Quality comparison of dried slices processed from whole persimmons treated with different deastringency methods.

The effects of different deastringency treatments (untreated, carbon dioxide, warm water, or ethanol), before drying on the quality characteristics of dried fruit slices prepared from whole "Cheongdobansi" persimmons were evaluated. L* (lightness) and a* (redness) values of dried slices from warm water- and ethanol-treated groups were higher, respectively, compared to that of dried slices from other groups. Hardness was lower in dried slices from ethanol-treated fruits. Moisture, water activity, soluble solids, titratable acidity, and sensory properties (color, aroma, texture, sweetness, and overall acceptability) of the dried slices from astringency-removed fruits were higher when compared to those of the dried slices from non-treated persimmons. In particular, the dried slices from ethanol-treated fruits showed the highest values for these parameters. Moreover, soluble tannin and DPPH radical scavenging activity decreased by deastringency treatment. Results suggest that ethanol deastringency treatment before drying could be a useful method to improve most quality characteristics, except antioxidative activity, of dried persimmon slices.

Effect of deastringency treatment of intact persimmon fruits on the quality of fresh-cut persimmons.

The changes in the quality characteristics of the fresh-cut products prepared from intact 'Cheongdobansi' persimmons treated with different deastringency methods (nontreated, carbon dioxide gas, warm water, ethanol vapour) have been investigated for 6 days at 10 °C. Flesh firmness of the persimmons decreased after ethanol vapour treatment. The decrease in L(∗) value and flesh firmness in the slices prepared from persimmons treated with warm water was retarded. Soluble solids content and titratable acidity of the persimmons decreased after all deastringency treatments. Soluble tannins and radical scavenging activity of the slices from untreated persimmons were maintained at higher concentrations, unlike slices from astringency-removed persimmons. These results suggest that pre-slicing deastringency treatments affect the characteristics of fresh-cut persimmons, and that warm-water treatment could be a useful method to control the browning and softening of fresh-cut persimmons.

Gomisin N isolated from Schisandra chinensis significantly induces anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects in hepatic carcinoma.

Lignans isolated from Schisandria chinensis have been prescribed as anti-cancer and anti-hepatitis treatments in Chinese medicine. To investigate the applications of lignans isolated from Schisandria chinensis in hepatic carcinoma therapy, their apoptotic ability was screened using a cell proliferation assay. Compared to the other lignans, gomisin N induced high apoptotic levels in hepatic carcinoma. Cell morphology and flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that this lignan induced cell death at high concentrations, but did not induce any changes at low concentrations. In addition, the expression levels of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins, which are involved in the apoptotic pathway, were markedly increased in only the 320 µM-treated group compared to the vehicle and other concentration groups, while the expression level of p53 protein remained unchanged in this group. These results suggest that gomisin N is an anti-cancer drug candidate capable of inhibiting the proliferation and inducing the apoptosis of human hepatic carcinomas.