Antioxidant and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activities of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) autolysates.

The present study investigated antioxidant and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activities of cocoa autolysates. After removal of cocoa fat, alkaloids and polyphenols, the remaining proteinous powder was autolyzed at pH 3.5 and 5.2. At similar concentrations, autolysates produced at pH 3.5 indicated the highest reducing power and ACE inhibition activity. However, those generated at pH 5.2 showed the highest antioxidant activity based on β-carotene bleaching assay. The results displayed a dose-dependent trend. Based on amino acids composition, slight differences were detected between autolysates, and as it was found, they were rich in hydrophobic amino acids. Qualitative and quantitative tests were applied to assure that the results from the assays were not due to the polyphenols of cocoa autolysates. Based on the results no polyphenols could be detected from cocoa autolysates. It can be indicated that among other useful substances of cocoa, its peptides and amino acids could contribute to its health-promoting properties. Furthermore, these bioactive substances can be exploited into functional foods or used as a source of nutraceuticals

Review on smartphone sensing technology for structural health monitoring

Sensing is a critical and inevitable sector of structural health monitoring (SHM). Recently, smartphone sensing technology has become an emerging, affordable, and effective system for SHM and other engineering fields. This is because a modern smartphone is equipped with various built-in sensors and technologies, especially a triaxial accelerometer, gyroscope, global positioning system, high-resolution cameras, and wireless data communications under the internet-of-things paradigm, which are suitable for vibration- and vision-based SHM applications. This article presents a state-of-the-art review on recent research progress of smartphone-based SHM. Although there are some short reviews on this topic, the major contribution of this article is to exclusively present a compre- hensive survey of recent practices of smartphone sensors to health monitoring of civil structures from the per- spectives of measurement techniques, third-party apps developed in Android and iOS, and various application domains. Findings of this article provide thorough understanding of the main ideas and recent SHM studies on smartphone sensing technology

Effect of Refrigerated Storage on Sensory Properties and Viability of Probiotic in Grape Drink

The popularity of non-dairy probiotic products continues to persist as the consumers prefer functional foods satisfying their health needs. Among these promising foods, probiotic grape drink would have beneficial effects on modifying gastrointestinal flora and human health. In this study, the pasteurized grape drink was inoculated by three species of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus rhamnosus) separately, and the samples were subjected to non-fermented conditions. The samples were kept in the refrigerator at 4°C for 4 weeks to determine microbial viability and sensory evaluation during cold storage. Based on the results obtained, Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii displayed greater surviving than Lactobacillus plantarum during cold storage. Sensory evaluation outcome indicated that grape juice inoculated with Lactobacillus rhamnosus showed higher overall acceptability over 4 weeks of storage. The findings revealed that sustainability and sensory properties of probiotic products are important from the consumers’ point of view; therefore, production of probiotic grape juice by Lactobacillus rhamnosus, due to its higher viability and desirable organoleptic properties, is suggested

Ascorbic acid: physiology and health effects

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is an essential dietary nutrient required for various biological processes in the human body. These include its vital role as antioxidant, and it acts as cofactor for the biosynthesis of collagen, catecholamines, amino acids, and various peptide hormones. Accumulating literatures suggest that vitamin C may potentially implicate in the development of various chronic diseases partly due to its role in maintaining oxidative balance, this is due to the fact that initiation and development of many chronic diseases stemmed from oxidative stress and inflammation. Given that, vitamin C has controversially been used in the prevention and treatment of specific health conditions, this article attempts to summarize recent evidences pertaining to the roles of vitamin C in health and diseases. A brief description on the physiology of vitamin C was also included to support the understanding of its role in maintaining health

High-Methoxyl Apple Pectin Improves Rheological Properties and Storage Stability of the Flavored Probiotic Yogurt Drinks, Compared to Pomegranate Pectin

Background and Objective: Use of pectin has attracted interests in food and nutraceutical industries, owing to its positive effects on stability of dairy drinks and potential health benefits to humans. Furthermore, demands for the production of stable fermented milk drinks during storage period is high. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess effects of apple and pomegranate pectins as stabilizers on various characteristics of probiotic yogurt drinks. Material and Methods: Apple and pomegranate pectins at concentrations of 0-0.5% (w v-1) were added to the probiotic yogurt drinks containing 2% of inulin and 12% of pomegranate juice. Then, rheological behavior, particle size distribution and stability of probiotic yogurt drinks were studied during storage. Results and Conclusion: Control (treatments with no pectin addition) and probiotic yogurt drinks containing pomegranate pectin (0.1-0.5%) showed Newtonian flow behavior and liquid-like behavior over the frequency range. Probiotic yogurt drinks with apple pectin included shear-thinning flow behavior, gel-like network at low frequencies and mean size particle of 50 mm. The highest G' and G" and stabilities during the storage were achieved in samples containing 0.5% of apple pectin. Results demonstrated that apple pectin included great potentials to be used in industrial production of probiotic yogurt drinks as it improved rheological properties and storage stability of the products. Therefore, use of 0.5% apple pectin is suggested in fermented milk drinks. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Hypoglycemic effects of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) autolysates

