Recent patents on food, nutrition & agriculture最新文献

Background: Apples often experience postharvest damage due to being attacked by mold organisms. Several groups of molds such as Aspergillus sp., Penicilium expansum, Botrytis cinerea, and Venturia sp. can cause a serious postharvest disease exhibited as watery regions where areas of blue-green tufts of spores develop. Current methods using fungicides to control pathogenic fungi can cause resistance if applied in the long term. An alternative procedure using yeast as a biological agent has been found.

Objective: The aim of this study is to screen potential yeast, which has the ability to inhibit the growth of Aspergillus brasielensis (isolate A1) and Aspergillus flavus section flavi (isolate A17) isolated from apple fruits.

Methods: Antagonism test using YMA dual culture medium using in vitro assays and ITS rDNA identification were performed.

Results: The result showed that 3 out of 19 yeast isolated from Cerbera manghas L, T1, T3 and T4, demonstrated the potential ability as a biocontrol agent. ITS rDNA identification demonstrated that T1 has a similarity to Rhodotorula mucilaginosa while T3 and T4 were identified as Aureobasidium sp. nov. The 3 isolates exhibited the ability to reduce the growth of A. brasiliensis sensu lato better than dithane 0.3% with a Disease Incidence (DI) of 100% and a Disease Severity (DS) value of 45%. Only isolate T1 and T3 were able to reduce decay symptoms in apples inoculated with A. flavus sensu lato (with DO and DS were 100% and 25%, respectively) compared to dithane pesticides 0.3%.

Conclusion: This study indicated that competition between nutrients occurs between pathogenic molds and under-yeast in vitro and in vivo conditions. However, further studies in the future might be able to elucidate the 'killer' activity and interaction with the pathogen cells and the bio-product production using Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Aureoubasidium namibiae strains to control postharvest diseases.

Background & aims: It is well-known that the coronary artery stenosis is related to lipid profile. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study to investigate the relationship between the serum fat-soluble vitamins (A, E and D), circulating proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), and lipid profile in the study population.

Methods: A total of 120 overweight subjects were participated in this study. The circulating PCSK9 and vitamin D were measured by ELISA technique. The serum vitamin A and vitamin E amounts were simultaneously measured by the HPLC method. The Serum Small Dense LDLCholesterol (sdLDL-C) values were evaluated using heparin-Mg2+ precipitation technique. The lipid profile was measured by routine laboratory techniques.

Results: The serum vitamin E values correlated significantly to vitamin A (r= 0.47, P= 0.0001), VLDL-C (r= 0.30, P= 0.002), total cholesterol (r= 0.309, P= 0.001), PCSK9 (r= 0.233, P= 0.01) and total triglyceride (r= 0.61, P= 0.0001) values. The circulating PCSK9 values correlated significantly to LDL-C (r= 0.17, P= 0.05) and total cholesterol (r= 0.23, P= 0.009) values. However, there were not correlations between the levels of serum D and A vitamins, the serum LDL-C, sdLDL-C and total cholesterol values.

Conclusion: The data showed the correlations between serum vitamin E and PCSK9-related LDLC values lower than the normal range. Furthermore, the results suggested a nutritional need on the patents considering supplementation or fortification of vitamin E for the overweight subjects with higher LDL-C levels.

The demand for alternative protein sources by the livestock industry has increased substantially. Therefore, insects are being promoted as a novel nutrient source in animal feed. As detailed in this review, eleven patents related to feeding insects to terrestrial animals including livestock and companion animals have been commercially applied. Six and eight of the patents have been used to produce poultry and fish, and crustacean feed, respectively. The most promising species for industrial feed production was the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), the mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), and the two-spotted cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus). Regarding research areas of the patents reviewed here, studies on the composition and optimal mixing ratio of feeds and on insect rearing, harvesting, and post-harvest technologies were mainly performed for the industrial mass production of safe and functional animal feeds containing insects. Continuous scientific innovations and improved processing technologies will aid further advancements in this field. Therefore, this review offers insights to identify directions of future research and provides information on different insect-based feedstuffs for animals including terrestrial livestock, fish and shellfish, and companion animals, as also discussed in various patents.

