Fabrication and characterization of emulsion-based edible film containing cinnamon essential oil using chia seed mucilage.

Chia seed mucilage (CSM) film incorporated with 2, 4, and 6 % (w/w) nanoemulsion of cinnamon essential oil (CSM-2, CSM-4, CSM-6) were developed, and their physicochemical, mechanical, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties were determined. According to the results, cinnamon EO nanoemulsion (CEN) had droplet size 196.07 ± 1.39 nm with PDI 0.47 ± 0.04. Moreover, CSM film had higher water solubility (99.37 ± 0.05 %) and WVP (8.55 ± 1.10 g/kPa h m2) than reinforced CSM films with CENCEN. The lowest water solubility (98.02 ± 0.01 %) and WVP (3.75 ± 0.80 g/kPa h m2) was observed in CSM-6 film. Moreover, the addition of CEN improved the homogeneity and density of films and the smoothness of the surface, being observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy also confirmed the incorporation of CEN within the film matrix. The CSM films' antioxidant (DPPH radical scavenging power) and antimicrobial (against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) properties of CSM films were notably enhanced with the inclusion of CEN in a dose-dependent manner. The mechanical (tensile strength and elongation at break) of CSM films also was affected by the addition of CEN, TS decreased, and EAB increased (p < 0.05). The lowest TS (20.63 ± 1.39 MPa) and highest EAB (3.36 ± 0.61 %) was observed in CSM-4 film. However, CSM film was relatively dark with low opacity, and adding CEN slightly increased lightness (L*) and yellowness (b*) parameters. The superior antioxidant and barrier characteristics of the CSM edible film incorporated with CEN make it a potential candidate for product packaging and shelf-life extension.

Gluten-free Nan-e-Fasaee: Formulation optimization on the basis of quinoa flour and inulin.

Diversification of gluten-free (GF) bakery products is considerably important, as those who suffer from gluten intolerance should follow a GF diet their whole life. Regarding this study, it was aimed at optimizing the formulation of a quinoa-based GF traditional bakery product, i.e. Nan-e-Fasaee using inulin as a bifunctional agent (both a prebiotic compound and a structure-forming agent). Otherwise, its potential role as a fat and sugar replacer was also assessed. For this purpose, short (S)- and long (L)-chain inulin were used as sugar and fat replacers, respectively, at 0%-50% w/w in quinoa flour (QF)-based GF Nan-e-Fasaee and optimization was done based on rheological, textural, and sensory analysis. Results indicated that QF diet provided the batter with the dominance of elastic modulus and increased hardness (i.e. 5170.0 ± 22.50 g in the presence of QF compared to 1477.0 ± 20.81 g in wheat-based ones). Inulin inclusion reduced the hardness, as the lowest was observed at S-inulin substitution levels of 40% and 50% w/w, with values equal to 2422.0 ± 20.81 and 2431.0 ± 35.57 g, respectively (the most similar ones to control sample). The interference of S-inulin with the non-gelatinized starch structure is supposed to decrease the hardness. The highest score in texture was also perceived at F6 and F13, with values equal to 8.00 ± 0.10 and 7.97 ± 0.05, respectively. Using S- and L-inulin in combination is found to improve the textural characteristics due to preventing the competitive role of sugar in water absorption in formulations containing L-inulin. Regarding optimization of quinoa-based GF Nan-e-Fasaee with reduced sugar and fat levels using inulin, it is found to be feasible.

Probiotic bacteria alleviate chlorpyrifos-induced rat testicular and renal toxicity: A possible mechanism based on antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) has caused many potential toxicities in nontarget organisms. Fewer studies have been conducted on the effects of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in mitigating tissue damage induced by CPF in vivo. Therefore, we investigated CPF renal and testicular toxicity and the alleviating effect of probiotic lactobacilli, based on antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, on induced toxicity in an animal model. Biochemical assays showed that CPF induced oxidative stress along with a change in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity in a tissue-dependent manner. After treatment with CPF, testicular and renal levels of TNF-α were significantly reduced and enhanced, respectively, compared to the control group. The probiotic treatment restored renal and testicular TNF-α levels and modulated and blocked the increasing effect of CPF on renal IL-1ß levels. Testicular IL-1ß levels in the probiotic-treated and CPF groups demonstrated similar values. Exposure to CPF significantly induced renal histopathological damage that, of course, was completely inhibited by treatment with Lactobacillus casei and the LAB mixture. In summary, CPF showed significant toxicological effects on oxidative stress and the inflammation rate in CPF-exposed rats. Therefore, supplementation with probiotic bacteria may alleviate CPF renal toxicity and mitigate its oxidative stress and inflammation effects.

Novel nonthermal food processing practices: Their influences on nutritional and technological characteristics of cereal proteins.

Cereals, as the main crops cultivated and consumed in the world, are a rich source of carbohydrates, proteins, dietary fiber, and minerals. Despite the nutritional importance, their technological applicability in food matrices is also considerably important to be determined. Cereal processing is done to achieve goals as increasing the shelf-life, obtaining the desired technological function, and enhancing the nutritional value. Nonthermal processing is preferred regarding its potential to provide beneficial impacts with minimum adverse effect. Technological functionality and nutritional performance are considered as the most basic challenges through cereal processing, with proteins as the main factor to take part in such roles. Technological and nutritional functionalities of proteins have been found to be changed through nonthermal processing, which is generally attributed to conformational and structural changes. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate the impact of nonthermal processing on nutritional and technological characteristics of cereal proteins.

Effect of nanocomposite alginate-based film incorporated with cumin essential oil and TiO2 nanoparticles on chemical, microbial, and sensory properties of fresh meat/beef.

