Proizvodnja bombona bez šećera od brašnaste banane obogaćene antioksidansima, te procjena njihovog roka valjanosti nakon pakiranja u višeslojnoj fleksibilnoj ambalaži

Research background.Candy is a popular confection worldwide, and it would be beneficial to society if it were converted into a source of antioxidant molecules to eliminate its adverse health effects. The amount of antioxidants available even in fruit candies is questionable due to the high thermal processing losses they undergo and the presence of various food additives. Plantains (Musa paradisiaca) are less known as good sources of biotherapeutic antioxidants, namely l-tryptophan, serotonin and melatonin, and consumption of this highly nutritious fruit is limited to underdeveloped and developing countries. The objectives of this study are: to develop a functional antioxidant-rich sugar-free plantain-based candy with valuable contents of the mentioned biomolecules in synergy; and to ensure its extended shelf life without compromising its physicochemical properties and functionality by wrapping it with a suitable packaging laminate. Experimental approach. To accomplish the first objective, lyophilized plantain powder, sorbitol and mannitol were used as base materials with minimal additives under minimal processing conditions to reduce processing loss. Sensory, proximate, physicochemical and phytochemical properties, including the antioxidant synergy among the mentioned biomolecules of the developed candies were evaluated. For the second objective, the candies were enclosed in two different flexible packaging laminates and the optimal packaging was determined based on the microbiological safety and sensory appeal of the wrapped candies. Subsequently, the above-mentioned properties of the packaged (in the most suitable laminate) candies were evaluated at regular time intervals during storage for assessment of their shelf life. Results and conclusions. The candy had a characteristic flavour of plantain, uniform dark brown colour, rich mouthfeel, pleasant aroma, moderately hard texture and moderate sweetness, along with high antioxidant activity and considerable content of l-tryptophan, serotonin and melatonin (present as a synergistic consortium). During storage of the packaged candy under ambient conditions, it remained microbiologically safe for up to 56 days, and also maintained sensory attributes, antioxidant activity and synergy compared to the control candy. Novelty and scientific contribution. This newly developed semi-hard sugar-free candy with high antioxidant content, containing three important antioxidants, namely l-tryptophan, serotonin and melatonin, could be a good source of biotherapeutic molecules and a substitute for commercial candies consumed globally.Pozadina istraživanja. Bomboni su popularna poslastica diljem svijeta, pa bi bilo od društvene koristi kad bi se mogli pretvoriti u izvor antioksidansa koji bi poništili njihov štetan učinak na zdravlje. Čak je i u voćnim bombonima količina dostupnih antioksidansa upitna zbog njihove razgradnje tijekom toplinske obrade i prisutnosti različitih aditiva. Brašnasta banana (Musa paradisiaca) manje je poznata kao bogat izvor antioksidansa s terapijskim učinkom, kao što su L-triptofan, serotonin i melatonin, a konzumacija ovog izuzetno hranjivog voća ograničena je na nerazvijene zemlje i one u razvoju. Stoga je svrha ovog istraživanja bila proizvesti funkcionalni bombon od brašnaste banane bez šećera, obogaćen antioksidansima, sa znatnim udjelom gore navedenih biomolekula koje su u sinergiji, te mu produljiti rok trajanja bez narušavanja njegovih fizikalno-kemijskih svojstava i funkcionalnosti pakiranjem u odgovarajuću ambalažu. Eksperimentalni pristup. Za ostvarivanje prvog cilja, liofilizirani prah brašnaste banane, sorbitol i manitol korišteni su kao osnovni materijali uz minimalan dodatak aditiva te pri minimalnim uvjetima obrade, da bi se smanjili gubici tijekom obrade. Ispitani su kemijski sastav te senzorska, fizikalno-kemijska i fitokemijska svojstva, uključujući sinergiju spomenutih biomolekula antioksidansa u proizvedenim slatkišima. Za postizanje drugog cilja, bomboni su pakirani u dva različita fleksibilna laminata, a optimalno pakiranje određeno je na osnovu mikrobiološke ispravnosti i senzorske privlačnosti pakiranih slatkiša. Nakon toga su svojstva bombona pakiranih u optimalnom laminatu ispitana u redovitim vremenskim intervalima tijekom skladištenja za procjenu njihovog roka trajanja. Rezultati i zaključci. Bombon je imao karakterističan okus brašnaste banane, ujednačenu tamnosmeđu boju, bogat okus, ugodnu aromu, umjerenu tvrdoću i slatkoću, uz izraženu antioksidacijsku aktivnost i značajan udjel L-triptofana, serotonina i melatonina (u sinergijskom konzorciju). Bomboni su bili mikrobiološki ispravni tijekom 56 dana pri sobnoj temperaturi, te su zadržali senzorske značajke, antioksidacijski učinak i sinergiju biomolekula, u usporedbi s kontrolnim uzorkom. Novina i znanstveni doprinos. Ovaj novorazvijeni polutvrdi bombon bez šećera s velikim udjelom antioksidansa, koji sadržava tri važna antioksidansa, a to su L-triptofan, serotonin i melatonin, mogao bi biti dobar izvor terapijskih biomolekula te zamjena za komercijalne bombone koji se konzumiraju diljem svijeta

