Postharvest chitosan-arginine nanoparticles application ameliorates chilling injury in plum fruit during cold storage by enhancing ROS scavenging system activity

Background: Plum (Prunus domestica L.) has a short shelf-life period due to its high respiration rate and is sensitive to low storage temperatures, which can lead to the appearance of chilling injury symptoms. In this investigation, we applied new coating treatments based on chitosan (CTS) and arginine (Arg) to plum fruit (cv. ‘Stanley’). Results: Fruit were treated with distilled water (control), Arg at 0.25 and 0.5 mM, CTS at 1% (w/v) or Arg-coated CTS nanoparticles (CTS-Arg NPs) at 0.5 and 1% (w/v), and then stored at 1 °C for days. The application of CTS-Arg NPs at 0.5% attenuated chilling injury, which was accompanied by accumulation of proline, reduced levels of electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde, as well as suppressed the activity of polyphenol oxidase. Plums coated with CTS-Arg NPs (0.5%) showed higher accumulation of phenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins, due to the higher activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, which in turn resulted in higher DPPH scavenging capacity. In addition, CTS-Arg NPs (0.5%) treatment delayed plum weight loss and retained fruit firmness and ascorbic acid content in comparison to control fruit. Furthermore, plums treated with CTS-Arg NPs exhibited lower H2O2 accumulation than control fruit due to higher activity of antioxidant enzymes, including CAT, POD, APX and SOD. Conclusions: The present findings show that CTS-Arg NPs (0.5%) were the most effective treatment in delaying chilling injury and prolonging the shelf life of plum fruit

Production of Bovine Collagen Hydrolysate with Antioxidant Activity; Optimized by Response Surface Methodology

Abstract: Antioxidants are widely used in pharmaceutical industries. Gelatin is a byproduct of the meat industry and its hydrolysates showed several functionalities, such as antioxidant activity. The purpose of this study was to describe and optimize the enzymatic hydrolysis conditions including time, temperature, pH, and enzyme/substrate ratio (E/S) to produce protein hydrolysate with antioxidant functionality from bovine gelatin by RSM; the scavenging activity was evaluated using the DPPH method. The model observed was fitted with desirable adequacy and sufficiency. We found that the antioxidant activity increased significantly (p < 0.05) with the increase in pH value, E/S ratio, and time of enzymatic process; however, the temperature had no significant (p < 0.05) effect on the antioxidant activity of the hydrolysate. The optimum hydrolysis conditions were observed at a temperature of 35.3 ◦C, pH of 8.0, and E/S ratio at 2.5 after 2 h hydrolysis by trypsin enzyme. The results showed that the hydrolysate under these conditions, optimized by RSM, could be more effective on antioxidant activity. Regarding the antioxidant potential, gelatin hydrolysate can be used as an antioxidant supplement in pharmaceutical industries

Psychometrics properties of the Iranian version of fertility quality of life tool: a cross- sectional study

Background: Clinical measurement of quality of life for assessing reproductive problems should be considered as a standard investigation at the initial and continuing medical consultations with infertile people. Objective: The purpose of this study was comprehensive testing the psychometric properties of the Iranian version of fertility quality of life (FertiQol) as its use could be considerable due to the prevalence of infertility in Iran and the importance of evaluation of QoL in patients with infertility. Method and material: This was a psychometric properties study of 300 women referred to infertility clinic, Hormozgan, Iran. After linguistic validation of the Iranian version of MPCOSQ, a semi-structured interview was conducted to assess face validity. Consequently exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed to indicate the scale constructs. Discriminant validity was assessed using the known groups comparison. Convergent validity was evaluated by assessing the correlation between similar content on the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and FertiQol. In addition, reliability analysis was carried out with internal consistency. Results: The reliability of the Iranian version of the FertiQol questionnaire was satisfactory in all dimensions (Cronbach’s alpha ranging from 0.77 to 0.83 ). Six factors (emotional, mind/body, relational, social, environmental and tolerability) were extracted from the results of EFA with factor loading of the more than 0.3. Discrimination validity showed that FertiQol can differentiate between female patients with differing duration of infertility and number of children; this indicates favorable discrimination validity. Moreover, the results of convergent validity showed a favorable correlation between the related dimensions of 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (correlation ranging from 0.43 to 0.68 ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(correlation ranging from 0.47 to 0.52 ) and FertiQol. Conclusion: The Iranian version of FertiQol is valid and reliable for assessing infertility problems and the effects of treatment on quality of life of infertile patients referred for diagnosis and treatment at an Iranian infertility clinic. The clinical use of this measure is recommended for Iranian infertility clinics

