Physicochemical Properties of Grain and Starch from Kanihua (chenopodium Pallidicaule) Compared with Quinoa (chenopodium Quinoa) Originated from Peru

Kanihua and quinoa are closely related Andean grains that are unconventional starch sources. Starch was extracted from two kanihua and three quinoa genotypes and their physicochemical properties (proximate analysis, scanning electron microscopy, distribution and particle size, X-ray diffraction, FTIR, solubility, swelling power, pasting and thermal properties) were investigated. Kanihua and quinoa grains presented spherical shapes and regular sizes (1.05 - 1.30 mm). The starch granules show asymmetric monomodal distribution for all cases. Meanwhile, Sauter diameter values in kanihua were smaller (0.961 µm) than quinoa (1.099 µm). Regarding structure, all samples showed Type A polymorphism and similar FTIR spectra behavior. In addition, amilose content was around 11-14% and 8-12% for varieties of kanihua and quinoa respectively. Starch solubilities were less than 13%, and kanihua starches had less swelling power than quinoa starches. However, the maximum swelling power values were reached around 70 °C. The variety and type of grain influenced pasting properties, with an inverse relationship between the breakdown and setback values for the evaluated starches. Analyzing the thermal properties, gelatinization enthalpy and retrogradation were similar for all starches. Even though the kanihua and quinoa starches present similar structural characteristics, the pasting properties and swelling power were different. The insight into the morphological, thermal, and pasting properties of native Chenopodium starches could be helpful in the preparation and development of new food formulations

Impact of Ozone on the Rheological and Morphological Properties of Quinoa Starch

Native starch has limitations such as low water solubility and high viscosity. Ozone treatment is a green technique that can be used to modify starch by oxidation without generating waste. Quinoa starch suspensions (10wt%, db) were submitted to the modification process by the application of ozone at different times (OGT = 10, 20 and 30 min), with native starch as the control. Morphological, solubility in water (SW), swelling power (SP) and rheological characterizations were carried out to evaluate the properties of native and oxidized starches. SW values were lower (37.4%) and SP values were slightly lower (6.0%) for native starch and starch modified by 10 min of OGT, when compared to starches with 20 and 30 min of OGT. This indicates a weakening of the bonds in the crystalline region with the longest ozonation times influencing the swelling of the granules and allowing them to absorb water more easily. The rheological tests showed that all samples (5 g gelatinized starch/100 g) had pseudoplastic behavior, with increased pseudoplasticity, consistency index and apparent viscosity, with increasing OGT. The increase in rheological properties after ozone treatment can be attributed to the crosslinking effect. On the other hand, the increase in pseudoplasticity can be explained by the partial depolymerization of amorphous and crystalline lamellae compounds during starch oxidation. Frequency scanning sweep indicated that all samples exhibited weak gel behavior (storage modulus G'>G” loss modulus), without crossing of these moduli. Native starch had the highest G’ and G” values when compared to ozonized starches. No difference was observed in gelatinization temperature and granule morphology after ozone treatment. The differences in the flow and viscoelastic properties can be interesting for different applications, such as thickeners in food or cosmetics products

Adding 6 months of androgen deprivation therapy to postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of short-course versus no androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised controlled trial

Background Previous evidence indicates that adjuvant, short-course androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves metastasis-free survival when given with primary radiotherapy for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the value of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy is unclear. Methods RADICALS-HD was an international randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of ADT used in combination with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to radiotherapy alone (no ADT) or radiotherapy with 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT), using monthly subcutaneous gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue injections, daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as distant metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. Standard survival analysis methods were used, accounting for randomisation stratification factors. The trial had 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 80% to 86% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·67). Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00541047. Findings Between Nov 22, 2007, and June 29, 2015, 1480 patients (median age 66 years [IQR 61–69]) were randomly assigned to receive no ADT (n=737) or short-course ADT (n=743) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 121 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 9·0 years (IQR 7·1–10·1), metastasis-free survival events were reported for 268 participants (142 in the no ADT group and 126 in the short-course ADT group; HR 0·886 [95% CI 0·688–1·140], p=0·35). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 79·2% (95% CI 75·4–82·5) in the no ADT group and 80·4% (76·6–83·6) in the short-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 121 (17%) of 737 participants in the no ADT group and 100 (14%) of 743 in the short-course ADT group (p=0·15), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Metastatic disease is uncommon following postoperative bed radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy. Adding 6 months of ADT to this radiotherapy did not improve metastasis-free survival compared with no ADT. These findings do not support the use of short-course ADT with postoperative radiotherapy in this patient population

Duration of androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of long-course versus short-course androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised trial

Background Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. Methods RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00541047 . Findings Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60–69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0–10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612–0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6–75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2–81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. Funding Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society

Estudo dos métodos para a medida da atividade de água.

