Study on Chemical Contamination Problem in Macaroni and Pasta Production Technology

This study was done to determine the concentration of heavy metals including Lead (Pb) and Cadmium (Cd) and nutrients element Copper (Cu) and Zinc (Zn) in a simple and whole wheat Macaroni in the valid different supermarkets in Tehran. 254 samples from seven Iranian simple Macaroni, four foreign simple Macaroni, and two Iranian whole wheat macaroni were purchased consecutively in 3 seasons of 2015. Results were determined as mean ± SD of dry weight from three replicates in each test. The samples were analyzed by wet digestion method and standardized international protocols were followed for the preparation of material and analysis of mineral and heavy metals contents and analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The mean concentration in milligrams per kilogram of dry matter for Lead, Cadmium, Copper and Zinc were determined. According to the results, the mean contents of Lead in the simple Iranian, imported and Iranian whole wheat Macaroni were 2.897, 3.070 and 0.636, amount of Cadmium were 0.469, 0.620 and 0.920, Copper mean contents were 1.563, 11.866 and 7.085 and finally mean level of Zinc were 16.296, 28.425 and 36.318 mg/kg respectively. The mean concentration of Lead, Cadmium, Copper and Zinc between in whole wheat and simple macaroni samples has a significant difference (P<0/05). The results revealed that the Lead and Cadmium contents in all studied analyzed pasta samples exceeded limits set for them according to the national standard Iran, International Codex and World Health Organization, while Zinc content was lower and Copper content in imported studied brands was slightly higher

Use of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry detection in determination of arsenic bioaccumulation in Trifolium pratense L. from contaminated soil

Increment of arsenic (As) in soil, a highly poisonous element, is a considerably important issue nowadays due to its danger of entry to the environmental cycles and food contamination. Bioaccumulation properties of many plants have been studied, although a very few reveal as a proper bioaccumulator plant for As. The Red clover, Trifolium pratense L. geographically widespread. The aim was conducted in order to determine the potential ability of this plant for cleaning up contaminated soil. Food grown on such lands usually contains heavy metals. Phytoremediation treatment of the soil prevents their entry into food, because it reduces the concentration of pollutants. Eighty-five Red clover one month old plants were grown in a nursery until transplant into the contaminated soil by inorganic As. Leaves and roots of 60 of plants sample were taken separately in every ten day during 60 days and analysed by ICP-OES while 25 samples were kept in different pH (8-4) in contaminated soil samples. Mean values of inorganic As(V) and As(III) in shoots and roots of plants were determined, and the statistical approaches were used for establishing the differences Bioaccumulation factor was calculated for As contents of plant parts for every 10 days. The soil arsenic level (19.09 mg/kg) higher than the global average (10.0 mg/kg), but within the maximum acceptable limit for agricultural soil (20.0 mg/kg) recommended by the European Union after 10 days. The lowest mean arsenic concentration was found after 40 days of cultivation of plant in pH=6 (1.01 mg/kg). It was observed that Red clover had suitable ability for phytoextraction method and soil recovery more Arsenic in pH<7 after 20-30 days of growth. The rate of As uptake by Red clover was significantly affected by the grown days after cultivated in contaminated treated (p<0.05) and pH of soil while up-taking in pH≤6 (p-value <0.05)

The essential oil composition of Carthamus tinctorius L. flowers growing in Iran

The composition of the essential oil obtained from the dried flowers of Carthamus tinctorius L. growing in Iran was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS). 29 compounds were identified in the oil. The major compounds of the oil were 1-hydroxy-3-propyl-5-(4-methyl-penten)-2-methylbenzene (25.2%), 2,5,5 trimethyl-3-propyl,tetra hydro 1- naphtol (19.8%) and benzaldehyde (8.0%).Key words: Carthamus tinctorius L., Asteraceae, essential oil composition, flower

