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The soaked white rice samples were subjected to microwave-assisted induction heating (MAIH) system consisting of a microwave heating unit (power = 1000 W, frequency: 2450 MHz) in the upper part and an induction unit (power = 1500 W) in the lower part at two set temperatures (120°C and 100°C) for different heating times. The aerobic plate count (APC), lightness (L*), redness (a*), yellowness (b*), whiteness (W), and hardness of the rice samples decreased significantly with prolonged heating, whereas the adhesiveness, cohesiveness, chewiness, moisture content, and water activity increased with increasing heating time. The rice samples subjected to MAIH at 120°C for 240 s or at 100 °C for 300 s had transparent cores with an absence of fine particles, indicating that the rice samples were fully cooked. The relevant microbial counts were below the detectable levels, and the preset target temperature could be attained at the maximum temperature of the rice samples. In addition, it is known from the temperature profile that the thermal lethality (F90°C) of MAIH 120°C for 240 s and MAIH 100°C for 300 s is 935 min and 14.1 min, respectively, which has exceeded the 6D value reduction requirements for the target microorganism non-proteolytic C. botulinum. (F90°C =10.0 min). In general, the optimum heating conditions for obtaining MAIH-prepared rice with color, texture, and sensory qualities similar to those of traditionally steamed rice were: heating at 120°C for 240 s or 100°C for 300 s. This study is the first to employ MAIH for rapid preparation of pre-packaged ready-to-eat (RTE) rice products, with at least 80 % reduction of the heating time compared with that of traditional steaming.

The objective of this work was to study the application of high-pressure processing (HPP) on the quality change and extending the shelf-life of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) stored at low temperature. The effects of HPP treatments (200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 MPa for 5 min) on microbiological and chemical quality, and histamine content of tuna flesh stored at 4°C and 15°C, respectively, were evaluated. With the increased pressure, the levels of aerobic plate count (APC) and coliform in tuna flesh significantly decreased. It was also found that the L* (lightness), b* (yellowness), W (whiteness), ΔE (color difference), and texture (hardness, cohesiveness and chewiness) of fish flesh increased significantly with the increased pressure; however, a* (redness) value decreased. Furthermore, HPP with a pressure of >300 MPa on tuna samples significantly delayed the increase in APC during storage at 4°C or 15°C, respectively, while the samples pressurized more than 200 MPa had significantly lower levels of total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) and histamine compared to the control samples during storage. The results indicated that tuna flesh pressurized at least 300 MPa for 5 min could be a technique employed to extend the shelf-life to 1 d at 15°C and 6 d at 4°C, based on the APC limit standard (6.47 log CFU/g). In this study, HPP can be seen as a potential useful technique to preserve tuna flesh due to its ability to reduce bacterial load and retard TVBN and histamine production.

The effects of soaking milkfish fillet in 3% or 9% NaCl brines for 90 min at 4°C, and followed by processing with varying hydrostatic pressures (300, 400, 500, and 600 MPa) for 5 min on microbial quality and physicochemical properties were evaluated. After brine salting, the color of the fillet, the L* (lightness), W (whiteness), and ΔE (color difference) values increased with the increases in pressure, whereas the a* (redness) and b* (yellowness) values decreased, indicating that the fillet became brighter and whiter. Among them, 3% brine salting combined with pressures of 300 and 400 MPa groups had higher redness (a* value) and lower ΔE value compared to the higher pressure groups. Regarding the texture of the fillet, the hardness and chewiness of unsalted fish were significantly higher than that of brine salted fish under the same pressure, whereas the cohesiveness of the unsalted fillet was significantly lower than that of brine salted fillet. The results indicates that brine salting could make the instrumental texture of fish softer, which can compensate for the disadvantages of increased hardness and chewiness of the fillet caused by high-pressure processing. Brine salting combined with high pressure produced a significantly reducing effect on aerobic plate count (APC), psychrotrophic bacteria count (PBC), and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) values of the fish as compared with that by brine salting or high pressure alone. Therefore, brine salting at a proper brine concentration (3%) and followed by high-pressure processing at 300 or 400 MPa for 5 min can improve or maintain a relatively good color and texture, as well as result in a synergistic bactericidal effect.

