Biological stabilization of natural pigment-phytochemical from poppy-pollen (Papaver bracteatum) extract: Functional food formulation.

In this study, poppy-pollen extract (as a novel source of pigment and natural phytochemical) was microencapsulated. The spray-drying process maintained the encapsulation efficiency (EE) of phenolic (84-93%), anthocyanins (71-83%), and also antioxidant activity of extract in inhibiting DPPH (68-80%), ABTS (74-95%), OH (63-74%) radicals and reducing power (84-95%). The results of the Photo- and thermal (40-70˚C) stability of the bioactive compounds (TPC and TAC) indicated the thermal degradation and decomposition of particles' surface compounds during storage. The chemical (FTIR) and morphological analyses respectively revealed the insertion of extract compounds in the carrier matrix and the production of healthy particles with wrinkled structures. An increase in the carrier concentration elevated physical-stability, maintained structural properties, reduced hygroscopicity, and formed liquid/solid bridges or deliquescence phenomenon. The evaluation of the color histogram of the fortified gummy-candies indicated the usability of the spray-dried PP extract in producing an attractive red color with high sensory perception.

Physicochemical characteristics and antioxidant stability of spray-dried soy peptide fractions.

The direct addition of health-promoting peptides to food products is limited due to their physicochemical instability and bitter taste as well as their bio-functionality may be influenced by MW. In this study, SPI hydrolysate (SPIH) was Alcalase-prepared, size-fractionated (<10, 10-30, and 30-100 kD), and the amino acid composition of peptide fractions determined. The physicochemical properties, morphology, and antioxidant stability of the fractions were also investigated after spray-drying encapsulation in maltodextrin-WPC carrier. The two low MW peptide fractions (especially, PF < 10) were more active than intact SPI, SPIH, and high MW peptide fraction in scavenging free radicals and chelating transition metal ions. As compared to the particles containing SPIH, those containing the smallest peptide fraction (PF < 10) had higher solubility and hygroscopicity, lower production yield and wettability, and more wrinkles, indentations and surface roughness. The highest antioxidant stability during spray-drying was observed for the two low MW peptide fractions, which examined by scavenging of free radicals of DPPH (88%), ABTS (97%), OH (93%) and NO (80%), chelating of iron (88%) and copper (87-90%) ions, reducing power (93%), and total antioxidant activity (90%). This finding reflects more structural and biological stability of the low MW fractions to shear stress and dehydration during spray-drying, as compared with SPIH. The spray-drying encapsulated soy peptide fractions may be used as nutraceuticals for the development of functional foods.

Extraction, purification, physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity of a new polysaccharide from Ocimum album L. seed.

In this study, a novel polysaccharide fraction from Ocimum album seed was extracted and then purified by Cellulose DEAE-52 and Sephadex G-200 anion exchange chromatography. The structural, physicochemical and antioxidant properties of the main polysaccharide fraction (OAP-1A) were evaluated. The purified polysaccharide contained 94.3% carbohydrate, 3.56% moisture and 2.14% ash and result of gel permeation chromatography (GPC) showed average molecular weight of 593 kDa. The results of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that OAP-1A was a neutral hetero-polysaccharide composed of mannose (35.7%), glucose (33.32%), galactose (19.6%) and rhamnose (11.38%). In addition, GC-MS data, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis revealed that the backbone of OAP-1A consists of →3)-ß-D-Manp-(1→, →3,4)-ß-D-Manp-(1→, →3,6)-ß-D-Manp-(1→, →3)-α-D-Glcp-(1→, →6)-ß-D-Galp-(1→, →4)-α-L-Rhap-(1→ and α-D-Glcp-(1→. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed semi-crystalline structure in OAP-1A. Differential scanning colorimeter (DSC) and thermo-gravimetry analysis (TGA) indicated that OAP-1A had relatively high thermal stability. Moreover, OAP-1A showed strong scavenging activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals.

Effect of Chitosan Coating Incorporated with Artemisia fragrans Essential Oil on Fresh Chicken Meat during Refrigerated Storage.

