Product Optimization, Storage Quality and Sensory Acceptance of Low Calorie Beverage Developed from Bitter Gourd and Kiwifruit

Abstract Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) fruit is good source of many nutraceutical compounds and possess antioxidant, anti-diabetic and hypoglycaemic activities. However, its utilization in the preparation of beverages is limited due to its bitter after taste. Therefore, to realize the functional and therapeutic benefits of bitter gourd, an attempt was made to optimize nutritious and low caloriebitter gourd based beverage by blending with kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa), a store house of bioactive compounds and substituting sugar with stevioside (steviol glycoside). The standard (sugar sweetened) bitter gourd (BG)-kiwifruit (K) blended beverage was developed by utilizing 30% fruit part of BG:K blended juice (80: 20) with 40oB TSS and 1.3% acidity. Further, to develop the low calorie beverage, sucrose (table sugar) was replaced with 25, 50, 75 and 100% equi-sweetness level of stevioside (steviol glycoside). Results revealed that 75% substitution of sucrose with stevioside resulted in shelf stable beverage with identical taste, good antioxidant potential (68.80%) and strong antimicrobial activity (26 mm ZOI) with reduced calorie values (28.5 Kcal/100g) compared to the sugar sweetened control sample (150.60 Kcal/100g). Hence, the developed beverage can be commercialized as low calorie beverage with additional health benefits of natural compounds of bitter gourd and kiwifruit with highest bioactivity.

Draft genome sequences of five Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidifoliorum strains isolated in France

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidifoliorum causes necrotic spots on the leaves of Actinidia deliciosa and Actinidia chinensis. P. syringae pv. actinidifoliorum has been detected in New Zealand, Australia, France and Spain. Four lineages were previously identified within the P. syringae pv. actinidifoliorum species group. Here, we report the draft genome sequences of five strains of P. syringae pv. actinidifoliorum representative of lineages 1, 2 and 4, isolated in France. The whole genomes of strains isolated in New Zealand, representative of P. syringae pv. actinidifoliorum lineages 1 and 3, were previously sequenced. The availability of supplementary P. syringae pv. actinidifoliorum genome sequences will be useful for developing molecular tools for pathogen detection and for performing comparative genomic analyses to study the relationship between P. syringae pv. actinidifoliorum and other kiwifruit pathogens, such as P. syringae pv. actinidiae.

Papain Induced Occupational Asthma with Kiwi and Fig Allergy

Papain is a proteolytic enzyme which is widely used in food industry, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Occupational and non-occupational papain allergies have previously been documented; however, there are limited publications about papain allergy with its relative fruit allergy. Here, we present a case of occupational, IgE-mediated papain allergy with kiwi fruit and fig fruit allergy. A 53-year-old man suffered from rhinitis for several years, with the onset of his symptoms coinciding with the time he started to work at a sausage processing plant where papain is often used as a meat tenderizer. He began to experience symptoms of chest tightness, shortness of breath and wheezing shortly after starting work 5 years ago. Furthermore, he experienced several episodes of oral itching, and tongue and oropharyngeal angioedema after injestion of kiwi fruit and fig fruit. The patient had a lifelong history of allergic conjunctivitis, allergic rhinitis, and childhood asthma. Specific IgE was positive to kiwi fruit, papain and chymopapain (2.95 kUA/L, >100 kUA/L, and 95.0 kUA/L, respectively). Similar bands at 10-15 kDa in blotting with papain and kiwi fruit extracts were found. This patient showed a potential association between papain allergy and sensitization to kiwi fruit. We also reviewed 13 patients with papain allergy published in the literature, with 85% (11/13) of the patients sensitized through the respiratory tract, and 40% (4/11) having atopy. Further studies should focus on the determination of cross-reactive allergens between papain and its fruit relatives, and the prevalence of food allergy in patients with papain allergy should be investigated in a relatively large cohort.