In this study, Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes were separately inoculated in sterilized carrot juice and subjected to various types of high-pressure processing (HPP) at 200–600 MPa for 0.1–15 min to observe the effects of HPP on the inactivation kinetics of foodborne pathogens in carrot juice. The first-order model fits the destruction kinetics of high pressure on foodborne pathogens during the pressure hold period. An increase in pressure from 200 to 600 MPa decreased the decimal reduction time (D values) of S. Typhimurium, E. coli, and L. monocytogenes. Under pressure ≥ 400 MPa, the D values of E. coli were significantly higher than those of S. Typhimurium and L. monocytogenes, indicating that E. coli had greater resistance to high pressures than the others. The Zp values (the pressure range that causes the D values to change by 90%) of E. coli, S. Typhimurium, and L. monocytogenes were 195, 175, and 170 MPa, respectively. These results indicated that L. monocytogenes and E. coli were the most and least sensitive, respectively, to pressure changes. Additionally, the three bacteria were separately inoculated into thermal-sterilized carrot juice and subjected to 200–600 MPa HPP for 3 min. The treated carrot juices were stored at 4 °C for 27 d. Following S. Typhimurium and E. coli inoculation, the bacterial counts of the control and 200 MPa treatments remained the same during the storage duration. However, they decreased for the 300 and 400 MPa treatment groups with increasing storage duration. During the storage period, no bacterial growth was observed in the 500 and 600 MPa treatments. However, the bacterial number for the control and pressure treatment groups increased with prolonged storage duration following inoculation with L. monocytogenes. Therefore, following HPP, residual L. monocytogenes continued growing stably at low temperatures. Overall, HPP could inhibit and delay the growth of S. Typhimurium and E. coli in carrot juice during cold storage, but it was ineffective at inhibiting the growth of L. monocytogenes. There was a risk of foodborne illness despite the low-temperature storage of juice. The innovation of this preliminary study is to find the impact of high pressure on the inactivate kinetics of three food pathogens in carrot juice and its practical application in simulated contaminated juice.

In this study, cereals with high starch content, including brown rice, corn, and buckwheat were pretreated by extrusion. The physicochemical properties of extruded-puffed cereals obtained from different extrusion conditions were analyzed herein. The puffed extrudates exhibited lower bulk density, higher water solubility and gelatinization as compared to untreated cereals. The FTIR-ATR results confirmed a decrease in the crystalline structure of extruded-puffed cereals. A higher Vmax/Km value was observed in the enzymatic saccharification of puffed extrudates that significantly improved hydrolysis rate and yield. Finally, the high-maltose syrup was produced via the enzymatic hydrolysis of extruded-puffed cereals at high substrate concentrations (20 %). After hydrolysis for 180 min at an enzyme substrate ratio (E/S ratio) of 0.2, the syrup with dextrose equivalent (DE) value of 63, 62, and 61 were obtained from extruded-puffed brown rice, corn, and buckwheat, respectively. Our results showed the potential of using extruded-puffed cereals for producing high-maltose syrup.

Vacuum frying (VF) is a selective technique for producing high-quality fried food that is mostly used on vegetables, fruits, and potato chips. It is rarely applied to the production of aquatic (especially fish) products. The purpose of this study is to explore whether VF technology can be applied to the preparation of dried silver herring products and to obtain the optimal VF conditions. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to examine the factors affecting the quality of silver herring (Spratelloides gracilis) products after VF, namely temperature (75, 90, and 105 °C), duration (25, 35, and 45 min), and concentration (0, 15, and 30%) of maltose solution used to immerse the samples during pre-processing. The results indicated that VF temperatures had significant impacts on water activity (Aw), moisture content, yield, oil content, lightness (L* value), and colour difference (ÄE). The higher the VF temperature, the lower the Aw, moisture content, yield, and oil content of the product, but the higher the L* value and ΔE. Next, a longer VF duration resulted in higher oil content of the product. Maltose concentration was significantly and positively correlated with the yield and fracturability of the product. RSM analysis indicated that the optimal combination of processing conditions was a VF temperature of 105 °C, VF duration of 25 min, and maltose concentration of 27%. Under these VF conditions, the silver herring products had a moisture content of 3.91%, Aw of 0.198, oil content of 21.69%, L* value of 28.19, ΔE of 27.31, and fracturability of 359 g/s. In summary, vacuum frying technology is suitable for the preparation of dried silver herring products, and this study can provide the optimal processing conditions for seafood processors to obtain better quality.

