The red color of processed shrimp, one of the most attractive attributes and an important criterion for consumers, is often limited by thermal processing (microwaving, boiling and frying), due to astaxanthin degradation. The effect of thermal processing on astaxanthin in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) were investigated. A High-performance liquid chromatographic - atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (LC-(APCI)-MS/MS) method was used to identify and quantify all-trans- and cis-isomers of astaxanthin, and molecular species of astaxanthin esters in fresh and thermal processed shrimps. Total astaxanthin loss ranged from 7.99% to 52.01% in first 3 min under three thermal processing. All-trans-astaxanthin was most affected, with a reduction from 32.81 to 8.72 μg kg^–1, while 13-cis-astxanthin had a rise (from 2.38 to 4.58 μg kg^–1). Esterified astaxanthin was shown to hydrolyze and degrade, furthermore astaxanthin diesters had a better thermostability compare to astaxanthin monoesters. Astaxanthin monoesters with eicosapntemacnioc acid (EPA, C20:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6), had a lower thermal stability than those with saturated fatty acids, however, it was the opposite of astaxanthin diesters. The findings suggested that the method of thermal processing should be carefully used in the manufacturing and domestic cooking of shrimps. The results also could be useful in calculating the dietary intake of astaxanthin and in assessing astaxanthin profiles and contents of shrimp containing products.

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A rapid and convenient method was developed to determine the polar components (PC) of frying oil by Fourier-transform near-infrared (FTNIR) spectroscopy. One hundred twenty six oil samples were used to PC determination by column chromatography and FTNIR spectroscopy combined with partial least-square (PLS) calibration. The optimal PLS calibration was obtained after the Savitzky–Golay smoothing and first derivative treatment performed in the wavelength ranges of 4963 cm⁻¹ to 4616 cm⁻¹, 5222 cm⁻¹ to 5037 cm⁻¹, and 5688 cm⁻¹ to 5499 cm⁻¹. The obtained correlation coefficient (R) was 0.998 and the root mean square error of calibration was 1.0%. The PLS calibration was validated, and the results showed that the highest correlation (R) was 0.997 between reference value and the FTNIR predicted value and the root mean square error of prediction was 1.3%. Therefore, the FTNIR technique can be effectively applied to quantify PC with the advantages of simple operation and no pollution.

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Virgin Olive Oil (VOO) is a product much demanded by consumers looking for the highest quality and certain traits considered to be typical of the Mediterranean area. The olive fruit’s properties and the industry-regulated physicochemical and sensory parameters of seven cultivars were evaluated during the ripening process. In general, the oil percentage in both the wet and dry material increased for all the cultivars from the green to the spotted stages of maturation, and they stayed constant statistically until the ripe stage with just a few exceptions. The lowest oil content was observed in the Manzanilla Cacereña cultivar in all stages of maturation. The cultivars that presented the lowest oil yields in the Abencor system were Manzanilla Cacereña and Carrasqueña, and the highest Corniche. In general, all the cultivars except one presented good behaviour during the mixing process, the exception being Manzanilla Cacereña which presented the lowest values of the extractability percentage. The moisture content of the olives presented a common pattern, increasing from the green to the spotted stage, with the differences being significant in the Corniche, Picual, and Verdial de Badajoz cultivars. All the oils analysed were classified into the “extra virgin” category according to the results for the regulated parameters. The fruity, bitter, and pungent attributes decreased during ripening in all the cultivars studied. In the green stage of maturation, Arbequina had the least intensity of bitterness and pungency, but there were no significant differences among cultivars in the fruity attribute.

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Human milk fat substitutes (HMFSs), rich in palmitic acid (P) at the sn-2 position of triacylglycerol (TAG), were prepared from lard via Novozym435^®- and Lipozyme RM-IM^®-mediated two-step reactions. First, 2-palmitoyl monoacylglycerol (2-P-MAG, 90% purity) was prepared via Novozym435^®mediated ethanolysis of lard. Then, 2-P-MAG, oleic acid (O), linoleic acid (L), and lard were dissolved in hexane and subjected to a Lipozyme RM-IM^®-mediated reaction for HMFS preparation. The effect of the amount of 2-P-MAG and fatty acids (O and L) in HMFS preparation were investigated. Under the optimum reaction conditions: 7 mmol of lard, 3.0 mmol of 2-P-MAG, 5.2 mmol of O, 3.5 mmol of L, 10 mL of hexane, 10 wt% of Lipozyme RM-IMR^® (against the total weight of substrates), 550 rpm, 37°C and 6 h, a HMFS with total fatty acid composition and P content at the sn-2 position of TAG similar to that of human milk fat was prepared. In the same way, a HMFS having polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (PUFA-HMFS) was prepared. The HMFS and PUFA-HMFS prepared in this study, as well as fats extracted from commercially available powdered milk for infants (FPM) were evaluated for their oxidation stability by an auto-oxidation test. The test showed HMFS and PUFA-HMFS to possess greater oxidation stability than that the FPMs. These results indicated that the HMFS and PUFA-HMFS prepared in this study have value as potential ingredients for powdered milk.

