Physical and mechanical properties of aonla fruits

Effect of Cold- and Hot-Break Heat Treatments on the Physicochemical Characteristics of Currant Tomato (Solanum pimpinellifolium) Pulp and Paste

Currant tomato (Solanum pimpinellifolium), an underutilized wild species of modern tomato, was investigated to determine the physicochemical properties and understand the effect of cold- and hot-break heat treatments on physicochemical characteristics. Moreover, a new Arrhenius-type equation was used to model the temperature-dependent viscosity of currant tomato pulp and paste. The currant tomato’s porosity, surface area, and lycopene content were 40.96 ± 0.84%, 663.86 ± 65.09 mm2, and 9.79 ± 1.88 mg/100 g, respectively. Cold- and hot-break heat treatments had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on tomato pulp and paste color change (0.09 to 0.26; 0.19 to 1.96), viscosity (0.06 to 0.02 Pa.s; 0.85 to 0.37 Pa.s), and lycopene content (9.70 to 9.07 mg/100 g; 9.60 to 9.37 mg/100 g), respectively. An Arrhenius-type equation described the temperature-dependent viscosity of currant tomato pulp and paste with activation energy (Ea) ranging from 7.54 to 11.72 kJ/mol and 8.62 to 8.97 kJ/mol, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed a total of variance 99.93% in tomato pulp and paste as affected by the cold- and hot-break heat treatments. Overall, the findings may provide knowledge for design graders and process optimization to develop currant tomato-based products.

The Results of Laboratory Studies of the Device for Evaluation of Suitability of Potato Tubers for Mechanized Harvesting

The purpose of this study is to substantiate the concept of a device for the evaluation of the suitability of varieties and hybrids of potato tubers for mechanical harvesting from the earliest stages of the selection process and to perform quantitative and structural assessment of damage to potato varieties and hybrids inflicted by the device, simulating the process of the harvester’s separating element operation depending on the machine type and harvesting conditions. The structural and operating diagram of the device for the evaluation of suitability of varieties and hybrids for mechanized harvesting has been developed, and the procedure and results of the study to determine the force action of the separating surface of the developed device on the potato tubers are presented. The device developed in accordance with the proposed conceptual scheme, further calibrated to account for modern potato harvesters would make it possible to conduct targeted selection of varieties suitable for mechanized cultivation, as well as to assess the degree of resistance of potato varieties to mechanized harvesting at early stages of selective and seed production works.

A review and reappraisal of the specific gravities of present and past multicellular organisms, with an emphasis on tetrapods

The density, or specific gravity (SG), of organisms has numerous important implications for their form, function, ecology, and other facets of beings living and dead, and it is especially necessary to apply SG values that are as accurate as practical when estimating their masses which is itself a critical aspect of living things. Yet a comprehensive review and analysis of this notable subject of anatomy has never been conducted and published. This is such an effort, being as extensive as possible with the data on hand, bolstered by some additional observations, and new work focusing on extinct animals who densities are least unknown: pterosaurs and dinosaurs with extensive pneumatic complexes, including the most sophisticated effort to date for a sauropod. Often difficult to determine even via direct observation, techniques for obtaining the best possible SG data are explained and utilized, including observations of floating animals. Neutral specific gravity (NSG) is proposed as the most important value for tetrapods with respiratory tracts of fluctuating volume. SGs of organisms range from 0.08 to 2.6, plant tissues from 0.08 to 1.39, and vertebrates from about 0.75 (some giant pterosaurs) to 1.2 (those with heavy armor and/or skeletons). Tetrapod NSGs tend to be somewhat higher than widely thought, especially those theropod and sauropod dinosaurs and pterosaurs with air-sacs because respiratory system volume is usually measured at maximum inhalation in birds. Also discussed is evidence that the ratio of the mass of skeletons relative to total body mass has not been properly assayed in the past.

Antimicrobial Potential of Beverages Preparation Based on Fermented Milk Permeate and Berries/Vegetables

Nowadays, taking into consideration the current dynamics of drug resistance development, many researchers are working to develop new antimicrobial compound combinations for the food and beverage industry, which can overcome this problem. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial properties of milk permeate fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum LUHS135, Lactobacillus plantarum LUHS122, and Lactobacillus faraginis LUHS206 strains in combination with berry/vegetable (B/V) pomace (gooseberries, chokeberries, cranberries, sea buckthorn, rhubarb) against a variety of pathogenic strains (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Citrobacter freundii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella enterica, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumanni, Proteus mirabilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus epidermis, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Pasteurella multocida, and Enterobacter cloacae) as a potential antimicrobial combination for beverage preparation. The highest number of the tested pathogenic strains was inhibited by gooseberries, sea buckthorn, and rhubarb combinations with strain LUHS122 fermented beverages (13 pathogens out of 15 tested). Twelve out of 15 tested pathogens were inhibited by gooseberry combinations with LUHS135 and LUHS206 fermented milk permeate. Selected B/V in combination with fermented milk permeate are promising antimicrobial ingredients for beverage preparation, possessing antimicrobial activity almost against all the tested pathogenic strains.