This study examines the impact of blanching (heating at 85 °C for 60 s), high-pressure processing (HPP) (600 MPa, 3 min, 20 °C), and a combination of both blanching and HPP on the microbiological and chemical qualities, colour, and antioxidant properties of carrot juice stored at 4 °C for 15 days. In terms of microbiological quality, the total plate count (TPC), coliform bacteria, and Salmonella spp. rose rapidly in the control group (untreated) as the storage time increased. However, for the blanching group, these values climbed more gradually, surpassing the microbiological limits for juice beverages (TPC < 4 log CFU/mL, Coliform < 10 MPN/mL, and Salmonella spp. negative) on the 9 days of storage. In contrast, TPC, coliforms, and Salmonella spp. were undetectable in the HPP and blanching/HPP samples throughout the storage period. Additionally, as storage time lengthened, the pH, total soluble solids, and Hunter colour values (L, a, b) diminished in the control and blanching groups, whilst titratable acidity and browning degree intensified. However, the HPP and blanching/HPP noticeably delayed these decreases or increases. Moreover, although the total phenolic content and DPPH radical scavenging ability in the HPP samples remained relatively stable during storage and were lower compared to other groups, the β-carotene content was higher at the end of the storage period. In summary, HPP can effectively deactivate microorganisms in carrot juice, irrespective of whether blanching is applied, and can impede reductions in pH, increases in acidity, and colour changes, ultimately extending the juice’s shelf life.

Microwave-assisted induction heating (MAIH) is a composite microwave and induction heating to supply rapid and uniform heating of food. A recent study showed that the optimum MAIH heating condition for barramundi meat was 90 °C/110 s or 70 °C/130 s. This study examines whether the microwave-assisted induction heating (MAIH) technology (at 70 °C for 130 s or 90 °C for 110 s) can more effectively slow down the quality loss of barramundi meat during cold storage than the traditional boiling method (at 90 °C for 150 s). The results show that no microbial growth was observed in the three groups of heated barramundi meat samples during the 60 days of cold storage. However, the MAIH technology slowed down the increase in the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) content more significantly than the boiling method. As the cold storage time increased, though, the L* (lightness), a* (redness), and W (whiteness) values decreased, while the b* (yellowness) and color difference (ΔE) values increased in the three treatment groups. However, the MAIH technology slowed down the decrease in the L*, a*, and W values more significantly, and produced a ΔE value smaller than the boiling method. Moreover, the MAIH technology ensured higher hardness and chewiness of the barramundi meat than the boiling method. Overall, the MAIH technology slowed down the quality loss of the barramundi meat and maintained better color and texture during cold storage.

Effects of high pressure processing (HPP) under 300, 400, 500 and 600 MPa for 5 min on microbiological growth and histamine content of spotted mackerel meats stored at 4 oC were evaluated. It was also found that the L* (lightness), ΔE (color difference), and texture (hardness, cohesiveness and chewiness) of fish meat increased significantly with an increase in pressure, but a* (redness) value decreased. With an increase of pressure, the loads of aerobic plate count (APC), psychrotrophic bacteria count (PBC), H2S-producing bacteria count and coliform in mackerel meat significantly decreased. In addition, HPP significantly delayed the growth of APC and PBC during refrigerated storage for 15 days. Pressure up to 300 MPa significantly inhibited total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) and histamine formation, compared to control sample during storage. The results pointed to that the pressurization at least 300 MPa for 5 min on mackerel meat could extend shelf-life during refrigerated storage.

The elderly population in developed countries has increased rapidly in recent years; the elderly may be at greater risk of protein deficiency due to dietary, socio-economic, dental, and physical restrictions. Therefore, to address the issue of protein deficiency in elderly people, the present study aimed to enhance the protein content of high-gluten flour noodles, an Asian staple food, by supplementing them with soybean protein isolate (SPI) powder. The effect of SPI addition (5–20%, w/w) on composition, quality, texture, physical and sensory properties, and glycemic index (GI) of high-gluten flour noodles was investigated. The noodles made only from high-gluten flour served as control. In comparison to control noodles, 20% SPI noodles showed a rise in protein and moisture content from 16.17% to 30.64% and 36.06 to 44.84%, respectively. The cooking yield and cooking loss increased with an increase in SPI concentration compared to control noodles. Color characteristics analysis revealed the decreasing trend in brightness and yellowness of SPI noodles with minimal L* and b* values at a 20% SPI concentration. The addition of SPI also resulted in a decrease in the hardness and tensile strength of the noodles. The sensory analysis showed that 5% SPI noodles were more similar to control noodles in terms of flavor, taste, and overall acceptability. Moreover, the addition of SPI to the noodles significantly decreased the GI of the noodles reaching the standard of low-GI food. The findings of the current study indicate that soy protein noodles, besides supplementing the desired nutrients, may also prevent the risk of diabetes in elderly people.

