. plantarum CWJ3, enhanced their potential for gut colonization and biofilm formation. Various in vitro antioxidative assays using spectrophotometric methods revealed the significant activity of Lact. plantarum CWJ3, while antimicrobial testing highlighted its efficacy against selected foodborne pathogens. Safety assessments confirmed the absence of biogenic amine production, hemolytic, DNase, and gelatinase activities, as well as the ability to hydrolase the bile salt. Furthermore, these non-dairy probiotics exhibited characteristics comparable to dairy derived probiotics, demonstrating their potential suitability in developing novel probiotic-rich foods and functional products.

Understanding the maturity of coconut water through 1H NMR profiling and MPAES analyses.

This study investigated the relationship between coconut maturity stages and the sugar, amino acid, and mineral profiles of coconut water (CW). Metabolite profiles were analysed using 1H NMR, covering glucose (G), fructose (F), sucrose (S), reducing sugars (RS), total sugars (TS), amino acids, and organic acids. Mineral composition was measured using Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (MPAES). The results revealed distinct metabolite and mineral profiles across different maturity stages. Immature CW had high G/F and RS/TS ratios but low S/G ratios. Conversely, mature CW showed decreased G/F and RS/TS ratios but an increase in S/G. Mineral analysis revealed potassium as the predominant mineral in CW, peaking in the youngest stage and declining with maturity. Sodium, magnesium, and calcium showed a similar pattern, with higher concentrations in early than in later stages. The study identifies the age of 9-10 months as optimal stages for selecting tender coconut water.

Effect of pulsed electric field processing on the quality characteristics and enzyme activity of tender coconut water.

Tender coconut water (TCW) is a natural drink rich in natural electrolytes, minerals, salts and sugars; it has good health benefits. But, its shelf-life is very limited because of the active nature of enzymes present in it when exposed to air. Therefore, the processing of TCW is necessary to inactivate the enzymes. So, this study aims to observe the effect of various process parameters of pulsed electric field (PEF) on the quality parameters of TCW. For the treatment of TCW with PEF, a full-factorial design of experiments was followed with process parameters such as three levels of electric field intensity (8, 12, and 16 kV/cm), two levels of pulse width (PW) (50 and 70 µs), and six levels of the number of pulses (2000 to 12,000 pulses) were considered at a constant pulse OFF time of 75 ms. PEF treatment did not significantly change pH, total soluble solids, and viscosity. However, it significantly affected vitamin C, colour, and total and reducing sugars. PEF treatment significantly enhanced the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity by 23.17% and 42.49%, respectively. At the same time, significant inactivation of polyphenol oxidase (100%) and peroxidase (60.2%) was observed at PEF treatment conditions of 16 kV/cm, 70 µs PW, and 12,000 pulses. Moreover, no significant change in the sensory acceptability of PEF-treated TCW (16 kV/cm, 70 µs PW, 12,000 pulses) when compared to the untreated/fresh TCW, which is a promising sign.

A concise review on oil extraction methods, nutritional and therapeutic role of coconut products.

The coconut palm belongs to the Arecaceae family, which is distinct from other fruits, known for its versatility. Fresh coconut products are valuable for many food preparations owing to their nutritional and flavour properties. For example, tender coconut yields coconut water, a refreshing nutritious drink that provides good nutrients including electrolytes and other interesting compounds. The mature coconut meat which is rich in fat and protein, aids in coconut milk extraction and is a major component in the wet and dry process of oil extraction. Coconut milk has market potential owing to its increasing applications in food and beverage industries. Coconut is also known for its by-product namely coconut flour, which is rich in protein and dietary fiber, could be used in the preparation of functional foods. The different methods involved in the oil extraction process which helps in more efficient oil recovery were discussed briefly. The nutritional health-promoting functional role of coconut water and virgin coconut oil is highlighted in review paper.

Effect of coconut milk, tender coconut and coconut sugar on the physico-chemical and sensory attributes in ice cream.