Introduction of Methods to Reduce and Remove Patulin from Food Products

Patulin is a mycotoxin produced by different species of fungi of the genus Penicillium and Aspergillus, found in several species of fruit, and significant in apples. The purpose of this investigation is to the theoretical study of food contamination mechanisms by patulin and hazard of patulin for health. Various methods of determination of patulin and the possibility of reducing its level in apple-based products were analyzed. To reduce and remove patulin, several methods have been proposed that include post-harvest patulin control in products, pre-treatment control, and control by using physical and chemical methods, post-processing control such as packaging and using methods such as activated carbon or lactic acid bacteria. The standards and comparing the amount of patulin with them can be an important help in controlling this substance throughout the production processing of safe food

The Concept of Biodiversity and its Relevance to Mankind: A Short Review

Biodiversity plays significant roles in the lives of humans. Unfortunately, global statistics indicate a speedy decline in the numbers of flora and fauna diversities, with extinction threats for many of them. This short review paper explains the scope of biodiversity while highlighting its tremendous aid to mankind as well as its intrinsic and anthropogenic values that justifies the need for their conservation and sustainable use. The paper relied on extensive review and interpretative analysis of existing secondary literature on the subject and provides synthesizing interactions between biodiversity and their ecosystems. The paper unveils the direct and indirect benefits of biodiversity which are pertinent to life sustenance. It cautions governments to support bodies and institutions that are tasked with the responsibility of conserving biodiversity. This support in the form of logistics and funding would aid them in carrying out the education and sensitization programs on the need to conserve biodiversity for the perpetual sustenance of the lives of the current and future generations

Kinetics of Cd, Co and Ni Adsorption from Wastewater using Red and Black Tea Leaf Blend as a Bio-adsorbent

Every year there is deterioration in water quality. This is due to human activity. The current environmental strategies of many countries motivate the scientific community to develop reliable, economically viable and environmentally friendly technologies that are able to remove pollutants from the environment, including water. The study purpose is to determine of influence regularity of the bio-adsorbent composition and amount, which consists of red and black tea leaves mixture, on the Cd, Co and Ni adsorption process based on experimental data. As well as determine the most rational bio-adsorbent dose and the necessary red and black tea dose in bio-adsorbent to achieve MPC of heavy metals, with which process duration will be minimal. Initially, to study the adsorption process kinetics, the nature of the curve that describes the obtained experimental values was visually analyzed. To determine the adsorption process kinetic regularity, which most adequately and reliably describes the experimental data and to determine the values of the coefficients in the exponential regularity, the least squares method was used. It was observed that for Cd and Co, an increase in the black and red tea amount leads to a drastic reduction of the adsorption process time (up to 10 times); while for Ni the black tea addition slows down the adsorption process. Ni adsorption is the most complex and for certain bio-adsorbent composition values, complete Ni removal cannot be achieved in a technologically reasonable adsorption time. The technological process of Cd, Co and Ni adsorption can be expedient, if it is carried out in several stages with optimal red and black tea amounts for each of the metals. Adsorption process kinetic regularity, which was determined, can be used to calculate of adsorption process technological parameters in values wide range

Comparing some physical and chemical properties of green olive (olea europea l.) in iran association with ecological conditions

ABSTRACT: Enhancing the under cultivation area of olive is one of the most important programs of the project of Iran. Per capita consumption of olive stands at 160 grams annually. Due to importance of olive quality and considering some environmental factors, the aim of this research was to determine the physical and chemical properties, fatty acid, mineral and heavy metal contents of green olive fruit cultured in top olive growing regions of the Iran country: Association with ecological conditions. Green olive fruits were collected from 10 different farmlands in Rudbar-Aliabad from Gilan Province And Tarom From Zanjan Province which are considered the most important regions of olive cultivation in Iran . In each location, the chosen cultivars were those predominating in the respective area. The mineral elements and heavy metals: K, Na, Ca, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Cd contents in olive fruits were measured using an atomic absorption spectrometer. Fatty acids were determined by gas chromatography. According to variance analyses of data, oil rate and most of the fatty acids in olive oil samples were significantly affected by growth location. There was a positive correlation between the locations of growing with the weight of olive fruits (p <0.005). The results showed high levels of Pb and Cd in all olive samples studied. Correlation matrix for lead content shows a highly significant positive correlation among locations and its content. The mean content of lead and Cadmium levels in the 1100 samples analyzed exceeded both limits set for these heavy metals