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Palmitoleic acid is a promising bactericidal agent for cleansing products with alternative bactericidal abilities. In this study, we focus on the physical and biological activity of palmitoleic acid calcium salt (C16:1 fatty acid Ca salt) because it forms via an ion-exchange reaction between palmitoleic acid and Ca ions in tap water, and remains on the skin surface during the cleansing process. Here, we prepared C16:1 fatty acid Ca salt to investigate its crystal structure and physical and bactericidal properties. The Ca salt was a plate-shaped lamellar crystalline powder with a particle diameter of several micrometers to several tens of micrometers; it exhibited significant lubricity and alternative bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes). We also examined other fatty acid Ca salts prepared from lauric acid (C12:0 fatty acid), palmitic acid (C16:0 fatty acid), and oleic acid (C18:1 fatty acid). The bactericidal activities and lubricity of the fatty acid Ca salts changed with the alkyl chain length and the degree of unsaturation. The C16:1 fatty acid Ca salt exhibited the strongest selective bactericidal ability among the four investigated fatty acid Ca salts. These findings suggest that C16:1 fatty acid and its Ca salt have potential applications in cleansing and cosmetic products.

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The antimicrobials products from plants have increased in importance due to the therapeutic potential in the treatment of infectious diseases. Therefore, we aimed to examine the chemical characterisation (GC-MS) of essential oils (EO) from seven plants and measure antibacterial activities against bacterial strains isolated from clinical human specimens (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and sensitive (MSSA), Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella Typhimurium) and foods (Salmonella Enteritidis). Assays were performed using the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC and MIC90%) (mg/mL) by agar dilution and time kill curve methods (log CFU/mL) to aiming synergism between EO. EO chemical analysis showed a predominance of terpenes and its derivatives. The highest antibacterial activities were with Cinnamomun zeylanicum (0.25 mg/mL on almost bacteria tested) and Caryophyllus aromaticus EO (2.40 mg/mL on Salmonella Enteritidis), and the lowest activity was with Eugenia uniflora (from 50.80 mg/mL against MSSA to 92.40 mg/mL against both Salmonella sources and P. aeruginosa) EO. The time kill curve assays revealed the occurrence of bactericide synergism in combinations of C. aromaticus and C. zeylanicum with Rosmarinus. officinalis. Thus, the antibacterial activities of the EO were large and this can also be explained by complex chemical composition of the oils tested in this study and the synergistic effect of these EO, yet requires further investigation because these interactions between the various chemical compounds can increase or reduce (antagonism effect) the inhibitory effect of essential oils against bacterial strains.

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Artemisia stolonifera, a perennial herb, is widely distrbuted in China. The aim of this study was to analyze the essential oil from the aerial parts of Artemisia stolonifera, as well as to evaluate the bioactivity of the oil and its main constituents. The essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry that allowed characterizing 22 compounds. The main components were eucalyptol (32.93%), β-pinene (8.18%), camphor (6.12%) and terpinen-4-ol (6.11%), and obtained from the essential oil after a further isolation. During the contact toxicity tests, the essential oil (LD₅₀ = 8.60 μg/adult) exhibited stronger toxicity against Tribolium castaneum adults than those isolated constituents, however, camphor and terpinen-4-ol showed 1 and 2 times toxicity against Lasioderma serricorne adults than the essential oil (LD₅₀ = 12.68 μg/adult) with LD₅₀ values of 11.30 and 5.42 μg/adult, respectively. In the fumigant toxicity tests, especially on Tribolium castaneum, the essential oil (LC₅₀ = 1.86 mg/L air) showed almost the same level toxicity as positive control, methyl bromide (LC₅₀ = 1.75 mg/L air). Moreover, the essential oil and its four isolated constituents also exhibited strong repellency against two stored-product insects.

