In cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) fruit, transpiration is a significant factor that affects freshness and shelf-life. During storage, fresh cucumber requires careful management of moisture loss to delay quality deterioration. To assist with the determination of optimal storage conditions, this study was conducted to develop a simultaneous heat and mass transfer model for cucumber and to present a duration chart for cucumber storage. The simulation was performed using COMSOL software. The transpiration rate factor was determined as a regression equation on the vapor pressure deficit. The determination coefficient (R²) and root-mean-square error (RMSE) of temperature simulation ranged from 0.920 to 0.994 and 0.293 to 0.239 °C, respectively. The accuracy of the moisture loss simulation varied from 0.986 to 0.996 R² and from 0.418 to 0.325 % RMSE. A temperature-humidity-dependent storage duration chart that ensures moisture loss of 5 % was developed by interpolation.

An ultrasound-assisted laboratory scale wet-milling process was explored and the yield, purity and properties of corn starch were studied. The highest starch yield was obtained when the steeping time was 32 h, the concentration of sulfur dioxide was 0.05 % (w/w), the ultrasonic duration time was 15 min, the ultrasonic power was 200 W and the solid-liquid ratio of the slurry was 1:1 (g/mL). Starch yield increased by 10 % using the ultrasound-assisted wet milling (68.96 %) compared to traditional wet milling (62.48 %). The purity of starch remained unchanged. The results of X-ray diffraction, particle size, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimeter revealed that the granular and crystalline structure and thermal properties were not statistically different for the starches isolated by two methods. The starch isolated using ultrasound-assisted wet milling exhibited lower yellowness, higher peak viscosity, similar thermal properties, and larger moduli compared to starch extracted by traditional wet milling.

Brown sugar and black sugar (Kokuto) are increasingly popular ingredients of processed foods around the world. Classification of their taste quality through instrumental analysis can help us devise better food products. The feasibility of such statistical classification was assessed using 95 sugar products from Japan and elsewhere by evaluating their taste information values obtained with a taste sensor. Subsequent principal component analysis and cluster analysis divided the sugar products into three groups. The Kokuto taste index proposed previously and PC1 scores from the principal component analysis of taste information values matched almost perfectly. Strong correlations were noted with polyphenol content and color (an absolute coefficient of at least 0.74). Such instrumental analysis enables comparison of multiple sugar products at a time as well as comparison with products sold in the past, and thereby holds promise for further development of new brown sugar and syrup products.

In our previous work, we have proved that diosgenin (DS) can promote the Tuber polysaccharide (TP) production of Tuber melanosporum in the liquid-state fermentation process. In the present study, we confirm that DS can increase the TP production in the solid-state fermentation of T. melanosporum. The orthogonal design and non-linear regression analysis revealed that the optimum medium composition was as follows (g/L): oat 60, corn hull 15.2, fructose 1.8, sucrose 1.2, peptone 0.48, yeast extract 0.72, MgSO₄·7H₂O 0.06, MnSO₄ 0.12, KH₂PO₄·H₂O 0.09, VB₂ 0.01 and DS 0.4 at a water-material ratio of 0.85. The optimum operational condition included inoculation volume of 19.2 mL, culture time of 12.9 d and culture temperature of 26.6 °C. Under the optimum medium and operational conditions, the maximum TP production reached 115.6 mg/g dry substrate. Collectively, our findings provided a strategy to increase bioactive ingredients of traditional food.

In the acute toxicity model, 30 mice were randomly divided into 6 groups, control (without any treatment) and furosine-treated groups (4 h and 12 h group), by both orally administeration and tail vein injection. Furosine with the dosage of 0.24 g/kg body weight (b.w.) was administrated into the mice, and the liver and kidney tissue were dissected out. Organ index and biochemical indicators were obtained, and the concentration of furosine in liver and kidney tissue was quantified. Comparing with the control, furosine caused significant changes of biochemical indicators in liver and kidney tissue in 4 h and 12 h groups. This study for the first time provided evidences that furosine with the dosage of 0.24 g/kg posed acute adverse biological effects on the health of animals, and suggested that liver and kidney were the toxicity target organs.

In previous studies, the non-sugar component (NSC) fraction, analyzed as 50 % methanol extract from Kokuto, showed a high in vitro antioxidant activity and strong anti-stress effect in acutely stressed mice. In addition, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (HBA) and p-hydroxyacetophenone (HAP) were determined to be some of the antioxidative compounds in the NSC fraction. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether NSC fraction, HBA and HAP could suppress stress response and the changes of hepatic lipids in chronically stressed mice fed a high fat diet. The results of the present study show that the NSC fraction has a high antioxidant activity in vitro, and oral administration of the fraction and HAP suppressed the secretion of stress hormone in the chronically stressed mice. We also found that the two phenolic compounds prevented hepatic lipid accumulation and peroxidation in the stressed mice.

