Search

OBJECTIVES: Orange wine is essentially white wine that is produced similarly to red wines, with skin-contact during maceration. Various polyphenols found in red wine may be contributing to the observed benefits on heart health. The objective is to identify if grape skin contact gives orange wine similar antioxidant properties as red wine, by comparing total polyphenols and antioxidant capacity of red, white, and orange wines. METHODS: Fifteen wine samples were analyzed in triplicates (4 red, 8 orange and 3 white wines). A set of orange, red and white wines from the same wineries and vintages were purchased and analyzed. Analysis consisted of total polyphenols, total antioxidant capacity, and color. Total polyphenols were measured using the Folin Ciocalteu method (gallic acid equivalent per liter (GA/L)), total antioxidant capacity was measured using the ORAC method (micromol of Trolox equivalent per mililiter (µmol TE/ml)) and color was measured using a colorimeter (Lab color scale). RESULTS: Total polyphenol content in orange wines (1259.2 + 138.9 mg GA/L) was 0.6 times of red wines (2239.4 + 156.9 mg GA/L) and 4.6 times higher than white wines (273.9 + 11.8 mg GA/L). Similarly, the antioxidant capacity of orange wine (12.2 + 1.9 µmol TE/ml) was 0.6 times of red wines (20.9 + 2.7 µmol TE/ml) and 2.3 times higher than white wines (4.9 + 0.9 µmol TE/ml). Differences in total polyphenols and antioxidant capacity between types of wines were significantly different (ANOVA, α = 0.05). Color of orange wines had great variability, ranging from pale to deep orange and confirmed by the wide range of a and b color values (0.3 to 2.9 and 13.3 to 25.5 respectively). Many factors can contribute to this variation, including grape variety, winery, methods of production and storage; only two countries have a legal definition of orange wine or skin-contact white wine, thus adding additional variability. CONCLUSIONS: This allows for understanding of the characteristics of orange wines, which may have a beneficial effect on heart health and how it compares with other wine styles. FUNDING SOURCES: California State University, Northridge.

Our literature review of currently available data in the area of tea and cancer prevention demonstrated that there is more conclusive evidence for the chemopreventive effect of green tea compared with black tea. We suggest that this is due to a large variation of the flavanol content in tea, which is not taken into consideration in most of the epidemiological studies. It was the purpose of this study to determine the flavanol content of various teas and tea products and to correlate it with their radical scavenging activity. A modified oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay at pH 5.5 was utilized. The total flavavol content varied from 21.2 to 103.2 mg/g for regular teas and from 4.6 to 39.0 mg/g for decaffeinated teas. The ORAC value varied from 728 to 1686 trolox equivalents/g tea for regular teas and from 507 to 845 trolox equivalents/g for decaffeinated teas. There was a significant correlation of flavanol content to ORAC value (r = 0.79, P = 0.0001) for the teas and green tea extract. The large variation in flavanol content and ORAC value among various brands and types of tea provides critical information for investigators using tea in studies of nutrition and cancer prevention.

Although Hispanics comprise approximately 12% of the population, only 3% of registered dietitians (RDs) are Hispanic. This pilot study explored non-RD Hispanic Women, Infant and Children (WIC) educators' perceptions of dietetics and identified recruitment strategies to increase Hispanic representation. Hispanic WIC educators (n = 48) completed a questionnaire to determine reasons for not pursuing RD status, reasons Hispanics are underrepresented in dietetics, and recruitment strategies. Thirty-eight percent of respondents planned on becoming an RD; 56% had considered becoming an RD. Eighty-two percent postponed pursing the RD due to expense and 65% due to life circumstances. Reasons cited for underrepresentation of Hispanics in the field included lack of knowledge about dietetics, lack of Hispanic role models, and length and expense of training. Suggested recruitment strategies included scholarships, mentoring programs, and awareness campaigns with schools and community-based organizations serving Hispanics. Many WIC educators are interested in becoming RDs, but barriers prevent them from pursing the necessary education and training. To support WIC educators in becoming RDs, the length and expense of the education/ training should be addressed. Increasing awareness of the profession in the Hispanic community and providing financial support would help recruit more Hispanics to the dietetics major.

Ropy and non-ropy strains of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus were studied with respect to their resistance to reduction of water activity in milk used to produce yogurt. Glycerol reduced the a w of the milk considerably, but it was less inhibitory to acid production than sucrose. The ropy strains did not show any advantage over nonropy ones when they were used to produce yogurt in milk with reduced a w ; their performance was similar to non-producer strains in terms of lactic acid production.

We discuss the use of photo-reflectance near the critical angle (PRCA) to monitor small changes of the RI of highly turbid liquids. The theory of the reflectance of a laser beam near the critical angle for an external medium with a complex RI is summarized. The applicability of PRCA to sense highly turbid media is demonstrated experimentally on bovine milk samples. We give experimental results showing the temporal variation of the refractive index (RI) during three different processes in bovine milk: (1) Mechanical stirring, (2) temperature changes, and (3) pH variations around the isoelectric point of the casein micelles (micelle aggregation). RI changes in the order of a few times 1 X 10-3 are observed during the experiments. The experimental results show that the RI of milk can be used to track physico-chemical changes in time allowing one to measure the time constant of the different process. The design of a compact RI probe for in situ applications is discussed. The miniaturization of such a probe will probably limited by factors other than the loss of sensitivity. A novel angle-of-incidence control which requires only linear displacements of some of the optical components (no rotation) is proposed and shown to be feasible. Such an optical probe may be used in the dairy industry and in general in the food industry or food science research laboratories. It could give additional analytical power to the food scientist, engineer, or technician.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

We analyze the use of laser reflection near the critical angle for different refractometric measurements. We consider using dynamic reflectometry to obtain direct measurements of the angle differential of the reflectivity. From the angular profile of the differential reflectivity it is possible to obtain measurements of the absolute values of the real and imaginary parts of the refractive index (RI). For sensing purposes we consider monitoring the reflectance and/or its angular derivative near the critical angle for high-resolution sensing. We give simple and general formulas to estimate the resolution of the different measurements and give some estimates based on our experimental system. We show that a single instrument may be able to measure the real and imaginary parts of the RI with an uncertainty in the order of 10 26 . In sensing variations of the RI, the same instrument may yield a resolution of the order of 10 27 for slow variations. However, if the RI is modulated harmonically in time, the same instrument might detect an amplitude of modulation as low as ;10 210 . In addition, we study the applicability of the technique to turbid media consisting of particles in suspension. We illustrate the potential of the technique for that application with a few experiments on liquid milk and on water suspensions of polystyrene particles. We give experimen- tal evidence showing it is possible to sense the physical state of particles in solution even when the particles have a diameter as large as the wavelength. We also show that the RI of a liquid sample can be moni- tored through a physical or chemical process even if the liquid is vigor- ously stirred. © 2002 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.