We assessed the microbial and chemical qualities and microbiomes of 14 mustard pickle products coded sequentially from A to N and sold in traditional Taiwanese markets. The results showed that the aerobic plate count and lactic acid bacteria count of commercially available mustard pickle products were 2.18–4.01 and Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., or Listeria monocytogenes were detected in any of the samples. Analysis of the chemical quality showed that the sulfite content of all samples exceeded 30 ppm, which is the food additive limit in Taiwan. Furthermore, the mean contents of eight biogenic amines in the mustard pickle product samples were below 48.0 mg/kg. The results of high-throughput sequencing showed that the dominant bacterial genera in sample A were Proteus spp. (25%), Vibrio (25%), and Psychrobacter (10%), in sample C they were Weissella (62%) and Lactobacillus (15%), in sample E it was Lactobacillus (97%), and in sample J it was Companilactobacillus (57%). Mustard pickle product samples from different sources contained different microbiomes. The dominant bacterial family was Lactobacillaceae in all samples except for sample A. In contrast, the microbiome of sample A mainly consisted of Morganellaceae and Vibrionaceae, which may have resulted from environmental contamination during storage and sales. The result of this work suggests it may be necessary to monitor sulfite levels and potential sources of bacterial contamination in mustard pickle products, and to take appropriate measures to rule out any public health risks.

This study aimed to assess the use of the high-hydrostatic-pressure (HHP) method (200–600 MPa, 5 min) for bleaching mustard pickle products as an alternative to the conventional method of sulfite addition. The aerobic plate count (APC) and lactic acid bacteria count (LAB) of the samples decreased with the increase in pressure, and the yeast count decreased to no detectable levels. Next, compared with the control group (no high-pressure treatment) the L* (lightness), W (whiteness), ΔE (color difference), and texture (hardness and chewiness) of the HHP-processed samples, which increased significantly with increasing pressure, while the a* (redness) and b* (yellowness) values decreased slightly. This indicates that HHP processing gave the mustard pickle a harder texture and a brighter white color and appearance. Furthermore, when the mustard pickle was treated with HHP 400 and 600 MPa for 5 min and stored at 25 °C for 60 days, it was found that the APC and LAB counts in the HHP-processed group recovered rapidly and did not differ from those in the control group (the non-HHP treated group) but significantly delayed the growth of yeast, the increase in pH value, and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN). The high-throughput sequencing (HTS) analysis revealed that the predominant bacterial genera in the non-HHP-treated mustard pickle were Lactiplantibacillus (74%), Lactilactobacillus (12%), and Levilactobacillus (6%); after 60 days of storage, Companilactobacillus (80%) became dominant. However, after 60 days of storage, Lactiplantibacillus (92%) became dominant in the samples processed at 400 MPa, while Levilactobacillus (52%), Pediococcus (17%), and Lactiplantibacillus (17%) became dominant in the samples processed at 600 MPa. This indicated that the HHP treatment changed the lactic acid bacterial flora of the mustard pickle during the storage period. Overall, it is recommended to treat the mustard pickle with HHP above 400 MPa for 5 min to improve its texture and color and delay the deterioration of quality during storage. Therefore, HHP technology has the potential to be developed as a treatment technique to replace the addition of sulfite.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of brine salting and high-pressure processing (HPP) on the microbial inactivation and quality parameters of mackerel fillets. Mackerel fillets were immersed in 3% and 9% sodium chloride brine for 90 min at refrigerator temperature, and then treated at 300, 400, 500, and 600 MPa pressure for 5 min. The microbial counts and physicochemical qualities of the fish were examined. In comparison with fish fillets treated with brine or high pressure alone, those treated with the combination of brine salting and HPP showed significantly reduced aerobic plate count (APC) and psychrotrophic bacteria count (PBC). The hardness and chewiness of salt-brined fillets were obviously lower than those of the unsalted fillets under the same pressure condition. Thus, brine salting imparted mackerel fillets a softer texture, which compensated for the HPP-induced increased hardness and chewiness of the fillets. The L* (lightness) and ΔE (colour difference) values of the fillets increased with increasing pressure, with or without brine salting. Conversely, a* (redness) values decreased with increasing pressure. The samples treated with 3% brine in combination with 300 or 400 MPa pressure had a* values similar to those of the samples processed under similar HPP conditions alone but showed lower ΔE values than the other groups. Therefore, as a very high pressure would adversely affect the texture and colour of the fish fillets, this study suggests that immersion in an appropriate brine concentration (3%) and treatment with HPP at 400 MPa for 5 min improved or maintained the colour and texture relatively well and produced a synergistic bactericidal effect.

