Journal of Chemical Health Risks
Volume:3 Issue: 2, Spring 2013

Innumerable percentage of the world population suffers from shortage of vitamins and minerals which is usually called malnutrition. Enough perception and access of such essential vitamins and minerals have close relationship with eternity, physical and mental developments, good health, general welfare of individuals and societies. In this research, the fortification of yogurt with iron has been studied. The kinds of iron used in this study include: FeCl3 (H2O)6, The whey protein-chelated iron (Fe-WP) and The Fe-Casein complex (Fe-CN) that each of them were evaluated in three quantities (10, 20 and 40 milligrams per one kilogram of milk). Then their chemical experiments and organoleptic specifications were studied after keeping 21 days in refrigerator and their results were reported. Results showed that all of these iron compounds were suitable for yogurt but two complexes of iron, including Fe-WP and Fe-CN, were better to be used.

A highly convenient, selective and sensitive procedure for pre-concentration, separation and determination of sub-ppm levels of Cu2+ in aqueous samples based on modification of octadecyl silica bonded phase membrane (OSBPM) disks is described using benzildithiosemicarbazone (BDSC) as a powerful modifier. It was revealed that each loaded OSBPM disk with 6.0 mg of BDSC serves as excellent bead for trapping, enrichment and isolation of trace copper. The analyte was trapped during introduction the aqueous solutions through the surface of each modified membrane, quantitatively, while other interfering ions passed through the disk to drain. The adsorbed Cu2+ ions were then stripped by appropriate eluting agents followed by monitoring of the eluates by FAAS. The effects of sample pH, amount of the modifier, stripping agent types and sample flow-rates were also investigated. The described method permitted a pre-concentration factor of about 200. The detection limit of the procedure was predicted to be about 0.013 ng L-1. The method was successfully employed for recovery and quantification of trace copper in different water samples.

Textile wastewaters due to the toxic effects of dyestuffs and other organic compounds and their stability toward light and oxidizing agents have led to an environmental problem. Several treatment methods for dye removal have been investigated. Membrane process is one of the simplest and most effective methods for dye removal from industrial wastewaters. Electrospun nanofibrous membranes have high specific surface area, high porosity, and small pore size. Therefore, they have been suggested as excellent candidates for many applications, especially in wastewater treatment. In this paper, we introduce the fundamental aspects of electrospun nanofibrous membranes and their properties, as well as highlight the enormous potential of nanofibrous membrane as adsorbents for textile dye removal. Finally, characteristic parameters for membrane performance are enumerated. Permeation flux, rejection, membrane porosity, permeability, molecular weight cut off, and decolorization are considered to be the most important ones.

Extracts of Cotoneaster medicus, Glycyrrhiza glabra, as endemic plants of Iran, along with mixture of them were investigated for their antioxidant activities using 2, 2- diphenyl-1-picrylhidrazyl (DPPH) reagent. UV-Vis spectrophotometry method was used to evaluate the ability of Cotoneaster and Glycyrrhiza glabra antioxidant to scavenge DPPH radical. The kinetic parameters such as rate constant and activation energy in experimental conditions were calculated. The rate constants of the H atom abstraction by DPPH (k1), in the presence of C. medicus and G. glabra antioxidant were obtained under pseudo-first-order conditions at different temperatures. The order in DPPH radical-scavenging was: mixture of C. medicus and G. glabra > C. medicus > G. glabra plants. The numerical values of activation energy were found to be 45.84 kJ.mol-1for G. glabra and 62.02kJ.mol-1 for C. medicus.

The effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi on nitrogen concentration of berseem clover were examined in contaminated soil with cadmium. Examined factors included: levels of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation (Glomus mosseae) (With and without inoculation), and different levels of soil contamination by cadmium (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg.kg-1). The results showed that the effects of cadmium levels and mycorrhiza fungi were significant on nitrogen concentration (P≤ 0.01). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi increased nitrogen concentration in the root and aerial plant 30% and 40.3% respectively. Also cadmium in concentration of 80 mg.kg-1 reduced nitrogen concentration in root and aerial plant 28.3% and 35% respectively.

Microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) method has been compared with hydrodistillation (HD) conventional technique for extraction of essential oil from Achillea millefolium. Microwave-assisted hydrodistillation were examined at three levels of microwave powers (300, 500, and 700 W). Obtained results show that MAHD offers important advantages over HD in terms of energy savings and extraction time (20 min against 2.5 h). Also, the essential oils were analyzed by GC-MS. The amount of oxygenated compounds and monoterpene, such as 1,8 -Cineole, Lavandulyl acetate,Caryophylla-dien, Aromadendrene were increased in the microwave method. All these results suggest that MAHD represents an excellent alternative method for extraction of essential oils from plant materials.

Barrier properties are one of the most important factors in the edible film. In this study, edible mungbean films were prepared containing (0%, 15%, 30%, 45%) concentrations of rosemary aqueous extract. Then the effect of rosemary was investigated on colorimetric and barrier properties (water vapor permeability, oxygen permeability). Rosemary extract increased the absorption of color in the visible region, which in turn led to increase of the parameters a (index color tends toward green) and b (index color tends towards yellow). The results showed that increasing concentrations of rosemary extract have a significant effect(p <0.05) to reduce the amount of oxygen and water vapor permeability. Also turbidity of mungbean starch was increased with increasing concentrations of rosemary in the film. Improving barrier properties and the colorimetric properties were showed by rosemary extract compounds that these materials can use as the safety of food and pharmaceutical packaging industry.

Lipid oxidation has adverse effect on food deterioration and human health. The antioxidant activity of fennel seed extracts (FSE) was evaluated by synthetic antioxidant. Its oxidative stability was compared in olive oils in concentrations of BHA (75 ppm), BHT(75 ppm) and 1:1 BHA to BHT ratio. Peroxide (PV), P-anisidine (AV) and TOTOX values were evaluated to assess the extent of oil deterioration. During 28 days of storage, a compromise was accomplished based on the results assessed by PV, TOTOX, at which the antioxidant activity of FSE was higher than BHA (75 ppm), BHT (75 ppm) and BHA to BHT ratio of 1:1 at the concentration of 150 ppm. Among them, concentration of 150 ppm showed the best antioxidant activity. The results of present experiments suggest that FSE has potential source of natural antioxidant for the application in food industry to prevent lipid oxidation.