Evaluating the Effectiveness of Low Pressure Carbon Dioxide as a Hurdle in Raw Milk Storage

Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of low pressure carbon dioxide as a hurdle in raw milk storage. Study Design: Milk samples were stored at under low pressure carbon dioxide at 29°C for 6 hours and the microbial quality of milk was compared with control milk. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Dairy Microbiology, Verghese Kurien Institute of Dairy and Food Technology (VKIDFT), Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Mannuthy between January 2020 and December 2020. Methodology: Milk samples were collected from an organized farm. The initial microbial quality of milk was determined and samples were carbonated to a pressure of 20 psi and stored for six hours 29°C, uncarbonated milk sample kept at 29°C acted as the control. The microbial quality of the carbonated milk and uncarbonated milk was determined after storage in terms of total viable count, coliform count and gram negative organism count. Results: Significant growth suppression (P=0.05) of bacteria was observed in the carbonated milk. Total Viable count showed a suppression of 1.05 log cfu/ml while coliforms showed a suppression of 1.3 log cfu/ml. The greatest log reduction was observed in gram negative organisms with a difference of 2.2 log cfu/ml and psychrotrophic organisms with 1.54 log cfu/ml. Conclusion: Carbon dioxide was found to be an effective bacteriostatic agent which could be used for extending the keeping quality of raw milk. The bacteriostatic action could be due to anaerobic conditions developed by carbon dioxide and also due to the increased acidity of the medium.

Antiatherogenic and antiperoxidative effects of garlic and soy proteins in alcohol fed rats.

Rats fed with alcohol (18%) at 3.76 g/day for 45 days showed significant reduction in body weight, glutathione (GSH) content and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase in liver. Lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) in plasma, levels of HDL cholesterol in serum, hepatic bile acid production and fecal excretion of neutral sterols also showed significant reduction. Simultaneous feeding of garlic protein (GP) or soy protein (SP) (500 mg/kg body weight/day for 45 days) to alcohol fed groups increased each of above parameters significantly towards normal values. Increase in GSH content and catalase activity in liver, was significantly higher for SP treated group than for GP treated group. However, increase in plasma LCAT was significantly higher for GP treated group than for SP treated group. Alcohol fed rats showed significant increase in liver weight, serum and tissue cholesterol, serum triacylglycerol (TAG), phospholipids (PL) and free fatty acid (FFA) levels and activity of HMGCoA reductase in liver and intestine. Lipid peroxidation, glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) in liver and incorporation of labeled acetate into liver cholesterol also showed significant increase. GP and SP treated rats showed decrease in these values towards normal. GP feeding showed a better effect than SP in lowering serum and heart total cholesterol, and in maintaining GPx at near normal level, while SP feeding showed a better effect in lowering serum FFA level and maintaining GR activity at near normal level. In suppressing incorporation of labeled acetate into serum cholesterol, GP feeding showed a better effect than SP. Antiatherogenic and antiperoxidative effects of these proteins may be due to lower lysine/arginine ratio.

Carotid endarterectomy under regional analgesia:a retrospective study (1988-1999).

The procedure of carotid endarterectomy is more or less standardized. Controversies persist on many technical issues, one of which is general versus regional anaesthesia. We retrospectively evaluated the influence of regional analgesia on perioperative complications, the hospital stay and the perioperative mortality after carotid endarterectomy in 53 patients. All the patients in the study received deep cervical block regional anaesthesia (Winne's technique) for carotid endarterectomy. Indications for surgery included transient ischaemic haemodynamically significant stenosis. Shunt was used in 7 cases (13.2%). General anaesthesia was supplemented in 2 patients (3.8%). There was no perioperative mortality. Permanent non-fatal neurologic deficit occurred in 1 patient (1.9%) and temporary neurologic Deficit occurred in 1 patient (1.9%). The mean ICU stay was 1.85 (+/-0.82) days and the hospital stay was 5.2 (+/-1.14) days. On the basis of our data we believe that under regional anaesthesia carotid endarterectomy can be performed with acceptable complications and that regional anaesthetic technique is safe and well tolerated by the patients.