Effects of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on rooting and root growth of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) stem cuttings

The effects of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on the rooting and root growth of semi-hardwood and hardwood kiwifruit stem cuttings were investigated. The PGPR used were Bacillus RC23, Paenibacillus polymyxa RC05, Bacillus subtilis OSU142, Bacillus RC03, Comamonas acidovorans RC41, Bacillus megaterium RC01 and Bacillus simplex RC19. All the bacteria showed indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) producing capacity. Among the PGPR used, the highest rooting ratios were obtained at 47.50 percent for semi-hardwood stem cuttings from Bacillus RC03 and Bacillus simplex RC19 treatments and 42.50 percent for hardwood stem cuttings from Bacillus RC03. As well, Comamonas acidovorans RC41 inoculations indicated higher value than control treatments. The results suggest that these PGPR can be used in organic nursery material production and point to the feasibility of synthetic auxin (IBA) replacement by organic management based on PGPR.

Identification of the Kiwifruit Germplasms in Jiangxi Province by AFLP and Its Classification Significance / 中国生物化学与分子生物学报

The kiwifruit germplasms in Jiangxi province were identified by amplified fragment length polymorphism(AFLP)markers．Four primer pairs that had been selected from 64 ones had detected a total of 190 bands among 31 germplasms of kiwifruit,one hundred and seventy nine bands that representing 94．2％of total bands were polymorphic．The identification rates of 31 germplasms were up to 100％．The result suggests that applying AFLP markers to analyze the kiwifruit germplasms is feasible．Then Clustering analysis the AFLP resuit by UPGMA．The dendrogram indicated that the Dice similarity coefficients of 31 germplasms of kiwifruit ranged from 0．50 to 0．85,it suggested that their genetic relationships weren't near．Thirty one germplasms could divide into four groups according to the Dice similarity coefficient 0．56．Sect．Leiocarpae and Sect．Maculatae clustered into one group；A．Melliana of Sect．Strigosae was one group；A．Chinensis var. Rufopulpa,A．Eriantha,A．Fulvicoma var．Lenata,A．Styracifolia and A．Jiangxiensis in Sect．Stellatae clustered into the same group；but the two germplasms of Sect．Stellatae,A．Deliciosa and A．Chinensis clustered into the other group．Interestingly,the‘Ganmi-5’was in the same rank with A．Chinensis from the dendrogram,but it was the variety of A．Chinensis according to the traditional classification．It is necessary that the‘Ganmi-5’should be further researched in classification．The genetic relationships among the kiwifruit germplasms in Jiangxi province were identified and characterized by themolecular method,which was consistent with the traditional classification in certain degree and provided new evidences for the classification of the kiwifruit germplasms．

A cultura do kiwi / Kiwifruit production

Dentre as fruteiras cultivadas no Brasil, o kiwi, recentemente introduzido, vem alcançando destaque. É planta de clima temperado e possui boa adaptação a climas amenos, apresentando cultivares com pouca exigência em frio invernal, que permite seu cultivo nas regiões Sul e Sudeste. Apresenta restrições de cultivo em locais com deficiências hídricas e com predominância de ventos fortes, sendo indispensável o uso de quebra-ventos para proteção. O presente trabalho divulga informações técnicas sobre seus hábitos de crescimento e frutificação, exigências edafoel-imáticas, cultivares e manejo do pomar. São descritos também, métodos de propagação mais usuais, pragas e doenças com prováveis possibilidades de ocorrência nas condições do Sul do Brasil e manejo pós-colheita.

Among the fruit-trees cultivated in Brazil, the kiwifruit, recently introduced, has increased its importance. It's a temperate climate fruit and has a good aclimatation in mild climate. Cultivars with low cold hibernal requirements allowing its cultivation in Brazil Southern and South-east regions. Its cultivation has restrictions in places with water deficits and with intense winds. This paper reports technical informations about kiwifruit growth, requirements of soil and climate conditions and cultivars and orchard management. It also deseribes propagation methods, pests and diseases that may occur in the region and postharvest handling.