High-pressure processing (HPP) is a prevailing non-thermal food preservation technology. The inactivation mechanisms of Listeria monocytogenes under HPP at 200 and 400 MPa for 3 min were investigated by label-free quantitative proteomic analysis and functional enrichment analysis in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. HPP treatment at 400 MPa exhibited significant effects on proteins involved in translation, carbon, carbohydrate, lipid and energy metabolism, and peptidoglycan biosynthesis. HPP increased most ribosomal subunits and initiation factors, suggesting it might shift ribosomal biogenesis to translation initiation. However, protein synthesis was impaired by the shortage of proteins responsible for elongation, termination and recycling. HPP stimulated several ATP-dependent Clp proteases, and the global transcriptional regulator Spx, associating with activation of the stress-activated sigma factor Sigma B (σB) and the transcriptional activator positive regulatory factor A (PrfA) regulons. The quantitative proteomics approaches provide fundamental information on L. monocytogenes under different HPP pressures, and provide theoretical support for HPP against Listeriosis illness and for promotion of safer ready-to-eat foods.

In the research, we evaluated the effects of high-pressure processing (HPP) on the growth and histamine formation of histamine-forming bacteria (HFB) in yellowfin tuna meat during storage. Tuna meat samples inoculated with the individual HFB species Morganella morganii and Photobacterium phosphoreum were subjected to HPP treatment at 250, 350, 450, and 550 MPa for 5 min, and the changes in bacterial count, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) content, pH, and histamine content during storage at 4 and 15 °C were analyzed. The results indicate that the bacterial counts of the HFB species decreased significantly with increasing pressure, and HFB became undetectable in the samples treated at 450 and 550 MPa. At a storage temperature of 15 °C, the bacterial counts of both HFB species in the control group and samples subjected to HPP treatment at 250 and 350 MPa increased significantly with storage time. The bacterial counts of M. morganii in the samples stored at 4 °C decreased, whereas those of P. phosphoreum increased gradually owing to its psychrophilic nature. HPP treatment (>250 MPa) inhibited the increases in pH and TVBN content of the samples stored at 15 °C and delayed histamine formation in the samples during storage; these effects were more significant as the pressure during HPP treatment was increased.

A second generation and scaled-up equipment, named Aligo-2TM (microwave-assisted induction heating, MAIH) with a sample capacity of approximately 1.0 L was designed and invented by Bottle Top Machinery Co., Ltd., Taiwan. Pre-packaged raw shrimps were heated in a scaled-up system using heating temperatures of 130 °C and 90 °C for 80 to 150 s, and the physicochemical and microbial qualities were evaluated. The total plate count, psychrotrophic bacteria count, and coliform levels decreased as heating time increased, whereas the cooking loss, color (L*, a*, and W) value, and texture increased. When shrimps were heated for the longest time of 120 s at 130 °C or 150 s at 90 °C, they displayed obvious overcooked, shrunken, and dry appearance. To obtain samples that showed a red color, cooked well, and had no microbial count, better heating conditions for the processing of pre-packaged shrimps via the MAIH scale-up system were 130 °C for 100 s or 90 °C for 130 s. This novel and scaled-up MAIH equipment provides shrimp to be cooked after being packed, thereof avoiding the post-contamination problem.

The microwave-assisted induction heating (MAIH) method—an emerging thermal technique—was studied to heat the prepackaged raw hard clam (Meretrix lusoria). The cooking effects on microbial and physiochemical qualities of clam were investigated. After the heating of the clam meat samples, the aerobic plate count (APC), psychrotrophic bacteria count (PBC), and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) levels decreased with increasing heating time, but the shucking ratio, area shrinkage, and texture (hardness, cohesiveness, and chewiness) increased. In addition, the L* (lightness) and W (whiteness) of the clam meat samples increased significantly at the beginning of the heating period, whereas they decreased significantly with extended heating time. However, a* (redness) had the opposite trend. This study found that when clams were heated for more than 120 s at 130 °C or 150 s at 90 °C, they displayed obvious shrinking and a yellow-brown appearance, indicating that they are overcooked. After heating by MAIH for at least 110 s at 130 °C or 130 s at 90 °C, the samples were cooked well and gains a completely shucking, along with no microbial count detected. Therefore, the results indicated that the optimum heating conditions for prepackaged hard clams subjected to an MAIH machine were 130 °C for 110 s or 90 °C for 130 s.

