Effect of packaging methods and storage conditions on quality characteristics of flour product naan.

The quality characteristics of naan from flour products under various packaging methods stored at different temperatures (25, 4 and - 20 °C) for different time (0-49 days) were investigated. Packaging methods included ordinary plastic packaging (OPP), vacuum packaging (VP) and deoxygenation packaging (DP). Sensory value, acid value, moisture content and microbial count of naan during storage were evaluated. The results showed that the total demerit points of sensory of DP naan stored at 25 °C had considerably lower levels. The moisture content of naan in DP and VP at 25 °C during storage had not been affected, while in OPP increased; the acid values of naan increased, but in DP was the lowest; the total microbiological count (MC) of naan in OPP, VP and DP at 5th day reached 2.25, 3.04 and 1.99 log CFU g-1, respectively. At 4 and - 20 °C, the moisture content of naan in OPP, VP and DP during storage reduced, the acid values at storage the 38th day dramatically increased (p < 0.05), the MC slowly increased, but these in DP samples was lower. The Ultraviolet (UV) and microwave (MW) radiation time was varied to study its effect on the shelf life of naan at 25 °C. The moisture content of UV and MW treated naan were not significantly different from those of control naan (p > 0.05), but the demerit points, acid values and MC reduced, the shelf life of naan was extended. The combination of DP and MW methods was a better efficient way to reduced negative quality changes of naan during storage.

Effect of pulsed electric fields (PEF) on physico-chemical properties, ß-carotene and antioxidant activity of air-dried apricots.

Fresh apricots pre-treated by pulsed electric fields at different intensities [LPEF, 0.65 kV/cm, 100 Hz, 20 µs and total treatment time 30 s; HPEF1, 1.25 kV/cm, 100 Hz, 20 µs and total treatment time 30 s; HPEF2, 1.25 kV/cm, 100 Hz, 20 µs and total treatment time 60 s], along with controls [non-treated, non-treated and sulphite treated, and heat pre-treatment at 80 °C, for 10 min (HC)] and soaked in 0.2% sodium sulphite solution for 1 h and then were subject to hot air drying. The changes in drying rate, polyphenol oxidase, peroxidase, and ß-carotene contents as well as antioxidant activity and colour in pre-treatment and hot air-dried apricot samples were investigated. PEF and heat treatments increased the drying rate of apricots. PEF treatments had no effect on the PPO activity and decreased the POD activity (p < 0.05). HPEF2 treatment retained more ß-carotene, higher antioxidant activity and suffered less browning during processing. Overall, the results indicate that combining sulphite treatment with PEF produces dried apricots with more ß-carotene and antioxidant activity, and better colour.

Xinjiang herbal tea exerts immunomodulatory activity via TLR2/4-mediated MAPK signaling pathways in RAW264.7 cells and prevents cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression in mice.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: A multi-herb Chinese medicinal formula consisting of a variety of medicinal and edible materials has long been consumed as a hot drink and immune enhancer for its efficiency to increase disease resistance in Xinjiang, China. However, no fundamental data has been collected associated with traditional consumption. The present work was designed to evaluate the immunostimulatory role of Xinjiang herbal tea (XMT-WE) in RAW 264.7 macrophages and cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced immunosuppression mice model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: RAW 264.7 cells were treated with various concentrations of XMT-WE. Nitric oxide (NO) levels were determined using Griess reagents, and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were investigated with a cytometric bead array kit. The effects on mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, and TNF-α were investigated. Furthermore, activation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB and AP-1 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways was investigated. RESULTS: Pre-treatment with XMT-WE significantly increased secretion of NO, IL-6, and TNF-α. In addition, XMT-WE markedly increased expression of iNOS, COX-2, and TNF-α as well as AP-1 and NF-κB translocation from the cytoplasm into the nucleus, which was associated with an increase of phosphorylated ERK, JNK, and p38 as well as membrane receptors such as toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4. Moreover, XMT-WE promoted the secretion of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced immunosuppressive mice. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that XMT-WE at 50 µg/ml exerts immunomodulatory activity via TLR2/4-mediated MAPK signaling pathways in RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, in vivo experiments revealed that XMT-WE at the dose of 50 and 100 mg/kg strongly stimulated inflammatory cytokines.

Preparation of cationic starch microspheres and study on their absorption to anionic-type substance.

