Alginate/whey protein isolate-based emulgel as an alternative margarine replacer in processed cheese: Impact on rheological, mechanical, nutritional, and sensory characteristics.

The effects of partial or full replacement of margarine by alginate/whey protein isolate-based olive oil emulgel on nutritional, physicochemical, mechanical, and rheological properties of processed cheese (PC) were investigated in this work. All formulated samples had the same amount of total fat, DM, and pH. According to the results of the fatty acids profile, the PC sample in which the margarine was fully replaced by the emulgel (EPC100) had the highest (49.84%) oleic acid content and showed a reduction of 23.7% in SFA compared with the control sample (EPC0; formulated just with margarine). In addition, EPC0 had the highest hardness among various cheese samples, which was also confirmed by its compact microstructure. Dynamic oscillatory measurements revealed that EPC100 had the highest crossover strain (or resistance to deformation). The high rigidity of this sample was related to the 3-dimensional structure of emulgel. According to the creep test results, EPC100 showed the lowest relative recovery (flowability). A high temperature dependency of viscoelastic moduli was observed in EPC0 at 42°C. No significant differences were observed between the color attributes and sensory properties of the various cheese samples. Alginate/whey protein isolate-based olive oil emulgel can be considered as a healthy margarine replacer in PC.

Studying structural and rheological properties of alginate-whey protein isolate cold-set hybrid emulgels at various pH levels.

Effects of different pH values (4-7) and whey protein isolate (WPI) concentrations (0.5-1.5%) were evaluated on physical, mechanical, and rheological properties of cold-set alginate-based soybean oil hybrid emulgels. The pH value changes were more effective than WPI concentration changes on emulgel properties. According to syneresis and texture profile analysis results, 1% WPI was selected as the optimum concentration. The XRD analysis showed that calcium alginate (CA) emulgel at pH 6 had a different peak at 2θ of 14.8°, likely indicating the highest amount of ion-bridging and maximum number of junction zones. The homogeneity of CA and CA + WPI emulgels (determined by image entropy analysis) decreased by pH reduction from 7 to 4, which can be related to acid-induced intermolecular interactions between alginate chains. The rheological properties of CA and CA + WPI emulgels revealed predominant elastic character (G' > G'') at different pH values. Creep test results showed that the relative recovery of emulgel prepared at pH 7 and 5 was 18.10 and 63.83%, respectively, suggesting pH reduction contributed to increase in the elastic component of material. The findings of this study can be applied for developing structured cold-set emulgels as solid fat replacers in meat and dairy products.

The prophylactic effect of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruit extract on testicular toxicity induced by formaldehyde: An experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Formaldehyde (FA) is one of the most widely used materials in industries and in sciences. Prolonged contact with FA might have harmful effects on fertility due to the increase in the reactive oxygen species level. On the other hand, date palm (Phoenix Dactilifera L.) fruit extract (DPFE) contains a high concentration of natural antioxidants that could scavenge free radicals. Objective: The aim was to investigate the prophylactic effects of DPFE, with strong antioxidant properties, on FA-induced testicular toxicity in male mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two adult NMRI male mice with a weight range of 25-35 gr (9-10 wk old) were randomly divided into four groups: control group (distilled water, orally for 35 days), FA group (FA; 0.25 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.) for 20 days), treatment group (Date (DT) + FA; DPFE, 4 mg/kg for 35 days followed by FA administration, 0.25 mg/kg, i.p., for 20 days), date fruit extract group (DT; DPFE, 4 mg/kg, orally for 35 days). After this, blood was collected and left epididymis and testis tissues were isolated to evaluate the sperm parameters and histological examination, respectively. RESULTS: The FA administration increased the sperm morphological anomalies and reduced the sperm count, viability and motility, and also testosterone compared to the control group (p ≤ 0.001). In addition, histological studies of the testes showed that FA causes changes in the testis seminiferous tubules such as destruction of germinal epithelium and vacuolization of the tubules. The DPFE consumption before FA administration could partially ameliorate the reduced testosterone, sperm, and testicular parameters due to FA. CONCLUSION: The DPFE use might have discount effects on FA-induced testicular toxicity.