Evaluation of Physicochemical and Microbiological Parameters of Smoked Sausages

Meat and meat products continue to supply nutrients and play a vital role in human life because of their high biological value protein, iron, zinc, selenium and vitamin B12 contents, being a crucial component of a well balanced diet. The objective of this paper was to analyse the microbiological and physicochemical characteristics of smoked sausage obtain by a modern recipe. The meat  material was obtained from local butchery (Cluj-Napoca, Romania). The physicochemical analyses highlighted the moisture (Drying-oven at 105 ºC), protein (Kjeldahl method) and fat (Soxhlet method) content, as well as nitrite (Griess method) and sodium chloride concentrations (Mohr method) of the final products. Microbiological and physicochemical analysis of the examined samples found no deviations from legal norms imposed for smoked sausage.  All of the quality parameters comply with the limits stipulated by STAS.Â

Total Phenolic, Flavonoids and Antioxidant Capacity of Some Medicinal and Aromatic Plants

Abstract: Antioxidants are substances that protect cells from the induced oxidative stress damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals that. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals as a natural by-product of normal cell processes. In the present study,were evaluated  the phenolic and flavonoids contents as well as the antioxidant capacity of seeds from  the Lamiaceae and Apiaceae family: fennel  (Foeniculum vulgare), dill (Anethum graveolens) and rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) . (Sreemoyee Ch. et. al., 2012 ) The main objective of the study was the comparative assessment of the phenolic and flavonoid compounds from dill, rosemary and fennel methanolic extracts correlated with their  antioxidant activity. Both total phenolic content and flavonoids content of the seeds samples were measured spectrophotometrically using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay and a chromogenic system of NaNO2-Al(NO3)3-NaOH, respectively.. Antioxidant capacity was determined by 2,2-DPPH method. Results strongly showed that Rosmarinus officinalis extract has the most effective antioxidant capacity in scavenging DPPH radicals, while Foeniculum vulgare and Anethum graveolens were less active. The total phenolic content was within 773,14 and 3367,24mg GAE/ 100g while the concentration in flavonoids was between 231,84 and 1325,53 QEg/100g dry seeds. Â

Studies on Total Polyphenols Content and Antioxidant Activity of Methanolic Extracts from Selected Salvia Species

Salvia is one of the largest genera in the family of Labiatae, comprising about 900 species distributed widely throughout the world. Many species of Salvia are commonly used as herbal tea and for food flavoring, as well as in cosmetics, perfumery and in the pharmaceutical industry. The present study compares the antioxidant properties of four methanolic extracts, obtained by two extraction methods, from Salvia elegans, Salvia officinalis Purpurascens, Salvia officinalis Tricolor and Salvia lavandulifolia. The amount of total phenolics was quantified using the Folin-Ciocalteu method, while the antioxidant activity of selected herbs was determined with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) reagent. The total amount of phenolics was between 1122.50 and 3672.16 mg GAE/100g dry plant for the first methanolic extract, while for the second extract was between 767.66 and 2725.04mg GAE/100g dry plant. A positive linear correlation was observed between total phenolics content and antioxidant activity of the extracts. The results suggested that the extracts of Salvia species, notably Salvia officinalis Tricolor with the highest antioxidant activity, can be used as natural antioxidants in the food industry