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Consumer demand for higher-quality fruit juices has resulted in the development of non-thermal processing to extend the shelf life of fruit juices. Ozonation is a novel technique, involving the production of volatile oxygen atoms capable of destroying an extensive range of microorganisms and lengthening the shelf stability of fruit juices. The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of ozonation on the physicochemical, bioactive components, and microbial properties of kinnow juice. Kinnow juice was exposed to ozone gas with fixed concentration 150 mg/h for 5, 10, and 15 minutes. Then, kinnow juice was filled in a plastic bottle and kept at 4 ± 2°C for 3 months. The mentioned parameters were examined after 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days. It was found that ozonation had shown a significant influence on nutritional characteristics of kinnow juice as it increased (p ≤.05) the acidity, total soluble content, total phenolics content, flavonoids content, and antioxidant potential of kinnow juice and diminished the microbial activity, increasing ozone time from 5 to 15 minutes. OZ-15 (15 minutes of ozonation) showed the maximum value of total soluble content (14.70 ± 0.10 °Brix), titrable acidity (0.179 ± 0.10%), total flavonoid content (244.44 ± 3.70 mg equivalent of catechin/100 mL), and total antioxidant activity (305.95 ± 2.70 µg/g equivalent of ascorbic acid of juice), but it presented the least total mold counts (1.49 ± 0.02 colony forming unit/mL) and plate counts (1.53 ± 0.03 colony forming unit/mL). It was suggested that the ozonation could be used as an alternative to the traditional pasteurization and chemical preservatives on kinnow juice to retain quality characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study focused on evaluating the influence of ultrasonic-assisted pasteurization (UAP) on the quality and shelf stability of jambul squash. Squash was analyzed for physicochemical characteristics during a storage period of 4 months. There was a significant effect (p <.05) of storage period on the acidity, DPPH radical scavenging activity, and flavonoids of jambul squash with a significant increase in acidity and DPPH radical scavenging activity and decrease in flavonoids with the corresponding increases in sonication time and pasteurization temperature during storage. The microbial content of jambul squash during storage remained lower than untreated samples. Microstructure evaluation of jambul squash showed de-shaped middle lamella and cell wall after UAP treatment. Outcomes of the current study revealed that squash samples with increased sonication time and pasteurization temperature had less microbial content than untreated samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sunflower head (Helianthus annuus, Asteraceae) is a residual by-product generated during the production of sunflower seed oil and contains a considerable amount of bioactive components. The aim of the present study was to determine and optimize extraction conditions for total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activities (DPPH, ABTS and FRAP) and xanthine oxidase (XOD) inhibitory activity of SH. The solute solvent ratio showed a significant effect on yield, TPC, antioxidant activities and XOD inhibition. The Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed for optimization of extraction parameters (yield, TPC and antioxidant activities). The statistical findings for optimized conditions reveal that the best extraction of SH was obtained with the following parameters: ethanol (54.5%), temperature (72.3°C) and time (138.8 min). This present study may help in the industrial extraction process; moreover, further deep studies are required to optimize sequential steps to increase the efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]