Journal of Food and Bioprocess Engineering
Volume:5 Issue: 2, Summer-Autumn 2022

In this research, an active packaging system with antioxidant properties has been designed for the shelf life extension of sausage. Cotton linter-based fibrous casing has been coated with thyme and rosemary extract with different percentages (0, 2, 4, and 6%). The water vapor permeability rate, extract loading on the casing, total phenolic content, DPPH radical scavenging activity and migration of phenolic compounds were determined in developed casings. Lipid oxidation (TBARS), film color and sensory properties of packed sausage were assessed during 2 months in cold storage (4 ± 1°C). Casings containing 0 and 2% of thyme and rosemary extract showed the most hydrophobic and the lowest water vapor permeability. Phenolic compounds migration was different from 60 to 191 (mg Gallic acid /g) and the result showed that releasing extent and rate of both extracts were significant (p < 0.05). Fibrous casing loaded with 6% thyme extract showed the highest antioxidant activity (1.01 mg malondialdehyde/ kg). Sausage packaged in a fibrous casing loaded with 6% thyme extract was preferred by the panelists in terms of overall acceptability. Regarding Sausage color, there was no significant difference between active and control packaged sausage samples (p > 0.05). There was a significant difference in color between extract loaded and control casings (p < 0.05). It was concluded that loading fibrous casing with natural antioxidant extract could be introduced an active antioxidant packaging which effectively can reduce fat oxidation in meat products.

The yield of the wheat crop is affected by the climate and soil parameters such as moisture and nutrients, plant pests and diseases. The main objective of this research is the feature level fusion of multiple effective criteria on the wheat yields using linear and machine learning regression models. The effects of vegetation condition, moisture, nutrients and pests on wheat yield are represented by spectral indices those are extracted from remotely sensed data. Optimum spectral indices are selected as the input features to each of the multiple linear and machine learning regression models such as decision tree, support vector regression and generalized regression neural network. The evaluation of the experimental results in eight wheat fields indicates that the wheat yield prediction based on spectral features fusion show the mean improvement of 0.81 in RMSE comparing with considering only one vegetation index in all regression models. Moreover, all investigated machine learning regression models have about 0.03 more performance than the multiple linear regression model as indicated by R2 coefficient. The generalized regression neural network model with the least RMSE error 0.0063 has the best results compared with other machine learning regression models and MLR.

Edible coatings are biodegradable and environment-friendly, used for reduce of plastic packaging. The prolonging of shelf life of food products is very important as even a few days extension of shelf life could represent a significant economic advantage for food companies. Cheese, in particular, is undoubtedly the most diversified and challenging group of dairy products and an excellent source of proteins, lipids, essential minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus), and vitamins.  The packaging materials of cheese should be designed and developed to improve cheese quality and preventing damage and spoilage. This review focuses on edible coating and their application on different cheese varieties to improve its shelf life as a substitute for non-biodegradable polymers, and the methods of preparation of edible coating (dipping, spraying, fluidization and Panning) has been discussed.

The study was undertaken to determine the comparative studies on the proximate composition and anti-nutritional factors of Garcinia kola. The proximate composition and anti-nutritional factors were performed on the seed kernel, fruit pulp, and the fruit pod of Garcinia kola. Analyses for nutritional (moisture content, ash, protein content, crude fibre, fat, carbohydrate) and anti-nutritional (phytate, oxalate tannin, alkaloid, saponin, flavonoid) composition were conducted. The fruit pod had higher ash content than the fruit pulp and seed kernel. The fruit pulp had the highest moisture content, followed by the fruit pod and lastly by the seed kernel. The protein and fat contents of the seed kernel and fruit pod were similar but higher than those of the fruit pulp. Carbohydrate content was higher in seed kernel than in the fruit pulp and fruit pod. The results of anti-nutritional analyses indicated that the seed kernel and fruit pulp of Garcinia kola did not have a high concentration of anti-nutrients. Thus, the consumption of the species is not detrimental to health and can be used as food supplements in food manufacturing.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of pomegranate peel powder on the physicochemical, barrier, and pH sensitivity of the films based on cassava starch. The pomegranate peel powder (PPP) was used at levels of 2, 4, 6, and 8% w/v in starch film formulation, and the thickness, water solubility, water vapor (WVP) and oxygen permeability, and opacity were determined, and the color variations of the films were also measured after immersion in different pH buffers (pH 4.0-9.0). The results demonstrated the addition of PPP to film formulation and increasing its levels, the water solubility, opacity, WVP, and oxygen permeability were increased (p<0.05), so that the values of these parameters in the control sample were 33.78%, 0.65 mm-1, 6.92 × 10-10 g/s.m.Pa, and 4.06 cc-mil/m2.Day, respectively, and in the film containing 8% of PPP reached 41.32%, 1.25 mm-1, 7.72 × 10-10 g/s.m.Pa, and 5.63 cc-mil/m2.Day, respectively. The results of examining the sensitivity of films to pH showed that the color of the produced films changed against changes in solution pH so that with increasing the pH of the solution to the neutral and alkaline range, the color of the films changed from reddish pink to green. According to obtained results, it can be concluded that the intelligent films based on cassava starch containing PPP can be used as pH-sensitive indicators to display the freshness of food products.