The investigation was aimed to understand the effect of coconut milk, tender coconut pulp, tender coconut water and coconut sugar on the qualitative attributes of ice cream. Five ice cream formulations were laid out to substitute the major ingredients of ice cream such as, dairy milk and butter with coconut milk, skim milk powder with tender coconut pulp, refined sugar with coconut sugar and potable water with tender coconut water. Two of the formulations were exclusively non-dairy, third one was the standard dairy ice cream, fourth formulation was with the inclusion of coconut sugar in the standard ice cream and the fifth one was standard ice cream with tender coconut and coconut sugar. Proximate composition of the raw materials revealed that coconut milk, tender coconut pulp and coconut sugar can contribute to the solids-non-fat content in ice cream. Significant effect (p< 0.01) was observed on physico-chemical qualities of the mix and ice cream. Total solids, density and total soluble solids of the ice cream mixes were positively correlated. Density, one of the key physical parameters was ranged from 0.98 to 1.13 g/ cm3. Though coconut milk is acidic, the percent titratable values were within the limit. Non- dairy ice cream formulations obtained lower overrun (p < 0.001). There was a negative correlation between percent fat of ice cream and overrun. Crude fat and protein contents of the ice creams were ranged from 10.52-11.62 % and 3.42-4.94 % respectively. Inclusion of coconut products resulted in increased total phenolics and minerals (ash). Non-dairy formulations were preferred over dairy counterpart with respect to flavour and taste during the sensory evaluation carried out with four different age groups. Thus, the study enlightens the potential scope of utilization coconut products in ice cream industry. It also gave a lead towards developing non-dairy/ vegan delicacy on coconut. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-021-05279-y.

Contemporary Developments and Emerging Trends in the Application of Spectroscopy Techniques: A Particular Reference to Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.).

The number of food frauds in coconut-based products is increasing due to higher consumer demands for these products. Rising health consciousness, public awareness and increased concerns about food safety and quality have made authorities and various other certifying agencies focus more on the authentication of coconut products. As the conventional techniques for determining the quality attributes of coconut are destructive and time-consuming, non-destructive testing methods which are accurate, rapid, and easy to perform with no detrimental sampling methods are currently gaining importance. Spectroscopic methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR)spectroscopy, mid-infrared (MIR)spectroscopy, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy (RS) are gaining in importance for determining the oxidative stability of coconut oil, the adulteration of oils, and the detection of harmful additives, pathogens, and toxins in coconut products and are also employed in deducing the interactions in food constituents, and microbial contaminations. The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive analysis on the various spectroscopic techniques along with different chemometric approaches for the successful authentication and quality determination of coconut products. The manuscript was prepared by analyzing and compiling the articles that were collected from various databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus and ScienceDirect. The spectroscopic techniques in combination with chemometrics were shown to be successful in the authentication of coconut products. RS and NMR spectroscopy techniques proved their utility and accuracy in assessing the changes in coconut oil's chemical and viscosity profile. FTIR spectroscopy was successfully utilized to analyze the oxidation levels and determine the authenticity of coconut oils. An FT-NIR-based analysis of various coconut samples confirmed the acceptable levels of accuracy in prediction. These non-destructive methods of spectroscopy offer a broad spectrum of applications in food processing industries to detect adulterants. Moreover, the combined chemometrics and spectroscopy detection method is a versatile and accurate measurement for adulterant identification.

Impact of phenolic concentrate from tender coconut water and coconut testa on high fat cholesterol fed C57BL6 mice.

Coconut testa and tender coconut water (TCW) are by-products of coconut processing industries which are rich in natural phytonutrients, if not exploited properly it may add up to environmental pollution. In the current study, phenolic concentrate (PHE) from coconut testa and tender coconut water (TCW) concentrates were examined for their effect on high fat fed C57BL/6 mice at the level of 50 & 100 mg and 500 & 1000 mg/kg body weight respectively. Results showed increasing body weight in high fat fed animals when compared to starch fed control (ND/SFD) group. Treatment with concentrates of PHE and TCW reduced their body weight dose dependently. Lipid profile like triglycerides, cholesterol and LDL levels were significantly decreased, whereas HDL levels increased, indicating its health beneficial effect. Catalase, SOD, GPx, TBARS in tissues, analysis of OGTT, serum insulin levels, advance glycation and atherogenic protection were augmented at different levels in the treated groups. In conclusion, phenolic concentrate prepared from the coconut testa and tender coconut water concentrate revealed their hypolipidemic property which can be exploited further in the development of health foods.

Tender coconut water suppresses hepatic inflammation by activating AKT and JNK signaling pathways in an in vitro model of sepsis.

