Nutritional and sensory characteristics of bread enriched with roasted prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) seed flour.

The present study aims to investigate the nutritional, antioxidative, and sensory characteristics of bread enriched with roasted prickly pear seed (RPPS) flour. Six flour blends were formulated by partial replacement of wheat flour with 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10% RPPS flour. Proximate composition, phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidant activity measured using a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical of wheat and RPPS flours were determined. Nutritional and sensory characteristics of bread enriched with different levels of RPPS flour were evaluated. The results show that the content of total phenolics, flavonoids and radical scavenging activity in RPPS flour were about 4.5, 4.7 and 4.0 fold higher, respectively, when compared to wheat flour. The incorporation of different levels of RPPS flour in bread formulation significantly increases the dietary fibers, fat, and ash contents and reduces the carbohydrate content of the produced breads. The highest (p ≤ 0.05) phenolic concentrations and antioxidant activity values were found in bread enriched with 6, 8 and 10% RPPS flour. Generally, the replacement of wheat flour with RPPS flour results in a significant decrease (p ≤ 0.05) in the specific volume, however, no significant difference (p ≥ 0.05) was observed between the 2% RPPS-enriched flour and control breads. The sensory properties of breads were not affected at low levels up to 6% supplementation, but at more than 6% RPPS flour supplementation, the bread became unacceptable.

Hypolipidemic and Hypocholesterolemic Effect of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) Seeds Oil in Experimental Male Rats.

The current investigation aimed to evaluate the influence of roselle seeds oil (RSO), coconut oil (CNO) and binary mixture of them on serum lipids of experimental rats. Fatty acid composition of native and blended oils was determined. Thirty five male Albino rats (145- 160 g) were used throughout this study. The rats were fed AIN-93G diet containing 10% fat from CNO, RSO, B1 (25%RSO+ 75 %CNO), B2 (50 %RSO+ 50 %CNO or B3 (75 %RSO+ 25 % CNO) for eight weeks. Blood samples were collected at the beginning, every two weeks during the experiment, and at the end of the experiment. At the time of sacrifice, organs weights in relation to their body weights were immediately recorded. Substitution of 25, 50 and 75 % of CNO with equal amounts of RSO reduced saturated fatty acids by 16.04, 32.58 and 48.77 %, respectively in blended oils. The content of linoleic (C18:2) increased from not detected level in CNO to 9.81, 19.67 and 29.48 % in CNO blended with 25, 50 and 75 % of RSO, respectively. The relative liver weights of rats fed CNO was significantly higher than that of those fed RSO and blended oils. Mixing CNO with various levels of RSO attenuates the adverse effect in the relative liver weights which caused by CNO administration. At the end of the experiment, blinding coconut oil with 25, 50 and 75 % of roselle oil inhibited the elevation in total cholesterol by 9.69, 28.16 and 36.16 %, respectively compared to CNO rats. Rats fed diet containing CNO for 8 weeks had significantly the highest content (126.49 mg/dl) of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, while those fed 100 % RSO (as a source of lipids) had the lowest concentration of LDL-C (64.32 mg/dL). Atherogenic index (AI) values of rats submitted B1, B2 and B3 were about 1.12, 1.23 and 1.28 times as low as those of rats fed CNO diet, respectively. The results of this study indicate that roselle seeds oil (RSO) reduces hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia in rats fed diet rich in saturated fatty acids.

Recovery of used frying sunflower oil with sugar cane industry waste and hot water.

