Search results

The purpose of this study was to accelerate the fermentation process of minced mackerel fish (Scomber scombrus L.) mixed thoroughly with 20 per cent salt (w/w) and hydrolyzed by 0.2 and 0.4 per cent bromelain at 37°C.

S. scombrus L. was mixed thoroughly with 20 per cent salt (w/w) and hydrolyzed by the bromelain at levels of 0.2 and 0.4 per cent at 37°C. The physicochemical and sensory properties were evaluated after 60 and 90 days.

In a comparison of all of the aforementioned treatments, the results showed that the samples with higher bromelain levels (0.4 per cent) had higher concentrations of formal nitrogen (622 mg/100 mL) and total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N, 0.3 g/dL) after 90 days of fermentation (p < 0.01) . The sample with 0.4 per cent bromelain showed total free amino acids content of 13.3 g/100 g after 90 days of fermentation (p < 0.01). High levels of total fatty acids (15.6 mg/100 g) were found in samples treated with 0.4 per cent bromelain and allowed to ferment for 90 days (p < 0.01). The sauce colour became significantly highly saturated (p < 0.01) with the increase in fermentation time. Chroma was significantly increased by 44 and 66 per cent in fermented sauce samples with 0.2 and 0.4 per cent bromelain during fermentation for as long as 90 days (p < 0.01). Moreover, the addition of bromelain (0.4 per cent) resulted in mackerel fish sauce that was organoleptically preferred at the end of fermentation.

The results showed that an acceptable fish sauce could be produced from mackerel fish with supplementation with 0.4 per cent of bromelain, which reduced the fermentation time to 90 days and resulted in the most satisfactory results without compromising the product quality.

Taurine (2-aminoethane sulfonic acid; C2H7NO3S) is a nonprotein sulfur-containing β-amino acid present in nearly all mammalian tissues and the most ubiquitous free endogenous biomolecule in human cells. Taurine is commonly known as a conditionally essential amino acid because taurine is one of the few amino acids that are not incorporated in protein synthesis. The purpose of this study is to review the existing articles related to taurine and to give an account how useful is taurine to the different body systems. In this thorough overview, taurine is covered in terms of its essentiality, sources, advantages for neonates and the elderly, the effects of taurine deficiency, and the safety and toxicity of taurine supplements.

This is a narrative review into the subject matter. Published articles were searched on different portals like PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Google Scholar, PubChem etc. The authors also evaluated the availability of taurine in commercially available energy drinks.

This comprehensive review, presents the potential clinical benefits and functional properties of taurine as a conditionally essential amino acid. Energy drinks containing taurine (and their concentration) are also reported in this review.

This is the first data that the authors are aware of that shows taurine content in a variety of energy drinks on the market.

Infant formula is the sole nutrition and food source for many infants. Information on the free amino acid (FAA) content of formulas, particularly those that are protein hydrolysate based, is limited, despite emerging evidence for the role of FAAs in regulating eating behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to measure levels of essential, semi‐essential, and nonessential FAAs in commercially available infant formulas to provide a foundation for future research examining the influence of FAAs on infant development.

Using an automatic amino acid analyzer, we measured the concentrations of FAAs in four types of formula: two cow milk (CMF); three soy protein (SPF); and three protein hydrolysate (PHF), one of which was a partial hydrolysate (pPHF) and two of which were extensive hydrolysate (ePHF).

It was found that the amount and number of FAAs varied significantly across formula types: for CMF, total FAAs ranged from 523‐864 μmol/L, with taurine being the most prominent; SPF, 1933‐2450, methionine; pPHF, 2329, taurine; and ePHF, 80375‐85445, leucine. ePHF had the highest levels and the most diversified profiles of FAAs.

Striking discrepancies exist for FAA profiles of infant formulas. Comparison of these data to published psychophysical data on the taste qualities of individual FAAs provides insights into the unique flavor profiles of infant formulas. Overall, the data from this study provide a necessary foundation for future research examining the influence of FAAs in formulas on infant growth and development.

Published data on the FAA content of PHF is limited, despite their increased availability and use. This research is the first to report the FAA content of partial and extensive PHF, and to compare these values to CMF and SPF.

The aim of this research is the evaluation of the profile of peptides isolated from skim milk hydrolysates.

Five hydrolysates were prepared using a protease from Aspergillus Oryzae (AO) separately or in combination with papain (PA) in different reaction times. The hydrolysates were fractionated by size‐exclusion HPLC and the rapid method of correct fraction area (CFA) was used for quantifying the peptides and free amino acids in the chromatographic fractions. The nutritional quality of hydrolysates is directly related to their di‐ and tripeptide contents, several reports show that the amino acid provided by these peptides are more quickly and completely absorbed than those from intact protein.

