The effect of ground rosemary (R), sodium erythorbate (SE), a mixture of ground rosemary and sodium erythorbate (MIX) and packaging method (vacuum packaging and modified atmosphere packaging) on the quality of cooked turkey meatballs stored at 4°C was investigated. The physicochemical and microbiological quality, and flavour attributes of turkey meatballs were determined. The investigated additives had varied effects on the colour stability of turkey meatballs. Rosemary was less effective as an antioxidant in turkey meatballs than sodium erythorbate, but when applied together with sodium erythorbate it inhibited lipid oxidation to a greater degree, particularly during modified atmosphere storage. Turkey meatballs with additives were characterized by a better microbial and sensory quality than control samples. Modified atmosphere packaging was more effective than vacuum packaging in maintaining the microbial and sensory quality stability of cooked turkey meatballs. However, vacuum packaging was more effective in preventing lipid oxidation in turkey meatballs.

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A total of 34 yeast strains were isolated from rice wines pressed from tapé ketan, Indonesian traditional fermented-glutinous rice. Among them, two strains that grew and fermented above 42°C were selected for further analysis. Fermentation was carried out in medium containing 15% (w/v) glucose at 40°C, and ethanol productivity was measured after 48 h of incubation. The two strains, TB2-1 and TW1-3, were found to have upper temperature limit of 46 and 47°C, and higher ethanol productivity of 5.9% and 6.4% (w/v), respectively. These two yeast strains were identified by traditional and molecular techniques. In the molecular technique, 18S rDNA and internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) rDNA genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers. The sequences of these two regions for the two strains were phylogenetically analyzed, and the yeast strains TB2-1 and TW1-3 were identified as Issatchenkia orientalis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, respectively.

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The objective of this work was to investigate the influence of polyglycerol esters of monolaurate on the properties of soybean oil-in-water submicron emulsions, with dispersed phase of 1 wt% to 10 wt% soybean oil, passing through an in vitro digestion model. The addition of pancreatic lipase to the emulsions, either alone or in combination with bile extract, led to increases in mean droplet diameter and ζ-potential absolute values. The stability of the submicron emulsions against droplet flocculation and coalescence during gastrointestinal passage was strongly dependent on emulsifier type. The total amount of free fatty acids by the end of the digestion period was fairly similar, regardless of the type emulsifier used. When the dispersed phase concentrations decreased from 10 wt% to 1 wt%, the conversion to free fatty acids ranged from 36.2% to 91.5%.

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We investigated the dielectric properties of fish flesh samples, which are the most important parameter in microwave heating. Both raw and preheated samples were investigated since the microwave is used not only for heating, but also for reheating. The dielectric properties of three kinds of fish commonly consumed in Japan were measured from 10°C to 90°C, at 10°C intervals. The influences of frequency, temperature, moisture content, lipid content, protein denaturation, and heat treatment on dielectric properties were examined. With increasing temperature, the dielectric constant of the raw samples decreased more sharply than that of the preheated samples, which was due to moisture loss during heating caused by protein denaturation. To investigate the influence of protein denaturation, Lichtenecker’s formula was applied to estimate the dielectric properties of solid fish flesh. Results showed that the dielectric properties of fish flesh related to temperature were predictable by regression equations. Moisture content was the most important factor influencing the dielectric properties of the fish flesh samples during heating (reheating), while no significant effect was found to be directly caused by changes in the protein structure of fish flesh after denaturation.

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Monolauroyl maltose, palatinose, trehalose and sucrose were synthesized by Candida antarctica lipasecatalyzed condensation in an organic solvent, and their surfactant properties were measured at 25°C. The type of hydrophilic moiety of the lauroyl disaccharides did not significantly affect the critical micelle concentration, the surface tension at this concentration, residual area per molecule, free energy of micellization or micelle size, but produced different solubilization ability against octanoic acid.

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A new descriptor showing the positions of functional groups in compounds with the same main backbone was developed. This descriptor was applied to the Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) study on the suppression activities of anthraquinones via transformation of the aryl hydrogen receptor by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. It was shown that the newly developed descriptor played an important role in the QSAR study.

