Optimization process is an important aspect in the natural product extractions. Herein, an alternative approach is proposed for the optimization in extraction, namely, the Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE). The approach combines the Latin hypercube sampling, the feasible range of independent variables, the Monte Carlo simulation, and the threshold criteria of response variables. The GLUE method is tested in three different techniques including the ultrasound, the microwave, and the supercritical CO2 assisted extractions utilizing the data from previously published reports. The study found that this method can: provide more information on the combined effects of the independent variables on the response variables in the dotty plots; deal with unlimited number of independent and response variables; consider combined multiple threshold criteria, which is subjective depending on the target of the investigation for response variables; and provide a range of values with their distribution for the optimization.
This study investigated the possible relationship between the encapsulation variables, namely serine protease content (9-50mg/ml, X1), Arabic gum (0.2-10%(w/w), X2), maltodextrin (2-5%(w/w), X3) and calcium chloride (1.3-5.5%(w/w), X4) on the enzymatic properties of encapsulated serine protease. The study demonstrated that Arabic gum, maltodextrin and calcium chloride, as coating agents, protected serine protease from activity loss during freeze-drying. The overall optimum region resulted in a suitable freeze drying condition with a yield of 92% for the encapsulated serine protease, were obtained using 29.5mg/ml serine protease content, 5.1%(w/w) Arabic gum, 3.5%(w/w) maltodextrin and 3.4%(w/w) calcium chloride. It was found that the interaction effect of Arabic gum and calcium chloride improved the serine protease activity, and Arabic gum was the most effective amongst the examined coating agents. Thus, Arabic gum should be considered as potential protection in freeze drying of serine protease.
Morinda citrifolia fruit, (noni), enhanced performances in athletes and post-menopausal women in clinical studies. This report shows the edible noni leaves water extract enhances performance in a weight-loaded swimming animal model better than the fruit or standardized green tea extract. The 4weeks study showed the extract (containing scopoletin and epicatechin) progressively prolonged the time to exhaustion by threefold longer than the control, fruit or tea extract. The extract improved (i) the mammalian antioxidant responses (MDA, GSH and SOD2 levels), (ii) tissue nutrient (glucose) and metabolite (lactate) management, (iii) stress hormone (cortisol) regulation; (iv) neurotransmitter (dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin) expressions, transporter or receptor levels, (v) anti-inflammatory (IL4 & IL10) responses; (v) skeletal muscle angiogenesis (VEGFA) and (v) energy and mitochondrial biogenesis (via PGC, UCP3, NRF2, AMPK, MAPK1, and CAMK4). The ergogenic extract helped delay fatigue by enhancing energy production, regulation and efficiency, which suggests benefits for physical activities and disease recovery.
In this article, an easy and quick method based on microwave assisted acid digestion technique prior to quantification using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for the analysis of heavy metals in cocoa beans, cocoa powder and chocolate was established and validated for arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and antimony (Sb). Limit of quantification for all elements were product dependent and varies from 7.84 to 194.52 µg/kg. The recoveries of the heavy metals at 250 and 1000 µg/kg spiking levels were ranged between 96.27-108.75%, 90.43-101.97% and 89.72-106.26% for cocoa beans, cocoa powder, and chocolate, respectively. Relative standard deviation values obtained were all below 20% and the expanded uncertainty measurements for the elements were less than 25%. The analysis of real samples found that the concentration level is far from the national alarming level except for cadmium in cocoa beans.
Antioxidant activity of different rice extract and the effect on the levels of antioxidant enzyme activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), vitamin E, lipid peroxidation and liver enzymes in hyperlipidaemia rabbits were investigated. Germinated brown rice (GBR) has the highest antioxidant activity compared to white rice (WR) and brown rice (BR). All rice grains increased the activity of SOD and GPx. However, vitamin E levels increased only in the groups that received the BR and GBR diets. The reduction of lipid peroxidation levels and activity of hepatic enzymes (alanine transferase, ALT and aspartate transaminase, AST) were only significantly observed in the GBR group. In conclusion, GBR supplementation has the greatest impact on increasing antioxidant enzyme activity and vitamin E level and on reducing lipid peroxidation in hypercholesterolaemia rabbit, thereby preventing the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. Furthermore, GBR diet can also reduce the level of hepatic enzymes.
