Search

The objective of a study conducted was to develop the state diagram of garlic by measuring glass line (glass transition temperature versus solid contents), freezing curve (freezing point versus solids content), and maximal-freeze concentration conditions (Tg', Tm', Xs') and other characteristics by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) method. The study also attempts to map out melt, rubbery, and glassy states of freeze-dried garlic by means of a state diagram.

The trillions of microbes that constitute the human gut microbiome play a crucial role in digestive health, immune response regulation, and psychological wellness. Maintaining gut microbiota is essential as metabolic diseases are associated with it. Functional food ingredients potentially improving gut health include prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, and postbiotics (PPSPs). While probiotics are living bacteria that provide health advantages when ingested sufficiently, prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates that support good gut bacteria. Synbiotics work together to improve immunity and intestinal health by combining probiotics and prebiotics. Postbiotics have also demonstrated numerous health advantages, such as bioactive molecules created during probiotic fermentation. According to a recent study, PPSPs can regulate the synthesis of metabolites, improve the integrity of the intestinal barrier, and change the gut microbiota composition to control metabolic illnesses. Additionally, the use of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) highlights the potential for restoring gut health through microbiota modulation, reinforcing the benefits of PPSPs in enhancing overall well-being. Research has shown that PPSPs provide several health benefits, such as improved immunological function, alleviation of symptoms associated with irritable bowel disease (IBD), decreased severity of allergies, and antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. Despite encouraging results, many unanswered questions remain about the scope of PPSPs' health advantages. Extensive research is required to fully realize the potential of these functional food components in enhancing human health and well-being. Effective therapeutic and prophylactic measures require further investigation into the roles of PPSPs, specifically their immune-system-modulating, cholesterol-lowering, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory characteristics.

Moisture, fats and fatty acids of 14 pelagic and demersal fishes were measured by conventional chemical analysis to relate these with the proton relaxation using Low Frequency Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (LF-NMR). Artificial intelligence was used to assess the predictability of composition using six relaxation parameters of LF-NMR. Multiple linear regression showed significant prediction for moisture (W) (P < 0.00001), total fat (F) (P < 0.0001), ω-6 fatty acid (O6) (P < 0.001), saturated fats (SF), fatty acids (FA), mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MU) and ω-3 fatty acid (O3) (P < 0.01). However, the highest regression coefficient was observed for water (R 2 : 0.490) and the lowest was observed for SF (R 2 : 0.224). The low regression coefficients indicated strong non-linear relationships exited between LF-NMR parameters and composition. However, decision tree showed higher regression coefficients for all compositions considered in this study (R 2 :0.780-0.694). In addition, it provided simple decision rules for the prediction of composition. General Regression Neural Network provided the highest prediction capability (R 2 :0.847-1.000 for training and 0.506-0.924 for validation)., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-024-05977-3., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Holocellulose (HC) fraction extracted from date-pits was evaluated as a novel feed additive for ruminant feeding. This study was performed to investigate the effectiveness of the HC additive on rumen fermentation, methane (CH 4 ) production, and diet degradability over 24 h of in vitro incubation. Three independent incubation trials were conducted over three consecutive weeks, employing the same in vitro methodology to assess four treatment doses in a completely randomized design. The experimental diet incorporated four increasing doses of HC, containing HC at 0 (HC0), 10 (HC10), 20 (HC20), and 30 (HC30) g/kg dry matter (DM). In vitro gas production (GP) and CH 4 production, volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentration, protozoa accounts, degraded organic matter (DOM), metabolizable and net energy (ME and NE), and hydrogen (H 2 ) estimates were measured. No significant differences in ruminal pH were observed as the HC doses gradually increased. All incremental doses of HC additive over 24 h resulted in a linear increase in GP (P < 0.001), DOM (P < 0.001), total VFAs (P = 0.011), and propionate (P < 0.001) concentrations, as well as estimated energy (ME and NE) (P < 0.05) and microbial protein (P = 0.017) values. However, the inclusion of increasing doses of HC in the diet displayed linear reductions in the net CH 4 production (ml/kg DOM; P = 0.002), protozoa abundance (P = 0.027); acetate (P = 0.029), and butyrate (P < 0.001) concentrations, the acetate-to-propionate ratio (P < 0.001), and the estimated net H 2 production concentration (P = 0.049). Thus, the use of date-pits HC additive generated positive ruminal fermentability, including increased total VFAs and a reduction in the acetate-to-propionate ratio, leading to decreased CH 4 output over 24 h of in vitro incubation. Hence, HC could be considered a potent feed additive (at up to 30 g/kg DM), demonstrating promising CH 4 -mitigating competency and thereby enhancing energy-use efficiency in ruminants., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

There is a lack of scientific analysis and control over the production of date vinegar in Oman, despite its growing demand in the worldwide market. Traditional production of date vinegar may lead to elevated amounts of ethanol (≥0.5%) and reduced content of acetic acid (<4%) compared to the standard acceptable levels. This study aimed to isolate non- Gluconobacter species from date vinegar produced by spontaneous fermentation and formulate starter cultures for quick and efficient production of date vinegar. In spontaneous fermentation date vinegar samples, the highest concentration of acetic acid was 10.42% on day 50. Acetobacter malorum (5 isolates), A. persici (3 isolates), and A. tropicalis (3 isolates) were identified based on 16S rRNA gene sequences for the first time in date vinegar. For date vinegar prepared with a starter culture of Acetobacter and yeast, the highest concentration of acetic acid was 4.67%. In conclusion, spontaneous fermentation resulted in the production of date vinegar with a high concentration of acetic acid, acceptable concentrations of ethanol and methanol, and the first isolation of three Acetobacter species. The formulated starter culture produced acceptable amounts of acetic acid and the time of fermentation was reduced 10 times (from 40 days to 4 days). This can provide the basis for producing a personalized or commercial product that ensures the production of good-quality date vinegar in an easier, faster, safer, and more efficient way from low-quality and surplus dates.