Fish gelatin and its hydrolysates exhibit a variety of biological characteristics, which include antihypertensive and antioxidant properties. In this study, fish gelatins were extracted from extrusion-pretreated tilapia scales, and then subjected to analyses to determine the physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity of the extracted gelatins. Our findings indicate that TSG2 (preconditioned with 1.26% citric acid) possessed the greatest extraction yield, as well as higher antioxidant activities compared with the other extracted gelatins. Hence, TSG2 was subjected to further hydrolyzation using different proteases and ultrafiltration conditions, which yielded four gelatin hydrolysates: TSGH1, TSGH2, TSGH3, and TSGH4. The results showed that TSGH4 (Pepsin + Pancreatin and ultrafiltration < 3000 Da) had a higher yield and greater antioxidant activity in comparison with the other gelatin hydrolysates. As such, TSGH4 was subjected to further fractionation using a Superdex peptide column and two-stage reverse-phase column HPLC chromatography, yielding a subfraction TSGH4-6-2-b, which possessed the highest 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity compared with the other fractions. Further LC-ESI/MS/MS analysis of TSGH4-6-2-b suggested two novel peptides (GYDEY and EPGKSGEQGAPGEAGAP), which could have potential as naturally-occurring peptides with antioxidant properties. These promising results suggest that these antioxidant peptides could have applications in food products, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics.

Intensive efforts have been undertaken in the fields of prevention, diagnosis, and therapy of lung cancer. Fucoidans exhibit a wide range of biological activities, which are dependent on the degree of sulfation, sulfation pattern, glycosidic branches, and molecular weight of fucoidan. The determination of oversulfation of fucoidan and its effect on anti-lung cancer activity and related signaling cascades is challenging. In this investigation, we used a previously developed fucoidan (SCA), which served as a native fucoidan, to generate two oversulfated fucoidan derivatives (SCA-S1 and SCA-S2). SCA, SCA-S1, and SCA-S2 showed differences in compositions and had the characteristic structural features of fucoidan by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses. The anticancer properties of SCA, SCA-S1, and SCA-S2 against human lung carcinoma A-549 cells were analyzed in terms of cytotoxicity, cell cycle, Bcl-2 expression, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), expression of caspase-3, cytochrome c release, Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining, DNA fragmentation, and the underlying signaling cascades. Our findings indicate that the oversulfation of fucoidan promotes apoptosis of lung cancer cells and the mechanism may involve the Akt/mTOR/S6 pathway. Further in vivo research is needed to establish the precise mechanism whereby oversulfated fucoidan mitigates the progression of lung cancer.

Abstract Histamine is the main causative agent of scombroid poisoning. However, unlike scombroid fish, histamine poisoning due to consumption of flying fish has never been reported. In this study, the white muscle of flying fish had high levels of free histidine at approximately 423.9 mg/100 g, and was inoculated with Staphylococcus xylosus Q2 isolated from dried flying fish at 5.0 log CFU/g and stored at −20 to 35°C to investigate histamine-related quality. The histamine contents quickly increased to higher than 50 mg/100 g in samples stored at 25 and 35°C within 12 h as well as stored at 15°C within 48 h. However, bacterial growth and histamine formation were controlled by cold storage of the samples at 4°C or below. Once the frozen flying fish samples stored at −20°C for 2 months were thawed and stored at 25°C after 24 h, histamine started to accumulate rapidly (>50 mg/100 g of fish). Therefore, flying fish muscle was a good substrate for histamine formation by bacterial histidine decarboxylation at elevated temperatures (>15°C) when it is contaminated with S. xylosus. In conclusion, since the improperly contaminated flying fish muscle with S. xylosus could lead to production of hazardous levels of histamine over time when stored at temperatures >15°C, the flying fish should be stored below 4 °C or below to control proliferation of S. xylosus, and TVBN and histamine production.