Goishi tea, a traditional two-stage fermented tea is different from non-fermented green tea on the ingredient pattern. Although gallate-type catechins are reduced due to the assimilation of microorganisms, Goishi tea have antioxidant activity due to the increase of free-type catechins and other antioxidants. Since oxidative stress is greatly involved in the onset mechanism of atherosclerosis, ingestion of Goishi tea may be useful for the inhibition of atherosclerosis.

In this study, the effects of Goishi tea on atherosclerosis were evaluated by measuring plaque accumulation, inflammatory cytokines, and adiponectin in apolipoprotein E deficient mice. When, compared with the control group, the plaque area in the aortic root was significantly decreased in the Goishi tea group. In addition, TNF-α and IL-6 levels were significantly decreased and adiponectin was significantly increased in the Goishi tea group. These results suggest the possibility of inhibiting atherosclerosis with Goishi tea because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Identification and detection of trace amounts of food allergens in processed foods are highly important for food safety. Currently, processed food samples are frequently found to be negative for wheat allergens by a confirmatory PCR-based test even when the ELISA screening test strongly indicates possible wheat contamination (10 mg/kg or more of wheat protein). In this study, a real-time PCR (qPCR) method with a primer pair designed based on the sequence amplified in the official notification PCR method, using TaqMan-MGB probes, was developed to improve the sensitivity of the PCR-based confirmatory test for wheat allergens. The present qPCR method showed higher sensitivity to a plasmid containing the target DNA, DNA extracted from wheat, and heat-treated model samples containing wheat flour than the official notification method. Two heat-processed real specimens that tested positive by ELISA but negative by the conventional confirmatory PCR method were determined to be positive by the present qPCR method. The qPCR method designed here was found to be useful to detect wheat allergens in heat-processed foods.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of oral administration of Camel milk (CM) and whey protein (WP) (1.5 % and 3.0 % in water) - either alone or in a mixture - on obesity parameters and lipid profile in rats fed on a high-fat diet. The results revealed that feeding rats on CM or WP significantly reduced body weight gain, adipocyte size and the weight of perirenal adipose tissue, especially when CM was mixed with 1.5 % WP. Feeding rats on CM, WP or a mixture of CM and WP led to a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the levels of LDL and total cholesterol and an improvement (p < 0.05) in the fasting glucose levels. In conclusion, consumption of CM, WP or a mixture of CM and WP reduced the number of large adipocytes and increased the number of small adipocytes, resulting in reduction of the body weight of the rats.

Salivation is indispensable for the smooth intake of food and maintenance of oral health. In this study, we investigated how we recognize foods in our mouth, with a focus on the salivary reflex response. Mastication of deacylated gellan gum (DGG) and native gellan gum (NGG) gels induced relatively higher salivation than that induced by the mastication of agar gel, which showed high syneresis. Furthermore, salivation correlated positively with masseter muscle activity for the mastication of agar and DGG gels showing relatively high elasticity and low plasticity. The increase in food volume consumed at one time increased salivation only within a relatively small range; however, the increase in surface area of gels did not affect salivation for the mastication of agar gels. These results enhance our basic understanding of the oral processing of food and provide guidelines for designing a salivation-promoting meal.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of roasting conditions and brewing on coffee oil quality and quantity to gain a basic understanding of coffee residue utilization. The fatty acid composition of the coffee oil extracted from roasted coffee bean and residue was analyzed. The optimum extraction time of whole coffee oil was six-hours using the Soxhlet method with hexane as a solvent. Roasting conditions influenced the extraction ratio of coffee oil, and the extraction ratio increased from 9.8 to 15.9 % when the roasting level was increased from light roast (211 °C for 10 min) to dark roast (230 °C for 12 min). On the other hand, the ratio of extracted oil from the coffee residue after brewing was 5.9 %, which was 50 % of the total coffee oil before brewing. The fatty acid composition of coffee oil was determined by GC/FID, and results indicated that the fatty acid composition between different roasting conditions and coffee residue did not differ significantly. The primary fatty acids were found in all samples and consisted of myristic (C14:0), palmitic (C16:0), stearic (C18:0), oleic (C18:1), linoleic (C18:2), linolenic (C18:3), and arachidic (C20:0) acid.

Prostate stem-like cells exhibit resistance to anti-androgen agents and contribute to the recurrence of this cancer. A novel approach to overcome the resistance of prostate cancer stem-like cells is thus essential. The present study investigated whether soybean derived Bowman-Birk inhibitor (BBI) could abrogate the resistance of prostate cancer stem-like cells from an androgen-dependent prostate cancer cell line (LNCaP cells) to an anti-androgen agent. The LNCaP stem-like cells exhibited stronger resistance to an androgen antagonist, flutamide, than LNCaP parental cells. Exposure of LNCaP stem-like cells to BBI treatment reduced their stemness and resistance to flutamide. In parallel, LNCaP stem-like cells showed a positive response based on changes in the typical androgen-governed gene, prostate-specific antigen. These results suggest the potential of BBI as a candidate to reduce the resistance of prostate cancer stem-like cells to anti-androgen agents.