Characteristic of cassava flour is relatively similar to wheat flour. Cassava flour has the potential to substitute 70-80% of wheat flour as the main ingredient for wet noodle production. Unfortunately, cassava flour has no gluten and lower protein content than wheat flour, which is important for the characteristic of a wet noodle. Therefore, transglutaminase (MTGase) is often applied in non-gluten products to improve its texture. This enzyme catalyzes the reaction between lysine and glutamine to form isopeptide cross-links. Moreover, the addition of MTGase to cassava-based wet noodle improves its texture and color. In addition, this effect gives better palatability for wet noodle. This enzyme can increase the shelf life of wet noodles and safe for our health. The present study demonstrates with patent and literature data the potential of MTGase in noodles based on cassava flour.

Background: Pectin is a natural polysaccharide that has been used widely as a stabilizer in food emulsion system.

Objective: This study aimed to optimize the yield of pectin extracted from sweet potato residue and investigate its emulsifying properties.

Methods: Response surface methodology (RSM) has been utilized to investigate the pectin extracted from sweet potato peels using citric acid as the extracting solvent. Investigation of the effect of different extraction conditions namely temperature (°C), time (min) and solution pH on pectin yield (%) were conducted. A Box-Benhken design with three levels of variation was used to optimize the extraction conditions.

Results: The optimal conditions determined were temperature 76°C, time 64 min and pH 1.2 with 65.2% yield of pectin. The degree of esterification (DE) of the sweet potato pectin was determined using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. The pectin is high-methoxyl pectin with DE of 58.5%. Emulsifying properties of sweet potato pectin were investigated by measuring the zeta-potential, particle size and creaming index with addition of 0.4 and 1.0 wt % pectin to the emulsion.

Conclusion: Extraction using citric acid could improve the pectin yield. Improved emulsion stability was observed with the addition of the sweet potato pectin.

Background: Rapid lifestyle, especially among people living in urban areas, has led to increasing reliance on the processed food market. Unfortunately, harmful effects caused by the excessive use of food additives in such type of industry are often neglected.

Objective: This proposal investigates in vitro cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of three food preservatives commonly consumed in daily meals; sodium sulphite, boric acid, and benzoic acid.

Methods: The effect of the three preservatives on cell viability was tested on two different cell lines; normal liver cell line THLE2 and human hepatocellular carcinoma cancer cell line HepG2 using MTT assay. Cell cycle arrest was measured using flow cytometry by propidium iodide. Measurement of expression levels of two central genes, p53 and bcl-2 that play key roles in cell cycle and apoptosis was carried out in HepG2 cells using real time-PCR.

Results: Although the effect was more significantly realized in the HepG2 cell line, the viability of both cell lines was decreased by all of the three tested compounds. Flow cytometric analysis of HepG2 cells treated with sodium sulphite, boric acid, and benzoic acid has revealed an increase in G2/M phase cell cycle arrest. In Sodium sulphite and boric acid-treated cells, expression levels of p53 were up-regulated, while that of the Bcl2 was significantly down-regulated. On the other hand, Benzoic acid has shown an anti-apoptotic feature based on the increased expression levels of Bcl-2 in treated cells.

Conclusion: In conclusion, all of the tested compounds have decreased the cell line viability and induced both cell cycle arrest and apoptotic events indicating their high potential of being cytotoxic and genotoxic materials.

Background: The clay Montmorillonite (MMT) is among the nanofillers more frequently used in food packaging. The uniform dispersion of nanoparticles in polymers confers considerable improvement of mechanical, thermal, optical, and/or barrier properties in polymer/clay nanocomposites.