Heavy Metal Contamination of Popular Nail Polishes in Iran

Background: Toxic and hazardous heavy metals like arsenic, lead, mercury, zinc, chromium and iron are found in a variety of personal care products, e.g. lipstick, whitening toothpaste, eyeliner and nail color. The nails absorb the pigments of nail polishes and vaporized or soluble metals can easily pass it. The goal of this survey was to assess whether the different colors of nail polishes comply with maximum concentrations of heavy metals in the EPA’s guidelines. Methods: 150 samples of different popular brands of nail polishes in 13 colors (yellow, beige, silver, pink, white, violet, brown, golden, green, black, colorless, red and blue) were randomly purchased from beauty shops in Tehran City, Iran, in 2014. Microwave digestion EPA method 3051 was used by a microwave oven to determine the amount of 5 heavy metals; Nickel, Chromium, Lead, Arsenic and Cadmium. One-way ANOVA, Two-way ANOVA, hierarchical cluster, and principal component analyses were applied by Statistica 7.0 software. Results: The concentrations of chrome, lead, nickel and arsenic showed significant differences between the colors (p<0.05). In all studied samples, the level of cadmium was beyond the safe maximum permissible limit (MPS), but no significance difference in the cadmium content was identified. Conclusion: Due to the high concentrations of toxic metals in many brands of nail polishes, meticulous quality control is recommended for these beauty products

Levels of Mercury in Persian Gulf Frozen Fish Species

Severe discharge of sewage and industrial effluents into the Persian Gulf leads to the deposition of various types of heavy metals, especially lead and mercury, in the muscles of fish. Total mercury and methylmercury contents were determined in the edible parts (muscle tissue, fillet) of two different most popular frozen fish species from the Persian Gulf to ascertain whether the concentrations exceeded the maximum level fixed by the European Commission or not. During the period from October 2015 to June 2016, a total of 150 frozen fish packaged samples were randomly collected from the recognized supermarkets in Tehran province, Iran. The mercury (Hg) concentration of samples was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer using a mercuric hydride system (MHS 10) and also by direct mercury analyzer (DMA). High concentration of total Hg was found in a Carcharhinus dussumie brand (0.91 ± 0.12 μg/g) while the lowest level was detected in Pomadasys furcatus (0.29 ± 0.02 μg/g). In current study the mean concentrations of Mercury in all studied frozen fish samples were 0.79 ± 0.11 µg/g that means Hg levels were above 0.5 μg/g, which is the maximum standard level recommended by Joint FAO/WHO/Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). In 13% of Pomadasys and in 47.2 % of Carcharhinus fish samples total mercury concentrations exceeded the maximum level fixed by the European Commission. All samples had also mean Hg concentrations that exceeded EPA's established safety level of 0.3 μg/g

Seed oil composition of Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile from Iran

Wstęp: Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile należy do rodziny Fabaceae, podrodziny Mimosoideae; otrzymuje się z niej gumę arabską. W południowym Iranie są spożywane pieczone młode strąki i nasiona tej rośliny Cel: Badano skład oleju z dojrzałych nasion A. nilotica zebranych z naturalnych stanowisk na południu Iranu w celu określenia jego przydatności do spożycia przez ludzi i zwierzęta. Metody: Wyekstrahowany olej analizowano metodą chromatografii gazowej sprzężonej ze spektrometrią mas (GC/MS). Wyniki: Zawartość oleju w jadalnych nasionach wynosiła 3.4% (v/w) świeżej masy. Olej zawierał rzadko spotykany fitosterol, sześć kwasów tłuszczowych, dziewięć węgolwodorów i jeden diterpenoid; związki te stanowiły łącznie około 83.5% oleju. Głównymi składnikami oleju były: fitosterol, 26-ethylcholesta-5,25(Z)-dien-3.β-ol (20.8%) oraz nasycone i nienasycone kwasy tłuszczowe. Zawartość pozostałych składników nie przekroczyła 5%. Wniosek: Olej z nasion omawianego gatunku może być nowym naturalnym środkiem odżywczym dla ludzi