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The essential oil of the aerial parts of edible Lathyrus ochrus L. was investigated by simultaneous GC, GC/MS analyses under the same conditions. Trace amount of oil (0.01> mL) obtained by hydro distillation of 200 g fresh plants was trapped in 1 mL n-hexane. Twenty components were detected representing 91.55 ± 0.56 % of the oil. The main components were phytol 49.39 ± 0.44 %, hexadecanoic acid 20.64 ± 0.89 % and pentacosane 4.20 ± 0.09 %. Essential oil solution (1% oil: n-hexane) afforded similar DPPH scavenging activity (9.28 ± 1.30 %) when compared with positive controls α-tocopherol (9.74 ± 0.21 %) and BHT (7.79 ± 0.26 %) at the same concentrations. Antioxidant activity of the oil was determined using a new HPTLC-PRAP assay. The oil afforded two fold higher reducing activity of phosphomolybdenum complex (594.85 ± 5.14 AU) when compared with positive controls α- tocopherol (271.10 ± 2.86 AU) and BHT (210.53 ± 1.81 AU) at the same concentration.

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Sophorolipids (SLs), a prominent member of the biosurfactants family are produced in acidic and/or lactonic form by yeast Starmerella bombicola NRRL Y-17069 when grown on hydrophilic or hydrophobic or both carbon sources. In current study, ricinoleic acid rich castor oil (10%) was used as hydrophobic and glycerol (10%) was used as hydrophilic carbon source. The yields of 24.5 ± 0.25 g/l sophorolipids were analyzed by anthrone and HPLC method which further increased upto 40.24 ± 0.76 g/l sophorolipids using fed batch process at 5L fermenter level. The structures of sophorolipids synthesized on castor oil were elucidated by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometer (LC–MS), ¹³C and ¹H NMR. The results indicated that the ricinoleic acid (RA) gets hydroxylated at ω-1 position but incorporated into sophorolipids through already available hydroxyl group at 12^th position. It resulted in the production of a novel sophorolipids with hydroxyl fatty acid as side chain and has applications as surfactant for novel drug delivery, anti microbial agent, cosmetic ingredient and emulsifier.

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The influence of Naphtaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) on callus formation, its morphology and fatty acids profile were examined from Jatropha curcas L. Embryo from seeds of J. curcas L. were sown in Murashige and skoog (MS) medium with NAA and BAP. All treatments induced callus formation, however callus morphology was different in most of the treatments. Higher callus biomass was presented with 1.0 NAA + 0.5 BAP mg/L. Plant growth regulators modifies the fatty acids profile in callus of J. curcas L. BAP was induced linoleic and linolenic acids.

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We investigate whether maple syrup is a suitable sweetener in the management of type 2 diabetes using the Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat. The enhancement in plasma glucose (PG) and glucose absorption in the small intestine were lower after the oral administration of maple syrup than after sucrose administration in OLETF rats, and no significant differences were observed in insulin levels. These data suggested that maple syrup might inhibit the absorption of glucose from the small intestine and preventing the enhancement of PG in OLETF rats. Therefore, maple syrup might help in the prevention of type 2 diabetes.

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Indomethacin (IMC), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, has been used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), although its clinical use has been limited by its systemic side effects that include gastrointestinal lesions. Therefore, the development of IMC formulations that do not cause gastrointestinal lesions is highly anticipated. In this study, we designed new topical formulations containing IMC solid nanoparticles (IMC_nano gel ointment), and investigated their pharmacokinetics. In addition, we demonstrate the preventive effects of this topical application of IMC nanoparticles on inflammation in adjuvant-induced arthritis rat (AA rat). The IMC_nano gel ointment was prepared using Bead Smash 12 (a bead mill) and additives including 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, methylcellulose and Carbopol 934; the mean particle size of the IMC nanoparticles was 173 ± 91 nm (means ± S.D.). The application of the IMC_nano gel ointment attenuated the increase in paw edema of the hind feet of AA rats in comparison with AA rats treated with gel ointment containing IMC microparticles (IMC_micro gel ointment, particle diameter 17.1 ± 11.6 mm, means ± S.D). In addition, the accumulation of IMC from the IMC_nano gel ointment in skin tissue was significantly large than for the IMC_micro gel ointment; however, the plasma IMC concentrations were similar for the IMC_micro and IMC_nano gel ointments. Our findings suggest that the dermal application of nanoparticles may enable a medication to be applied without high-systemic drug levels, which could provide efficient and effective therapy that spares patients from unwanted side effects. A formulation of a topical drug delivery system using IMC nanoparticles may provide a delivery option for the clinical treatment of RA.

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