behzad masoumi

Among all edible mushrooms, truffles are the most expensive ones. This study assessed nutritional properties and phylogenic characteristics of black truffles grown in two regions of southern Iran.

In this experimental study, the samples were collected from two towns of Firuzabad and Sarvestan in Fars Province, southern Iran. They were analyzed in terms of chemical properties (carbohydrate, protein, reducing sugar, antioxidant, fat, minerals, and ash) according to the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) procedures. The sequence alignment and tree were determined using Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA7) software. The Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region of rDNA of the two truffles was amplified using ITS1 and ITS4 primers and were sequenced. The phylogenic analysis was conducted using Nucleotide Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) in the GeneBank (NCBI).

Specimens for the two regions were very similar in composition. The samples of Firuzabad and Sarvestan contained 63.5 and 66% carbohydrate, 13.06 and 12.93% protein, 5.81 and 5.69% fat, 5.16 and 5.05% ash, 2.05 and 1.72% reducing sugar based on dry weight, respectively. The truffles belonged to the species of Terfezia claveryi and the IST sequences of the truffles of the two areas were similar.

The Iranian black truffles were shown to be a good source of carbohydrate, protein, and minerals. These truffles in comparison to other mushroom had more antioxidant activity considering Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) values of 21.57 and 23.54 mmol per 100 g on dryweightbase. The genome sequences of truffles for the two cities were identical.

Saffron roast chicken is one of the most popular and delicious foods in Iran, which is prepared from a mixture of saffron with chicken meat and then cooking the mixture. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of saffron on the chicken meat stored at refrigerator temperature.
After mixing chicken meat with saffron powder stigma, the microbial, physicochemical and texture factors such as Staphylococcus aureus, Fecal coliforms, mold and yeast, pH, water holding capacity (WHC), percentage of cooking loss, lipid oxidation (TBARs) and textural profile analysis were measured. All of these experiments were carried out during the storage period.
In samples treated with saffron, TBARs (Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) were less than control samples, and other parameters had no significant difference with the control sample. The overall conclusion is based on this principle that saffron reduces fat oxidation in chicken breast meat during storage, but has no statistically significant effect compared to the control sample in relation to other microbial parameters and texture quality. No antimicrobial activity was observed due to the lack of use of saffron as an aqueous or alcoholic extract.
saffron stigma powder can be considered as an improving agent of physico-chemical characteristics of chicken meat.