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Employing post-harvest treatments to maintain pomegranate fruit quality during storage is a prevalent practice within the food industry. IMAZALIL (IMZ), a fungicide, has demonstrated efficacy in reducing both the incidence of chilling injury symptoms and the presence of pathogenic fungi. This study aims to assess the impact of IMZ treatment on the technological quality (weight loss, color attributes (C* and h°), pH, titratable acidity, and total soluble solids), nutritional properties (total sugars content), and functional properties (total phenolic compounds (TPC) and total anthocyanin content (TAC)) in pomegranate fruits of the 'Sefri Ouled Abdellah' and 'Kingdom' cultivars. These fruits were collected in the Beni Mellal region and immediately stored at 4 °C for 120 days. Untreated pomegranates exhibited significant degradation in overall quality when stored in cold conditions. The fruits treated with IMZ are characterized by a major loss in weight (3.41% to 20.11%) compared to the control fruits (1.62% to 13.19%). This was accompanied by more pronounced color degradation in the IMZ-treated fruits relative to the control. This study substantiates the effectiveness of IMZ treatment in prolonging the post-harvest quality of pomegranates during cold storage, demonstrating superior efficacy in delaying losses in bioactive compounds by 39.44% and enhancing nutritional properties by 18.84%. This finding initiates the exploration of optimal IMZ concentrations and the best treatments to maintain the overall quality of pomegranate fruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.), a plant native to the Mediterranean, is a member of the legume family and its fruit is called a pod. The flesh of the pod (pulp) is very rich in sugar, while the seeds are high in protein. The pod is also a good source of minerals such as potassium, calcium and phosphorus. It is rich in polyphenols and antioxidants. Due to its nutritional composition, it is suitable for improving human well-being. This article reviews the chemical composition of locust bean fruit and its biological effects on human health. Understanding the traditional uses of locust bean fruit in relation to its potential as an anti-diabetic agent is important in view of the numerous recent scientific studies on its pharmacological properties. The study focuses on in vivo and in vitro antihyperglycemic research, as well as the nutritional profile and potential food applications of this natural product for food formulation and fortification. Based on its chemical and pharmacological properties, this species is believed to have beneficial preventive and therapeutic effects, particularly in hyperglycemia. Researchers can further extract and isolate bioactive compounds from different carob fractions to develop pharmaceutical products and functional foods for the food and pharmaceutical industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is a tree species native to the Mediterranean region and belongs to the Fabaceae family. The tree is well-known for its sweet and nutritious fruits, which have been used for long time as a nutritious food. In addition to the edible fruits, the carob tree also produces seeds that are highly prized for their ability to produce carob gum (locust bean gum). The carob seed consists of three main components: the shell, the endosperm, and the embryo. The shell is the outermost layer of the seed, followed by the endosperm, which is the largest part of the seed and contains high levels of carbohydrates and proteins. The embryo is the smallest part of the seed and is rich on bioactive compounds. Carob seed constituents have attracted considerable attention due to their exceptional nutritional and therapeutic properties in various industries, including food, medicine, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and textiles. The high content of bioactive compounds in carob seeds, such as polyphenols, tannins, and flavonoids, is believed to be responsible for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The use of carob seed constituents in the food industry is mainly due to their ability to act as thickeners and stabilizers in various foods. They are used as a substitute for other thickening agents such as guar gum and carrageenan, due to their superior properties. In the pharmaceutical industry, carob seeds have been found to have antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, and anticancer properties, among others. The cosmetics industry is also interested in the ingredients of carob seed, as they can improve hydration and elasticity of the skin. They are also used as a natural alternative to synthetic thickeners in cosmetic formulations. The textile industry has also recognized the potential of carob seed constituents, as they can be used as a natural dye and as a sizing agent to improve the strength and durability of textiles. In summary, carob seed constituents offer a wide range of applications in various industries, owing to their high content of bioactive compounds, excellent nutritional and therapeutic profile, and ability to act as thickeners, stabilizers, and antioxidants. This review has highlighted the latest findings on the chemical composition, applications, and health benefits of carob seed constituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citrus peels are considered a rich source of valuable biomolecules. Pectin is a polymer of polysaccharide acid and is composed of galacturonic acid monosaccharides. In this study, response surface methodology was used to optimize pectin extraction from Citrus × clementina Hort. ex Tan. (Rutaceae) peels using citric acid as an extraction solvent. The effect of the parameters conditioning the extraction process and pectin yield (pH level, temperature, extraction time, solid/liquid ratio, and raw material particle size) was investigated using a Box–Behnken design. The quality of the extracted pectin was assessed both chemically (moisture, ash, protein, and carbohydrate content) and functionally (gelling power and emulsifying activity). According to the screening experiment, the pH level, temperature, and particle size were the main factors influencing the pectin yield. The adjusted mathematical model enabled us to plot response surfaces in order to determine the optimal extraction conditions. The highest production yield of pectin (26.6%) was obtained at the optimal conditions of pH = 1.5, temperature = 100 °C, and particle size = 0.1 mm for an extraction time of 30 min. Compared to the predicted value of 26.6%, the experimental extraction yield of C. clementina was about 21.4% of pectin. Concerning the functional properties, the extracted pectin had a high gelling power of 164 ° SAG and an emulsifying activity of 38.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Choice of the harvest date is one of the foundations of vintage quality and good-yield sugar in sugar beet. However, it is difficult to define the harvest date and more precisely the date of maturity of beet roots, in an exact and absolute way. Indeed, maturity is divided into several stages and degrees depending on environmental and climatic conditions such as temperature, precipitation, geographic area, and others. The present study evoked the effect of three harvest dates (at esteemed maturity, 7 days after maturity, and 15 days after maturity) on the technological quality parameters, namely, sucrose, nitrogen, potassium, and sodium, using the most popular chemometric method, principal component analysis (PCA). To do this, samples from the Tadla irrigated perimeter were used. The results of exploratory analyses by the application of PCA clearly showed the influence of harvest date, in an important way, on the three quality parameters, composition of sucrose, potassium, and sodium. But, for nitrogen composition, there were negligible variations between samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]