Evaluation of Vitamin D3 and D2 Stability in Fortified Flat Bread Samples During Dough Fermentation, Baking and Storage

Purpose: Vitamin D, a fat-soluble secosteroid, has a significant role in bone metabolism and helps calcium absorption in the body. Since vitamin D concentration is altered in fortified foods and dietary supplements, the actual amount of vitamin D may differ from the label value. Methods: In this study, the concentrations of vitamin D2 and D3 of fortified bread sample were analytically determined. For this purpose, dough or homogenized bread sample was saponified using potassium hydroxide solution (30%, w/v) at 80°C, and the saponified analytes were extracted into n-heptane followed by liquid-liquid extraction. Then n-heptane fraction was evaporated to dryness and the sample was reconstituted in methanol. The effect of different parameters was evaluated by one variable at one-time strategy. Results: The analytes concentrations were evaluated in dough fermentation, baking and storage steps. The effect of temperature in dough fermentation and baking was evaluated at the range of 5-30 and 200-250°C, respectively. Also, the fermentation time was studied in the range of 0-120 min. The analytes concentrations were followed for 1 to 5 days after baking. The results indicated that dough fermentation temperature has no significant effect on the concentration of the analytes. On the other hand, when the dough fermentation time and baking temperature are increased, the analytes concentrations are decreased. Also, the storage duration of the spiked bread samples decreased the analytes concentrations after one day. Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, baking the dough at high temperatures lead to decrease in vitamin levels

Effect of Refined Edible Oils on Neurodegenerative Disorders

Neurodegenerative diseases are comprise a prominent class of neurological diseases. Generally, neurodegenerative diseases cannot be cured, and the available treatments can only regulate the symptoms or delay the disease progression. Among the several factors which could clarify the possible pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, next to aging as the main risk, the dietary related diseases are the most important. Vegetable oils, which are composed of triacyclglycerols as the main components and several other components in a trace amount, are the main part of our diet. This review aims to study the effect of refined or unrefined vegetable oil consumption as a preventive or aiding strategy to slow or halt the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. In the refining process, owing to the chemical materials or severe temperatures of the refining process, removal of the desirable minor components is sometimes unavoidable and thus a worrisome issue affecting physical and neurological health

Essential Oil from Flowers and Leaves of Elaeagnus Angustifolia (Elaeagnaceae): Composition, Radical Scavenging and General Toxicity Activities

Purpose: The aim of this work was to identify the chemical composition of the essential oils obtained from the flowers and leaves of Elaeagnus angostifolia (Elaeagnaceae) along with evaluate the radical scavenging and general toxicity activities. Methods: A combination of GC-MS and GC-FID were utilized for analyzing the chemical profile of the essential oils extracted by hydro-distillation from the leaves and flowers of E. angustifolia. The essential oils were subjected to general toxicity and radical scavenging assays using brine shrimp lethality test and DPPH method, respectively. Results: In total, 53 and 25 components were identified and quantified in the essential oils of flowers and leaves, accounting for 96.59% and 98.97% of the oil, respectively. The both oils were observed to be rich in ester compounds. The most abundant components of the oil from flowers were E-ethyl cinnamate (60.00%), hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (9.99%), palmitic acid (5.20%) and phytol (3.29%). The major constituents of the oil from leaves were E-ethyl cinnamate (37.27%), phytol (12.08%), nonanal (10.74%) and Z-3-hexenyl benzoate (7.65%). Both oils showed moderate activity in DPPH assay; however, they exhibited potent tocixity in brine shrimp lethality test. Conclusion: The remarkable toxicity effects of the oils are worthy to further investigation to find the probable mechanisms of action accountable for the noticeable toxic effect of these essential oils

Some Qualitative and Rheological Properties of Virgin Olive Oil- Apple Vinegar Salad Dressing Stabilized With Xanthan Gum