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The natural vaporized aroma compounds present in awamori shochu were determined by a three-stage volatile organic compound (VOC) concentration technique consisting of on-line GC combined with MSD and PFPD. Several short-chain esters appear to predominantly contribute to the fruity aroma, including ethyl formate, methyl formate, ethyl propionate, and ethyl butyrate, which are typically contained in the natural vaporized aroma of awamori. Compounds that act as stimulant flavor compounds, including 2-methyl propanal, 3-methyl butanal, pentanal, hexanal, octanal, nonanal, and the ketones 2-butanone, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, 2-heptanone, and 3-octanone, were also detected as minor components. Sulfur compounds that impart strong odor/flavor, such as dimethyl trisulfide, benzothiazole, dimethyl trisulfide, and benzothiazole, were detected initially, but their levels tended to decrease with aging. We also found that ethers, including tetrahydrofuran and 1,1-diethoxyethane, increased in aged awamori. Thus the profiles of these compounds changed during aging, resulting in a milder and sweeter flavor. These results suggest that the natural vaporized aroma would contribute to the initial characteristics of the unique awamori aroma.

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A fluorescent filter method using the Bioplorer apparatus and a conventional standard plate count method were compared for microbial cell enumeration in soymilk. Soymilk samples were solubilized for filtration. The microbial cell count obtained using the Bioplorer method showed good correlation with that obtained by the standard plate count method. The results of this study showed that the Bioplorer method is a rapid and efficient method for enumeration of bacterial cells in soymilk.

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Storage experiments on garlic (Allium sativum L.) bulbs were conducted to elucidate the causes and prevention of green discoloration (greening) of garlic puree, a severe problem in garlic processing. Greening of the pureed bulbs increased with the accumulation of S-(E-1-propenyl)-L-cysteinesulfoxide (isoalliin), which is metabolized from N-(γ-glutamyl)-S-(E-1-propenyl)-L-cysteine (Glu-PEC) during cold storage (3°C). Greening was reduced by warm storage (> 25°C) of the cold pre-stored bulbs, with an accompanying decrease in isoalliin. Accumulated isoalliin in the garlic bulbs during cold storage was converted to 5-methyl thiomorpholine-3-carboxylic acid sulfoxide (cycloalliin) with warm storage (> 25°C). The relationship between warm storage conditions (temperature, duration) and decreases in isoalliin content were presumed to be applicable to a first order-Arrhenius equation. Two-week storage of the ingredient garlic bulbs at 40°C, after cold pre-storage at 3°C for 12 weeks, sufficiently reduced greening of the processed puree to maintain the commercial quality of the bulbs.

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Xylooligosaccharides (XOs) are considered as food ingredients, and exhibit the prebiotic effects related to gut modulation. However, no related research is available to explain their immunomodulatory effects. This report elucidated their immunomodulatory effects through the variations of proinflammatory mediators in vitro. We found that XOs (0.1 − 100 μg/mL) induced tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), IL-1β, IL-6 and nitric oxide (NO) production in un-stimulated macrophages, RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, pre- and post-treated XOs (0.1−100 μg/mL) dose-dependently suppressed TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and NO production and induced IL-10 production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells without exerting cytotoxicity. Of note is that prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) production didn’t change significantly through the XOs treatment. These data demonstrate that XOs potently down-regulates the LPS-induced inflammatory response. The in vitro assessment of inflammatory mediators should be useful in further characterization of the effects of XOs on immunomodulation.

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The concentrations of proanthocyanidins (PAs) were measured during red winemaking. In Cabernet Sauvignon (CS), PA concentration during maceration increased with increasing alcohol concentration and became constant after reaching a maximum. In contrast, in Muscat Bailey A (hybrid: Muscat Hamburg × Bailey, MBA), PA concentration increased, reached a maximum, and then decreased rapidly to below 20 mg catechin equivalent (CAE)/L. PA concentration was affected by the cap management method (submerged and punched down) and pressing. The decrease in PA concentration was suppressed in the submerged method compared to the punched down method. The final PA concentration in the submerged method was higher than that in the punched down method. Early pressing resulted in reduction on the rate of loss of PA.