Tender coconut water (TCW) is a natural plant product rich in phytochemicals and protects against toxic liver injury. However, the mechanism by which TCW inhibits inflammation and tissue damage is unknown. We examined the effect of TCW on primary rat hepatocyte viability, cytokine-induced gene expression and proinflammatory signaling in an in vitro model of sepsis. We observed that TCW improved hepatocyte viability and protected hepatocytes against cytokine-mediated cell death. TCW suppressed IL-1ß-mediated increases in Nos2, Tnf, and Il6 mRNA and increased heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1) protein. TCW inhibited iNOS expression through activation of AKT and JNK pathways since inhibition of PI3K and JNK signaling reduced TCW's effect on iNOS protein expression and activity. These results demonstrate that TCW reduces proinflammatory gene expression and hepatocyte injury produced by elevated inflammatory cytokines and nitric oxide production.

Metabolomics Analysis of the Deterioration Mechanism and Storage Time Limit of Tender Coconut Water during Storage.

Tender coconut water tastes sweet and is enjoyed by consumers, but its commercial development is restricted by an extremely short shelf life, which cannot be explained by existing research. UPLC-MS/MS-based metabolomics methods were used to identify and statistically analyze metabolites in coconut water under refrigerated storage. A multivariate statistical analysis method was used to analyze the UPLC-MS/MS datasets from 35 tender coconut water samples stored for 0-6 weeks. In addition, we identified other differentially expressed metabolites by selecting p-values and fold changes. Hierarchical cluster analysis and association analysis were performed with the differentially expressed metabolites. Metabolic pathways were analyzed using the KEGG database and the MetPA module of MetaboAnalyst. A total of 72 differentially expressed metabolites were identified in all groups. The OPLS-DA score chart showed that all samples were well grouped. Thirty-one metabolic pathways were enriched in the week 0-1 samples. The results showed that after a tender coconut is peeled, the maximum storage time at 4 °C is 1 week. Analysis of metabolic pathways related to coconut water storage using the KEGG and MetPA databases revealed that amino acid metabolism is one of the main causes of coconut water quality deterioration.

Shelf life enhancement and associated quality and sensory changes on refrigerated storage of tender coconut water subjected to non-thermal microfiltration and treated with additives.

Evaluation of tender coconut water was done that was subjected to a nonthermal two stage microfiltration process that involved filtration through 0.8 µm and 0.45 µm pore size filters followed by addition of 200 mg/L citric acid, 180 mg/L ascorbic acid, orange honey at 5% (w/v) followed by packaging in glass bottles with headspace flushed with nitrogen. The effect of storage under refrigeration was studied. Microfiltration reduced the total simple sugars, protein and reducing sugars respectively by 13.4, 13.0 and 21.5% without significantly affecting the overall acceptability. Microfiltered samples did not show any signs of haemolytic activity. Addition of citric acid, ascorbic acid and honey was able to reduce activity of polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase and maintain product stability. Even though microfiltered samples were sterile for 190 days, the samples were acceptable for sensory attributes till day 90 of storage. Microfiltration and use of additives were thus found to increase the shelf life of tender coconut water.

Antibacterial Efficacy of Tender Coconut Water (Cocos nucifera L) on Streptococcus mutans: An In-Vitro Study.

OBJECTIVE: The antibacterial property of coconut, the presence of lauric acid, and the ability to extract antimicrobial peptides Cn-AMP (1, 2, and 3) from tender coconut water has drawn attention on its effectiveness in normal consumption. An in-vitro experimental study was conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of tender coconut water in its natural state on Streptococcus mutans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fresh tender coconut water and pasteurized tender coconut water were taken as test samples, dimethyl formamide was used as the negative control, and 0.2% chlorhexidine was used as the positive control. Pure strain of S. mutans (MTCC 890) was used for determining the antibacterial effects. The test samples along with the controls were subjected to antimicrobial sensitivity test procedure and the zone of inhibition was examined. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to check for any significant differences in the antibacterial efficacy between the samples. RESULT: There was no zone of inhibition with the tender coconut water, fresh and pasteurised, and negative control (dimethyl formamide). Zone of inhibition was seen in positive control (0.2% Chlorhexidine). CONCLUSION: No antimicrobial activity was demonstrated with tender coconut water in its normal state (in vitro).

Plasma Potassium Levels in Healthy Prehypertension Subjects and the Role of A High Potassium Drink.

