Structural Binding Properties of Silvercarp (Hypophtalmichthys Molitrix) Muscle Affected by NaCl and CaCl2 Treatments

The texture of restructured muscle products is well known to be strongly affected by various salts. In the present work the effects of NaCl and CaCl2 on the ultrastructure of both fresh and cooking salted silvercarp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) muscle were examined, in order to elucidate the heat-initiated binding phenomenon. Sodium chloride at 0.3 and 1.5% caused swelling and fusion of the myofibrils and loss of arrayed structure. Calcium chloride at all the tested concentrations resulted in shrinkage of myofibrils, The present study demonstrated two main effects of salts on the ultrastructure of fish muscles: (i) swelling of myofibrils which, at relatively high NaCl concentrations (1.5%) resulted in conversion of the arrayed structure of the myofibriles into a homogeneous and amorphous mass, and (ii) shrinkage of myofibrils, which may result in compact and denser appearance of filaments within myofibrils and their shortening. The textural changes which resulted from the different salt treatments are explained by these findings

Effects of Baking, Roasting and Frying on Total Polyphenols and Antioxidant Activity in Colored Chickpea Seeds

ABSTRACT Chickpea lines with colored testa (seed coat) contain high levels of polyphenolic compounds that exhibit high levels of antioxidant activity. In a previous study, we showed that common processing procedures, such as soaking and cooking, decrease the levels of these bioactive compounds and subsequent overall antioxidant activity. The observed reduction in total phenolic content was due to the movement of polyphenols from the seed coat to the soaking or cooking water. Here, the effects of baking, roasting and frying processes were examined in relation to total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and ferric-reducing ability of plasma antioxidant activity (FRAP AA) of colored chickpea seeds. Baked, fried and roasted colored chickpea seeds had significantly higher levels of TPC, TFC and FRAP AA than regular cream-and beige-colored seeds subjected to the same treatments. In contrast to our previous results with soaking and cooking, baking, frying and roasting retained most of the TPC, TFC and FRAP AA in the final products. Thus, colored chickpeas subjected to these three processing methods might be considered a functional food in addition to its traditional role of providing dietary proteins

A contribution to the knowledge of drought resistance of Mediterranean pine trees

by H. R. Oppenheimer and Adiva Shomer-Ilan, Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israe