ABSTRACT Hydrocolloids play an essential role in governing textural properties of food products. However, not all the hydrocolloids function equally at different thermal treatment or have the same behavior. Therefore, selection of the particular hydrocolloid for a specific purpose is an important issue. In this study, cress seed gum gel as a new source of hydrocolloid was subjected to different thermal treatments (60oC-30min, 80oC-23min, 100oC-18min and 121oC-15min) to investigate its textural characteristics stability using penetration and TPA tests. The results demonstrated that cress seed gel is heat stable in most of the textural attributes (hardness, consistency, adhesiveness, apparent modulus of elasticity, cohesiveness, springiness) and in some cases, heat had an improving effect on the gel. Therefore, cress seed gum can be employed as a texture modifier in formulation of foods subjected to high temperature processes. KEYWORDS Hydrocolloid, Rheology, Large deformation, Gel.
This paper presents the residue levels of organochlorine, organophosphate pesticides and herbicides in agricultural soils from Delhi region. Among OCPs, HCH, DDT endosulphan and dieldrin ranged between <0.01-104.14 ng g -1 , <0.01-15.79 ng g -1 , <0.01-7.57 ng g -1 and <0.01-2.38 ng g -1 , respectively. The concentration of OPPs ranged from <0.01-20.95 ng g -1 , ND-3.92 ng g -1 , ND-31.73 ng g -1 , ND-6.46 ng g -1 and ND-6.46 ng g -1 for phosphomidon, monocrotophos, chlorpyriphos, quinolphos and ethion, respectively. Pendimethalin (0.27 ng g -1 ) was the dominant herbicides followed by butachlor (0.19 ng g -1 ), and fluchloralin (0.05 ng g -1 ). Data showed the region was contaminated by technical DDT and technical HCH mixture. The study reveals that the level of some organochlorine pesticides in agricultural soils is a matter of concern for future food chain accumulation and human health so; regular investigation of pesticide residues is recommended on soil health and contamination levels. Keywords : pesticides, herbicides, agricultural soil, Delhi, India
Tea is the most popular beverage next to water, consumed by over two-thirds of the world’s population. Its limited use is beneficial for human health, but excessive use results in many complications due to its toxic mineral contents. In this study, the concentration of toxic heavy metals like Cd, Pb, Cr, macro-nutritive elements like Fe, Ca, Na and K and micronutritive elements like Zn, Mn, Ni, Co were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICPOES) in thirty commercially available samples of tea in Pakistan using microwave digestion method of sample preparation employing silicon carbide slabs. The studied metals could be arranged in descending order according to their presence in tea samples as followed: Na > K > Ca > Mn > Fe > Co > Zn > Ni > Pb > Cd > Cr.
The hydro-distilled essential oil of Citrus sinensis var. mosammi was analyzed by Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Out of 18 components, 7 components were identified from their fragmentation pattern. Among the identified constituents, β-phyllendrene (27.544 %) was found as major component followed by 3 carene (7.630%), limonene (4.873%), β-pinene (3.278%), caryophyllene (3.154%), diethyltoluamide (2.339%) and a-pinene (1.298%). The essential oil of C. sinensis var. mosammi leaves had promising antimicrobial activity against the tested bacterial and fungal strains. The inhibition zones were measured after 48 and 96 h following disc diffusion method. The results indicated thatmaximum zone of inhibition was exhibited by Aspergillus ficcum (17 mm) andstaphylococcus aureus (16 mm) after a period of 96 h of incubation at 25°C in case of fungal and 37°C for bacterial strains, respectively. Key words: Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), essential oil, zones of inhibition, antimicrobial activity and fragmentation pattern.
Physico-chemical studies of ground water samples both from bore wells and dug wells of daltonganj block areas of Palamau district of Jharkhand have been carried out for various parameters in general and that of fluoride concentration in particular in pre-monsoon season of 2009. Though, generally ground water of both types of wells are of good quality but in certain areas it is confronted with slightly high concentration of fluoride causing dental fluorosis among children. In dug well fluoride concentration in 7 samples area bit higher side (TABLE-1) while in bore wells too, 7 samples are on higher and rest 7 within lower limit. (TABLE-2). The other variables so far analysed are within permissible limit ofWHO for portable water in both types of wells samples (see TABLE 01 and 02). The variation observed in TABLE I and 2 in various parameters are due to its geogenic origin, of the various parameters and also of the nature of depth of wells of different places in the present area.
Xylitol is the first rare sugar that has global market due to having beneficial health properties and being an alternative to current conventional sweeteners. Biotechnological production of xylitol by Candida tropicalis DSM 7524 as an alternative to chemical method for the fermentation of xylose to xylitol was studied. Banana peel was used as a substrate for xylitol production. Hydrolysate was detoxified by neutralization, activated charcoal treatment and vacuum evaporation. Effect of pH was tested for C. tropicalis at three different levels and pH value of 2.5 was found to be the best; producing 24.7 g L-1 xylitol. Rusks were prepared by replacing sucrose with xylitol at different levels. Physicochemical analysis of rusks at different intervals of storage i.e. 0, 10, 20 and 30 days was carried out. Hardness decreased significantly (P<0.05) from the treatment having 100% sucrose (4,950.6 g) to 100% xylitol (3,090.3 g) upon replacing sucrose with xylitol, while fracturability value increased from 71.90 to 74.26 mm for the treatment containing 100% xylitol. Color value and water activity of rusks increased significantly with the replacement of sucrose with xylitol. The increase in moisture content and decreasing trend in other parameters with storage were observed in rusks. Xylitol has low calorific value as compared to sucrose so it can be incorporated into dietetic foods which may help in controlling sugar level in diabetic patients.
In this study, β-Cyclodextrin polymer was synthesized and further modified with 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2naphthol (PAN). The resulting modified polymer was used for the preconcentration of Maneb [Mn(II) ethylene bis(dithiocarbamates)] by converting it into Mn(II)-PAN-β-CDP complex. For the described method, the effect of the some analytical parameters, such as pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and eluent volume, on the % uptake of Maneb was investigated. The influence of the matrix ions and other dithiocarbamates was also examined using the developed method. The recovery values were found to be ≥95% and the relative standard deviation was ≤2%. The detection limit was found to be 1.3μg. The developed method was utilized for the preconcentration and determination of Maneb in different vegetable samples.
