Production of partially hydrogenated soybean oil with low trans-fatty acids using surface dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma.

This study examined the feasibility of applying surface dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (SDBDCP) to partially hydrogenate crude soybean oil. The oil sample was treated for 13 h using SDBDCP at 15 kV with 100% hydrogen gas under room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Fatty acid composition, iodine value, refractive index, carotenoid content, melting point, peroxide value, and free fatty acids content (FFA) were investigated during SDBDCP treatment. Analysis of fatty acid composition demonstrated an increase in the content of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (from 41.32% to 55.3%) and a decrease in the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (from 58.62% to 40.98%), which resulted in a reduction of the iodine value to 98.49 over the treatment time. Also, the fatty acid profile indicated that the total detected level of trans-fatty acids was very low (0.79%). After a 13-h treatment, the samples showed a refractive index of 1.4637, melting point of 10°C, peroxide value of 4.1 meq/kg, and FFA content of 0.8%. In addition, the results revealed a 71% decline in the carotenoid content of the oil sample due to the saturation of their double bonds. Therefore, these findings suggest that SDBDCP can be effectively used for hydrogenation along with bleaching oil.

Stimulation of Secondary Metabolites and γ-Terpinene Synthase by Silver Nanoparticles in Callus Cultures of Carum carvi.

Biotechnology and nanotechnology are important tools for understanding biochemical pathways. They can be used efficiently for stimulating and increasing the production of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants. The present study aimed to identify the γ-terpinene synthase gene (CcTPS2) as an effective contributor to the biosynthetic pathway of monoterpenes. The effects of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs; 50 and 100 mg l- 1) and time (24 and 48 h) were examined on secondary metabolites in cell suspension cultures of Carum carvi. This involved the identification, isolation, and sequencing of a partial sequence in the CcTPS2 gene of C. carvi. The genomic sequence of CcTPS2 comprised 292 bp which were organized into two exons (110 and 82 bp) and one intron (100 bp), while the cDNA was 192 bp. In the scale of nucleotides, the CcTPS2 gene showed 96% similarity with the TPS2 gene of Oliveria decumbens. We generated sequence data of the CcTPS2 gene for the first time in this species, thereby enabling further developments in understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for terpene biosynthesis and other chemical derivatives in C. carvi. The results of GC/MS and GC/FID showed that AgNPs strongly affected the secondary metabolites in cell suspension cultures of C. carvi. According to the results, the AgNPs (50 mg l- 1) increased p-cymene and carvone contents in comparison with the control. The exposure of plants to 100 mg l- 1 AgNPs induced the production of thymol and carvacrol. The results of real-time PCR revealed that the exposure of plants to 100 mg l- 1 AgNPs caused a significant upregulation of CcTPS2 expression for 24 h. These cell suspension cultures were elicited by AgNPs, the application of which proved as an effective method to improve the production of secondary metabolites in vitro.

Genetic diversity analysis in a mini core collection of Damask rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) germplasm from Iran using URP and SCoT markers.

BACKGROUND: Rosa damascena Mill is a well-known species of the rose family. It is famous for its essential oil content. The aim of the present study was to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of a mini core collection of the Iranian Damask rose germplasm. This involved the use of universal rice primers (URP) and start codon targeted (SCoT) molecular markers. RESULTS: Fourteen URP and twelve SCoT primers amplified 268 and 216 loci, with an average of 19.21 and 18.18 polymorphic fragments per primer, respectively. The polymorphic information content for URR and SCoT primers ranged from 0.38 to 0.48 and 0.11 to 0.45, with the resolving power ranging from 8.75 to 13.05 and 9.9 to 14.59, respectively. Clustering was based on neighbor-joining (NJ). The mini core collection contained 40 accessions and was divided into three distinct clusters, centered on both markers and on the combination of data. CONCLUSION: Cluster analysis and principal coordinate analysis were consistent with genetic relationships derived by STRUCTURE analysis. The findings showed that patterns of grouping did not correlate with geographical origin. Both molecular markers demonstrated that the accessions were not genetically diverse as expected, thereby highlighting the possibility that gene flow occurred between populations.

Assessment of genetic diversity among Iranian Aegilops triuncialis accessions using ISSR, SCoT, and CBDP markers.