Development of an Antioxidant-Rich Sugar-Free Plantain Candy and Assessment of Its Shelf Life in a Flexible Laminate

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: Candy is a popular confection worldwide, and it would be beneficial to society if it were converted into a source of antioxidant molecules to eliminate its adverse health effects. The amount of antioxidants available even in fruit candies is questionable due to the high thermal processing losses they undergo and the presence of various food additives. Plantains ( EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: To accomplish the first objective, lyophilized plantain powder, sorbitol and mannitol were used as base materials with minimal additives under minimal processing conditions to reduce processing loss. Sensory, proximate, physicochemical and phytochemical properties, including the antioxidant synergy among the mentioned biomolecules of the developed candies were evaluated. For the second objective, the candies were enclosed in two different flexible packaging laminates and the optimal packaging was determined based on the microbiological safety and sensory appeal of the wrapped candies. Subsequently, the above-mentioned properties of the packaged (in the most suitable laminate) candies were evaluated at regular time intervals during storage for assessment of their shelf life. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The candy had a characteristic flavour of plantain, uniform dark brown colour, rich mouthfeel, pleasant aroma, moderately hard texture and moderate sweetness, along with high antioxidant activity and considerable content of l-tryptophan, serotonin and melatonin (present as a synergistic consortium). During storage of the packaged candy under ambient conditions, it remained microbiologically safe for up to 56 days, and also maintained sensory attributes, antioxidant activity and synergy compared to the control candy. NOVELTY AND SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTION: This newly developed semi-hard sugar-free candy with high antioxidant content, containing three important antioxidants, namely l-tryptophan, serotonin and melatonin, could be a good source of biotherapeutic molecules and a substitute for commercial candies consumed globally

Study of net-baryon higher moments in PNJL model and their expectation for net-proton using the Subensemble Acceptance Method for the search of QCD critical point

One of the most important parts of the QCD phase diagram of strongly interacting matter is the Critical End Point. The non-monotonic behavior of the conserved quantities like net-baryon ($\Delta B$), net-charge ($\Delta Q$), and net-strangeness ($\Delta S$) are believed to be the signatures of the QCD Critical End Point (CEP) as a function of the energy. We study the effect of the QCD critical point on moments of net-baryon in the Polyakov loop enhanced Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (PNJL) model of QCD with six quark and eight quark interactions. The study is performed at energies similar to RHIC beam energy scan (BES). Experimentally measuring conserved quantities is difficult due to systematic limitations, therefore net-proton, net-pion, and net-kaon are measured as the proxy of $\Delta B$, $\Delta Q$, and $\Delta S$. Thus the need for different models becomes predominant to estimate the value of different observables. Higher-order moments like skewness ($S$), kurtosis ($\kappa$), and their system volume independent products ($M/\sigma^{2}, s\sigma$, $\kappa\sigma^{2}$) which are calculated in the PNJL model, are sensitive to the produced correlation length of the hot and dense medium, making them more prone to search for the critical point. Recent studies in the subensemble acceptance method (SAM) on the HRG model shows the dependency of the measure higher order moment on the experimental acceptance. We used SAM to analyze the behavior of $\kappa\sigma^{2}$ of net baryon distribution within the subvolume system for various acceptance fractions. These results can be directly mapped to the percentage of the subvolume (particle) of the total volume (conserved quantities). The results are compared to the STAR net-proton and proton data with different energies to understand the existence of critical point. For reference, results are also compared with the theoretical UrQMD and HRG models.Comment: 12 Pages, 8 Figure

Degradation of p47 by autophagy contributes to CADM1 overexpression in ATLL cells through the activation of NF-κB