The environmental problems of synthetic plastics in food packaging have led researchers to synthesize biodegradable films. In this study, nanocomposite alginate-based films containing TiO2 nanoparticles (1%) and cumin essential oil (CEO, 2%) were fabricated and the potential of these films to protect beef from chemical [pH, total volatile base nitrogen (TVBN), peroxide value, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBA)] and microbial [total viable count, Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes, and Pseudomonas spp.] spoilage was evaluated during 24 days of storage (4°C). The active films significantly induced the reduction in lipid oxidation, microbial growth, and TVBN values, improved the sensory attributes of treated samples, maintained the redness of meats for a longer time, and increased the shelf life of beef from 4 to 16 days. The results of this study showed that TiO2/CEO alginate-based nanocomposite film has a great potential for application in meat and meat products.

Comparison between response surface methodology and genetic algorithm analysis to optimize lactic acid production by Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus acidophilus under ultrasonic pretreatment.

This work compared response surface methodology (RSM) and genetic algorithm (GA) analysis to optimize the lactic acid content by Lactobacillus rhamnosus PTCC 1637 and Lactobacillus acidophilus PTCC 1643 in a medium based on date syrup. Three parameters including concentrations of sucrose [10 and 20% (w/w)] and yeast extract [1, 2 and 3% (w/w)] along with different amplitudes of ultrasound (30 kHz, 25 and 50%) were investigated in terms of their impacts on both viable cell counts and lactic acid production. Regarding RSM and GA, optimized samples were selected by achieving high lactic acid concentration. The results indicated that an increase in the amounts of sucrose and yeast extract led to increasing the cell growth and lactic acid production. Application of ultrasound at 25% amplitude significantly (P < 0.05) stimulated the fermentation process. However, increasing the amplitude to 50% significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the lactic acid production compared with the control samples. The best treatment was observed at 20% sucrose, 3% yeast extract and 25% ultrasound amplitude. The present results indicate that the best productivity of lactic acid can be achieved at appropriate fermentation conditions, including a suitable amplitude of ultrasound and supplementation of date syrup.

Subacute toxicity of chlorpyrifos on histopathological damages, antioxidant activity, and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the rat model.

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is an extensively used organophosphorus pesticide for agricultural, industrial, and domestic purposes. Previous studies have reported the adverse effects of CPF, such as intoxication incidents, endocrine disruption, cardiovascular diseases, as well as histopathological and oxidative damage. The aims of the present study were to elucidate short time subacute toxicity of CPF in male rats. Sprague-Dawley male rats (n = 32) were divided into four groups (n = 8) and received CPF as 3.25 mg/kg body weight (b.w) (Group A), 6.75 mg/kg b.w (Group B), 13.5 mg/kg b.w (Group C), and corn oil (control or Group D) daily via gavage for 15 days. The rats were sacrificed and oxidative damages, pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1ß), and histopathological changes were determined in the lung, liver, kidney, heart, and testis tissues as well as plasma. According to our result, administration of CPF caused a significant increase in malondialdehid level and catalase activity while a significant decrease in superoxide dismutase activity in all tissues. In addition, a significant decrease in TNF-α observed in all tissues and plasma duo to the CPF. Histopathological evaluation of CPF-treated samples revealed a dose-dependent tissue toxicity in the liver, heart, lung, and kidney with less sensitivity of testicular and kidney tissues. These results suggest the potential of CPF in inducing oxidative stress at low doses and short duration time with similar trends in different tissues. As well as, due to the effects of CPF on some pro-inflammatory mediators, more comprehensive studies are recommended.

Diazinon reduction in apple juice using probiotic bacteria during fermentation and storage under refrigeration.

The main objective of this work was to study the effects of probiotic strains, probiotic primary inoculated population, concentrations of spiked diazinon, physiology of probiotic bacteria, fermentation times, and cold storage period in six consecutive stages on diazinon reduction in apple juice. Chemical properties (pH, total acidity, and sugar content), probiotic viability, and diazinon reduction percent were monitored during fermentation and cold storage. Dispersive solid phase extraction (dSPE) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to extract and measure diazinon concentration. Results showed that Lactobacillus acidophilus revealed the highest ability to reduce diazinon in apple juice after fermentation. Inoculation of L. acidophilus at 9 log CFU/mL showed significantly higher diazinon reducing ability than 7 log CFU/mL. L. acidophilus reduced diazinon in apple juice samples containing 1000 µg/L of spiked diazinon significantly higher than those containing 5000 µg/L. Heat-killed (dead) L. acidophilus bacteria reduced less diazinon content at the end of fermentation than viable bacteria. Furthermore, 72 h of fermentation was more effective in diazinon reduction. Spiked diazinon is completely disappeared at the end of cold storage (28 days) in treatments containing L. acidophilus, while the viability of probiotic bacteria required for causing health-promoting properties was maintained in apple juice.

The potential use of ultrasound-assisted bleaching in removing heavy metals and pigments from soybean oil using kinetic, thermodynamic and equilibrium modeling.

In this research, the sorption behavior (kinetic, isotherm, and thermodynamic modeling) of heavy metals (Cu (II) and Fe (II)) and pigments (carotenoid and chlorophyll) onto activated bentonite clay was investigated for soybean oil under industrial (IBM) and ultrasonic bleaching method (UBM). A nonlinear fitting approach was used to determine the best-fit isotherm and kinetic models by two statistical criteria including the coefficient of determination (R2) and chi-square (χ2). The adsorption of metal ions and pigments onto activated bentonite clay under UBM was quite well by the pseudo-first-order model. In both bleaching methods, the equilibrium adsorption data follows the Toth isotherm model, presenting the sorption occurrence tends to be on a heterogeneous surface. The results indicated that the adsorption thermodynamics was endothermic in nature and the process was spontaneous between 35 and 65 °C.