Purpose: Lipid oxidation and rheological properties are the main qualitative parameters determined in food emulsions. Salad dressings are food emulsions important in our daily diet, but conventional salad dressings have high amounts of cholesterol and saturated fatty acids because of egg yolk in their formulations. There are many studies on the modification of salad dressing formulations to replace egg yolk and saturated fats. The present study describes new formulation of salad dressing with olive oil and apple vinegar to produce a functional food product. Methods: This study investigated the qualitative properties, oxidative stability, rheological behavior and microstructure of the salad dressing without egg yolk. Oil-in-water emulsions were prepared with virgin olive oil and apple vinegar stabilized with various percentages of xanthan (T1: 0.25%, T2: 0.5%. T3: 0.75%). Samples were stored at refrigerator for 90 days and experiments were performed at production day and during storage. Results: The obtained results showed that peroxide value was increased for all samples during storage, but it was at an acceptable level. Fatty acid changes were not significant during storage. Droplet size was reduced by increasing xanthan gum. T2 had the best rheological properties during storage. Generally, T2 and T3 had higher scores and were more acceptable in organoleptic assay. Conclusion: Obtained results showed that T2 had suitable qualitative and rheological properties and can be a proper egg yolk free salad dressing to introduce to the market

Chromatographic Fingerprint Analysis of Marrubiin in Marrubium vulgare L. via HPTLC Technique

Purpose: In the present study we aimed to quantify marrubiin, as the major active compound, in the aerial parts of Marrubium vulgare from Iran using a HPTLC-densitometry technique. Methods: Quantitative determination of marrubiin in M. vulgare methanol extract was performed by HPTLC analysis via a fully automated TLC scanner. Later on, the in vitro antioxidant activity of the M. vulgare methanol extract was determined using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. Furthermore, total phenolics and flavonoids contents of the methanol extract were quantified, spectrophotometrically. Results: The amount of marrubiin was calculated as 156 mg/g of M. vulgare extract. The antioxidant assay revealed a strong radical scavenging activity for the M. vulgare methanol extract with RC50 value of 8.24μg/mL. Total phenolics and flavonoids contents for M. vulgare were determined as 60.4 mg gallic acid equivalent and 12.05 mg quercetin equivalent per each gram of the extract, correspondingly. Conclusion: The presented fingerprint of marrubiin in M. vulgare extract developed by HPTLC densitometry afforded a detailed chemical profile, which might be useful in the identification as well as quality evaluation of herbal medications based on M. vulgare. Besides, the considerable antioxidant activity of M. vulgare was associated with the presence of marrubiin along with phenolics and flavonoids exerting a synergistic effect

Chemical composition and in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Heracleum transcaucasicum and Heracleum anisactis roots essential oil

Introduction: In vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activity and volatile compositions of two Heracleum species (Apiaceae) including Heracleum transcaucasicum and Heracleum anisactis roots Essential Oil (EO) were investigated.Methods: The volatile compositions of EOs were analyzed by GC/Mass spectroscopy. To detect the antioxidant activity of essential oils TLC-bioautography and DPPH radical scavenging assay by spectrophotometry was performed. Additionally, the antibacterial activity of two essential oils were studied and compared against four pathogenic bacteria by agar disc diffusion method and MIC values of the EOs were determined using the broth dilution method.Results: Myristicin was the dominant component in both EOs. It was identified as 96.87% and 95.15% of the essential oil composition of H. transcaucasicum and H. anisactis roots, respectively. The TLC-bioautography showed antioxidant spots in both EOs and IC50 of H. anisactis and H. transcaucasicum EO was found to be 54 µg × ml (-1) and 77 µg × ml (-1), respectively. Regarding the antimicrobial assay, H. anisactis EO exhibited weak to moderate antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria and also Escherichia coli, whereas the essential oil from H. transcaucasicum was inactive.Conclusion: Based on the results from this study, both tested EOs mainly consist of myristicin. Despite the presence of myristicin with known antibacterial property, the EO from H. transcacausicum showed no antibacterial activity. Thus it is supposed that the biological activity of plants is remarkably linked to the extracts’ chemical profile and intercomponents’ synergistic or antagonistic effect could play a crucial role in bioactivity of EOs and other plant extracts

