Effect of γ-irradiation on the physicochemical properties, and microbial and sensory qualities of cold-stored onion puree.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different doses (0, 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 kGy) of γ-irradiation on the physicochemical properties (pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solid, color, organic acid content), and also the microbial and sensory qualities of onion puree during cold storage at 4C for 28 days. The different doses of γ-irradiation were found to not have any negative effect on titratable acidity, pH, total soluble solid and organic acid contents of onion puree immediately after irradiation and also during cold storage. Irradiation at 3 kGy and above was able to control the development of yeasts and molds in the onion puree, but had negative effects on the color and sensory quality of the onion puree. This study indicates that irradiation at 2 kGy reduced microbial counts with minimum adverse effects on color and sensory qualities

In-vitro evaluation of selected Egyptian traditional herbal medicines for treatment of alzheimer disease

BACKGROUND: Egyptians recognized the healing power of herbs and used them in their medicinal formulations. Nowadays, “Attarin” drug shops and the public use mainly the Unani medicinal system for treatment of their health problems including improvement of memory and old age related diseases. Numerous medicinal plants have been described in old literature of Arabic traditional medicine for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (or to strengthen memory). METHODS: In this study, some of these plants were evaluated against three different preliminary bioassays related to AD to explore the possible way of their bio-interaction. Twenty three selected plants were extracted with methanol and screened in vitro against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and cycloxygenase-1 (COX-1) enzymes. In addition, anti-oxidant activity using DPPH was determined. RESULTS: Of the tested plant extracts; Adhatoda vasica and Peganum harmala showed inhibitory effect on AChE at IC(50) 294 μg/ml and 68 μg/ml respectively. Moreover, A. vasica interacted reversibly with the enzyme while P. harmala showed irreversible inhibition. Ferula assafoetida (IC(50) 3.2 μg/ml), Syzygium aromaticum (34.9 μg/ml) and Zingiber officinalis (33.6 μg/ml) showed activity against COX-1 enzyme. Potent radical scavenging activity was demonstrated by three plant extracts Terminalia chebula (EC(50) 2.2 μg/ml), T. arjuna (3.1 μg/ml) and Emblica officinalis (6.3 μg/ml). CONCLUSION: Interestingly, differential results have been obtained which indicate the variability of the mode of actions for the selected plants. Additionally, the reversible interaction of A. vasica against AChE and the potent activity of F. assafoetida against COX-1 make them effective, new and promising agents for treatment of AD in the future, either as total extracts or their single bioactive constituents