Red grape pomace, a wine-making by-product is rich in anthocyanins and has many applications in food and pharmaceutical industry. However, anthocyanins are unstable during processing and storage. This study aimed to investigate the stability of anthocyanins obtained by hydroalcoholic extraction (with and without sorbic acid) and colloidal gas aphrons (CGA) separation; a surfactant (TWEEN20) based separation. Anthocyanins in CGA samples showed higher stability (half-life = 55 d) than in the crude extract (half-life = 43 d) and their stability increased with the concentration of TWEEN20 in the CGA fraction (6.07-8.58 mM). The anthocyanins loss in the CGA sample (with the maximum content of surfactant, 8.58 mM) was 34.90%, comparable to that in the crude ethanolic extract with sorbic acid (EE-SA) (31.53%) and lower than in the crude extract (44%). Colour stabilisation was also observed which correlated well with the stability of individual anthocyanins in the EE and CGA samples. Malvidin-3-o-glucoside was the most stable anthocyanin over time.
Mercury contamination, especially of seafood, continues to attract public concern. Cysteine, NH2CH(CH2SH)COOH, is a naturally occurring hydrophobic amino acid that contains a thiol group. The purpose of our study was to investigate the use of the additive cysteine in fish diets to reduce mercury concentration in fish, and to observe the effectiveness of dietary cysteine in fish livers. Diets containing 1% and 10% cysteine successfully decreased mercury concentrations in fish compared with the 0% cysteine diet. The liver may have formed excessive lipid droplets or was unable to mobilize lipid stores during exposure to mercury; additional cysteine could help to mobilize excessive lipids in it.
Present work investigated the effects of processing (homogenization, sterilization) and cold storage on physicochemical properties, in vitro digestion and Caco-2 cellular uptake of bovine milk. Extreme heat sterilization and low temperature storage have significant impact on particle size and phospholipidome of bovine milk. In addition, cold storage of bovine milks led to formation of β' polymorphs crystals and endothermic peak with Toffset higher than body temperature. Processing and cold storage also increased the initial digestibility but reduced the overall digestibility of bovine milk. This might be related to the decreased particle size of the milk fat globules, changed in the phospholipidome of the MFGM and formation of β' polymorphs crystals in frozen milk. It is interesting to note that PE has relatively faster digestion meanwhile SM has relatively slower digestion. HTST milk which demonstrated lesser changed in terms of phospholipidome demonstrated highest cellular uptakes of most fatty acids.
Milk processing technology disrupts milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) structures and decreases the phospholipid content in MFGM. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of homogenization, thermal treatment, and cold storage on milk phospholipids. A total of 175 phospholipid molecular species were identified and quantified. Phosphatidylcholine was the most abundant phospholipid, and sphingomyelin accounted for only a small amount of phospholipid in bovine milk. In addition, a total of 37 plasmalogens (167.5 μg/mL) were identified in bovine milk with lysophosphatidylcholine plasmalogen being the most abundant. Processing technologies decreased the phospholipid content with both boiled and frozen milk demonstrating the highest reduction. Compared to raw milk, only 70% of phospholipid remained in frozen milk. Both S-plot and volcano-plot showed that heat treatment and subsequent cold storage decreased the phosphatidylserine and lysophospholipid contents.
Camel milk proteins are an important substrate for bioactive peptides generation. This study investigates in-vitro antidiabetic effect (via inhibition of α-amylase (AA), α-glucosidase (AG) and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV)) of bovine (BC) and camel casein (CC) hydrolysates. Further, effect of simulated gastrointestinal digestion (SGID) on inhibitory potential of generated hydrolysates was also explored. Both BC and CC hydrolysates displayed potent inhibitory properties against AA (IC50 value- 0.58 & 0.59 mg/mL), AG (IC50 value- 1.04 & 0.59 mg/mL) and DPP-IV (IC50 value- 0.62 & 0.66 mg/mL), respectively. Among different peptides identified in BC and CC hydrolysates, it was observed that FLWPEYGAL was predicted to be most potent inhibitory peptide against AA. While LPTGWLM, MFE and GPAHCLL as most active inhibitor of AG and HLPGRG, QNVLPLH and PLMLP were predicted to be active against DPP-IV. Overall, BC and CC hydrolysates can be proposed to be used in different food formulations as functional antidiabetic agents.
