Authors:E. Y. Mobou, G. Yadang, A. D. B. Begoude, A. T. Nkoue, S. L. Sado Kamdem Pages: 1 - 14 Abstract: Aims: Lovastatin is a cholesterol-lowering drug produced by several filamentous fungi as a secondary metabolite. Its concentration in mushroom can be affected by many post-harvest processes. In this study, fruiting bodies of Pleurotus ostreatus grown on corn cobs were used to evaluate the effect of conservation techniques on their lovastatin concentration. Methodology: acid and blanching treatments combined to different processes of fruiting bodies conservation like sun drying, oven drying and canning by autoclave cooking were tested to evaluate their effect on lovastatin concentration. Results: Sun drying, oven drying at 60°C/70°C and canning using autoclave cooking at 100°C did not significantly affect lovastatin concentration. On the contrary, oven drying at 80°C caused the reduction of this compound up to 45.4% with respect to fresh product irrespective of the precedent use of citric acid or blanching treatments. Also, during canning, the use of autoclave heat treatments at temperatures 110 and 121°C for 15 minute caused a significant reduction of lovastatin concentration of about 52.2% and 48.9% respectively compared to the control. In this regards, it can be concluded that processes that use dry thermal treatments higher than 80°C and autoclave heat treatments higher than 100°C will contribute to the reduction of lovastatin, the cholesterol-lowering compound in Pleurotus ostreatus. PubDate: 2022-04-27 DOI: 10.9734/ejnfs/2022/v14i230476
Authors:Blessing H. Isa, Jonathan D. Dabak, Umar Umar Dalhatu, Panshak Kumbet Daman Pages: 15 - 27 Abstract: Aim: To investigate the effect of hammer and disc milling equipment on the levels of Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn) and Nickel (Ni) contents in maize (Zea mays) flour and the consequent impact on the kidney of albino rats. Study Design: The rats were randomly divided into groups of five rats per group. Six of the groups were fed with maize flour milled with a hammer mill, while the other six groups were fed with maize flour milled with a disc mill, and the thirteenth group was fed with crushed flour in a mortar and pestle as a control. The rats were sacrificed by decapitation under anesthesia on the 14th and 28th days. Place and Duration of Study: Departments of Biochemistry and Histology laboratories of the University of Jos, Nigeria, between, January to June, 2021. Methodology: For six days, a portion of the maize grains was milled with a hammer mill, another with a disc mill, and a third fraction was crushed into flour with a wooden mortar. The inductive coupled plasma mass spectrophotometric method was used to determine the levels of Fe, Mn, and Ni in maize flour. To avoid lysing the blood, blood samples were carefully collected by allowing it to run down the test tube's wall. The blood was allowed to coagulate at room temperature before being centrifuged and the serum collected and frozen until it was time for biochemical analysis. The kidneys of the rats were excised, cleaned, and preserved in chloroform until histological examinations were required. Results: The results show that Fe (325.16 ± 30.00 mg/kg and 205.05 ± 30.20 mg/kg) and Ni (20.92 ± 5.92 mg/kg and 18.00 ± 2.70 mg/kg) levels were extremely high in both disc and hammer milling machines. The Fe and Mn values in disc milled maize flour were higher than those in hammer milled maize flour. Rats in all groups had significantly higher serum urea, creatinine, K+, Na+, and Cl- levels than the control group. The kidney tissues of all the rats in the control and hammer-milled flour groups were normal, except for group 1 of the disc mill, which showed mild damage, according to the histopathological analysis. Conclusion: The Day 1 group fed with disc-milled flour showed a dense cast, atrophy, and nuclei loss in their kidney tissue. According to the results of the study, hammer milled maize flour is less harmful than disc milled maize flour, as shown by kidney histopathology. PubDate: 2022-05-02 DOI: 10.9734/ejnfs/2022/v14i230477
Authors:Edima-Nyah; Anne P., Udo, Mfoniso E., Ntukidem, Victor E., Ojimelukwe, Philippa C., Nwabueze, Titus U. Pages: 28 - 40 Abstract: The study was carried out to elucidate the suitability and utilization of malted African breadfruit (Treculia africana) seed flour in snack bars production. Malted African breadfruit seeds, maize and coconut were processed to flour and evaluated of their proximate composition, phytochemical composition and particle sizes. Six (6) products were developed from the flour blends in the respective ratio of 0:95:5 (T0), 20:75:5 (T20), 25:70:5 (T25), 30:65:5 (T30), 35:60:5 (T35) and 95:0:5 (T95). Soluble dietary fibre (SDF = 5.15 – 3.15%) decreased while insoluble (IDF = 7.23 – 19.23%) and total dietary fibre (TDF = 12.33 – 22.39%) increased significantly (p<0.05) with increasing malted African breadfruit inclusion. In vitro glycemic index (IVGI) and starch digestibility (IVSD) decreased significantly (p<0.05) from 57.30 – 45.65% and 57.48 – 31.44% respectively, with increasing substitution of malted African breadfruit seed flour. A negative correlation was observed between the TDF and IVGI content of the snack bars. In vitro protein digestibility ranged from 68.19 to 87.45%. With reference to standard classifications, the formulated malted African breadfruit seed based snack bars could be referred to as ‘high fibre’ and ‘low glycemic’ foods, and may have positive health benefit to the consumers, especially the diabetics and those interested in weight management. PubDate: 2022-05-05 DOI: 10.9734/ejnfs/2022/v14i230478
Authors:Oueslati Samia, Mahfoudhi Nesrine, Zar Kalai Feten, Ksouri Riadh Pages: 41 - 52 Abstract: Ceratonia siliqua were screened for their polyphenol content and antioxidant ability. A formulation of emulsion using the seed oil and galactomannans was assessed. Results showed that maceration contained the greatest amount of phenolics in organs. The best antioxidant capacity was found in seeds extract using soxhlet method. A chromatographic analysis of carob organs showed the predominance of gallic acid in fruits and pods. Fatty acid composition was dominated by palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids with 16.04, 38.08 and 38.85%, respectively. Finally, characterization of emulsions stabilized with the galactomannan from seeds proves that this biopolymer is an excellent food emulsifier. In fact, the production of emulsions having an average diameter of the dispersed droplets of a few micrometers and a creaming index greater than 80% reflects the very high stability. Overall, the results obtained indicated that C. siliqua can be valued as an emulsifier in several foods, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. PubDate: 2022-05-11 DOI: 10.9734/ejnfs/2022/v14i230479
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