A atividade de água é um dos parâmetros mais mportantes para a indústria de alimentos. Existem muitos métodos para a medida da atividade de água e cada um tem suas limitações. Foram analisados os diversos métodos existentes para a medida da atividade de água, considerando-se seu princípio de funcionamento, o manuseio do equipamento, o tempo para realização da medida, a faixa de medida, a calibração do equipamento, a repetibilidade e reprodutibilidade e o custo do equipamento. Foram comparados dados da atividade de água de soluções saturadas e insaturadas de sais e de soluções de ácido sulfúrico de várias referências. O objetivo foi uniformizar os padrões adotados nos diversos métodos de medida da atividade de água. Não apenas, são apresentados os modelos matemáticos de Brunauer, Emmett e Teller e o de Guggenheim, Anderson e De Boer, para aproximar isotermas de sorção, mas também, são analisadas as aplicações das medidas da atividade de água e isotermas de sorção de água em alimentos. Os melhores métodos existentes atualmente são o higrômetro eletrônico e o higrômetro de ponto de orvalho. A principal desvantagem desses métodos é seu custo elevado, o que os torna inacessíveis a uma parcela significativa da indústria de alimentos brasileira. Um novo método foi proposto para ser usado na indústria e deve reunir as características de rapidez suficiente e baixo custo.Water activity is one of the most important parameters for the food industry. There are many methods to measure water activity and each one of them has its handicaps. Several of the available methods to measure water activity were studied considering their technical details, handling of the equipment, measurement speed, measurement range, calibration of the equipment, repeatability and reproducibility and cost. Water activity data of saturated and unsaturated salt solutions and sulphuric acid solutions from various sources are compared. The purpose is to provide standards to be adopted by the different methods to measure water activity. The mathematical models of Brunauer, Emmett and Teller and Guggenheim, Anderson and De Boer for estimating sorption isotherms are presented. The many uses of water activity and sorption isotherms are also discussed. The best methods to measure water activity that exist nowadays are the electric hygrometers and the dew point hygrometer. The main disadvantage of these methods is that their cost is far too high for a significant part of the Brazilian food industry. A new method to measure water activity is proposed that should combine the speed required by the food industry and a low cost

Effect of pasteurization temperature on stability of an acidified sugarcane juice beverage

The shelf life of fresh sugarcane juice is quite limited due to the high rates of microbiological and enzymatic reactions which take place after extraction. In order to evaluate the impact of pasteurization temperature on quality and stability of sugarcane juice with passion fruit pulp, nine batches of sugarcane juice with 4g/100g passion fruit pulp were processed at 85, 90 and 95 °C for 30 s, in triplicate. The pasteurized beverage was aseptically packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and stored at 7 °C in the dark. The beverage was characterized by physicochemical tests. Activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) were determined before and after processing. Coliforms and Salmonella tests were carried out to assure the beverage´s microbiological safety. Color parameters were measured in the processed juice throughout the storage period. Fifty panelists evaluated the beverage's appearance, aroma, flavor, and overall impression using seven-point hedonic scale tests. Sensory stability was estimated by considering score averages above four and percentages of acceptance above 60%. The pH, soluble solids and titratable acidity of end product ranged from 3.96 to 4.19, 19.7 to 20.1 ºBrix, and 0.163 to 0.175 g/100g citric acid, respectively. The three processing binomials were effective for PPO inactivation; however, complete POD inactivation was reached at 95 °C/30 s only. The estimated sensory shelf-lives for sugarcane juice with passion fruit pulp processed at 85, 90 and 95 °C/30 s were 30, 40 and 50 days, respectively. Thus, the increase of pasteurization temperature had a positive effect on product's stability

Natural antimicrobial ingredients incorporated in biodegradable films based on cassava starch

Biodegradable films based on cassava starch and with addition of natural antimicrobial ingredients were prepared using the casting technique. The tensile properties tensile strength (TS) [MPa] and percent elongation (E) at break [%] and the water vapor transmission (WVT) of the biodegradable films were evaluated and compared with the control (without antimicrobial ingredients). The evaluation of the Colony Forming Units per gram [CFU/g] of pan bread slices packed with the best biodegradable films, in terms of packaging performance, was also determined. The addition onto the matrix of only clove and cinnamon powders could reduce the films WVT when compared to the control, however TS and E were lower than the control and the effect of cinnamon was milder regarding this property. Since water activity of the pan bread slices packed with the biodegradable films increased considerably during the storage period, the antimicrobial effect could not be clearly determined. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.Brazilian Committee for Postgraduate Courses in Higher Education (CAPES)FAPESP (The State of Sao Paulo Research Foundation

Effect of Antimicrobial Edible Additives on Cassava Starch Biobased Films Characterization Written for presentation at the 2006 CIGR Section VI International Symposium on FUTURE OF FOOD ENGINEERING

Abstract. Antimicrobial films appear in response o

Cultivar affects the color change kinetics of sugarcane juice

Abstract This study evaluated the influence of different Brazilian cultivars (RB867515/C1, SP813250/C2, RB92579/C3 and CTC02/C4) on unprocessed sugarcane juice quality by physicochemical, microbiological and enzymatic analysis. Color parameters were determined during six days at 10 °C. The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments (cultivars) and three replicates. Significant differences were observed (p ≤ 0.05) among the juice samples from different cultivars. The pH values ranged from 5.09 to 5.25, soluble solids content from 14.13 to 18.60 ºBrix and titratable acidity from 0.035 to 0.120% of citric acid. Counts of mesophiles, psychrotrophs and molds and yeasts varied between 4.8 and 6.2 logCFU mL-1, 3.2 and 4.6 logCFU mL-1 and 3.3 and 4.8 logCFU mL-1 , respectively. Polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase activities ranged from 8 to 15 U mL -1 and between 6 and 40 U mL-1, respectively. The initial (t0) lightness varied from 21 to 37 among cultivars, and final values, after six days of storage (t6), between 22 and 41. Principal components analysis showed that the juice of different cultivars is characterized by different parameters. Considering its lighter color and smaller color variation during storage, juice extracted from cultivar RB867515 presented the greatest potential for consumer acceptance