Stability of cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum) nectar during storage

A shelf-life study on cupuaçu nectar (Theobroma grandiflorum) was carried out in two parts. Part I studied the microbial stability of the regular nectar (batch R) and the same nectar fortified with synthetic ascorbic acid (AA) (batch F), pasteurized at 90 °C for 3 min and hot filled in glass bottles. Total Plate Count (TPC), yeast and molds as well as pH, total soluble solids (TTS), titratable acidity and hidroxymethylfurfural (HMF) were followed along 43 storage days at 4, 25 and 35 °C. At the end of the storage period neither TPC nor molds or yeast had recovered the initial loads observed before pasteurization, for both R and F batches. Right after pasteurization, acidity increased slightly, pH decreased from 3.52 to 3.3, and TSS increased from 18.7 to 19.0 °Brix, with all stabilizing afterwards.Part II evaluated ascorbic (AA) and dehydroascorbic (DHAA) acids’ stabilization in the two batches, R and F, and dissolved oxygen (DO) was monitored. Both batches were stored at the same temperatures as in Part I for two months. For batch R, the AA degradation results followed a reversible first order reaction (EaAA(R)=-34±6 kJ/mol, kAA(R)25°C=0.006±0.003 days-1, C0AA(R)=0.92±0.01 and C∞AA(R)= 0.43±0.19). For the (F) nectar, the experimental data fitted a first order model well (EaAA(F)=30±17 kJ/mol, kAA(F)25°C =0.0016±0.0004 days-1). DO was modeled as a fractional conversion model (EaDO= 67±17 kJ/mol, kDO25°C= 1.94±0.94 days-1, C0DO=0.97±0.03 and C∞DO= 0.55±0.01). For both nectars, storage at environmental temperatures was preferred (AA retention above 80%) to refrigeration, due to the slower rate of diffusion of DO at lower temperatures.</p

Effect of antioxidant and optimal antimicrobial mixtures of carvacrol, grape seed extract and chitosan on different spoilage microorganisms and their application as coatings on different food matrices

There is growing interest in the use of natural agents with antimicrobial (AM) and antioxidant (AOX) properties. Optimization of the AM capacity for mixtures containing carvacrol, grape seed extract (GSE) and chitosan, against gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa), gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria innocua and Enterococcus faecalis) and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) at 106 cfu mL-1 was studied. To observe the synergistic or antagonistic effect and find optimal combinations between the three agents, a simplex centroid mixture design was run for each microorganism, combining carvacrol (0-300 ppm, X1), GSE (0-2000 ppm, X2) and chitosan (0-2% w/v, X3). Results of the response surface analysis showed several synergistic effects for all microorganisms. Combinations of 60 ppm-400 ppm-1.2% w/v (carvacrol-GSE-chitosan; optimal AM combination 1, OAMC-1); 9.6 ppm-684 ppm-1.25% w/v (OAMC-2); 90 ppm-160 ppm-1.24% w/v (OAMC-3) were found to be the optimal mixtures for all microorganisms. Radical scavenging activity (RSA) of the same agents was then compared with a standard AOX (butylated hydroxytoluene; BHT) at different concentrations (25, 50 and 100 ppm; as well as the optimal AM concentrations) by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. RSA increased in the following order: chitosan&lt; carvacrol&lt; BHT&lt; GSE and for the OAMC: OAMC-2&lt; OAMC-1&lt; OAMC-3. The best RSA (OAMC-3) was applied as a coating in two different food matrices (strawberries and salmon). For strawberries, P. aeruginosa was more sensitive to the action of OAMC-3 than S. cerevisiae. For salmon, S. aureus was more resistant to the action of OAMC-3 than E. faecalis and L. innocua