Antioxidant capacity of Myrciaria cauliflora seed extracts by spectrophotometric, biochemical, and electrochemical methods and its protective effect against oxidative damage in erythrocytes.

This study aimed to investigate the antioxidant activity of extracts obtained from jabuticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora) seeds. Ethanolic (ETJS), methanolic (MEJS), aqueous (AQJS), and propanone (PRJS) extracts was assessed by measuring spectrophotometrically their ability to scavenge DPPH· , ABTS·+ , HOCl, and O2 ·- radicals. Electrochemical methods were employed, and the obtained data presented a good correlation with the radical scavenging results. The extracts were also able to attenuate lipid peroxidation induced by Fe2+ ions in phospholipids due to their chelation ability. The extracts protected human erythrocytes against oxidative cellular damage caused by AAPH, which was confirmed by using FESEM analysis. PRJS extract demonstrated the highest effect in all assays used in this work. Our findings prove that jabuticaba seeds are an important source of antioxidants which act by different mechanisms. This study opens new frontiers regarding the use of this fruit byproduct as a food additive. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Jabuticaba seeds are usually discarded as waste by food industries, but they are rich in bioactive products and present interesting biological properties. Herein, we demonstrated that their extracts show remarkable antioxidant power against different reactive oxygen species, which are involved in several human pathologies. In this way, this by-product can be further used in the development of products to protect the human body against diseases related to oxidative stress.

Assessment of Microbial Contamination in Products of Animal Origin: Stretched-curd Cheese, Yogurt and Fresh Sausage

Abstract Animal products are sources of microbiological contamination when the process has hygienic-sanitary control fails. Therefore, this work aims the evaluation of the pathogenic microorganisms presented in samples from the Brazil southern region of yogurt (N = 101), stretched curd cheese (N = 31), fresh sausage (N = 22) and processing water (N = 63). Analyses of coliforms at 45 °C, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella sp. and Escherichia coli were performed. Analysis indicated processing water is an important contamination source to be monitored, because the majority of samples presented results above the regulation limits. Thermal treatment and fermentation such as stretched curd cheese and yogurt appeared to be more stable against contamination during processing. In this study, for coliforms at 45 °C, only one cheese sample and 12% of total yogurt samples exceeded the Brazilian legislation limit. None of sausage samples presented any contamination. On the other hand, values found in both processing water and dairy products indicated failures in application and monitoring of good manufactured practices.