The present study was conducted to assess the impact of chitosan coating (1%) containing Artemisia fragrans essential oil (500, 1000, and 1500 ppm) as antioxidant and antimicrobial agent on the quality properties and shelf life of chicken fillets during refrigerated storage. After packaging meat samples, physicochemical, microbiological, and organoleptic attributes were evaluated at 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 days at 4 °C. The results revealed that applied chitosan (CH) coating in combination with Artemisia fragrans essential oils (AFEOs) had no significant (p < 0.05) effects on proximate composition among treatments. The results showed that the incorporation of AFEOs into CH coating significantly reduced (p < 0.05) pH, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), especially for 1% CH coating + 1500 ppm AFEOs, with values at the end of storage of 5.58, 1.61, and 2.53, respectively. The coated samples also displayed higher phenolic compounds than those obtained by uncoated samples. Coated chicken meat had, significantly (p < 0.05), the highest inhibitory effects against microbial growth. The counts of TVC (total viable counts), coliforms, molds, and yeasts were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in 1% CH coating + 1500 ppm AFEOs fillets (5.32, 3.87, and 4.27 Log CFU/g, respectively) at day 12. Organoleptic attributes of coated samples also showed the highest overall acceptability scores than uncoated ones. Therefore, the incorporation of AFEOs into CH coating could be effectively used for improving stability and shelf life of chicken fillets during refrigerated storage.

Pectin from sunflower by-product: Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction, characterization, and functional analysis.

In the current study, sunflower by-product pectin (SFBP) was obtained using ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) technique. The UAE variables were successfully optimized, and the optimal condition (irradiation time 30 min, temperature 33 °C and ultrasound power 400 W) yielded 11.15%. Under this condition, SFBP was rich in low-esterified galacturonic acid content (72.94%), and had long side branches of galactan, arabinogalactan, and arabinan, with an average molecular weight of 175.353 kDa. The structural properties were characterized using FTIR, NMR, XRD spectroscopies. The thermal analysis by DSC and TGA suggested suitable thermal stability for SFBP. The solubility, water and oil holding capacities, emulsifying capacity, emulsifying stability (vs various conditions), foam capacity, foam stability, DPPH and ABTS inhibitions, and reducing power assay were measured to evaluate the potential of SFBP to be considered as a food ingredient.

Design, fabrication and characterization of pectin-coated gelatin nanoparticles as potential nano-carrier system.

The main purpose of this study was to fabricate potential nano-delivery systems based on protein-polysaccharide complex for use in beverages. In this regard, optimum gelatin-pectin complex (GPC) nano-carrier with hydrodynamic diameter of ≈200 nm was designed and fabricated using low-bloom gelatin (BG) and high-methoxyl pectin (CP) at BG/CP weight ratio of 1:1 (0.025%(w/v) CP on 0.025%(w/v) BG) and pH 4.5. The suspension containing GPC nano-carrier had very good transparency (14.1NTU). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images illustrated that the GPC particles were spherical with fairly smooth surface. Particle size analysis showed that the complex particles had a narrow size distribution (polydispersity index (PDI)≈0.254). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) confirmed the formation of amide bonds between carboxyl groups in CP and amino groups in BG, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis showed the amorphous nature of the GPC nano-carrier. Finally, the storage stability test indicated that the GPC particles didn't significantly grow after 20 days of storage at 4°C. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The encapsulation of bioactive compounds have different benefits, for example, protection from several damaging environmental factors such as light, oxygen, moisture, heat, mechanical stresses, or other destructive agents, controlling the release of bioactives within foods during storage and also in human gastrointestinal tract, increase in solubility in aqueous foods and covering unfavorable flavor and odor of bioactive ingredients. So that, development of this technic can develops new functional, healthy foods, and foods with new tastes.

Fabrication and characterization of a titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles reinforced bio-nanocomposite containing Miswak (Salvadora persica L.) extract - the antimicrobial, thermo-physical and barrier properties.