The microwave-assisted induction heating (MAIH) system provides comprehensive heating by combining microwave heating (with 1300 W of power and 2450 MHz of frequency) in the top part and induction heating (with 1800 W of power) in the bottom part. In this study, fresh white shrimps were placed in a sealed crystallized polyethylene terephthalate (CPET) container and heated in the MAIH system at two temperatures (130 and 90 °C) from 60 to 120 s. Afterwards, the shrimp samples were rapidly cooled, and the changes in the shrimp quality, including the appearance, cook loss, aerobic plate count (APC), color values, and texture, during the heating process were analyzed. The results demonstrate that longer heating times decrease the APC levels, but increase the cook loss, color values (lightness, redness, and whiteness), and texture (hardness, cohesiveness and chewiness) of the white shrimp samples. In particular, the white shrimp is fully cooked and gains a completely red appearance, along with no APC detected after heating in the MAIH system at 130 °C for at least 80 s or at 90 °C for at least 100 s. In summary, to achieve a good appearance, no APC detected, and low cook loss, the following heating conditions are recommended for cooking white shrimp in the MAIH system: heating at 130 °C for 80 s or at 90 °C for 100 s. This novel MAIH technology allows food to be heated and sterilized after being packed, thereby eliminating the post-pollution issue. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the use of MAIH in the application of food processing.

In this research, the occurrence of hygienic quality and histamine in commercial brined and dried milkfish products, and the effects of brine concentrations on the quality of brined and dried milkfish, were studied. Brined and dried milkfish products (n = 20) collected from four retail stores in Taiwan were tested to investigate their histamine-related quality. Among them, five tested samples (25%, 5/20) had histamine contents of more than 5 mg/100 g, the United States Food and Drug Administration guidelines for scombroid fish, while two (10%, 2/20) contained 69 and 301 mg/100 g of histamine, exceeding the 50 mg/100 g potential hazard level. In addition, the effects of brine concentrations (0%, 3%, 6%, 9%, and 15%) on the chemical and bacteriological quality of brined and dried milkfish during sun-drying were evaluated. The results showed that the aerobic plate count (APC), coliform, water activity, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN), and histamine content values of the brined and dried milkfish samples decreased with increased brine concentrations, whereas those of salt content and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) increased with increasing brine concentrations. The milkfish samples prepared with 6% NaCl brine had better quality with respect to lower APC, TVBN, TBA, and histamine levels.

Fucoidans possess multiple biological functions including anti-cancer activity. Moreover, low-molecular-weight fucoidans are reported to possess more bioactivities than native fucoidans. In the present study, a native fucoidan (SC) was extracted from Sargassum crassifolium pretreated by single-screw extrusion, and three degraded fucoidans, namely, SCA (degradation of SC by ascorbic acid), SCH (degradation of SC by hydrogen peroxide), and SCAH (degradation of SC by ascorbic acid + hydrogen peroxide), were produced. The extrusion pretreatment can increase the extraction yield of fucoidan by approximately 4.2-fold as compared to the non-extruded sample. Among SC, SCA, SCH, and SCAH, the chemical compositions varied but structural features were similar. SC, SCA, SCH, and SCAH showed apoptotic effects on human lung carcinoma A-549 cells, as illustrated by loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), decreased B-cell leukemia-2 (Bcl-2) expression, increased cytochrome c release, increased active caspase-9 and -3, and increased late apoptosis of A-549 cells. In general, SCA was found to exhibit high cytotoxicity to A-549 cells and a strong ability to suppress Bcl-2 expression. SCA also showed high efficacy to induce cytochrome c release, activate caspase-9 and -3, and promote late apoptosis of A-549 cells. Therefore, our data suggest that SCA could have an adjuvant therapeutic potential in the treatment of lung cancer. Additionally, we explored that the Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is involved in SC-, SCA-, SCH-, and SCAH-induced apoptosis of A-549 cells.

Fucoidans constitute a family of fucose-rich sulfated polysaccharides, which possess multiple characteristics, including antioxidant, antitumor, antivirus, anticoagulant, and anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, the incidence of colon cancer has risen rapidly worldwide. In the present study, fucoidan extracts were extracted from the Sargassum glaucescens (SG) pretreated by compressional-puffing, and four fucoidans (SG1-SG4) were obtained with different puffing conditions. It was found that SG4 possessed the highest extraction yield, relatively high cytotoxicity against human colon carcinoma HT-29 cells, and relatively low cytotoxicity to normal cells, as compared to the other extracted fucoidans. Moreover, SG4 caused cell cycle arrest of HT-29 cells at sub-G1, S, and G2/M phases. SG4 also induced HT-29 cellular apoptosis, as evidenced by the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), increased cytochrome c release, activation of caspase-9 and -3, increased DNA fragmentation, and increased early and late apoptotic cells visualized by annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) assay. Additional biological experiments revealed that the Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/S6 pathway is involved in SG4-induced apoptosis of HT-29 cells. These results clearly indicate that SG4 showed anti-colon cancer potential via the induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, and thus may have a possible application as an adjuvant therapeutic agent in colon cancer treatment.

