The total viable bacterial counts (TVBC) of radish sprouts (Raphanus sativus L.) during cultivation were constant through cultivation, and were in the order root≧seminal leaf>hypocotyl. With foliar spray treatment of electrolyzed acidic water (EAW), an antiseptic effect became more pronounced as frequency of spraying increased. The TVBC of hypocotyl and seminal leaf of radish sprouts decreased at most 1 logCFU/g compared with the control. When EAW was used as a culture of radish sprouts during cultivation or seed disinfection at 20℃, the roots of radish sprouts did not elongate and decayed. The decay of plants was not observed in seed disinfection of EAW at 2℃. However, the longer seeds were dipped in EAW at 2℃, the lower the normal germination rate became. The normal germination rate was high compared with the control when EAW treatment time was less than one hour. In the case where seed disinfection treatment with EAW was performed for a short time at 2℃, the TVBC of cotyledon of radish sprouts decreased slightly. The TVBC of hypocotyl and seminal leaf of radish sprouts decreased approximately 1 logCFU/g compared with the control. The EAW treatment at 0℃ was more effective than that at 2℃ in microbiological control. The apparent condition of radish sprouts treated with EAW was not significantly different from that of the control. The combination of seed disinfection and foliar spray treatment of EAW reduced bacterial counts compared with the control and distilled water treatment, but there was no synergism of both treatments.

　Sensory evaluation was performed on Shiikuwasha (Citrus depressa Hayata) juice produced using three types of extractor, namely, a belt-press extractor, a centrifugal extractor and a screw-press extractor, and the chemical properties of the juice were examined. Juice yield was highest with the screw-press extractor. In terms of the chemical properties of the juice, including soluble solid content, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content, ash content, recoverable oil content, pulp content and color value, the juice produced using the screw-press extractor had the best values. Regarding the color value, the juice produced using the screw-press extractor had a high L* value and b* value, showing a yellow color. However, in terms of sensory evaluation, the juice produced by the screw-press extractor was evaluated to be unsuitable for drinking. The juice produced using the centrifugal extractor had the highest score in terms of overall sensory evaluation items, followed by the juice produced using the belt-press extractor and the juice produced using the screw-press extractor.

　Cooked rice has a histological structure that correlates to its eating quality. One of the features of what affects the chain polysaccharide matrix structure of the cell wall. In this study, we clarified the relationships between cooked rice palatability and the decomposition of pectin, hemicellulose and cellulose as cell wall components during cooking.Upon electron microscopy, the degradation of fibrous tissue was confirmed in the pectin fraction, as well as the degradation of the dense disk-shaped structures of the hemicellullse A and B fractions. However, the cellulose structure showed no change under the same conditions. No changes in the cell wall occurred with HgCl₂ treatment, which designed to inhibit enzyme activity. The molecular sizes of pectin and hemicellulose A and B decreased owing to the degradation of these components’ during cooking. The galacturonic acid content of the pectin fraction was reduced from 63.7% to 19.7%. In addition, the galactose and glucose contents of the hemicellulose A and B fractions were also reduced. The activities of enzymes for cell wall decomposition (polygalacturonase, β-galactosidase, β-xylanase, β-glucanase and α-mannosidase) were observed in the endosperm of rice. Results of the current study indicate that the chain polysaccharide matrix structure of the rice endosperm may be degraded by the action of endospormous enzymes during rice cooking, thereby influencing cooked rice texture regaredless of rice grain freshness or cultivar.

　We investigated the polyphenol contents and DPPH radical scavenging activities of the leaves of agricultural products in Yamanashi Prefecture. The average polyphenol content in the leaves of fruit crops was 50.0mg/g of freeze-dry matter, which was 2.8 times that in the leaves of vegetable crops (17.9mg/g of freeze-dry matter). The leaves showing comparatively high DPPH radical scavenging activities among the leaves of fruit crops were persimmon, grape and plum leaves, and those among the leaves of vegetable crops were udo, azuki and burdock leaves. The correlation coefficients between polyphenol contents and DPPH radical scavenging activities were 0.3881 for the leaves of vegetable crops and 0.6951 for the leaves of fruit crops. It was found that there is no correlation for the leaves of vegetable crops, and a significant correlation for the leaves of fruit crops.