The results showed a nutritional similarity of the isolated action of AO and its combinations with PA, considering the peptide patterns produced, giving rise to 16 percent of di‐ and tripetides. Increasing the reaction time of the two enzymes led to poorer peptide profiles, while no change was achieved when the reaction time of only one enzyme (AO) in the combination was enlarged. Other hydrolytic conditions could be tested in order to improve the peptide profile of skim milk hydrolysates.

The application of this study relates to the possibility of using these hydrolysates for preparing high nutritional formulation for dietetic purposes. The use of a technique allowing the fractionation of peptides according to their size as well as the use of the skim milk as protein source, instead of casein, which is very expensive in the developing countries, represents a novel approach.

Provides an evaluation of the profile of peptides isolated from skim milk hydrolysates.

To investigate the potential food, feed and industrial values of some tropical underutilized medicinal plant materials.

Dry‐milled plants, namely: Gongronema latifolium and Vernonia amygdalina were subjected to chemical analysis to determine their proximate, mineral, elemental, fatty acid and amino acid compositions using standard procedures.

Results show that the lipid extract, ash, crude fibre and nitrogen free extractives, oxalate, phytate and tannin of the plants are within expected ranges. They however had unexpectedly high crude protein content: 27.20 and 21.69 per cent, respectively. Potassium, phosphorus, calcium and cobalt were the most abundant mineral elements. G. latifolium and V. amygdalina leaf oils are 50.22 and 24.54 per cent saturated; 39.38 and 65.45 per cent polyunsaturated, respectively. Palmitic and oleic acids were the major monounsaturated fatty acids. Degrees of unsaturation are 0.46 and 0.41, respectively. Major essential amino acids are leucine, valine and phenylalanine. Proportions of essential to non‐essential amino acid are 43.37 and 49.84 per cent, respectively.

The nutritional composition of the plant materials suggests that they may find use in food/feed formulation operations and as industrial raw materials.

The purpose of this study was to compare the physico-chemical properties and amino acid profile of three maize hybrid cultivars grown in Nigeria.

Two normal maize endosperm varieties, yellow SUWAN-ISR (YNM) and white ART/98/SW05-OB-WC (WNM), and one yellow QPM variety, TZE-POP-DT-STR-QPM (YQPM), were selected for the study. Physico-chemical properties, physical tests, proximate composition analysis, functional properties and characteristics and amino acid profile tests were carried out on the grains using standard methods.

Protein was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in YQPM (10.49 per cent) than in normal endosperm, YNM (8.83 per cent) and WNM (8.50 per cent). Amino acid profile of the grains revealed that total amino acid of YQPM (94.67 g/100 g of protein) and essential amino acid of YQPM (39.070) were the highest among the three, with highest significantly different value of tryptophan (0.388 g/100 g of protein) at p < 0.05. The cooking quality of YQPM was found to be better than the other two, with highest hydration capacity and increase in volume after cooking (90.8 ± 0.01 g/1000 grains and 147.53 ± 0.02 per cent).

YQPM will be highly beneficial in the tropics, where maize is grown as the major staple food to reduce hunger and malnutrition because of its amino acid balance and its better cooking quality.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate physico‐chemical, biochemical and microbiological changes during the three‐month ripening of the Polish traditional raw smoked fermented meat product Kumpia wieprzowa, produced from pork shoulder without fore‐shank.

After one, two and three months, the pH, a_w, chemical composition, the content of nitrogen – total and soluble – as well as the profile of aromatic compounds and microflora, were evaluated.

During ripening, the water content decreased from 62.7 percent to 47.5 percent, while the protein and fat amount increased from 20.8 percent to 25.0 percent and from 9.7 percent to 16.3 percent, respectively; the a_w decreased from 0.95 to 0.88 and pH from 5.80 to 5.35. The proteolytic changes, measured by free amine groups and Nsoluble content, as well as the quantity of free fatty acids and percentage of most of the volatile compounds increased, particularly during the first two months of ripening. The total number of aerobic microorganisms, and Lactobacillaceae decreased during ripening from 7.9 to 6.2 and 5.6 to 4.7 log cfu/g, respectively. The count of coagulase‐negative cocci changed from 5.3 to 5.2 log cfu/g.

Kumpia wieprzowa is a unique pork product, entered on the List of Polish Traditional Products in 2005. Up to the present, the properties of Kumpia wieprzowa were not recognized and published in the scientific literature, in spite of its very interesting raw material (shoulder spontaneously fermented as a whole large primal cut).

Wheat plants were grown in field plots of 3×3m area. After growth period of two months, the growing plants were sprayed with dimethoate and pirimicarb at the recommended dose. Spraying was repeated after a further 45 days. Plant samples were taken at intervals of zero, three, six, nine, 12 and 15 days after each application. A gradual and continuous degradation of the applied pesticides had taken place in the treated wheat shoots up to the end of the experiment. However, dimethoate showed more residues and persistence rather than pirimicarb. The break down and metabolism of the applied pesticides was correlated with some biochemical changes in the sprayed plants. Sampling dates of three and six days after application were the most critical periods to affect plant metabolism. A decline was noticed in chlorophyll, sugars and carbohydrates, total proteins and RNA content of wheat shoots as a function of the applied pesticides. Free amino acids were accumulated in the sprayed plants, meanwhile the DNA content did not show observable changes as a consequence of the applied pesticides treatment.