Effect of cultivars, pretreatment and drying on physicochemical properties of Amla (Emblica officinalis) gratings

Effect of four different cultivars and salt pretreatment on drying of Amla (Emblica officinalis) gratings were studied. Quality attributes namely, ascorbic acid, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and colour were evaluated for dried (using Cabinet tray dryer at 55 ± 2 °C for 8 h) and stored (refrigerated, ambient and accelerated condition) samples of four cultivars (Krishna, Kanchan, NA-7 and Chakaiya). Salt pretreated dried samples showed better retention of nutrients and colour as compared to untreated. Retention of ascorbic acid, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity (IC₅₀ value) in pretreated dried samples were in the range of 79.51-84.89%, 176.5-220.3 mg GAE/g db and 9.48 to 17.74 mg/µl, respectively. Colour retention was also found to be better in salt pretreated samples. Ambient storage condition resulted in higher retention of ascorbic acid and colour compared to accelerated condition. Taking into consideration, the nutritional value of the fresh Amla, ability to retain nutritional value and color during drying and storage, NA-7 cultivar Amla (pretreated with 1% salt, tray dried at 55 °C for 8 h) is the most suitable for preparation of Amla powder. The method developed in the present work is devoid of blanching step and found to be effective in retaining the nutrients during drying and storage and can be employed also for drying of similar fruits and vegetables.

Physical and chemical characteristics of different cultivars of Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis)

Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis) commonly known as amla is one of the important fruit of Ayurveda. Nutritional and medicinal properties of amla make it a well known fruit. It is an excellent source of vitamin C, phytochemicals and minerals. Several cultivars of amla are grown throughout different parts of India. Physical characteristics are imperative for designing the equipments for processing, handling and storage. Processing of fruit into value added products is governed by chemical composition of fruit. The current work was aimed to examine the various physical and chemical characteristics of fruits of six cultivars viz. NA-7, NA-9, NA-10, Chakaiya, Balwant and Hathijhool. Characteristics namely height, diameter, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, surface area, aspect ratio, volume, density, rolling resistance, color, textural characteristics, proximate composition, ascorbic acid and polyphenol content was studied. Results showed that the highest fruit size was obtained in NA-7 and the lowest in Hathijhool cultivars while the highest density in Hathijhool and lowest in NA-10 cultivar. The fruit volume of different cultivars varied from 15.00 to 44.93 cm³. Moisture content was highest in Chakaiya followed by NA-7 cultivar. No significant difference was observed in surface hardness and moisture content of the fruit of different cultivars. The highest ascorbic acid and polyphenols content were found in Chakaiya cultivar. In the different cultivars, ash content ranged between 2.08 and 2.97% and NA-10 cultivar had the highest value followed by Chakaiya cultivar.

Effect of processing treatment on nutritional properties and phytochemical contents of aonla (Emblica officinalis) juice

The present study was undertaken to evaluate physico-chemical composition and to study the effect of processing on phytochemical contents and nutritional components of anola juice prepared from Banarasi cultivar. Aonla juice pasteurized at 90 °C for 1 min showed better retention of phytochemicals as well as sensory characteristics. Methanol was used as a solvent for extraction of phytochemicals and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography was performed to identify and quantify the phytochemical contents in juice extract. The pasteurized juice extract contained gallic acid, ethyl gallate, ellagic acid and quercetin 79.12, 0.29, 112.11 and 1.32 mg/100 g, respectively. Ascorbic acid content in juice extract was 155.04 mg/100 g. The storage study of aonla juice was conducted at refrigeration (4 °C) and ambient condition (25-40 °C).

Determination of physical and mechanical properties of carrot in order to reduce waste during harvesting and post-harvesting

Lack of sufficient knowledge about the physical and mechanical properties of agricultural products can result in higher waste of them. Due to the importance of carrot as an agricultural product and lack of much knowledge about how to reduce its waste as well as design and optimize the required harvest and postharvest machinery, this research study was carried out to fill this gap. In this study, physical properties included the length, width, thickness, mean diameter (geometric and arithmetic), mass, volume, density, sphericity, surface area, aspect ratio. The mechanical properties of the samples and their lengths were measured under the conditions of pressure (bruise), bending (break), and shearing of the carrot halves using a Zwick/Roell Instron testing machine based on the recommended standards. The mean geometric mean diameter, surface area, sphericity, volume and true density of the carrot were 49.54 mm, 7758.32 mm2, 0.32%, 70 cm3, and 1.04 g/cm3. In the study of mechanical properties of carrots, the maximum forces required for bruising, bending, and shearing of the carrot fruit were 71.90, 48.60, and 41.14 N, respectively. The results obtained about the physical and mechanical properties can be very useful in reducing carrot waste and mechanizing harvest and postharvest operations by providing us with information that helps us design machinery needed to transfer, sort, separate, wash, package, store, and process carrots.

Physical and chemical characteristics of goldenberry fruit (Physalis peruviana L.)

Some physical and chemical characteristics of goldenberry fruit (Physalis peruviana L.) were investigated. These characteristics are necessary for the design of equipments for harvesting, processing, transportation, sorting, separating and packing. The fruit length, diameter, geometric and arithmetic mean diameters, sphericity, surface area, projected areas (vertical-horizontal) and aspect ratio of goldenberries were determined as 17.52 mm, 17.31 mm, 17.33 mm, 17.38 mm, 98.9 %, 0.949 cm(2), 388.67-387.85 mm(2) and 0.988, respectively. The mass of fruit, bulk density, fruit density, porosity and fruit hardness were 3.091 g, 997.3 kg/m(3), 462.3 kg/m(3), 53.61 % and 8.01 N, respectively. The highest static coefficient of friction was observed on rubber surface, followed by stainless steel sheet, aluminum sheet, and plywood materials. The dry matter, water soluble dry matter, ash, protein, oil, carbohydrate, titratable acidity, pH, total sugar, reducing sugar, antioxidant capacity were 18.67 %, 14.17 %, 2.98 %, 1.66 %, 0.18 %, 13.86 %, 1.26 %, 6.07, 63.90 g/kg, 31.99 g/kg and 57.67 %, respectively. The fresh fruits have 145.22 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100 g total phenol content and skin colour data represented as L*, a*, b*, Chroma (C) and Hue angle (α) were 49.92, 25.11, 50.23, 56.12 and 63.48, respectively.