Assessment of mineral content, techno-functional properties and colour of an extruded breakfast cereals using yellow maize, sorghum and date palm

In addressing the challenges of food security and nutritional deficiencies, the study aimed to assess the nutritional and techno-functional attributes of an extruded breakfast cereal composed of yellow maize, sorghum, and date palm. The processing involved transforming yellow maize, sorghum, and date palm into flours, and various samples (MA, MB, MC, SA, SB, SC, and MSD) were blended in different proportions (90:0:10, 80:0:20, 70:0:30, 0:90:10, 0:80:20, 0:70:30, 45:45:10, respectively) to create a nutritionally balanced extruded cereal. Standard methods were employed for the analysis to evaluate techno-functional properties (bulk density, water absorption capacity, oil absorption capacity, swelling power, and dispersability), mineral content (sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, and zinc), and color properties (brightness, redness, and yellowness) of the extruded breakfast cereal samples. Techno-functional property ranges were determined, such as bulk density (ranged from 0.39 g/cm³ to 0.50 g/cm³), water absorption capacity (ranged from 1.69 g/ml to 4.43 g/ml), oil absorption capacity (ranged from 1.56 g/ml to 2.14 g/ml), swelling power (ranged from 1.43 g/g to 4.27 g/g), and dispersability (ranged from 23.37% to 60.05%). Mineral content results included sodium (ranging from 10.88 mg/100g to 18.67 mg/100g), potassium (ranging from 253 mg/100g to 351.65 mg/100g), calcium (ranging from 321.50 mg/100g to 421.40 mg/100g), iron (ranging from 9.22 mg/100g to 15.2 mg/100g), and zinc (ranging from 4.11 mg/100g to 5.36 mg/100g). Colour determination exhibited brightness values ranging from 55.31 to 64.48, redness from 0.63 to 2.73, and yellowness from 10 to 17.37.The study demonstrated that extruded breakfast cereals combining yellow maize, sorghum, and date palm met acceptable quality standards in nutritional assessment. The use of date palm as a sugar substitute enhanced mineral bioaccessibility. Furthermore, the incorporation of date palm flour into maize and sorghum-based samples improved both techno-functional properties and mineral content, presenting a novel application for date palm fruits.

Ajwa date flavonoids mitigate neutrophil migration and interferon-γ-induced renal injury by ultraviolet C radiation in rats

Date was considered a high nutritional value fruit due to its high content of active ingredients. Frequent exposure to cosmetic radiations including UVC caused deleterious effects and tissue damage and organ affection. This study investigated the efficacy of Ajwa date extract (ADE) in protection against UVC-induced kidney injury in rats. Five groups of rats were included in this study. Group I: Rats were exposed to UVC radiation at a dose 5 kJ (1 h/day) for 28 days. Group II: Rats were pretreated orally with ADE (10 mg/kg/day) 1 h before exposure to UVC radiation with dose 5 kJ. Group III: Rats were pretreated with ADE (15 mg/kg) 1 h before exposure to UVC radiation. Group IV: Rats were exposed to UVC radiation then treated with ADE (10 mg/kg). Group V: Rats exposed to UV radiation then treated with ADE (15 mg/kg) after 1 h from exposure. Analyzing the active constituents of ADE by GC/MS showed that, quercetin, myricetin kaempferol, thymine, and catechol are the most active ingredients. Biochemical markers obtained showed that, serum 8-oxoguanine as marker for DNA damage was increased, and total antioxidant activity and glutathione reduced were decreased (p < 0.01), while neutrophil (p < 0.001), conjugated diene (p < 0.05), and interferon-γ (p < 0.01) were increased after exposure to UVC. However, all the parameters changed were reversed by ADE-treated rats compared with untreated; the higher dose was more effective and protective effect was better than treated effect. Kidney total proteins and reduced glutathione and procollagen levels were decreased while malondialdehyde was increased after exposure to UVC (p < 0.01). These abnormalities were normalized by ADE treatment and protected. It was concluded that, flavonoids from Ajwa extract protected against deleterious effects of UVC by enhancing antioxidant activities and reducing infiltration of neutrophils that caused kidney injury.

