Modeling the Drying Kinetics of Green Bell Pepper in a Heat Pump Assisted Fluidized Bed Dryer

In this research, green bell pepper was dried in a pilot plant fluidized bed dryer equipped with a heat pump humidifier using three temperatures of 40, 50 and 60C and two airflow velocities of 2 and 3m/s in constant air moisture. Three modeling methods including nonlinear regression technique, Fuzzy Logic and Artificial Neural Networks were applied to investigate drying kinetics for the sample. Among the mathematical models, Midilli model with R=0.9998 and root mean square error (RMSE)=0.00451 showed the best fit with experimental data. Feed-Forward-Back-Propagation network with Levenberg-Marquardt training algorithm, hyperbolic tangent sigmoid transfer function, training cycle of 1,000 epoch and 2-5-1 topology, deserving R=0.99828 and mean square error (MSE)=5.5E-05, was determined as the best neural model. Overall, Neural Networks method was much more precise than two other methods in prediction of drying kinetics and control of drying parameters for green bell pepper. Practical Applications: This article deals with different modeling approaches and their effectiveness and accuracy for predicting changes in the moisture ratio of green bell pepper enduring fluidized bed drying, which is one of the most concerning issues in food factories involved in drying fruits and vegetables. This research indicates that although efficiency of mathematical modeling, Fuzzy Logic controls and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) were all acceptable, the modern prediction methods of Fuzzy Logic and especially ANNs were more productive and precise. Besides, this report compares our findings with previous ones carried out with the view of predicting moisture quotients of other food crops during miscellaneous drying procedures. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Nano-encapsulation of olive leaf phenolic compounds through WPC-pectin complexes and evaluating their release rate

In this study, W/O micro-emulsions as primary emulsions and a complex of whey protein concentrate (WPC) and pectin in the external aqueous phase were used to produce W/O/W emulsions. Average droplet size of primary W/O emulsion and multiple emulsions stabilized by WPC or WPC-pectin after one day of production was 6.16, 675.7 and 1443 nm, respectively, which achieved to 22.97, 347.7 and, 1992.4 nm after 20 days storage without any sedimentation. The encapsulation efficiency of phenolic compounds for stabilized W/O/W emulsions with WPC and WPC-pectin were 93.34 and 96.64, respectively, which was decreased to 72.73 and 88.81 at 20th storage day. The lowest release of phenolics observed in multiple emulsions of WPC-pectin. These results suggest that nano-encapsulation of olive leaf extract within inner aqueous phase of W/O/W emulsions was successful, and there could be a high potential for the application of olive leaf extract in fortification of food products. © 2015 Elsevier B.V

Storage stability of encapsulated barberry's anthocyanin and its application in jelly formulation

The barberry (Berberis vulgaris) extract which is a rich source of anthocyanin was used for encapsulation with three different wall materials i.e., combination of gum Arabic and maltodextrin (GA+MD), combination of maltodextrin and gelatin (MD+GE) and maltodextrin (MD) by spray drying process. In this context, the storage stability of encapsulated pigments was investigated under four storage temperatures (4, 25, 35 and 42 °C), four relative humidities (20, 30, 40 and 50%) and light illumination until 90 days. All wall materials largely increased the half-life of the encapsulated pigments during storage compared with non-encapsulated anthocyanins. MD+GA showed the highest encapsulation efficiency, lower degradation rate in all temperatures and was found as the most effective wall material in stabilizing the pigments. The encapsulated pigments were utilized in coloring jelly powder as an alternative of synthetic color. Sensory evaluation were run to identify best encapsulated natural color concentration in jelly powder formulation according to acceptability by consumers. A jelly with added 7% encapsulated color had higher scores than the commercial jelly containing synthetic color for all the sensory attributes evaluated. Physicochemical properties of produced jelly including moisture content, hygroscopicity, acidity, ash content and texture were not significantly different with control sample while, syneresis and solubility of the samples prepared with encapsulated color was significantly reduced. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Microencapsulation optimization of natural anthocyanins with maltodextrin, gum Arabic and gelatin

The barberry (Berberis vulgaris) extract which is a rich source of anthocyanins was used for spray drying encapsulation with three different wall materials, i.e., combination of maltodextrin and gum Arabic (MD + GA), maltodextrin and gelatin (MD + GE), and maltodextrin (MD). Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied for optimization of microencapsulation efficiency and physical properties of encapsulated powders considering wall material type as well as different ratios of core to wall materials as independent variables. Physical characteristics of spray-dried powders were investigated by further analyses of moisture content, hygroscopicity, degree of caking, solubility, bulk and absolute density, porosity, flowability and microstructural evaluation of encapsulated powders. Our results indicated that samples produced with MD + GA as wall materials represented the highest process efficiency and best powder quality; the optimum conditions of microencapsulation process for barberry anthocyanins were found to be the wall material content and anthocyanin load of 24.54 and 13.82, respectively. Under such conditions, the microencapsulation efficiency (ME) of anthocyanins could be as high as 92.83. © 2016 Elsevier B.V