Cell adhesion molecule 1 (CADM1), a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, is identified as a novel cell surface marker for human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV-1)-infected T cells. Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is developed in HTLV-1-infected T-cells after a long infection period. To examine the mechanism of CADM1 overexpression in ATLL, we first identified that CADM1 is transcriptionally up-regulated by a transcriptional enhancer element through NF-κB signaling pathway. In HTLV-1-infected T-cells, CADM1 expression is dependent on HTLV-1/Tax through activation of canonical and non-canonical NF-κB; however, in ATLL cells with frequent loss of Tax expression, the activation of canonical NF-κB only enhances the CADM1 expression. Along with active mutations in signaling molecules under T-cell recepor (TCR) signaling, degradation of p47, a negative regulator of NF-κB, was essential for activation of canonical NF-κB through stabilization of NEMO (NF-κB essential modulator). The mechanism of p47 degradation is primarily dependent on activation of lysosomal-autophagy and the autophagy is activated in most of the HTLV-infected and ATLL cells, suggesting that the p47 degradation may be a first key molecular event during HTLV-1 infection to T-cells as a connector of two important signaling pathways, NF-κB and autophagy

Effect of consumption of unheated and thermally-modified sesame and coconut oils on inflammation mediated metabolic disorders in Wistar rats

251-255Coconut oil and sesame oil are commonly used in South India for frying foods. On heating, edible oils form hazardous chemicals. This study explores the effect of consumption of unheated and thermally-altered sesame and coconut oils on coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors in Wistar rats. Thirty Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into five groups (n=6/group). Group I (Control) was fed only chow, Group II: chow + unheated sesame oil, Group III: chow + heated sesame oil, Group IV: Chow + unheated coconut oil, Group V: chow + heated coconut oil. After eight weeks of treatment, serum lipid profile, hs-CRP, leptin, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, TNF-α, IL-6 and plasma homocysteine and fibrinogen levels were estimated. Rats in Group II showed a significant decrease in serum cholesterol, LDL-c, TNF-α, hs-CRP, insulin, and HOMA-IR but a significant increase in HDL-c, Group III showed opposite effects on these parameters, except that it decreased serum triglycerides level. Group IV and V did not show any significant effect on stated parameters. We conclude that consumption of unheated sesame oil gives protective effects against the CAD. Thermally altered sesame oil increases the CAD risk. Unheated and thermally altered coconut oil did not show any significant effect. Hence, we recommend that sesame oil better be used for dressing the food and coconut oil for frying

Liver enzymes in diabetic and non diabetic subjects with clinically diagnosed hepatitis

The occurrence of liver disease and raised liver enzymes is common in diabetic patients and the increasing level of enzymes indicates the severity of hepatic injury. Very few studies have addressed this issue in Bangladesh though Bangladeshi population is very much susceptible to diabetes. This study investigated a total of 1400 diabetic patients and 100 non diabetic individuals to compare the level of liver enzymes between diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. The comparisons were made among subjects who were referred to the department of Gastro-hepato-pancreatic diseases (GHPD) of BIRDEM with the clinical diagnosis of chronic hepatitis and other gastro-intestinal disorders. The investigations included alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and bilirubin levels. The subjects were categorized with and without hepatitis based on these investigations. The biochemical markers (ALT, AST, ALP, bilirubin) did not differ significantly between non-diabetic male and female subjects. Neither the differences were significant between diabetic males and females though the diabetic patients had higher level of markers. In contrast, when compared between diabetic and non-diabetic subjects there were striking differences in either sex. Compared with the non-diabetic the diabetic subjects had significantly higher level of ALT (48.3 vs. 277.0), AST (42.0 vs. 213.0) and ALP (148 vs. 302) in males (p<0.005 for all). Similarly, these values were found significantly higher in diabetic females than their non-diabetic counterparts (p<0.01). For bilirubin, it was also found significant in males (p<0.001). The study revealed that the liver enzymes were found elevated in both diabetic and non-diabetic subjects who were referred with clinically diagnosed hepatitis. The enzymes were found markedly elevated among the diabetic than non diabetic patients, which indicate hepatic injury was more marked among the diabetic patients. Further study may confirm these findings. It is suggested that other socio-demographic and biophysical risk factors are important to be investigated in order to prevent increased hepatic damage among the diabetic subjects. Ibrahim Med. Coll. J. 2011; 5(2): 46-5