Non-destructive analysis the dating of paper based on convolutional neural network

A non-destructive method based on Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) was proposed to estimate the date of paper from different years in this article. For the paper samples, dated from 1940 to 1980, naturally aged and conserved in library. Partial least squares-discriminate analysis (PLS-DA), Logistic regression and convolutional neural network (CNN), were employed to evaluate the date of paper, with the accuracy 60.74%, 95.31% and 98.77%, respectively. Based on the characteristics of CNN model and with the help of network localization, active variables could be recognized in the whole spectrum. Although the localization of active variables showed a discriminative pattern, the selected spectral regions were similar. Most important variables focused on the 1700-1400 cm^-1, were corresponding to cellulose crystallinity, which was consisted with the ageing processing. The present work gave the potential of FT-IR combined with chemometric techniques could estimate the dating of unknown paper. Meanwhile, the analysis of active variables obtained further indicated the worthy of CNN model for document dating.

Electropolymerized MIP with MWCNTs on Stir Bar Using Multivariate Optimization for Tetradifon Detection in Date

BACKGROUND

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) adjunct to molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) have advantages of the large surface area of nanoparticles and selectivity of MIPs for selective extraction of tetradifon as a widely used pesticide in date palm.

OBJECTIVES

The main aims were the use of experimental design, electrochemical synthesis and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) to develop a simple, reliable and precise pesticide residue analysis method as an important aspect of food and drug quality control for the determination of tetradifon in date palms.

METHODS

An MIP in the presence of MWCNT was synthesized by cyclic voltammetric technique on a steel rod to produce a composite of MIP-MWCNTs for stir bar extraction of tetradifon residue in date samples. The experimental design was used to optimize MIPMWCNT composite synthesis through the screening of eight variables. The composite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Tetradifon was determined in extracted samples by UHPLC under optimum conditions.

RESULTS

A very thin film was made by MIP-MWCNT coated on a steel rod which was repeatable and had good adhesion and persistence. The detection limit (LOD) and the quantification limit (LOQ) of the method were measured as 16 and 49 ng/ml, respectively. Average recovery of tetradifon at the two spiked levels was observed to be as low as 86.5% to 90.7% (RSD from 0.79% to 1.04%).

CONCLUSION

The low cost, high selectivity, good reproducibility, acceptable intra and inter day precision and accuracy developed method were successfully applied to determine tetradifon residue in date samples purchased from a local market.

Date canning: a new approach for the long time preservation of date

Dramatic growth in date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) production, makes it clear to apply proper methods to preserve this nutritious fruit for a long time. Numerous methods have been used to gain this goal in recent years that can be classified into non-thermal (fumigation, ozonation, irradiation, and packaging) and thermal (heat treatment, cold storage, dehydration, jam etc.) processing methods. In this paper these methods were reviewed and novel methods for date preservation were presented.

External factors and the incidence of severe trauma: time, date, season and moon

BACKGROUND

To detect whether external factors (time of day, day of week, month and season, lunar phases) influence incidence and outcome of severely injured trauma patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A retrospective cohort analysis of the TraumaRegister DGU(®) (TR-DGU) was carried out over a period of 10 years (January 2002-December 2011). Data of 35,432 primary admitted patients from Germany with a severe trauma (Injury Severity Score (ISS) >15) were analysed in this study. For the outcome evaluation transferred patients were excluded as well as those who did not have a valid Revised Injury Severity Classification (RISC) prognostic score. The outcome analysis could be performed in 31,596 (89.2%) patients. Incidence, demographics and injury pattern were analysed. For outcome analysis the observed hospital mortality was compared with the expected prognosis.

RESULTS

Time of day was the factor that showed the highest variation in trauma incidence due to rush hours. Saturday was the day with the highest accident rate. Most accidents in the night happened on weekends. June and July were the months with the highest trauma rate with a large portion of two-wheel drivers. The days of year with the lowest trauma incidence rate were those between Christmas and New Year, and the highest rate was observed on May 1st. The outcome of the trauma patients was close to the prognosis in all investigated subgroups.

