Development and characterization of phytosterol-enriched oil microcapsules for foodstuff application

Phytosterols are lipophilic compounds contained in plants and have several biological activities. The use of phytosterols in food fortification is hampered due to their high melting temperature, chalky taste, and low solubility in an aqueous system. Also, phytosterols are easily oxidized and are poorly absorbed by the human body. Formulation engineering coupled with microencapsulation could be used to overcome these problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of encapsulating soybean oil enriched with phytosterols by spray-drying using ternary mixtures of health-promoting ingredients, whey protein isolate (WPI), inulin, and chitosan as carrier agents. The effect of different formulations and spray-drying conditions on the microencapsules properties, encapsulation efficiency, surface oil content, and oxidation stability were studied. It was found that spherical WPI-inulin-chitosan phytosterol-enriched soybean oil microcapsules with an average size below 50 μm could be produced with good encapsulation efficiency (85%), acceptable level of surface oil (11%), and water activity (0.2–0.4) that meet industrial requirements. However, the microcapsules showed very low oxidation stability with peroxide values reaching 101.7 meq O2/kg of oil just after production, and further investigations and optimization are required before any industrial application of this encapsulated system

The relationship of median nerve F-wave parameters with severity and subtypes of carpal tunnel syndrome

PMID = 2394883

Effects of Different Doses of Taurine in the Glucose-Based Extender During Cryopreservation of Rainbow Trout ( Oncorhynchus Mykiss

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different doses of taurine added to glucose extender Semen was collected from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by abdominal massage and diluted (1:2) with 300 mM glucose (G) extender containing different taurine doses (50, 75 and 100 mM). The control group extender did not contain taurine. After dilution and dosing, samples were filled to 0.5 ml straws, frozen in nitrogen vapour and stored in liquid nitrogen. The comparison of the results obtained for the 50 mM taurine group and the control group showed no significant difference between the post-thawing motility percentages and motility duration of sperm, and only a very low statistically difference for eyed-embryo percentages (P < 0.05)

Multiple Exhumation Phases In The Central Pontides (N Turkey): New Temporal Constraints On Major Geodynamic Changes Associated With The Closure Of The Neo-Tethys Ocean

The Central Pontides of N Turkey represents a mobile orogenic belt of the southern Eurasian margin that experienced several phases of exhumation associated with the consumption of different branches of the Neo-Tethys Ocean and the amalgamation of continental domains. Our new low-temperature thermochronology data help to constrain the timing of these episodes, providing new insights into associated geodynamic processes. In particular, our data suggest that exhumation occurred at (1) similar to 110 to 90Ma, most likely during tectonic accretion and exhumation of metamorphic rocks from the subduction zone; (2) from similar to 60 to 40Ma, during the collision of the Kirehir and Anatolide-Tauride microcontinental domains with the Eurasian margin; (3) from similar to 0 to 25Ma, either during the early stages of the Arabia-Eurasia collision (soft collision) when the Arabian passive margin reached the trench, implying 70 to 530km of subduction of the Arabian passive margin, or during a phase of trench advance predating hard collision at similar to 20Ma; and (4) similar to 11Ma to the present, during transpression associated with the westward motion of Anatolia. Our findings document the punctuated nature of fault-related exhumation, with episodes of fast cooling followed by periods of slow cooling or subsidence, the role of inverted normal faults in controlling the Paleogene exhumation pattern, and of the North Anatolian Fault in dictating the most recent pattern of exhumation.Wo