BACKGROUND: Crop wild relatives (CWRs) are commonly used as a suitable genetic reservoir for plant breeding. They can be used for enhancing the tolerance of plant varieties to biotic and abiotic stresses. Studying the genetic diversity of related wheat species in Iran could be useful to improve different traits of bread wheat, since the country is one of the major centers of genetic diversity and distribution of Aegilops species. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the relationship among 48 Aegilops triuncialis accessions using three DNA marker systems, including start codon targeted (SCoT), CAAT box-derived polymorphism (CBDP), and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. RESULTS: A total of 359 amplified DNA fragments were generated using 13 CBDP, 14 SCoT, and 16 ISSR primers that produced 96, 147, and 152 bands, respectively. The discriminating power of the three markers was assessed using polymorphism information content (PIC), marker index (MI), and resolving power (Rp). The mean values of PIC for ISSR, SCoT, and CBDP markers were 0.3, 0.26, and 0.34, respectively, indicating the efficiency of the three markers in detecting polymorphism among the studied accessions. ISSR markers had the highest values of MI, Rp, and polymorphism percentage as compared to SCoT and CBDP markers. Based on the Shannon index and heterozygosity values, genetic diversity in the Alborz population was more than in other populations. The accessions were classified into six, five, and five groups based on ISSR, SCoT, and CBDP using the UPGMA method. According to the results of cluster and PCoA analyses, the variation patterns corresponded with the geographical distribution of the Ae. triuncialis accessions. CONCLUSIONS: The three markers provided a comprehensive pattern of the genetic diversity among the Iranian Ae. triuncialis accessions. This information could allow for a future insight into wheat breeding programs.

Use of Fish Oil Nanoencapsulated with Gum Arabic Carrier in Low Fat Probiotic Fermented Milk.

Fish oil consists of omega-3 fatty acids which play an important role in human health. Its susceptibility to oxidation causes considerable degradation during the processing and storage of food products. Accordingly, encapsulation of this ingredient through freeze drying was studied with the aim of protecting it against environmental conditions. Gum arabic (GA) was used as the wall material for fish oil nanoencapsulation where tween 80 was applied as the emulsifier. A water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion was prepared by sonication, containing 6% fish oil dispersed in aqueous solutions including 20% and 25% total wall material. The emulsion was sonicated at 24 kHz for 120 s. The emulsion was then freeze-dried and the nanocapsules were incorporated into probiotic fermented milk, with the effects of nanocapsules examined on the milk. The results showed that the nanoparticles encapsulated with 25% gum arabic and 4% emulsifier had the highest encapsulation efficiency (EE) (87.17%) and the lowest surface oil (31.66 mg/100 kg). Using nanoencapsulated fish oil in fermented milk significantly (p<0.05) increased the viability of Lactobacillus plantarum as well as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) contents. The fermented milk sample containing fish oil nanoencapsulated with 25% wall material and 4% emulsifier yielded the greatest probiotic bacterial count (8.41 Log CFU/mL) and the lowest peroxide value (0.57 mEq/kg). Moreover, this sample had the highest EPA and DHA contents. Utilizing this nanoencapsulated fish oil did not adversely affect fermented milk overall acceptance. Therefore, it can be used for fortification of low fat probiotic fermented milk.

Effects of methyl jasmonate and phloroglucinol on thebaine and sanguinarine production in cell suspension culture of Persian poppy (Papaver bracteatum Lindl.).

The biosynthesis path engineering could be very promising for mass production of alkaloids by applying elicitors in the cell suspension culture of Persian poppy (Papaver bracteatum Lindl.). In this work, the effects of different concentrations of methyl jasmonate (MJ) and phloroglucinol (PG) on thebaine and sanguinarine productions in vitro were investigated. Roots as explant and supplementing 3 mg L-1 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid with 0.5 mg L-1 Benzyl amino purine to modified MS medium were selected to achieve the most efficient combination for callus induction and production of callus fresh and dry weights. At 48 h after treatment, the addition of PG and MJ individually and in combination together significantly increased both thebaine and sanguinarine contents than the control. The results of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) detection indicated that the highest production rate has been achieved through a synergic effect of two elicitors after 48 h. Results revealed that adding 200 µM of MJ and 100 mg L-1 PG increased thebaine and sanguinarine contents by 56.36 and 107.71-fold than control cells, respectively.

Development and validation of sustainability criteria of administrative green schools in Iran.

Environmental responsibility in school has led to the emergence of a variety of criteria to administer green schools' contributions to sustainability. Sustainability criteria of administrative green schools need validity, reliability and norms. The aim of the current study was to develop and validate assessment criteria for green schools in Iran based on the role of academia. A national survey was conducted to obtain data on sustainability criteria initiatives for green schools and the Iranian profile was defined. An initial pool of 71 items was generated and after its first edition, 63 items were selected to comprise the sustainability criteria. Engineering-architectural and behavioral aspects of this sustainability criteria were evaluated through a sample of 1218 graduate students with environmental degrees from Iran's universities. Exploratory factor analysis using principal components and promax rotation method showed that these 9 criteria have simple structures and are consistent with the theoretical framework. The reliability coefficients of subscales ranged between 0.62 (participation) and 0.84 (building location and position). The study's survey of correlation coefficients between items and subscales illustrated that those coefficients varied between 0.24 and 0.68.