CONCLUSION

There are clear differences in incidence but not in outcome of the patients due to external factors.

Efficacy of the combined application of chitosan and Locust Bean Gum with different citrus essential oils to control postharvest spoilage caused by Aspergillus flavus in dates

This study reports the efficacy of the combined application of chitosan (CH) and Locust Bean Gum (LBG) in combination with different citrus essential oils (EOs) to inhibit Aspergillus flavus in vitro and on artificially infected dates for a storage period of 12 days. The effect of these treatments on the fruits' sensory characteristics was evaluated to verify the complete absence of off-odours and off-flavours. Bergamot EO was the most effective in reducing mycelial growth, followed by bitter orange EO. Both bergamot and bitter orange oils significantly reduced conidial germination and a complete inhibition was obtained at concentrations higher than 2%. The mixtures based on CH-2% (v/v) bergamot EO or CH-2% (v/v) bitter orange EO proved to be the most effective coatings to reduce conidial germination resulting in an 87-90% inhibition compared with the control. In fruit decay assays coatings based on CH incorporating citrus oils were able to reduce fungal decay in the range of 52-62% at day 12. The study results and the complete absence of off-flavours and off-odours demonstrate the potential of CH coatings carrying citrus EOs at sub-inhibitory concentrations to control postharvest growth of A. flavus in dates.

Reduction of date microbial load with ozone

BACKGROUND

Date is one of the foodstuffs that are produced in tropical areas and used worldwide. Conventionally, methyl bromide and phosphine are used for date disinfection. The toxic side effects of these usual disinfectants have led food scientists to consider safer agents such as ozone for disinfection, because food safety is a top priority. The present study was performed to investigate the possibility of replacing common conventional disinfectants with ozone for date disinfection and microbial load reduction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this experimental study, date samples were ozonized for 3 and 5 hours with 5 and 10 g/h concentrations and packed. Ozonized samples were divided into two groups and kept in an incubator which was maintained at 25°C and 40°C for 9 months. During this period, every 3 month, microbial load (bacteria, mold, and yeast) were examined in ozonized and non-ozonized samples.

RESULTS

This study showed that ozonization with 5 g/h for 3 hours, 5 g/h for 5 hours, 10 g/h for 3 hours, and 10 g/h for 5 hours leads to about 25%, 25%, 53%, and 46% reduction in date mold and yeast load and about 6%, 9%, 76%, and 74.7% reduction in date bacterial load at baseline phase, respectively. Appropriate concentration and duration of ozonization for microbial load reduction were 10 g/h and 3 hours.

CONCLUSION

Date ozonization is an appropriate method for microbial load reduction and leads to an increase in the shelf life of dates.

Reduction of date microbial load with ozone

BACKGROUND

Date is one of the foodstuffs that are produced in tropical areas and used worldwide. Conventionally, methyl bromide and phosphine are used for date disinfection. The toxic side effects of these usual disinfectants have led food scientists to consider safer agents such as ozone for disinfection, because food safety is a top priority. The present study was performed to investigate the possibility of replacing common conventional disinfectants with ozone for date disinfection and microbial load reduction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this experimental study, date samples were ozonized for 3 and 5 hours with 5 and 10 g/h concentrations and packed. Ozonized samples were divided into two groups and kept in an incubator which was maintained at 25°C and 40°C for 9 months. During this period, every 3 month, microbial load (bacteria, mold, and yeast) were examined in ozonized and non-ozonized samples.

RESULTS

This study showed that ozonization with 5 g/h for 3 hours, 5 g/h for 5 hours, 10 g/h for 3 hours, and 10 g/h for 5 hours leads to about 25%, 25%, 53%, and 46% reduction in date mold and yeast load and about 6%, 9%, 76%, and 74.7% reduction in date bacterial load at baseline phase, respectively. Appropriate concentration and duration of ozonization for microbial load reduction were 10 g/h and 3 hours.

CONCLUSION

Date ozonization is an appropriate method for microbial load reduction and leads to an increase in the shelf life of dates.