The inactivation and damage of histamine-forming bacteria (HFB), Enterobacter aerogenes and Staphylococcus capitis, in a 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) and marlin meat slurry by high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatments were studied using viability measurement and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). HHP treatments showed first order destruction kinetics to E. aerogenes and S. capitis during the pressure holding period. HFB in marlin meat slurry had higher D values and were more resistant to HHP treatments than in phosphate buffer. In phosphate buffer, E. aerogenes had higher D values than S. capitis at >380 MPa of pressure, whereas the reverse trend was noticed at lower pressures (S. capitis had a higher D value than E. aerogenes at the same treatment pressure, indicating that S. capitis was more resistant to HHP treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate that HHP can be used to inactivate HFB, E. aerogenes, and S. capitis, by causing disruption to bacterial cell membrane and cell wall as demonstrated by SEM micrographs.

Fish gelatin hydrolysates have been shown to possess various biological activities due to their unique Gly-Pro-Y and Gly-X-Hyp sequences. In the current study, fish gelatin was extracted from non-extruded milkfish scale (FSG1) or extrusion-pretreated milkfish scale (FSG2); extracted gelatins were hydrolyzed with different combinations of Flavourzyme and Alcalase to give four different hydrolysates, namely: FSGH1 (FSG1 hydrolyzed with Flavourzyme), FSGH2 (FSG1 hydrolyzed with Alcalase + Flavourzyme), FSGH3 (FSG2 hydrolyzed with Flavourzyme), and FSGH4 (FSG2 hydrolyzed with Alcalase + Flavourzyme). The extrusion-pretreatment process enhanced the extraction yield of gelatin from fish scale. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analyses showed the extracts FSG1 and FSG2 possessed characteristics of gelatin. Moreover, the physicochemical characteristics of FSGH1–FSGH4 were examined by analyses of their degree of hydrolysis, amino acid composition, UV spectrum, FTIR spectrum, molecular weight, and RP-HPLC profile. Additional biological functional analyses showed that all of the studied gelatin hydrolysates FSGH1–FSGH4 possessed antioxidant activity dose-dependently as revealed by DPPH scavenging, ABTS scavenging, and reducing power analyses. In addition, FSGH2 and FSGH4 showed higher angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activity as compared to FSGH1 and FSGH3. Taken together, FSGH2 and FSGH4 showed high antioxidant activity and potent anti-ACE activity. Due to the potential antioxidant and antihypertensive properties of FSGH2 and FSGH4, further research is needed to explore their possible use as natural supplementary raw materials in food and nutraceutical products.

Sargassum spp., a predominant seaweed speciesin Taiwan's coastal waters, exhibits a broad spectrum of bioactivities. In the present study, we investigated four Sargassum species viz., S. crassifolium, S. siliquosum, S. hemiphyllum, and S. hemiphyllum var. chinense for various bioactivities. From the four species, we made eight fucoidan extracts, namely SC, SCH, SS, SSH, SH, SHH, SHC, and SHCH with or without a compressional puffing pretreatment. The compressionalpuffing process increased the extraction yield of fucoidan and decreased levels of impurities (proteins and polyphenols). Among the eight fucoidans, SS (IC50 DPPH 0.46±0.01 mg/mL; IC50 ABTS•+ 0.09±0.00 mg/mL; FRAP value 67.4±0.9 μmol/g extract, vitamin C equivalent) and SHC (IC50 DPPH 0.53±0.17 mg/mL; IC50 ABTS•+ 0.11±0.00 mg/mL; FRAP value 55.1±0.6 μmol/g extract, vitamin C equivalent) displayed the highest antioxidant activity; SS (36.4±10.1% at 5 mg/mL for α-amylase; 96.3±0.2% at 1 mg/mL for α-glucosidase) and SHC (35.0±2.2% at 5 mg/mL for α-amylase; 96.5±0.2% at 1 mg/mL for α-glucosidase) showed the strongest α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities; SH, SHH and SHC had the most potent anti-inflammatory activity; and SHH had a greatest protective effect against damage to pancreatic cells. Hence, SS, SH, SHH, and SHC may be effective health-promoting agents for nutraceutical products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]