Studies of oil from cowpea (vigna unguiculata ( l.) walp.) cultivars commonly grown in Pakistan

The physiochemical properties and fatty acid ( FA) composition of oil from seeds of 4 cowpea cultivars viz., Elite, CP(1), White Star and SA dandy, commonly grown in Pakistan, were investigated. Oil contents ranged from 2.71-2.96% with triacylglycerols being present in highest amount. Iodine values were found highest in CP1 while SA dandy and CP1 excelled in saponification values and acid values, respectively. Despite variations unsaturated fatty acids were observed as being present in higher concentration in all cultivars. Among sterols, stigmasterol was present in highest amount followed by beta-sitosterol and campesterol. Among tocopherols, alpha-, and beta-tocopherols were observed as being present in highest and lowest concentrations, respectively. Results from most of the parameters revealed not significant (

Comparison of physical, microstructural, antioxidant and enzymatic properties of pineapple cubes treated with conventional heating, ohmic heating and high-pressure processing

Pineapple cubes in sugar syrup were treated with high-pressure processing (HPP), conventional (DIM) heating and ohmic heating (OHM). Samples were compared in terms of microstructural, physical (total soluble solids, sieve analysis, texture and colour) and residual pectin methylesterase activity (PME) and total antioxidant capacity. OHM yielded relevant changes in cellular microstructure and electroporation of the cell wall. The HPP treatment favoured the presence of soluble solids in the syrup, and the samples were less damaged in terms of shape and microstructure. in the samples were harder following HPP than they were with OHM and DIM, while HPP showed the highest colorimetric (ΔE) differences compared with RAW samples. The PME residual activity was the lowest in pineapple treated by DIM, while the antioxidant capacity was comparable among treated samples

High pressure and thermal processing on the quality of zucchini slices

In response to the market demand for low processed vegetables, high-pressure treatments (400,600 MPa; 1,5 min) were applied on zucchini slices and compared to a traditional blanching treatment. Histological observations, texture and color analysis, pectinmethylesterase (PME) and antioxidant (DPPH) activities were measured and compared to untreated samples. The histological observations revealed that the longer high-pressure treatments (5 min) led to more extended cell lysis and dehydration than the shorter ones (1 min) and blanching. High-pressure treatments resulted less effective than blanching on PME inactivation, with the best results obtained at 400 MPa for 1 min. Comparable texture parameters were observed for high-pressured and blanched samples. The negative correlation found between PME activity and the texture parameter ‘distance of the first peak force’ revealed an effect of PME on the texture recovery after treatments. High pressure led to a general browning of zucchini parenchyma and to DPPH drop. The correlations found between DPPH and color suggest the common nature of the phenomena. The influence of pressure and time on the studied parameters was revealed by two-way ANOVA. Principal component analysis clustered together the four high-pressure-treated samples, being clearly divided by blanched and untreated ones

Total phenolic content, antioxidative and antidiabetic properties of coconut (Cocos Nucifera L.) testa and selected bean seed coats

Natural alternatives tor the treatment of diabetes mellitus have been the interest of many researchers. In this study, the brown testas of mature coconuts were compared to beans seed coats of four varieties in terms of antioxidative and anti-hyperglycaemic properties. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents, the antioxidant potentials and the a-amvlase and a-glucosidase inhibitorv activities of the crude extracts were studied in vitro. The results showed that extracts of coconut testa and red kidney bean seed coat displayed higher a-glucosidase inhibition (IC50=19.90±5.67 and 4.84±1.43 μg/mL) and α-amylase inhibition (IC50=120.5±15.4 and 532.8±68.0 μg/mL) than the other extracts. These two extracts showed higher antioxidant capacities owing to their high phenolic and flavonoid contents. These results suggest that red kidney bean seed coat and tender coconut testa would have higher potential as nutraceuticals and could serve as natural alternative sources of anti-diabetic remedy

A new decanter generation leads to innovation in olive oil processing

Looking at the olive oil production, the final extraction phase from the paste affects the yield and the quality of the oil more than other processing steps. Several strategies are therefore applied today to increase the process outcome already before extraction at the malaxation stage. Technical innovation is particularly realized in adopting olive oil decanters that enable real-time adjustments of working parameters in function of the different composition of the raw materials, improving the yield of the process and avoiding a significant economic loss for the sector. In the paper of Caponio, Summo, Paradiso and Pasqualone published in this issue of the European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology [1626-1633], the performance of the so-called "third generation" decanter is presented showing the impact of its application on the chemical, nutritional, olfactory and sensorial quality in the sector of olive oil processing. The significance of the achieved results is underlined in the following commentary