In the matter of food purity and control Hospital Catering Services have been outside the law, a privileged position where the general law of food and drugs have never applied and the modern regulatory control in food hygiene has similarly not applied. In the eyes of the general public hospital catering standards have always been high above the general run of food preparation. As the NHS continued, complaints began gradually to seep out of the closed community, of dirt in the kitchens and prevalent hygiene malpractices. The general standard for most hospitals remained high but there were no means of dealing with the small minority of complaints which disgusted patients and non‐cater‐ing staff, such as insect and rodent infestations, and an increase in the frequency of food poisoning outbreaks.

Factors which influence consumer spending, among the most sought after in any field of market research, things people buy and why, is valuable data on which much industrial planning, advertising techniques and marketing is based, but in no other field of trade is consumer preference so closely related to pure economics, i.e., value received in money terms, as in food. With most other commodities, from clothes to cars, hair‐do's to houses, factors affecting consumer choice have different results; appearance, aesthetic quality and neighbourly competition, all play a part, though appearance in a few foods is not entirely without significance, e.g., white bread. Present high levels of consumer spending are said by politicians to be a danger to the country's economy; a more prosaic thought would be that Government spending, or squandering, constituted the greater threat. In the main, factors which influence household food expenditure are essentially down to earth—palatability, digestibility, keeping quality and how far a food will go in the preparation of meals, its value in money terms. The king‐pin in all market research on food must be the woman of the house; it is her laying out of the household purse that determines the amount of food expenditure and the varieties purchased week by week. A housewife's choice, however, is a complex of her family's likes and dislikes, rarely her own, and also determined by the amount allocated from her purse for this part of the household budget and the number of mouths she has to feed. Any tendency to experiment, to extend the variety of food, is only possible with a well‐filled purse; with a large family, a common complaint is of monotony in the diet. A factor of immense importance nowadays is whether the housewife is employed or not, and whether whole‐time or part‐time, and which part of the day she can be in her own home. To this may be attributed, as much as anything, the rise in consumption of convenience foods. Fortunately for the purposes of reasonable accuracy in the results of enquiries, housewives form a class, reliable and steady, unlikely to be contaminated by the palsied opinions of the so‐called lunatic fringe in this unquiet age. Any differences in food choice are likely to be regional, and settled dietary habits, passed on from one generation to another. Statistics from the National Food Surveys show the extent of these, and also consumer preferences as far as food commodity groups are concerned. The Surveys have been running long enough to show something of consumer trends but, of course, they do not exhibit reasons—why consumers buy and use certain foods, their attitudes to food marketing practices, and, in particular, to advertising. Advertising claims, misleading undoubtedly but within the law, have long been a source of controversy between those who worship at the shrine of truth and others less particular. Elsewhere, we review a special study of consumer reactions to aspects of the grocery trade in the U.S.A., and note that 32 per cent do not accept advertisements as being true, but 85 per cent find them interesting and informative. Advertising practices are probably subject to less statutory control in the United States than here, and the descriptions and verbiage certainly reach greater heights of absurdity, but the British housewife is likely to be no more discerning, able “to read between the lines”, than her counterpart in that country. A major difference, however, is that in Britain, more houswives prepare and cook meals for their families than in the United States. The greatest importance of advertising is in the introductory phase of a commodity; new and more vigorous advertising is necessary later to delay the onset of the decline phase of the commodity's life cycle; to ensure that sales can be maintained to prevent rises in supply costs. Advertising helps considerably in the acceptance of a branded food, but housewives tend to ignore cut‐throat competition between rival brands, and what weans a consumer from a brand is not competition in advertising, nor even new and more attractive presentation, but reduction in real price. The main pre‐occupation of the woman of the house is food adequacy, and especially that her children will have what she considers conforms to a nutritious diet, without argument or rebellion on the part of her progeny and without distinction. She knows that bulk foods, carbohydrates, are not necessarily nutritious, although her ideas of which foods contain vitamins or minerals or other important nutrient factors tends to be hazy. She does not pretend to enjoy shopping for food and therefore tends to follow a routine; it saves time and worry. Especially is this so with young married women, who may have to take small children along. Each housewife has her own mental standard of assessing “value”, and would have difficulty in defining it. Nutritional value forms part of it, however, in most women, who connote their food provision with health. The greatest concern is not necessarily positive health, but prevention or reduction of obesity, which is seen among adult members of the family, especially growing girls, as an adverse effect on their appearance, and the types of clothes they can wear. A few of the more intelligent families have an indefinable fear of ischaemic heart disease and its relation to food. When they take positive steps to control the diet for these purposes, they are quite frequently in the wrong direction and rather confused even when this is done on medical advice.