Fat, alkaloid and polyphenol contents of two clones of cocoa (UIT1 and PBC 140) were removed and the remaining powder was autolyzed at pH 3.5 and 5.2. Based on the results, autolysates of UIT produced at pH 3.5 exhibited the highest ability to inhibit α-amylase activity. However, no α-glucosidase inhibition activity was observed under the conditions specified. Autolysates produced under pH 3.5 caused the highest amount of insulin secretion. In streptozotocin-diabetic rats, all cocoa autolysates significantly decreased blood glucose at 4 h. To assure that the results from the assays were not due to the polyphenols of cocoa autolysates qualitative and quantitative tests were applied. According to their results cocoa autolysates were found to be free from polyphenols. Analysis of amino acid composition revealed that cocoa autolysates were abundant in hydrophobic amino acids. It can be suggested that besides other compounds of cocoa, its peptides and amino acids could contribute to its health benefits

The therapeutic potential of resistant starch in modulation of insulin resistance, endotoxemia, oxidative stress and antioxidant biomarkers in women with type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled clinical trial

Aims: This trial aims to determine the effects of resistant starch (RS) subtype 2 (RS2) on glycemic status, metabolic endotoxemia and markers of oxidative stress. Methods: A randomized, controlled, parallel-group clinical trial group of 56 females with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was divided to 2 groups. The intervention group (n = 28) and control group (n = 28) received 10 g/day RS2 or placebo for 8 weeks, respectively. Fasting blood samples were taken to determine glycemic status, endotoxin, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), antioxidant enzymes concentrations as well as uric acid at baseline and after the intervention. Results: After 8 weeks, RS2 caused a significant decrease in the levels of MDA (-34.10%), glycosylated hemoglobin (-9.40%), insulin (-29.36%), homeostasis model of insulin resistance (-32.85%) and endotoxin (-25.00%), a significant increase in TAC (18.10%) and glutathione peroxidase (11.60%) as compared with control. No significant changes were observed in fasting plasma glucose, quantitative insulin sensitivity check index, hs-CRP, superoxide dismutase, catalase and uric acid in the RS2 group as compared with the control group. Conclusion: Supplementation with RS2 may be improved glycemic status, endotoxemia and markers of oxidative stress in patients with T2DM

Antioxidative peptides from food proteins : a review.

Bioactive peptides, as products of hydrolysis of diverse food proteins, are the focus of current research. They exert various biological roles, one of the most crucial of which is the antioxidant activity. Reverse relationship between antioxidant intake and diseases has been approved through plenty of studies. Antioxidant activity of bioactive peptides can be attributed to their radical scavenging, inhibition of lipid peroxidation and metal ion chelation properties of peptides. It also has been proposed that peptide structure and its amino acid sequence can affect its antioxidative properties. This paper reviews bioactive peptides from food sources concerning their antioxidant activities. Additionally, specific characteristics of antioxidative bioactive peptides, enzymatic production, methods to evaluate antioxidant capacity, bioavailability, and safety concerns of peptides are reviewed

Prediction of long-term dynamic responses of a heritage masonry building under thermal effects by automated kernel-based regression modeling

Field monitoring via ambient vibration tests is a reliable approach to assessing the health and integrity of masonry structures. However, the implementation of long-term field monitoring is often expensive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. The best solution to addressing this challenge is to leverage the capacity of machine learning for predicting dynamic responses. This chapter intends to propose an automated kernel-based regression method for predicting the modal frequencies of a heritage masonry building under seasonal thermal effects. The crux of this method is to select an optimum kernel regressor between Gaussian process regression and support vector regression by Bayesian hyperparameter optimization. Due to the importance of thermal effects on long-term monitoring of masonry structures, temperature records are used as the main predictors, while structural modal frequencies are the main responses for regression modeling. Results show that the proposed method is successful in predicting the dynamic responses of the masonry building with high prediction accuracy

A Validation Study on the Simultaneous Quantification of Multiple Wine Aroma Compounds with Static Headspace-Gas Chromatography-Ion Mobility Spectrometry (SHS-GC-IMS)

A new quantitative method based on static headspace−gas chromatography−ion mobility spectrometry (SHS−GC−IMS) is proposed, which enables the simultaneous quantification of multiple aroma compounds in wine. The method was first evaluated for its stability and the necessity of using internal standards as a quality control measure. The two major hurdles in applying GC-IMS in quantification studies, namely, non-linearity and multiple ion species, were also investigated using the Boltzmann function and generalized additive model (GAM) as potential solutions. Metrics characterizing the model performance, including root mean squared error, bias, limit of detection, limit of quantification, repeatability, reproducibility, and recovery were investigated. Both non-linear fitting methods, Boltzmann function and GAM, were able to return desirable analytical outcomes with an acceptable range of error. Potential pitfalls that would cause inaccurate quantification i.e., effects of ethanol content and competitive ionization, were also discussed. The performance of the SHS-GC-IMS method was subsequently compared against a currently established method, namely, GC-MS, using actual wine samples. These findings provide an initial validation of a GC-IMS-based quantification method, as well as a starting point for further enhancing the analytical scope of GC-IMS