Effect on Ziziphus jujuba Mill. fruit powders embedded on physicochemical properties, biological activities, and rheologic quality of cake.

This study aimed to improve the effects on the physical, textural, and rheological characteristics of cake supplied with Ziziphus jujuba fruit powder at rates of 0%, 3%, 5%, and 10%. The Physicochemical and antioxidant as well as the antibacterial activity and sensory qualities of Z. jujuba fruits were also investigated. The highest levels reached the values of 245.15 mg GAE/g DW (phenol) and 180.23 mg RE/g DW (flavonoids). Pulp extracts were also subjected to HPLC analysis in order to identify and quantify the sugar composition. This technique allowed us to identify Mahdia as the richest provenance especially in glucose (136.51%) and sucrose (113.28%) contents. The antioxidant activities investigated using DPPH assay decreased slightly from 175 µg/mL (Sfax) to 55 µg/mL (Mahdia). Furthermore, the antibacterial activity indicated that the S. aureus was the most inhibited especially by Sfax powder extracts (from 12 to 20 mm). Our results showed that the incorporation of Z. jujuba powder ameliorated the physicochemical and rheological characteristics (humidity, gluten yield, tenacity, falling time, and configuration) of the dough. Sensory analysis showed that consumer scores were increased with the increasing supplementation powder levels. Highest scores attributed to the cake supplied with 3% jujube powder collected from Mahdia provenance and confirmed that Ziziphus fruit could be advised a part of our diet. These results could validate a novel method to conserve Z. jujuba fruits in order to avoid their soilages for a long period.

Study of organic pollution in superficial sediments of Meliane river catchment area: aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Organic contaminants can be accumulated in aquatic systems even at trace concentrations with potential threats to the environment and human health. The present study has been performed to evaluate the effects of organochlorines and polyaromatic hydrocarbons on surface sediments of the Meliane river catchment. Their determination provides an essential scientific approach for a better understanding of the expected sources and the processes of bioaccumulation. The concentrations of saturated hydrocarbons in extractable organic matter of the dry sediment were found ranging from 0.58 to 3 83 µg kg-1 and PAHs content ranged from 63 to 131 µg kg-1. These results indicated the adherence of Oued Meliane to the pollution of the Tunis Gulf. The fraction of saturated hydrocarbons extracted from the sediments of Oued Meliane included a majority of organic compounds of biogenic nature with a small oil input. In addition, characterization with the TAR index and the LMW/HMW index confirmed that terrigenous inputs in this fraction are more abundant than aquatic inputs. The characterization of PAHs fraction has shown its pyrolitic origin with a predominance of high molecular weight PAHs.