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Due to the recent increase in the consumption of ready-to-drink beverages containing green tea, a method for authenticating the tea cultivar indicated on product label is needed. However, methods for isolating DNA and identifying the cultivar of the green tea used in the beverage have not been reported. We developed a method to identify the cultivar used in green tea infusions using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. DNA extracts were obtained by freeze-drying green tea infusions, followed by isopropyl alcohol precipitation, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide extraction, and purification with a commercial kit. Some SSR markers could be amplified using the purified DNA as a template, and peak patterns were matched to patterns from DNA extracted from fresh leaves of cultivars. Application of this method to a commercial green tea beverage identified a monovarietal.

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Tocochromanols in the lipids extracted from five rice bran cultivars were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The molecular species and fatty acid (FA) distribution of triacylglycerols (TAG) isolated from the total lipids were investigated among five different cultivars by a combination of AgNO₃ thin-layer chromatography and gas chromatography. The dominant tocols were γ-tocotrienol, α-tocopherol and α-tocotrienol with smaller amounts of δ-tocotrienol and γ-tocopherol. The lipids of the rice bran cultivars comprised mainly TAG (84.7 − 86.0%), free FA (4.2 − 4.6%), and phospholipids (6.5 − 6.7%), while other components were present in minor proportions (0.2 − 1.8%). Comparison of the different cultivars showed no substantial differences (P > 0.05) in their FA distributions among the same lipid subfraction. The major TAG molecular species were M₃ (17.1 − 18.5%), SMD (7.6 − 8.2%), M₂D (14.8 − 15.4%), MD₂ (9.3 − 10.6%) and D₃ (12.3 − 13.5%) (where S, M and D denote saturated FA, monoene and diene, respectively). The results showed that rice bran lipids contain large amounts of nutraceutical, which has proven positive health effects.

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Mucuna pruriens (MP) is a legume with seeds that contain substantial amounts of 3, 4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine (L-DOPA; 3% to 7% dry weight). We examined the in vivo antioxidant activity of distilled-water extracts of steamed or fermented MP seeds in Caenorhabditis elegans to evaluate the potential use of MP as a functional food. Paraquat and thermal stress generate reactive oxygen species in C. elegans. Worms treated with MP extracts were exposed to acute stress with paraquat or lethal heat shock. The survival rate 3 days after the treatment was used to indicate the antioxidant activity of the MP extracts. Distilled-water extracts of steamed or fermented MP had significantly higher (P < 0.01) antioxidant activity than in the control (nematode standard media) in vivo. L-DOPA showed high 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-radical scavenging activity but did not contribute to the antioxidant activity of MP in vivo.

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Ethanol production from a mixture of wheat flour or potato tubers and cheese whey was examined using the flex yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus KD-15, a 2-deoxyglucose-resistant mutant of strain NBRC 1963 that can produce ethanol from sugar beet thick juice diluted with whey. Strain KD-15 simultaneously converted glucose and lactose to ethanol within 48 h, in media containing 10.0% to 15.0% (w/v) total sugars from saccharified filtrate and whey. For efficient production of ethanol from 15.0% (w/v) total sugars, KD-15 cells were collected after fermentation and inoculated into fresh media. Batch fermentation was successfully repeated at least ten times in medium composed of saccharified potato tubers mixed with whey. Yeast cells began to convert all the sugars to ethanol within 24 h, accompanied by cell propagation after the third batch.

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The survival of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis OPB-1 in the gastrointestinal tract after its administration in a milk-free yogurt-like soybean product and effects on fecal microbiota in humans were determined. Twelve healthy volunteers were administered 100 g of yogurt-like soybean product for 3 weeks. The plate count method combined with specific PCR and quantitative real-time PCR were used to estimate the numbers of total Bifidobacterium and B. animalis subsp. lactis in fecal samples. B. animalis subsp. lactis was detected during the administration period but not before. The intake number of B. animalis subsp. lactis OPB-1 was 2.4 × 10¹⁰ CFU/day by the plate count method and 4.2 × 10¹³ copies/day by quantitative real-time PCR. However, the number of excreted B. animalis subsp. lactis per day was estimated to be more than 10 times the intake number, by both methods. The percentage of Bifidobacterium increased from 16.9 ± 21.8% to 34.1 ± 20.4% by the plate count method and 18.9 ± 13.4% to 27.8 ± 15.8% by the T-RFLP method after 3 weeks administration.