Chemical compounds and antibacterial and antioxidant properties of citron (Citrus medica L.) peel essential oil

In this research, essential oil of citron peel was extracted through water distillation by clevenger apparatus and then its chemical composition and antibacterial and antioxidant properties were evaluated. GC-MS analysis showed the major identified components of the essential oil included limonene (33.60%), myristicin (24.36%), carvacrol (8.1%), apiol (5.34%), β-bisabolene (4.40%) and α-bergamotene (2.67%). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) for Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were respectively determined as 62.5, 250, 125 and 500 μg/ml, respectively. The total phenol content of the essential oil was 6.0 ± 0.03 mg gallic acid/g sample. The scavenging activity of DPPH radicals based on IC50 was 19.587 ± 0.011 μg/ml. This result indicated less performance in comparison with BHT, gallic acid and ascorbic acid. Also, although the total flavonoids content of citron fruit extract was 3.4 mg quercetin/g sample, no flavonoid compound was detected in the essential oil

Self-Assessment on Iranian Foreign Language Learners’ Oral Performance Ability: A Case Study

Objectives: Self-assessment, as one type of alternative assessment, with the increased attention to learner-centered curricula, needs analysis, and learner autonomy has gained popularity in recent years. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of self-assessment on Javanroodian Foreign Language (Kordestan) Learners&rsquo; Oral Performance ability. Methods: The assessment program involved training, practice, videotaping, feedback, assessment and discussion. Twenty English as a foreign language students of foreign language institutes in Javanrood participated in the study. They were divided into experimental and control group, based on the results of English oral performance pre-tests. The research instrument consisted of a self- assessment checklist containing subcategories related to the organization of the presentation, content, linguistic factors (vocabulary use, grammatical rules and pronunciation) and interaction with the audience. It was developed as a result of interviewing participants and their teachers and then adapting results based on the results of reviewing available checklists in the literature. The data was collected by the experimental group members' self-assessments of their 6 oral performances and the teacher's assessment of their performances. Results: The obtained data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential methods.Results indicated that participating in self- assessment process had positive effect on learners' oral performance ability. Discussion: Results will have implications for policy makers, material designers and developers, teachers and learners. It will also open up the doors of introducing new trends in assessment to teachers and learners

Antibacterial and Antioxidant Properties of Colorant Extracted from Red Onion Skin

Due to the abundance and cheapness of red onion skin scrubs and its high consumption in Iran, we decided to evaluate its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties as a natural source of anthocyanin. The onion skin was collected from the Qazvin local market. Extraction was carried out using water and glycerol. The total anthocyanin concentration was determined by pH differential method. MIC and MBC were determined using microdilution method and diameter of the bacteria inhibition zone by disc diffusion method on extracted color from Onion skin against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strains. The antioxidant activity was determined by measuring the 2,2- diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) and total phenol content by the Folin Ciocalteu. The mean total anthocyanin concentration at 40°C was (60.67, 8.4) mg/g. The highest and the lowest mean diameter of the non-growth zones of the extracted colorant in Staphylococcus aureus was 0/83±0/14 and 0/4±0/17 and in the E. coli 0/9±0/22 and 0/5±0/20 respectively. Inhibitory concentration of 50% (IC50) in the extracted colorant was obtained at 14/718±0/20 mg / ml. The total phenolic content was obtained as an average of 114.326±2/36 mg/g of gallic acid per gram of onion powder. According to the results of the study and the high consumption of onions in various types of household foods and as a result of increasing their waste, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, in addition to coloring, can be used as a cheap dye source in various food industries