Evaluation of different factors affecting antimicrobial properties of chitosan

Chitosan as one of the natural biopolymers with antimicrobial activities could be a good choice to be applied in many areas including pharmaceuticals, foods, cosmetics, chemicals, agricultural crops, etc. There have been many studies in the literature which show this superb polymer is dependent on many factors to display its antimicrobial properties including the environmental conditions such as pH, type of microorganism, and neighbouring components; and its structural conditions such as molecular weight, degree of deacetylation, derivative form, its concentration, and original source. In this review, after a brief explanation of antimicrobial activity of chitosan and its importance, we will discuss the factors affecting the antimicrobial properties of this biopolymer based on recent studies. © 2016 Elsevier B.V

Optimization of Anthocyanin Extraction from Saffron Petals with Response Surface Methodology

Optimum extraction conditions of anthocyanins from petals of saffron (Crocus sativus) using acidified ethanol as the solvent were revealed. The investigated factors were solvent to sample ratio (20:1–80:1), ethanol concentration (%), extraction temperature (25–45 °C), and time (8–24 h). Response surface methodology with Box–Behnken design was applied to determine optimum processing conditions leading to maximum extraction efficiency (mg cyanindin-3-glucoside/l). Obtained coefficients of variance showed that the linear effect of temperature was more pronounced for extraction yield than three other variables at 5 % level. Optimum extraction conditions that maximize the extracted anthocyanins were found to be a ratio of solvents to sample 20 ml/g, ethanol concentration of 25.02 %, temperature 25.8 °C, and extraction time 24 h which gave 1609.11 mg/l anthocyanins. A quadratic regression equation describing the effects of independent process variables on anthocyanin extraction from saffron petals can be used for finding optimum conditions to achieve desired extraction yield in similar conditions. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York

Coenzyme Q10 in the treatment of heart failure: A systematic review of systematic reviews

Introduction: This article is an attempt to provide an overview of systematic reviews to determine the efficacy of CQ10 supplementation in the treatment of patients with CVD. Method and material: All reviews were identified through a systematic search of the following databases: Cochrane, DARE, Ovid, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, and PubMed. Check references studies and the quality of the studies was assessed by means of AMSTTAR. No meta-analyses were performed due to the heterogeneity of studies. Result: Extracted data for Seven systematic reviews for primary outcomes, net changes in cardiac output, cardiac index, New York Heart Association functional classification, improved survival, based on existing evidence, there is a case for use of CoQ10 as an adjunctive therapy in congestive heart failure, especially in those patients unable to tolerate mainstream medical therapies. Conclusion: Evidence suggests that the CoQ10 supplement may be a useful tool for managing patients with heart failure. © 2018

Coenzyme Q10 in the treatment of heart failure: A systematic review of systematic reviews

Introduction: This article is an attempt to provide an overview of systematic reviews to determine the efficacy of CQ10 supplementation in the treatment of patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Method and material: All reviews were identified through a systematic search of the following databases: Cochrane, DARE, Ovid, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, and PubMed. Check references studies and the quality of the studies was assessed by means of AMSTTAR. No meta-analyses were performed due to the heterogeneity of studies. Result: Extracted data for Seven systematic reviews for primary outcomes, net changes in cardiac output, cardiac index, New York Heart Association functional classification, improved survival, based on existing evidence, there is a case for use of CoQ10 as an adjunctive therapy in congestive heart failure, especially in those patients unable to tolerate mainstream medical therapies. Conclusion: Evidence suggests that the CoQ10 supplement may be a useful tool for managing patients with heart failure. © 201

Effects of environmental factors on growth traits in Makuie sheep

The Makuie sheep is a fat-tailed sheep breed which can be found in the Azerbaijan province of Iran. non- genetic parameters obtained from data collected from 1993 to 2012 Makuie sheep research station of West Azerbaijan province in Iran were evaluated in the present study. The non- genetic parameters for birth weight, weaning weight (3 months), 6-month, 9-month and yearling weight traits were estimated based on 19 years of data using SAS software. Least squares means were 4.11± 0.88, 21.50±3.50, 27.18±3.53, 28.57±4.44 and 34.21±3.88 kg for weight at birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 month, respectively. The birth year had a significant effect on all traits while the effect of birth type significantly affected all traits (p<0.05). The lamb's sex had a significant effect on all traits (p<0.05). The effect of dam's age had a significant effect on all traits except 9- month (p<0.05). Results showed that non- genetic factors have an important role in expressing of genetic potential in the lambs