Cationic starch microspheres (CSMs) were prepared from lab-made neutral starch-based microspheres using a cationic adsorbent, namely 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, as the cationic etherifying agent. Detection by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and laser diffraction techniques revealed that CSMs had coarse surfaces with good sphericity and dispersibility. Differential thermal analysis showed the lower thermostability of the CSMs' main chains. Furthermore, scores of experiments confirmed that CSMs are capable of absorption to N-(phosphonomethyl) iminodiacetic acid (PMIDA), a type of anionic substance, which is the intermediate to the preparation of glyphosate, maximally up to 95.24 mg/g. Compared with the Freundlich isotherm model, the Langmuir isotherm model can better describe the absorption process. The kinetic study showed that the pseudo-second-order model demonstrated a better correlation of the experimental data in contrast with the pseudo-first-order model. It can be therefore concluded that the rate-limiting step was the chemical absorption rather than the mass transport.

Neuroprotective effects of macranthoin G from Eucommia ulmoides against hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells via inhibiting NF-κB activation.

Oxidative stress-mediated cellular injury has been considered as a major cause of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases. The scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediated by antioxidants may be a potential strategy for retarding the disease's progression. Macranthoin G (MCG), isolated from Eucommia ulmoides, is a derivative from chlorogenic acid methyl ester and caffeic acid. This study is aimed to investigate the protective role of MCG against the cytotoxicity induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and to elucidate potential protective mechanisms in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. The results showed that the treatment of PC12 cells with MCG prior to H2O2 exposure effectively increased the cell viability, and stabilized the mitochondria membrane potential (MMP); furthermore, it enhanced the antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and the levels of intracellular glutathione (GSH); it also decreased the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, intracellular ROS, caspase-3 activation, as well as cell apoptosis. In addition, the MCG treatment minimized the cell injury by H2O2 via down-regulation of the NF-κB pathway as well as activation of phosphorylation of IκBα, p38, and the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). These results showed that that MCG is promising as a potential therapeutic agent for neurodegenerative diseases induced by oxidative damage and should be encouraged for further research.

Influence of thermal and dense-phase carbon dioxide pasteurization on physicochemical properties and flavor compounds in Hami melon juice.

The influence of thermal and dense-phase carbon dioxide (DP-CO(2)) pasteurization on physicochemical properties and flavor compounds in Hami melon juice was investigated. Melon juice was pasteurized using DP-CO(2) treatment and compared to a conventional high-temperature-short-time (HTST) method. The DP-CO(2) treatment was carried out using a DP-CO(2) unit (55 degrees C, 60 min, and 35 MPa). The thermal pasteurization was performed at 90 degrees C for 60 s with an adapted laboratory setup. Effects of variations to both treatments on pH and concentrations of microbes, beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, sugars, organic acids, and volatile compounds were investigated. The changes of pH and organic acid and sugar concentrations were not significant. There were significant differences between treatments in microbial count, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and volatile compound concentrations. In general, DP-CO(2) treatment had less of an effect on the measured variables than the thermal treatment.

Effect of asafoetida extract on growth and quality of Pleurotus ferulic.

Different concentrations of asafoetida extract were added to the medium of Pleurotus ferulic and the effects of the extract on growth of P. ferulic mycelium and fruiting bodies was observed. As the amount of asafoetida extract additive was increased, the growth of Pleurotus mycelium was faster, the time formation of buds was shorter and that yield of fruiting bodies was stimulated. However, overdosing of asafoetida extract hampered the growth of Pleurotus ferulic. The amino acid composition and volatile components in three kinds of pleurotus' were contrasted, including wild pleurotus (WP), cultivated pleurotus with asafoetida extract (CPAE) and cultivated pleurotus without asafoetida extract (CP). CPAE with 2.3 g/100 g asafoetida extract addition had the highest content of total amino acids, as well as essential amino acids. WP had a higher content of total amino acids and essential amino acids than CP. In addition, CPAE with 2.3 g/100 g had the highest score of protein content of pleurotus fruiting bodies, while WP had a higher score than CP. In the score of essential amino acid components of pleurotus fruiting bodies, CP had the highest score, while CPAE was higher than WP. Asafoetida extract influenced the volatile components of Pleurotus ferulic greatly, making the volatile components of cultivated pleurotus more similar to those of wild pleurotus (WP).