Postharvest chitosan-arginine nanoparticles application ameliorates chilling injury in plum fruit during cold storage by enhancing ROS scavenging system activity

Abstract Background Plum (Prunus domestica L.) has a short shelf-life period due to its high respiration rate and is sensitive to low storage temperatures, which can lead to the appearance of chilling injury symptoms. In this investigation, we applied new coating treatments based on chitosan (CTS) and arginine (Arg) to plum fruit (cv. ‘Stanley’). Results Fruit were treated with distilled water (control), Arg at 0.25 and 0.5 mM, CTS at 1% (w/v) or Arg-coated CTS nanoparticles (CTS-Arg NPs) at 0.5 and 1% (w/v), and then stored at 1 °C for days. The application of CTS-Arg NPs at 0.5% attenuated chilling injury, which was accompanied by accumulation of proline, reduced levels of electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde, as well as suppressed the activity of polyphenol oxidase. Plums coated with CTS-Arg NPs (0.5%) showed higher accumulation of phenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins, due to the higher activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, which in turn resulted in higher DPPH scavenging capacity. In addition, CTS-Arg NPs (0.5%) treatment delayed plum weight loss and retained fruit firmness and ascorbic acid content in comparison to control fruit. Furthermore, plums treated with CTS-Arg NPs exhibited lower H2O2 accumulation than control fruit due to higher activity of antioxidant enzymes, including CAT, POD, APX and SOD. Conclusions The present findings show that CTS-Arg NPs (0.5%) were the most effective treatment in delaying chilling injury and prolonging the shelf life of plum fruit

Production of bovine collagen hydrolysate with antioxidant activity ::optimized by response surface methodology

Antioxidants are widely used in pharmaceutical industries. Gelatin is a byproduct of the meat industry and its hydrolysates showed several functionalities, such as antioxidant activity. The purpose of this study was to describe and optimize the enzymatic hydrolysis conditions including time, temperature, pH, and enzyme/substrate ratio (E/S) to produce protein hydrolysate with antioxidant functionality from bovine gelatin by RSM; the scavenging activity was evaluated using the DPPH method. The model observed was fitted with desirable adequacy and sufficiency. We found that the antioxidant activity increased significantly (p < 0.05) with the increase in pH value, E/S ratio, and time of enzymatic process; however, the temperature had no significant (p < 0.05) effect on the antioxidant activity of the hydrolysate. The optimum hydrolysis conditions were observed at a temperature of 35.3 °C, pH of 8.0, and E/S ratio at 2.5 after 2 h hydrolysis by trypsin enzyme. The results showed that the hydrolysate under these conditions, optimized by RSM, could be more effective on antioxidant activity. Regarding the antioxidant potential, gelatin hydrolysate can be used as an antioxidant supplement in pharmaceutical industries

Production of Bovine Collagen Hydrolysate with Antioxidant Activity; Optimized by Response Surface Methodology

Antioxidants are widely used in pharmaceutical industries. Gelatin is a byproduct of the meat industry and its hydrolysates showed several functionalities, such as antioxidant activity. The purpose of this study was to describe and optimize the enzymatic hydrolysis conditions including time, temperature, pH, and enzyme/substrate ratio (E/S) to produce protein hydrolysate with antioxidant functionality from bovine gelatin by RSM; the scavenging activity was evaluated using the DPPH method. The model observed was fitted with desirable adequacy and sufficiency. We found that the antioxidant activity increased significantly (p &lt; 0.05) with the increase in pH value, E/S ratio, and time of enzymatic process; however, the temperature had no significant (p &lt; 0.05) effect on the antioxidant activity of the hydrolysate. The optimum hydrolysis conditions were observed at a temperature of 35.3 &deg;C, pH of 8.0, and E/S ratio at 2.5 after 2 h hydrolysis by trypsin enzyme. The results showed that the hydrolysate under these conditions, optimized by RSM, could be more effective on antioxidant activity. Regarding the antioxidant potential, gelatin hydrolysate can be used as an antioxidant supplement in pharmaceutical industries