The emulsifying and foaming properties of Amuniacum gum (Dorema ammoniacum) in comparison with gum Arabic

Abstract In this study, the emulsifying and foaming properties of a novel exudate gum from Dorema ammoniacum (AMG) were assessed in comparison with the well‐known gum Arabic from Acacia tree (GAC). The sunflower oil‐based emulsion (10% v/v) containing various concentrations (5%–15% w/v) of AMG and GAC was prepared. At all concentrations, AMG showed higher surface and interface activity than GAC. Increasing in AMG and GAC concentrations caused to increase and decrease in Z average, respectively. Overall, the GAC‐stabilized emulsion showed lower Z average and PDI value than the AMG‐stabilized emulsion during storage time. The sample containing AMG showed higher emulsion capacity and lower emulsion stability in comparison with the one containing GAC at all concentrations. The storage stability decreased and increased with increasing in AMG and GAC concentrations, respectively. After two‐week storage, the emulsions containing 10 and 15% AMG showed higher phase separation than those containing GAC; however, this was opposite about sample containing 5% AMG. At thermal, centrifuge, and freezing conditions, the emulsion containing 5% AMG indicated significantly higher stability than GAC samples; however, at higher concentration, opposite effect could be observed. The foaming capacity of the samples containing AMG increased from 81% to 93% by increasing gum concentration from 5% to 15%. The solutions containing AMG showed higher foam capacity than control samples (without gum) and those containing GAC at all concentrations. Increasing in AMG and GAC concentrations slightly improved foam stability, and the highest value (92%) belonged to 15% AMG solution

Mechanistic and kinetic aspects of Natamycin interaction with serum albumin using spectroscopic and molecular docking methods

Natamycin (NT) is a polyene natural antimycotic, which has an antimicrobial effect against yeasts and molds and is used as a preservative in the food industry. In the present study, we evaluated NT interaction with bovine serum albumin (BSA) through surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and several spectroscopic techniques, which are accompanied by a molecular docking study. According to the results, the intensity of BSA fluorescence decreased by adding different concentrations of NT. The fluorescence quenching results showed that NT reduces the intensity of BSA fluorescence by forming a complex with BSA through a hybrid quenching. Binding constant decreases from 18.73 to 2.13 (102 M−1) with increasing temperature, which indicates a decrease in complex formation owing to the interaction of NT with BSA. Negative values of ΔH° and ΔS° confirmed that van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonds are the basic forces in the interaction of NT with BSA. Moreover, increasing the equilibrium constants values with increasing temperature indicated that BSA binding to NT decreased. Finally, BSA interaction occurring with NT through Ser 109, Asp 111, Lys 114, Leu 115, Glu 424, and Arg 458 have been verified via molecular docking analysis. Attained results via SPR and fluorimetry showed that the binding constant between BSA and NT decreased when the temperature was raised

The Role of Cranberry in Preventing Urinary Tract Infection in Children; a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction: Although effectiveness of cranberry for preventing urinary tract infection (UTI) has been reported in Iranian traditional medicine and recent studies there is still controversy in this regard. Therefore, the present study was designed with a meta-analytic approach aiming to evaluate the effect of prophylaxis prescription of cranberry in prevention of UTI in children.Methods: In this study, a thorough search was performed in Medline, Embase, Web of Sciences, Scopus and CINHAL databases by the end of August 2017. Using keywords related to urinary tract infection combined with words related to cranberry, search strategy was designed. The articles were summarized and finally, the role of cranberry extract consumption in decreasing the incidence of UTI was evaluated by reporting odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: In the end, 10 studies were included (414 cases in control group and 380 in cranberry extract treatment group). Analyses showed that prescription of cranberry significantly reduced the odds of UTI manifestation in children compared to placebo (OR=0.31; 95% CI: 0.21 to 0.46;