Objective: The microbial, physico-chemical and optical corruptions threaten a variety of foods and drugs and consequently the human biological safety and its accessible resources. The humanbeing's tendency towards bio-based materials and natural plant-extracts led to an increase in the usage of antimicrobial biocomposites based on medicinal herbs. Miswak (Salvadora persica L.) extract (SPE) has been proved effective for its antimicrobial and other biological activities. Therefore, in this study, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (TONP) and SPE were applied to fabricate antimicrobial carboxymethyl cellulose (Na-CMC) based bio-nanocomposites which would simultaneously promote some thermo-physical and barrier properties. Methods: CMC-neat film (C1), CMC/TONP-2% (C2) and CMC/TONP-2% with 150, 300 and 450 mg/mL SPE (SPE150, SPE30 and SPE450, respectively) were fabricated. The physical and mechanical properties; elemental mapping analysis (MAP), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA-DTG); fourier transform infrared (FTIR), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and UV-vis spectroscopies were done to further validate the results. Results: Addition of TONP (2%) improved the blocking of UV light at 280 nm while SPE-containing nanocomposites completely blocked it. FTIR, XRD and SEM confirmed the formation of homogeneous films and high miscibility of applied materials. TONP led to an increase in Young's modulus (YM) and stress at break (SB) while SPE decreased them and enhanced the elongation to break (EB) (flexibility) of the active nanocomposites. Compared to CMC-film, the thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA-DTG) showed a higher thermal stability for CMC/TONP and CMC/TONP/SPE nanocomposites. The EDX spectroscopy and elemental mapping analysis (MAP) proved the existence and well-distributedness of Na, K, Cl, S, Ti, F and N elements in SPE-activated nanocomposites. The pure SPE and SPE-activated nanocomposites showed a favorable antimicrobial activity against both gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria. Conclusion: The CMC-TiO2-SPE nanocomposites were homogeneously produced. Combination of TiO2 nanoparticles and dose-dependent SPE led to an improvement of thermal stability, and high potential in antimicrobial and UV-barrier properties. These results can generally highlight the role of the fabricated antimicrobial bio-nanocomposites as a based for different applications especially in food/drug packaging or coating.

The antimicrobial bio-nanocomposite containing non-hydrolyzed cellulose nanofiber (CNF) and Miswak (Salvadora persica L.) extract.

Miswak (Salvadora persica L.) root extract (SPE) is known for its high antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. In this study, antimicrobial nanocomposites were prepared based on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), cellulose nano-fiber (CNF) and SPE. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used distribution of CNF in CMC matrix and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy proved the existence of minerals and sulfur-containing compounds in SEP-activated nanocomposite. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used for CNF and SPE effects on structure of resulted nanocomposite. Incorporation of CNF increased the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and decreased the elongation at break point (EB) while adding of 200 and 400 mg/ml caused increase of EB without decrease of UTS. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that SPE improved the heat stability of the nanocomposites. The pure SPE and SPE-activated nanocomposites showed good antibacterial effect against both Staphylococcus aureus (gram positive) and Escherichia coli (gram negative) bacteria.

The effects of Plantago major seed gum on steady and dynamic oscillatory shear rheology of sunflower oil-in-water emulsions.

The effects of Plantago major seed (PMS) gum on the rheological properties of the sunflower oil-based emulsions (steady shear flow and dynamic oscillatory rheology) were investigated. The results of steady shear flow experiments showed that the shear stress-shear rate, apparent viscosity-shear rate, and shear stress-time data were well fitted with Herschel-Bulkley, Carreau, and Tiu-Bogar models, respectively, and showed the highest R2 and the lower root mean square error within different models. The strain and frequency sweep data indicated that all emulsions showed weak gel-like behavior, which showed stable interactions and entanglements in the emulsion structure. CoX-Merz rule was applied to investigate the relationship between complex viscosity (η*) and apparent viscosity (ηa ). In all emulsions containing PMS gum, η* > η a and they did not obey from this rule. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The rheological properties of emulsion are critical features in stabilization of emulsion based products. The PMS gum can potentially be used in producing and stabilization of emulsion based products and effects of this gum on in oil in water emulsion can be useful in development of plant originated hydrocolloids in foods.