Cow (CwC) and camel casein (CaC) hydrolysates were generated using Alcalase™ (CwCA and CaCA) and Pronase-E (CwCP and CaCP) each for 3 and 6 h, and investigated for their potential to inhibit key lipid digesting enzymes i.e., pancreatic lipase (PL) and cholesteryl esterase (CE). Results revealed stronger PL and CE inhibition by CaC hydrolysates compared to CwC. Potent hydrolysates (CwCP-3 h and CaCA-6 h) upon simulated gastrointestinal digestion (SGID) showed significant improvement in inhibition of both PL and CE. However, both the SGID hydrolysates showed similar extent of PL and CE inhibition and were further sequenced for peptide identification. Peptides MMML, FDML, HLPGRG from CwC and AAGF, MSNYF, FLWPEYGAL from CaC hydrolysates were predicted to be most active PL inhibitory peptides. Peptide LP found in both CwC and CaC hydrolysates was predicted as active CE inhibitor. Thus, CwC and CaC could be potential source of peptides with promising CE and PL inhibitory properties.
In-vitro inhibitory properties of peptides released from camel milk proteins against dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV), porcine pancreatic α-amylase (PPA), and porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) were studied. Results revealed that upon hydrolysis by different enzymes, camel milk proteins displayed dramatic increase in inhibition of DPP-IV and PPL, but slight improvement in PPA inhibition was noticed. Peptide sequencing revealed a total of 20 and 3 peptides for A9 and B9 hydrolysates respectively, obtained the score of 0.8 or more on peptide ranker and were categorized as potential DPP-IV inhibitory peptides. KDLWDDFKGL in A9 and MPSKPPLL in B9 were identified as most potent PPA inhibitory peptide. For PPL inhibition only 7 and 2 peptides qualified as PPL inhibitory peptides from hydrolysates A9 and B9, respectively. The present study report for the first time PPA and PPL inhibitory and only second for DPP-IV inhibitory potential of protein hydrolysates from camel milk.
Solid phase extraction (SPE) and dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) were compared and evaluated for the determination of λ-cyhalothrin and cypermethrin in palm oil matrices by gas chromatography with an electron capture detector (GC-ECD). Several SPE sorbents such as graphitised carbon black (GCB), primary secondary amine (PSA), C(18), silica, and florisil were tested in order to minimise fat residues. The results show that mixed sorbents using GCB and PSA obtained cleaner extracts than a single GCB and PSA sorbents. The average recoveries obtained for each pesticide ranged between 81% and 114% at five fortification levels with the relative standard deviation of less than 7% in all cases. The limits of detection for these pesticides were ranged between 0.025 and 0.05 μg/g. The proposed method was applied successfully for the residue determination of both λ-cyhalothrin and cypermethrin in crude palm oil samples obtained from local mills throughout Malaysia.
A stable chromogenic radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) is commonly used for the determination of antioxidant activity. In this paper, DPPH was dried into 96 well microplate to produce DPPH dry reagent array plate, based on which the highly sensitive and high throughput determination of antioxidant activities was achieved. The spectrophotometric characterization of the microplate containing dried or fresh DPPH free radicals was reported. The response of the DPPH dry reagent array towards different standard antioxidants was studied. The reaction for DPPH in fresh or dry reagent array with Trolox was reported and compared. The DPPH dry reagent array was used to study the antioxidant activity of banana, green tea, pink guava, and honeydew and the results were compared to the samples reacted with freshly prepared DPPH. The proposed method is comparable to the classical DPPH method, more convenient, simple to operate with minimal solvent required and excellent sensitivity.
A new computational approach for the determination of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging activity (DPPH-RSA) in food is reported, based on the concept of machine learning. Trolox standard was mix with DPPH at different concentrations to produce different colors from purple to yellow. Artificial neural network (ANN) was trained on a typical set of images of the DPPH radical reacting with different levels of Trolox. This allowed the neural network to classify future images of any sample into the correct class of RSA level. The ANN was then able to determine the DPPH-RSA of cinnamon, clove, mung bean, red bean, red rice, brown rice, black rice and tea extract and the results were compared with data obtained using a spectrophotometer. The application of ANN correlated well to the spectrophotometric classical procedure and thus do not require the use of spectrophotometer, and it could be used to obtain semi-quantitative results of DPPH-RSA.