Objective: The aim is to ascertain the state of the art of the use of MMT for packaging purposes, with special emphasis on food applications.

Methods: A literature review was carried out through recent papers and patents that focused on the incorporation of MMT in polymers.

Results: This review emphasizes the interaction of MMT with polymers and their levels of incorporation in the nanocomposites. This work also highlights the analytical methodologies used for the characterization of the polymer/clay nanocomposites and the main consequences of the fillers in the properties of nanocomposites. Challenges remain about increasing the compatibility between clays and biopolymers to promote their utilization in food packaging. New strategies for immobilization of oxides, enzymes, essential oils, and other bioactive compounds are needed.

Conclusion: MMT-based composite materials are promising to be used in intelligent and active packaging.

Background: Pistacia atlantica Desf. (Anacardiaceae) has various applications for dietetic and medicinal purposes.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate antioxidant, antiproliferative and anticholinesterase activities of different extracts from leaf and stem of Pistacia atlantica Desf.

Methods: The antioxidant activity was performed by four methods: DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC and reducing power assays. Anti-cholinesterase activity was performed against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and Butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) enzymes. Antiproliferative assays were investigated against HeLa cell lines using xCELLigence RTCA instrument. The secondary metabolites composition was established by HPLC-TOF/MS analysis.

Results: In DPPH, reducing power and in ABTS .+ scavenging activity, all the extracts showed strong inhibitory activity compared to synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), in which the activities were almost equal to the two standards. The results were less significant in CUPRAC assay. The ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extracts exhibited the best antioxidant activity in all tests. Moreover, P. atlantica extracts inhibited AChE and BChE activities in a dose-dependent manner. The strongest AChE and BuChE inhibition activities were obtained for EtOAc extract of the stem (IC50 values 15.14±0.74 and 24.01±0.21 μg/mL, respectively) compared to galantamine (IC50 values 6.27±1.15 and 34.75±1.99 μg/mL, respectively). P. atlantica extracts also showed significant antiproleferative activity against HeLa cell lines, the best antiproleferative activity was obtained for the methanol and EtOAc extracts. The observed biological activities can be attributed to the presence of phenolic compounds and flavonoids in the extracts. The HPLC-TOF/MS analysis identified the presence of 22 phytochemicals. Gallic acid and rutin were the main compounds detected. Cichoric, gentisic, vanillic, protocatechuic and rosmarinic acids as well as catechin and quercetin were also present.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated good antioxidant, anticholinesterase and antiproliferative activities of P. atlantica extracts, which opens up new possibilities for pharmaceutical and food industries.

Background: Sphenostylis stenocarpa is an underexploited African indigenous food crop that is enriched in nutritional quality.

Objective: Exploring the robust genetic base of this landrace can help to maximize the benefit of the agricultural sector on the economy through production that is enhanced by packaging and patent. This as well will increase the quality of food production and promote African campaign on food sustainability.

Methods: Upon this, this research made use of multiple statistics to identify S. stenocarpa yield and nutritional trait relatedness that supported selection for maximum yield and nutritional trait output. Yield and related traits including protein and oil contents of twenty-three Sphenostylis stenocarpa landraces were studied under a four year planting seasons in Teaching and Research farm of Landmark University, Nigeria.

Results: Trait variances from Landrace × Year (L × Y) interaction, Principal Component and Cluster analyses were evaluated and the variation patterns were identified. Some vegetative (maturity phase, height and branching) and yield traits (Pod traits, seed yield and oil content) correlated significantly (P < 0.05) in the L × Y interactions. This suggests the usefulness of these traits in improving S. stenocarpa grain and oil quality yield. Tuber and nodule yield including protein content did not differ significantly in the variance table.

Conclusion: The result indicates that one location trial is insufficient to determine such trait performance. The first four PCs that accounted for 51 percent of the total variations were traceable to branching, maturity date, pod numbers, seed and oil content as main contributors to yield.