BACKGROUND: Most populations around the world consume less than the recommended levels of potassium. Long term low potassium intake could lead to decreased plasma potassium levels and induce hypokalemia. The increasing of plasma potassium levels 0,2-0,4 mmol/L by improving potassium intake decreased significantly blood pressure (BP). Assessing plasma potassium levels in healthy people related to potassium intake have not been studied. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we analysed plasma potassium levels in prehypertension (PHT) subjects to evaluate the effect of tender coconut water (TCW) as a high potassium drink on plasma potassium levels in PHT adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirthy-two female aged 25-44 years were randomly allocated to 14 days on TCW or water in a parallel randomized clinical trial. The treatment (T) group received TCW 300 ml twice daily and the control (C) group received water 300 ml twice daily too. RESULTS: At baseline, plasma potassium levels was 3.71±0.41 mmol/L, and 22.58% were categorized as hypokalemia. After 14 days treatment, potassium plasma level between T and C groups were not significantly different (p=0,247). The change of plasma potassium levels in both groups showed tendency to increase but not statistically significant difference was observed (p=0.166). CONCLUSION: In healthy prehypertension women, the low levels of potassium plasma may be caused by low potassium intake for long time and intervension with TCW 300 ml twice daily for 14 consecutive days has not proven yet to increase plasma potassium levels. It is necessary to give higher dose and longer time to increase potassium plasma in low potassium plasma level subjects.

A simple turn on fluorescent sensor for the selective detection of thiamine using coconut water derived luminescent carbon dots.

In this study microwave-assisted hydrothermal method was used to prepare highly luminescent carbon dots (1-6 nm size) within a minute from tender coconut (Cocos nucifera) water. The synthesized carbon dots (C-dots) exhibit emission of blue and green lights while excited at 390 and 450 nm wavelengths, respectively. As an application, these C-dots were tested for a simple "turn on" fluorescent sensor for rapid detection of thiamine (vitamin B1). The detection of thiamine in human body is very important to prevent various diseases such as beriberi, neurological disorders, optic neuropathy, etc. The fluorescence emission intensity of C-dots quenches after addition of Cu(2+) ion and then again increases selectively (turn on) after the addition of thiamine. The fluorescence emission intensity enhancement of Cu(2+) ion modified C-dots in the presence of thiamine exhibits a linear relationship within the thiamine concentration range of 10-50 µM. The limit of detection was found to be 280 nM from this study. The selectivity of the detection was also tested in the presence of different organic molecules and inorganic ions (Ca(2+), Mg(2+), Na(+), K(+), Cl(-), SO4(2-), and NO3(-)) which are present in blood serum and urine and found to be almost no interference in the detection. Finally, to see the applicability in real samples a commercial vitamin capsule was tested and found less than 3% error in the detected concentration. The C-dots were also used for bioimaging of fungus and the results show they are also suitable for this application too.

2-Furaldehyde diethyl acetal from tender coconut water (Cocos nucifera) attenuates biofilm formation and quorum sensing-mediated virulence of Chromobacterium violaceum and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-biofilm and quorum sensing inhibitory (QSI) potential of tender coconut water (TCW) against Chromobacterium violaceum and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. TCW significantly inhibited the QS regulated violacein, virulence factors and biofilm production without affecting their growth. qRT-PCR analysis revealed the down-regulation of autoinducer synthase, transcriptional regulator and virulence genes. Mass-spectrometric analysis of a petroleum ether extract of the TCW hydrolyte revealed that 2-furaldehyde diethyl acetal (2FDA) and palmitic acid (PA) are the major compounds. In vitro bioassays confirmed the ability of 2FDA to inhibit the biofilm formation and virulence factors. In addition, the combination of PA with 2FDA resulted in potent inhibition of biofilm formation and virulence factors. The results obtained strongly suggest that TCW can be exploited as a base for designing a novel antipathogenic drug formulation to treat biofilm mediated infections caused by P. aeruginosa.

Micropropagation of annatto (Bixa orellana L.) from mature tree and assessment of genetic fidelity of micropropagated plants with RAPD markers.

An in vitro propagation technique based on axillary bud proliferation was developed for the first time to mature annatto (Bixa orellana L.) tree. Nodal segments cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 1.0 µM benzyl adenine (BA) and tender coconut water (10 %) showed significantly high (P < 0.05) explant response (67.0 %), development of elongated shoots (3.36), shoot buds (8.9) and shoot elongation (3.53 cm). Cytokinins like zeatin, isopentenyl adenine (2-iP), kinetin, or thidiazuron (TDZ) were inferior to BA to induce multiple shoots. Seasonal variations significantly affected the in vitro response of nodal explants. In vitro rooting experiments have showed 55.6 % rooting on MS medium containing 15 µM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Alternatively, in vitro raised shoots were rooted (61.1 %) ex vitro, by 10 mM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) for 30 s. The results of the RAPD marker system revealed the genetic stability among the micropropagated plants. The present protocol in brief, can be used for the clonal propagation of the superior genotype and preservation of germplasm.