Effects of different stirrer modes on the physicochemical properties of vegetables during cooking

The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic caused dietary changes. Humans reduced social activities to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which led to increasing demand for machines to help cook. This work studies the effect of different stirrer modes on the texture of celery, asparagus, green peppers, and spinach during the cooking process and the functional loss of components in vegetables by measuring the changes in vitamin C, total polyphenols, and total flavonoids. The results showed that colour changes and loss of nutrients in each vegetable varied under different stirrer modes. Stirring was found to be the best mode for cooking all four vegetables. In addition, there was a positive correlation between the a* value and functional components during the cooking process, which means that the colour difference and nutritional loss of vegetables can be modulated together. This study provides theoretical guidance for developing the stirring unit in a cooking machine.

Effects of different stirrer modes on the physicochemical properties of vegetables during cooking

Summary The coronavirus disease‐19 (COVID‐19) pandemic caused dietary changes. Humans reduced social activities to prevent the spread of COVID‐19, which led to increasing demand for machines to help cook. This work studies the effect of different stirrer modes on the texture of celery, asparagus, green peppers, and spinach during the cooking process and the functional loss of components in vegetables by measuring the changes in vitamin C, total polyphenols, and total flavonoids. The results showed that colour changes and loss of nutrients in each vegetable varied under different stirrer modes. Stirring was found to be the best mode for cooking all four vegetables. In addition, there was a positive correlation between the a* value and functional components during the cooking process, which means that the colour difference and nutritional loss of vegetables can be modulated together. This study provides theoretical guidance for developing the stirring unit in a cooking machine. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment of Uptake, Accumulation and Degradation of Paracetamol in Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) under Controlled Laboratory Conditions.

The occurrence and persistence of pharmaceuticals in the food chain, particularly edible crops, can adversely affect human and environmental health. In this study, the impacts of the absorption, translocation, accumulation, and degradation of paracetamol in different organs of the leafy vegetable crop spinach (Spinacia oleracea) were assessed under controlled laboratory conditions. Spinach plants were exposed to 50 mg/L, 100 mg/L, and 200 mg/L paracetamol in 20% Hoagland solution at the vegetative phase in a hydroponic system. Exposed plants exhibited pronounced phytotoxic effects during the eight days trial period, with highly significant reductions seen in the plants' morphological parameters. The increasing paracetamol stress levels adversely affected the plants' photosynthetic machinery, altering the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (Fv/Fm and PSII), photosynthetic pigments (Chl a, Chl b and carotenoid contents), and composition of essential nutrients and elements. The LC-MS results indicated that the spinach organs receiving various paracetamol levels on day four exhibited significant uptake and translocation of the drug from roots to aerial parts, while degradation of the drug was observed after eight days. The VITEK® 2 system identified several bacterial strains (e.g., members of Burkhulderia, Sphingomonas, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Stenotrophomonas and Kocuria) isolated from spinach shoots and roots. These microbes have the potential to biodegrade paracetamol and other organic micro-pollutants. Our findings provide novel insights to mitigate the risks associated with pharmaceutical pollution in the environment and explore the bioremediation potential of edible crops and their associated microbial consortium to remove these pollutants effectively.

Anticholinergic poisoning associated with frozen spinach

Objective: In some countries the Thursday before Easter is called Green Thursday according to the Christian calendar, and in this tradition, a green meal should be eaten on this day to ensure good health throughout the coming year. A few days before Easter the National Toxicological Information Centre (NTIC) registered an increased number of toxicological consultations following consumption of deep-frozen spinach puree which was sold in retail chains throughout Slovakia. Symptoms were characteristic of tropane alkaloid intoxication and experts suspected the spinach was contaminated with Jimson weed (Datura stramonium). Methods: A retrospective analysis of all telephone calls concerning frozen spinach products from the database of the NTIC from 1 March 2021 to 30 April 2021 was conducted. Results: The NTIC received 93 telephone calls from people who had consumed frozen spinach, of which 64 people (7 children) had mild symptoms of intoxication (PSS1) and 5 moderate poisoning (PSS2). The most commonly reported symptoms were malaise, dizziness, dry mouth, mydriasis and blurred vision that appeared within 1 to 2 hours after ingestion. Patients with moderate symptoms of intoxication were confused, disoriented and had hallucinations. The symptoms disappeared spontaneously within 48 hours. The country was in a state of emergency that had been declared before Easter due to COVID-19 and people were afraid to attend hospitals. Therefore, only 7 out of 69 people with symptoms arrived in hospital. Only 3 patients were hospitalised. Treatment was symptomatic, without the administration of an antidote physostigmine. The other patients were treated at home. Unfortunately, an increased number of consultations was recorded on Good Friday afternoon, when it was very difficult to initiate a wide scale alert informing the public through the media. Over the Easter weekend, the NTIC alerted the public to avoid the contaminated spinach via social media and the NTIC website. The State Veterinary and Food Administration of the Slovak Republic arranged analyses of contaminated frozen spinach samples in an accredited laboratory and this confirmed the presence of atropine and scopolamine. Conclusion: Datura stramonium grew with spinach in the field as a weed and contaminated the spinach due to insufficient entry and exit controls. As a result of promptly spreading information and informing the public about the contaminated spinach product in the media, further cases of poisoning over the Easter holidays were successfully averted.