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In this present study, fucoxanthin has been successfully extracted and purified from two species of Malaysian brown seaweeds, namely Sargassum binderi and S. duplicatum. The purity of the fucoxanthin obtained was > 99% as indicated by HPLC analysis. Both fucoxanthincontent, and analysis of lipid fraction of the seaweeds in methanol showed that both samples contained a considerable amount of fucoxanthin and total lipids. The amount of fucoxanthin and total lipid farcation in methanol of S. duplicatum (1.01 ± 0.10 and 21.3 ± 0.10 mg/g dry-weight, respectively) was significantly higher than those of S. binderi (0.73 ± 0.39 and 16.6 ± 4.10, respectively). Both types of seaweeds also contained a considerable amount of unsaturated fatty acids. However, in terms of docosahexanoic acid, eicosapentanoic acid, arachidonic acid, linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid contents, S. duplicatum was found to be higher (0.76, 2.55, 13.64, 5.81 and 5.35 %, respectively) than S. binderi (0.70, 1.82, 9.13, 6.37 and 4.39%, respectively). For saturated fatty acids, palmitic (C16:0) was found to be the major fatty acid in both samples studied.

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In this study, we extracted Aquilaria crassna with aqueous ethanol and water and analyzed the extracts via liquid chromatography diode array detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC– ESI–MS) methods. Phenolics were separated using semi-micro HPLC and were identified as iriflophenone 3,5-C-β-diglucoside (1), iriflophenone 3-C-β-glucoside (2), mangiferin (3), iriflophenone 2-O-α-rhamnoside (4), genkwanin 5-O-β-primeveroside (5), genkwanin 5-O-β-glucoside (6), genkwanin 4′-methyl ether 5-O-β-primeveroside (7), and genkwanin (8) via a comparison with authentic samples. The collision-induced dissociation (CID)-MS/MS spectra of these polyphenols and the unknown chromatographic peaks were detected using hybrid ion trap time-of-flight (IT-TOF) mass spectrometry. The results of the present study demonstrated that LC–ESI–MS can be useful for the specific quality control of extracts of extracted A. crassna.

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The contents of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and free amino acid in barley seeds, and the amounts produced by water soaking treatment, were determined. In decreasing order among wholemeal, Kankei n553, Kankei n554, Hiproly, Yonkei 9551, and Beau Fiber contained GABA at 41.7, 27.1, 24.5, 21.9, and 19.3 mg/100 g, respectively, and all had high lysine (lys) endosperm mutations. Yonkei 9551 (25.6 mg/100 g) with high lys gene lys1 and Yonkei 9552 (11.1 mg/100 g) with high lys gene lys3.a contained relatively large amounts of GABA in 60% flour. Barleys having high lys gene lys3.a contained a large amount of total free amino acid (338.2 − 626.2 mg/100 g) in wholemeal. The amino acids predominantly produced from the wholemeal of barley seeds generally matched those from wheat.

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Abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) gastropod muscle was divided into Part I (the center part of gastropod muscle) and Part II (the transforming and virginal part of gastropod muscle). Pepsin-soluble collagen was extracted from abalone gastropod muscle part II (PSCAGM-II) with yield of 8.7%. SDS-PAGE and amino acid composition indicated that the PSCAGM-II contained α₁ and α₂ chains and might be classified as type I collagen. PSCAGM-II exhibited a maximum absorbance at 232 nm, but little absorbance near to 280 nm. FTIR investigations showed the existence of helical arrangements of collagen.  PSCAGM-II triple helical stereochemical structure was destroyed when the treated temperature up to 35°C for 10 min. Denatured temperature detected by the viscometer was 22.9°C when incubated for 20 min. Study on the properties and thermal stability of PSC from abalone gastropod muscle has certain directive significance for the abalone processing industry.