Honey has a long history of benefits for the treatment of digestive ailments. Certain honey types have well-established bioactive properties including antibacterial and prebiotic activities. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the amount of phenolic compounds and also investigating the prebiotic and antimicrobial activities of astragalus, thyme, and clover honey in Khuzestan. As a result of the phenolic content analysis among the honey samples, thyme honey showed the most prominent results in terms of the amount of phenolic compounds. Astragalus, thyme, and clover honey samples had good antibacterial activity against Salmonella Typhi and Listeria innocua. Moreover, the studied types of honey have improved the stimulating effect on the growth of selective probiotic bacteria (L. Plantarum). Thus, this study provides fundamental knowledge of honey prebiotic and antibacterial activities for the development of functional products.

The restriction on the development of agricultural fields due to the population growth and the conversion of arable land to residential one has caused the failure in the production of macular crops. Also, the increase in greenhouse gases especially resulting from livestock on farms and also urban life and the resulting climate change; have posed major environmental challenges to almost all human activities over the years. Currently, modern biotechnology can be used for sustainable development in agricultural productivity and related industries to solve human problems in diseases, poverty, pollution, and the current food crisis. Because the traditional systems can no longer meet the world's food needs. Therefore, there is an urgent need to use modern biotechnology to accelerate the development of executive programs.

Due to the important role of bioactive secondary metabolites in cosmeceuticals, functional foods, nutraceuticals, therapeutics, and health care, more attention has been paid to the extraction of active components using efficient extraction methods. Efficient, economical, and promising extraction routes are essential for resource recovery without compromising the quality and efficacy of the extracted products for desired applications. The present review emphasizes the recent developments and improvements in extraction methods of essential oils and oleoresins that have been achieved through different and innovative processing techniques and their diverse applicability. Besides, the trends of extraction techniques, the effect on essential oil glands in different extractions, industrial relevance, and optimization design were found important to industry professionals in realizing wider possibilities for selecting suitable extraction methods and developing new sustainable bioactive compounds-based formulations. In addition, this review facilitates the academics to select the effective extraction method in their research as extraction is the first and crucial part of plant-based research. The study revealed that the extraction methods developed using the combinations of novel technologies such as microwave assisted, ultrasound assisted, enzyme assisted, and supercritical fluid extraction were effective and efficient for the extraction of both essential oils and oleoresins. The extracts' applications are widening due to the advance in the delivery systems, such as micro and nanoencapsulation technologies.