Objectives: Our research aimed to study the microbiology and antimicrobial resistance in asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) among Omani pregnant women., Methods: We conducted a retrospective study that included data from 196 Omani pregnant women with ASB who received care at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital from 2010-2019. Data were obtained from the patients' electronic medical records including demographics, clinical details, isolated organisms, antimicrobial susceptibility results, and prescribed antibiotics., Results: ASB was detected in 56.1% of cases during the third trimester. Klebsiella pneumoniae (32.1%) was the most frequently isolated organism, followed by Escherichia coli (29.6%). Twenty-one (10.7%) isolates were extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing organisms. The overall microbiological susceptibility pattern showed that organisms have a high susceptibility rate to nitrofurantoin reaching 82.8%, followed to a lesser extent by cefuroxime and augmentin. The susceptibility of E. coli and K. pneumoniae to cefuroxime was 74.1% and 71.4%, respectively. Only 52.4% of all isolated ESBL-producing organisms were susceptible to nitrofurantoin., Conclusions: K. pneumoniae and E. coli were the most frequently isolated bacteria in ASB, representing 60.7% of total isolates. A high prevalence of ESBL-producing organisms, 10.7% of the total isolates, was observed. Cefuroxime is an appropriate empirical antibacterial therapy for ASB and urinary tract infection in pregnant women. Nitrofurantoin should be considered for empirical antibiotic therapy in settings of high prevalence of ESBL-producing organisms., (Copyright © 2024, Oman Medical Journal.)

The objective of this study was to develop functional date-pits by mold digestion for the potential use in food products. Whole date-pits (WDP) and defatted date-pits (DDP) were digested by mold Trichoderma reesei at 20 °C. T. reesei consumed date-pits as nutrients for their growth, and DDP showed higher growth of molds as compared to the WDP. The mold digested WDP and DDP samples showed an increased water solubility and hygroscopicity as compared to the samples prepared by autoclaved. This indicated that the mold digestion transformed date-pits to hydrophilic characteristics. Thermal analysis indicated a structural change at -3.2 °C for the untreated WDP and it was followed by a glass transition shift (i.e. onset: 138 °C and a specific heat change: 295 J/kg o C), and an endothermic peak at 196 °C with enthalpy of 68 J/g for the solids melting-decomposition. Similar characteristics were also observed for treated samples with the two glass transitions. The total specific heat changes for WDP, autoclaved-WDP, and digested-WDP were observed as 295, 367, and 328 J/kg o C, respectively. The total specific heat changes for DDP, autoclaved-DDP, and digested-DDP were observed as 778, 1329, and 1877 J/kg o C, respectively. This indicated that mold digestion transformed more amorphous fraction in the DDP. The energy absorption intensities of the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra for the selected functional groups decreased by the mold digestion., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Būt ( Sideroxylon mascatense ) is an indigenous wild blueberry found in Oman. It has a very short season and is commonly preserved by drying. The aims of this study were to determine the physico-chemical characteristics and stability of phytochemicals (i.e., polyphenols and flavonoids) in the berries during drying (i.e., freeze-drying at -40 °C and air-drying at 60 and 90 °C) and the polyphenol stability of the dried berries as a function of storage temperature (i.e., 90, 70, 60, 40, 20, and -20 °C). The moisture content of fresh berry flesh was 64.5 g/100 g sample (wet basis). The crude protein and fat contents were higher in the seeds than in the flesh. Glucose and fructose were the main sugars and their concentrations were highest in the sample air-dried at 60 °C. The initial total polyphenol content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) of the flesh were 2.009 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dry-solids and 0.199 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/g dry-solids, respectively. The samples air-dried at 90 °C and freeze-dried at -40 °C had higher TPC (i.e., 2.638 mg GAE/g dry-solids) and TFC (i.e., 0.395 mg CE/g dry-solids), respectively. There was a significant difference between the TPC and TFC of fresh and dried wild berries ( p < 0.05). The freeze-dried wild berries retained a high TPC compared to the air-dried samples. The polyphenol storage stability of freeze-dried wild berries at different storage temperatures showed two phases: an initial release phase followed by a decay phase. The polyphenol storage stability was modeled using the Peleg model and the kinetic parameters were correlated with the storage temperature.

Different monofloral honeys from Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) have been studied in order to determine their main functional and biological properties. Thyme honey and chestnut honey possess the highest antioxidant capacity, which is due to their high vitamin C (in thyme honey) and total polyphenolic content (in chestnut honey). On the other hand, chestnut honey showed high antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, whilst others had no activity against S. aureus and showed very small activity against E. coli. Moreover it was found that the antimicrobial activity measured in chestnut honey was partly due to its lysozyme content. In addition the angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity was measured, and the ACE inhibition is one mechanism by which antihypertensive activity is exerted in vivo. All the types of honey showed some activity but chestnut honey had the highest ACE inhibitory activity.