The main goal of the current investigation was to use sugar cane bagasse ash (SCBA) and to compare its adsorption efficiency with Magnesol XL as synthetic adsorbents to regenerate the quality of used frying sunflower oil. In addition, to evaluate the effect of water washing process on the quality of used frying oil and the treated oil. The metal patterns of sugar cane bagasse ash and Magnesol XL were determined. Some physical and chemical properties of unused, used frying and used-treated sunflower oil were determined. Sunflower oil sample was heated at 180 °C + 5 °C, then frozen French fries potato were fried every 30 min. during a continuous period of 20 h. Oil samples were taken every 4 h. The filter aids were added individually to the used frying oil at levels 1, 2 and 3 % (w / v), then mechanically stirred for 60 min at 105 °C. The results indicate that all the filter aids under study were characterized by high levels of Si and variable levels of other minerals. The highest level of Si was recorded for sugar cane bagasse ash (SCBA) was 76.79 wt. %. Frying process caused significant (P ≤ 0.05) increases in physico-chemical properties of sunflower oil. The treatments of used frying sunflower oil with different levels of sugar cane bagasse ash and Magnesol XL caused significant (P ≤ 0.05) increase in the quality of treated oil, however the soap content of treated oil was increased, therefore, the effect of water washing process on the quality of used frying and used-treated sunflower oil was evaluated. The values of soap and Total polar compounds after water treatment were about 4.62 and 7.27 times as low as that for sunflower oil treated with 3 % sugar cane bagasse ash (SCBA). The results of the present study indicate that filtration treatment with different levels of sugar cane bagasse ash( SCBA) regenerated the quality of used sunflower oil and possess higher adsorbing effects than the synthetic filter aid ( Magnesol XL ) in removing oil oxidation products. The current study also recommends using hot water treatment for improving the quality of used frying oil.

Bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of fresh and processed white cauliflower.

Brassica species are very rich in health-promoting phytochemicals, including phenolic compounds, vitamin C, and minerals. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different blanching (i.e., water and steam) and cooking (i.e., water boiling, steam boiling, microwaving, and stir-frying) methods on the nutrient components, phytochemical contents (i.e., polyphenols, carotenoids, flavonoid, and ascorbic acid), antioxidant activity measured by DPPH assay, and phenolic profiles of white cauliflower. Results showed that water boiling and water blanching processes had a great effect on the nutrient components and caused significant losses of dry matter, protein, and mineral and phytochemical contents. However, steam treatments (blanching and cooking), stir-frying, and microwaving presented the lowest reductions. Methanolic extract of fresh cauliflower had significantly the highest antioxidant activity (68.91%) followed by the extracts of steam-blanched, steam-boiled, stir-fried, and microwaved cauliflower 61.83%, 59.15%, 58.93%, and 58.24%, respectively. HPLC analysis revealed that the predominant phenolics of raw cauliflower were protocatechuic acid (192.45), quercetin (202.4), pyrogallol (18.9), vanillic acid (11.90), coumaric acid (6.94), and kaempferol (25.91) mg/100 g DW, respectively.

Biochemical and histopathological effects of administration various levels of Pomposia (Syzygium cumini) fruit juice as natural antioxidant on rat health.

The aim of the current investigation was to evaluate the effects of administration various levels (400, 800 and 1,200 ppm) of pomposia extracts as natural antioxidant in comparison with BHT as synthetic antioxidant on some biochemical activities and histopathological examination of rats. Some of biochemical tests i.e. Alkaline phosphatase, transaminases]Aspartate transferase (AST) and alanine transferase (ALT) [,bilirubin, urea and uric acid were conducted. Histopathological examinations were carried out on the liver and kidney tissue of rats administrated tested substances. The biochemical results indicated that the administration of polyphenolic compounds present in pomposia juice did not cause any significant (p ≥ 0.05) changes in the biochemical parameters whereas the administration of BHT at 200 ppm caused significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase in the activities of enzymes relevant to the functions of liver and kidney. Microscopically examinations of liver and kidney of rat administered various levels of pomposia juice had the same character as that of control rats (this means that the polyphenolic compounds present in pomposia juice did not cause any adverse affect in liver and kidney), in contrast the administration of 200 ppm of BHT caused marked pathological changes in liver and kidney of rats. The results of the current investigation suggest using pomposia juice as safe food grade substance.