HYDROCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT IN ABU-ZAABAL AREA, EASTERN NILE DELTA, EGYPT

Objective: The study presents simple tools for water resources quality classification based on its chemical compositions in Abu Zaabal area, eastern Nile Delta, Egypt and assess the water quality for different uses. Methods: 31 water samples were collected from different water resources in the study area and analyzed for physicochemical parameters. Hydrochemical relations, contour maps and statistical methods were used to estimate the contamination indices and evaluate the water resources for different purposes. Results: 83.3% of groundwater samples is fresh water and 16.7% are brackish water. 85.7% of surface water samples are fresh and 14.3% is saline. 92% of groundwater samples and 71.5% of surface water samples are very hard water. According to HPI values, 8% of the quaternary groundwater samples are good, 4% are poor, 4% are very poor and 84% of the samples are unsuitable. All groundwater samples and 71% of surface water samples are contaminated with respect to ammonia. Conclusion: Higher concentrations of TDS and heavy metal may be due to the clay nature of the soil, the marine sediments in the aquifer matrix together with the dissolution and leaching of minerals from agricultural, anthropogenic and industrial activities. The groundwater in the polluted zones is considered unsuitable for human drinking

Impact of Starch Coating Embedded with Silver Nanoparticles on Strawberry Storage Time

The strawberry has a very short postharvest life due to its fast softening and decomposition. The goal of this research is to see how well a starch-silver nanoparticle (St-AgNPs) coating affects the physical, chemical, and microbiological qualities of strawberries during postharvest life. Additionally, the effect of washing with running water on silver concentration in coated strawberry fruit was studied by an inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). Furthermore, the shelf-life period was calculated in relation to the temperature of storage. Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR), UV-Visible, and Transmission Electron Microscopic (TEM) were used to investigate the structure of starch-silver materials, the size and shape of AgNPs, respectively. The AgNPs were spherical, with an average size range of 12.7 nm. The coated samples had the lowest weight loss, decay, and microbial counts as compared to the uncoated sample. They had higher total acidity and anthocyanin contents as well. The washing process led to the almost complete removal of silver particles by rates ranging from 98.86 to 99.10%. Finally, the coating maintained strawberry qualities and lengthened their shelf-life from 2 to 6 days at room storage and from 8 to 16 days in cold storage

Bee Pollen as a Functional Product – Chemical Constituents and Nutritional Properties

Nutritional supplements play a role in promoting human protein synthesis, fitness recovery, and mental health protection. Pollen is considered a natural food with excellent nutritional value. The use of bee-gathered pollen as a nutritional supplement is now widespread around the world, and it is appreciated for its healing qualities. However, depending on the floral species and the region of origin, pollen has a wide range of nutritional value. It was found that clover pollen had the highest protein content (31.4 g/100 g DM), while the lowest content was observed in maize pollen (21.3%). Eucalyptus pollen had the highest lipid amount (9.49 g/100 g DM), while clover pollen had the lowest content (7.46 g/100 g). Phytochemical analysis showed that eucalyptus pollen occupied the highest total antioxidant activity (67.02%), followed by clover (58.25%) then maize (52.18%), whereas clover pollen had the highest phenolic content (1165 mg GAE/100 gm), compared with the other pollen varieties (949.4 to 1073 mg-GAE/100 gm). The contents of branched-chain amino acids were 29, 33.3, and 38.4 mg/g for maize, eucalyptus, and clover respectively, representing 17.87, 18.44, and 16.53% of total amino acids. The contents of total essential amino acids (EAAs) were 61.8, 73.0, and 83.5 mg/g for maize, eucalyptus, and clover pollen, respectively. Only eucalyptus pollen ultimately met the minimum requirements of EAAs for adults. In contrast, the other two types of pollen contained at least 3–4 limiting amounts of the essential amino acids leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, and valine. In conclusion, pollen is a good, affordable source of nutrients that can be utilized as beneficial dietary supplements for human health