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The objective was to select and train assessors to evaluate metallic sensations in beef. The detection threshold of FeSO₄.7H₂O was determined using the method of limits. Twenty-six undergraduates participated in the test, and a single detection threshold was determined. Candidates with a threshold lower than or equal to the general value threshold were accepted. Next, the performance of the accepted candidates was evaluated using meat from the semimembranosus muscle of bovines at an internal cooking temperature of 65, 72 or 75°C. The metallic sensation in the meat was evaluated using the ranking test and an unstructured 9.0 cm line scale. The extremes of the scale have the expression not perceptible and highly perceptible. The assessors were selected to help the team analyze the discriminative power, reproducibility and overall use of scale. The results demonstrated that the processes for selecting and training assessors to evaluate the metallic sensation in meat were adequate.

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Long coriander leaves (Eryngium foetidum L.) have become increasingly familiar as culinary herbs in Japan. To investigate the overall aroma characteristics of Japanese long coriander, the volatile composition from different extraction methods was investigated by GC, GC-MS, and GC-O. (E)-2-dodecenal with fruity, sweet and sour notes was found as the major component with the highest flavor dilution factor independent of the extraction methods, and played an important role in the aroma quality. Moreover, the existence of aliphatic aldehyde reductase and aldehyde dehydrogenase was found for the first time in the long coriander herb. The formation of alcohols and acids from their corresponding aldehydes in the volatile concentrate due to the enzymatic activities was observed and found to affect the overall odor of the herb.

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The aim of this study was to develop a new approach that can be used to estimate the elution characteristics of odorants from chewing gum into saliva during chewing using a chewing apparatus and to apply the approach to the prediction of their elution ratios. The odorants eluted from the model chewing gum were analyzed by a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector using the adsorptive column method and Headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME). It was found that the quantitative data obtained from each analytical method are in proportion and that the measured value obtained from HS-SPME, which is easy to operate, could convert the quantitative data obtained from the adsorptive column method. Therefore, it was demonstrated that the amounts of odorants eluted from chewing gum and their release curves could be easily determined by a combination of the two methods. In addition, it was recognized that there was a good overall regression coefficient between the elution ratio of the odorants in the model chewing gum after a 20-min chewing run and the difference between the retention indices on the polar and apolar stationary phase of GC columns (ΔI). Therefore, ΔI is the most important factor for predicting the elution ratio of odorants in chewing gum during chewing.

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Eggs are a major source of vitamin D, and contain the metabolized forms such as 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃ (25-OH-D₃). In this study, we developed a novel analysis method for determining 25-OH-D₃ in egg by HPLC. After extraction with a hexane-ethylacetate mixture, the crude extract was subjected to preparative normal phase LC using an aminopropyl column. 25-OH-D₃ content in the fraction was determined by reversed phase LC using an ODS column. The method validation results confirmed that the method had good linearity (r > 0.999), accuracy (98% of recovery) and precision (4.8% of RSDr). The LOD and the LOQ were determined to be 0.04 and 0.13 μg/100 g, respectively. Market research undertaken in Japan clarified the different characteristics of 25-OH-D₃ and vitamin D₃ contents in fortified eggs. There were no significant differences in 25-OH-D₃ content between normal and fortified eggs, although significant differences in vitamin D₃ levels were observed.

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Aspergillus niger protease digest of royal jelly (royal jelly peptides) was administered to KK-A^y diabetic mice for 35 days. Oral administration of a high dose (350 mg/kg) of royal jelly peptides suppressed increases in blood glucose levels similar to extract of guava leaves, an α-amylase inhibitor. This effect appears to be due to a decrease in food intake and subsequent reduction in body weight. In mice with free access to diet containing royal jelly peptides at 0.18 w/w%, no effect on blood glucose levels, blood triglyceride levels, food intake and body weight were found. However, an increase in blood insulin levels was observed. This suggests that royal jelly peptides may increase insulin levels without affecting blood glucose levels and food intake.

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