Tocopherol content and Fatty Acid profile of different Iranian date seed oils

Date is one of the world's oldest food-producing plants wich has always played an important role in the economy and social life. Various researchers examined chemical composition and nutritional values of edible parts of dates while limited information about chemical composition and nutritional quality of date seed is available. In this study, fatty acid composition and total tocopherol content of 14 Iranian date seed oils were studied. Statistical analysis was performed through SPSS computing package. According to the fatty acid profiles, seven fatty acids were found through nearly 50% oleic acid in seeds. Shekar cultivar by 51.40% had the maximum amount and Lasht cultivar by 33.38% had the minimum amount of oleic acid. Tocopherol content in the samples varied between 33.86 μg vit E/g oil for Shahabi2 to 10.09 μg vit E/g oil for Shekar. Tocopherol content was 1.88 and 0.61 μg respectively in one-gram seed of these two cultivars. Iranian date seed oils classified as oleic-lauric oil, had a high amount of oleic acid and could serve as a profitable source of valuable oils for industrial applications.

Comparison of Antioxidant Activity and Total Phenol Contents of some Date Seed Varieties from Iran

The genus Phoenix is one of the most widely cultivated groups of palms around the world. The aim of this study was to determine the antioxidant activity and total phenolic compounds of 14 different varieties of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L., Arecaceae) seed extracts with 5 solvents [water, methanol, methanol (50%), DMSO, and water: methanol: acetone: formic acid (20:40:40:0.1)]. Ferric reducing antioxidant power assay and Folin-Ciocalteu reagent was used for determination of the antioxidant effect and phenolic content of date seeds. DMSO extract of the "Zahedi" variety had the highest antioxidant effect (37.42 mmol/100 g dry plant) and total phenolic content (3541 mg /100 g dry plant) among these 14 varieties and 5 solvents. There was a significant correlation between the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity (R(2) = 0.791, P < 0.001) of the "Zahedi" variety DMSO extract, which can indicates that polyphenols are the main antioxidants. Iranian date palm seed has a relatively high antioxidant activity due to contribution of phenolic compounds. The present study showed that the Iranian date seeds are strong radical scavengers and can be considered as a good source of natural antioxidants for medicinal and commercial uses.

Study of protective effect of date and nigella sativa on aflatoxin b(1) toxicity

BACKGROUND

Many medicinal plants and their purified constituents have been shown beneficial therapeutic potentials. Seeds of Nigella sativa, a dicotyledon of the Ranunculaceae family, have been utilized for thousands of years as a spice and food preservative.

METHODS

the toxic effect of aflatoxin-B(1) (AFB(1)) and the possible cytoprotective effect of Nigella sativa (NS) oil and aqueous extract of date were studied on 40 male rats. The animals were divided into 4 groups (10 rats each) and treated daily for two weeks. Group 1 received normal saline as controls. Group 2 treated via intraperitoneal (IP) route with AFB(1) (50μg/kg BW). Group 3 treated with AFB(1) and NS oil via IP. Group 4 treated with AFB(1) and received orally aqueous extract of date (15mg/15ml). The liver and kidneys of each animal were histological examined and biochemical evaluation of the liver and kidney functions was performed.

RESULTS

Group 2 showed severe degenerative and necrotic changes in the liver and kidney. The plasma levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), creatinine and urea in AFB(1) group were significantly higher than the control group. Livers and kidneys of rats, treated with AFB(1) and NS showed less histopathological changes in comparison with the AFB(1) treated group. Livers and kidneys of rats treated with AFB1 and date group showed only mild histopathological changes in comparison with AFB(1) treated group. These histopathological changes seen in animals treated with AFB1 and dates were associated with a significant reduction in levels of ALT, AST, creatinine and urea. Likewise, histopathological changes in the AFB1 and NS group were associated with significant reduction in the levels of beforementioned indices. Moreover, AFB1 and date group showed significant improvement in liver function comparing with AFB(1) and NS group.

CONCLUSION

our study revealed that treatment with AFB(1) induced histopathological changes in the tissues of liver and kidney associated with dysfunction of these organs. Both NS and date reduce the toxic effects of AFB(1) in liver and kidney. But date treatment was more cytoprotective for liver than NS treatment against aflatoxicosis in rats.