Nutritional Quality and Acceptability of Brown Rice Ice Cream Sandwich.

Processing adds value to agricultural products, making them more nutritious and economically competitive. Brown rice, by its unremoved bran, contains substantial amounts of protein, dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins; while buffalo's milk has higher protein and calcium and lower cholesterol than other dairy milks. These were suitable ingredients to develop healthy and nutritious value-added product. An ice cream sandwich was developed using brown rice flour (BRF) substituted at 0, 40, 50 and 60% (wt/wt), and fresh buffalo's milk. Acceptability of the product was determined through a consumer survey (n=100; 15 to 30 y old). Consumer sensory evaluation showed that cracker substituted with 50% BRF complemented with buffalo's milk-based ice cream produced an acceptable ice cream sandwich. This resulted in a brown rice cracker ice cream sandwich (BRICS) that has 164 kcal, 8 g fat, 5.7 g protein, 20 g carbohydrates and key minerals. Product testing revealed that taste, mouthfeel, and aroma were the top attributes considered by respondents in buying ice cream products, and BRICS achieved high acceptability rating in these attributes. BRICS obtained an overall acceptability rating of 8.9 in a 9-point hedonic scale. Eighty eight percent (88%) of the respodents were willing to buy BRICS at PhP15-20. Therefore, BRICS is a convenient, nutritious, and marketable value-added product made from BRF and buffalo's milk.

Identification and evaluation of antioxidants in Japanese parsley.

Two cultivars of Japanese parsley were harvested in different seasons; their antioxidant capacities were evaluated by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) methods, and the contents of hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidants were compared. Japanese parsley possessed potent antioxidant capacities both in hydrophilic and lipophilic extracts when evaluated by ORAC methods. LC/MS/MS analyses revealed that chlorogenic acid and four kinds of quercetin glycosides were major antioxidants in the hydrophilic extract. Lutein was the main contributor to the antioxidant capacity of the lipophilic extract. Antioxidant capacities of the hydrophilic extracts of both cultivars tended to be higher in winter because of the increase in the contents of chlorogenic acid and quercetin glycosides. An obvious trend in the lipophilic antioxidant capacities or lutein contents was not observed irrespective of the cultivar.

Resistant starch, fermented resistant starch, and short-chain fatty acids reduce intestinal fat deposition in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Obesity is a growing global public health dilemma. The objective of this project is to develop and validate a screening mechanism for bioactive compounds that may reduce body fat and promote health. Resistant starch (RS) reduces body fat in rodents. Amylose starch that has a high content of RS, endogenous compounds obtained from the ceca of amylose starch fed mice (fermented RS), and individual short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) were tested. The Caenorhabditis elegans model and Nile red staining were selected to determine the intestinal fat deposition response to bioactive components. The fluorescence intensity of Nile red was reduced to 76.5% (amylose starch), 78.8% (fermented RS), 63.6% (butyrate), or 28-80% (SCFAs) of controls, respectively (P < 0.001). The reduced intestinal fat deposition suggests reduced food intake or increased energy expenditure. C. elegans is a practical animal model to screen for bioactive compounds that may prevent or treat obesity.