Medicinal plants have a good potency in preventing and curing diseases. This study was done to develop a functional Ready-to-drink beverage from Kalanchoe pinnata (Akkapana) leaf and Aloe vera gel with antiurolithiatic, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory properties.  Sensory evaluation was conducted for different formulations with different volume ratios of K. pinnata and A. vera. Among those formulations, the highest sensory scores were obtained for flavor and overall acceptability in 70:30 (v/v %) of K. pinnata and A. vera. That formulation was selected as the final beverage for further analysis. Proximate composition and antinutritional factors were respectively analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Physiochemical properties in the final beverage were analyzed. Methanolic extracts of the above plant samples and final beverage were analyzed for evaluating the functional properties such as total phenolic (TPC), total flavonoid (TFC), carotene content (TC), antiurolithiatic, antioxidative, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Tannin was detectable in both plant materials while Saponin and Alkaloids were only present in K. pinnata. K. pinnata exhibited the highest TPC (1.3141 mg GAE/g dw), TFC (0.7364 mg RE/g dw) and TC (32.8049 mg/g dw) compared to A. vera. The highest DPPH inhibition (80.26%) and α-Amylase inhibition (23.33%) were shown by K. pinnata and the highest protein denaturation inhibition (71.43%) was exhibited in A. vera compared with other tested samples. Results of in vitro antiurolithiatic test in two plant materials and beverage exhibited inhibition action in both nucleation and aggregation assays. Results indicate K. pinnata leaf and A. vera gel can be effectively used for developing a functional beverage with antiurolithiatic, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Heavy metals have toxic effects, pathogenic, carcinogenicity and genetic mutations on human health. The aim of this study was to determine the health risk assessment of heavy metals in 24 food products of some commercial canned samples from Shushtar city (Khuzestan province). From each product, 6 samples were randomly prepared in 2019. The highest amount of Pb was obtained in vegetable stew canned 0.47 ± 0.005 mg/kg (p < 0.05). Also, the highest amount of As was observed in canned sweet corn 0.20 ± 0.006 mg/kg (p < 0.05). The average amount of Hg was present only in canned fish roe. The range of Cd ​​was 0.01-0.01 mg/kg. The highest and lowest levels of Fe in potato stew canned and canned fish roe were 4.61 ± 0.12 and 0.09 ± 0.05 mg/kg, respectively (p < 0.05). The highest amount of Sn in canned mushroom was 7.14 ± 0.05 mg/kg and the lowest amount of this metal was in potato stew canned and canned fish roe 0.10±0.002 mg/kg (p < 0.05). The highest levels of Zn and Cu were 0.44 ± 0.03 and 1.77 ± 0.08 mg/kg in canned potato stew and canned broth peas (p < 0.05). The amount of metals studied in food products was lower than the allowable threshold of national and international standards. The carcinogenic risk of mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic in food samples was lower than 10-4. According to the results, it seems that the consumption of food products does not pose a problem for consumers.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women, and the second leading causes of death in the world. Clinical efficacy of chemotherapy is limited due to side effects, toxicity, and drug resistance. Plant-derived anticancer drugs are new promising compounds, which show their anticancer activity through activation of apoptotic pathways. Ginger is a flowering plant with active phenolic compounds that exhibit anticancer activity. Here we studied the effect of ginger acetone, ethanol and methanol extracts on the MCF-7 breast cancer using MTT assay, Real time-PCR and normal inverted microscope. MCF-7 breast cancer cells were incubated with 2.5, 5 and 10 μg/mL of ginger extracts for 48 h. The survival of incubated MCF-7 cells with ginger extracts, indicated significantly decreased. The most dramatic effect was noted in cells incubated with acetone extracts, 10 μg/mL for 48 h compared to the control. Moreover, by increasing the concentration of ethanolic ginger extract, the cell vitality decreased significantly. Real-time PCR results showed that the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly decreased in cells incubated with ginger extracts. Decrease of Bcl-2 expression can cause increase apoptotic pathways and reduction of cancer cell survival. Thus, extract of ginger destroys breast cancer cells and other cancers cells and improves health.

The popularity of strained yogurt has risen worldwide in recent years because of factors such as the product’s extended shelf life and its easy handling and transport. The texture of strained yogurt is an important characteristic which determines the acceptability of the product. Transglutaminase enzyme (TG) is an applicable approach to improve textural characteristics of food products thru formation of isopeptide bonds between proteins. Furthermore, by incorporating buffalo milk in the product formulation, a strained yogurt with a denser and creamier texture could be produced. The aim of the present study was therefore to scrutinize the effect of TG enzyme treatment on textural characteristics of strained yogurt prepared from a mixture of cow and buffalo milk. Strained yogurt samples were produced with different amounts of buffalo milk replaced with cow milk (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% v/v) and using TG enzyme (0 and 0.015% w/v) and evaluated during 21 days of storage at the refrigerator temperature (4°C). Generally, the amount of texture parameters increased with increasing the concentration of TG enzyme and buffalo milk replacement. With the passage of storage time, hardness and adhesiveness increased and cohesiveness decreased significantly (p < 0.001). Among the variables, only storage time had a significant effect on survival rate of lactic acid bacteria; with passage of storage time, their survival rate decreased significantly (p < 0.001). In conclusion, it was found that by using TG enzymatic treatment (0.015%) and 100% buffalo milk, it is possible to produce a strained yogurt with the best textural and sensorial characteristics.