Graphene-magnetite composite (G-Fe3O4) was successfully synthesized and applied as adsorbent for magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) of two phenolic acids namely 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HB) and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3,4-DHB) from stingless bee honey prior to analysis using high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet-visible detection (HPLC-UV/Vis). Several MSPE parameters affecting extraction of these two acids were optimized. Optimum MSPE conditions were 50 mg of G-Fe3O4 adsorbent, 5 min extraction time at 1600 rpm, 30 mL sample volume, sample solution pH 0.5, 200 µL methanol as desorption solvent (5 min sonication assisted) and 5% w/v NaCl. The LODs (3 S/N) calculated for 4-HB and 3,4-DHB were 0.08 and 0.14 µg/g, respectively. Good relative recoveries (72.6-110.6%) and reproducibility values (RSD
This study analyzed the effect of pH (X1), temperature (X2) and inulin amount (X3) on transformation of isoflavones (daidzin and daidzein) to equol in soymilk fermented with Bifidobacterium spp. All responses significantly (p 0.05) difference between the experimental and predicted values, suggested the suitability of established models in explaining the daidzin and daidzein transformation to equol as a function of pH, temperature and inulin.
The objective of this work was to develop a plastic film from food sources with excellent thermal, mechanical, and degradability performance. Corn starch (CS)/nata de coco (NDC) were hybridized with addition of glycerin as plasticizer at different weight ratio and weight percent, respectively. Sample analysis found that the hybridization of CS with NDC improved the film forming properties, mechanical and thermal, degradation properties, as well as hydrophobicity and solubility of the film up to 0.5:0.5 wt hybrid ratio. The properties of the films were highly affected by the homogeneity of the sample during hybridization, with high NDC amount (0.3:0.7 wt CS:NDC) showing poor hydrophobicity, and mechanical and thermal properties. The glycerin content, however, did not significantly affect the hydrophobicity, water solubility, and degradability properties of CS/NDC film. Hybridization of 0.5:0.5 wt CS/NDC with 2 phr glycerin provided the optimum Young's modulus (15.67 MPa) and tensile strength (1.67 MPa) properties.
The redfleshed pulp discarded from pink guava puree industry is a rich source of lycopene and pectin. In this study, we developed a facile extraction process employing water as the primary extraction medium to isolate the lycopene and pectin from pink guava decanter. When the decanter was suspended in water, the complexation of lycopene and pectin formed the cloudy solution, where the colloidal complexes were recovered through centrifugation. The presence of lycopene and pectin in the complex was confirmed by the spectroscopic, microscopic and chromatographic analyses. The lycopene fractionated from the complexes had a purity level of 99% and was in all-trans configuration. The colloidal complexes yielding the highest concentration of lycopene was obtained at pH 7, 1% (w/v) solid loading and 25 °C. The experimental data of time-course extraction of lycopene-pectin complex were best fitted with two-site kinetic model, hinting the fast- and slow-release phases in the extraction process.
Thiol-functionalized magnetic carbon nanotubes (TMCNTs) were employed as the sorbent in the magnetic micro-solid phase extraction (M-µ-SPE) of sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs) in water, milks and chicken meat products prior to high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) analysis. The synthesized sorbent was characterized by several spectroscopic techniques. Optimum conditions were: 20 mg of TMCNTs at pH 4, 2 min extraction time, 10% addition of salt and 30 mL of sample volume. Under the optimized TMCNTs-M-µ-SPE and HPLC-DAD conditions, the method showed good linearity in the range of 0.1-500 µg L-1 (r2 ≥ 0.9950), low limits of detection (0.02-1.5 µg L-1), good analytes recovery (80.7-116.2%) and acceptable RSDs (0.3-7.7%, n = 15). The method was applied to tap water (1), milks (15) and commercial chicken meat products (35), SAs were detected in five chicken meat samples (3.0-25.7 µg L-1). The method is critically compared to those reported in the literature.