The oil yield and physiochemical properties of Balanites aegyptiaca oil were investigated .The aim is to seek and established another seed oil as substitute to groundnut oil using local optimization approach as the locals. Balanites fruits were source from different locations within Yobe State, Nigeria. Fruits collected were crushed and the kernel extracted and dried. The kernels were subjected to three (3) different treatments of toasting at (50-70) 0c only for 20 -25 minutes, boiling at (100. 0c for 25-30minutes) and toasting (45-50. 0c for20-25 minutes) and the third stage of treatments as soaking overnight at ambient temperature (34-35) 0c and toasting as well at (45-50 oc.for 20-25 minute). Toasted groundnut seeds were used as the fourth treatment and served as the control. The oil from the milled flour was mechanically expelled using centrifugal screw which is semi-automated for oil expelling from entrapped increase surface area. The oil yields from the roasted, boiled and soaked Balanites kernels were 50%, 26% and 21% crude oil yield respectively while the control (groundnut seed oil) had 23%. Physiochemical analysis of the oil samples from the varied process treatments of Balanites kernel revealed the moisture content of 0.05–0.059%, acid value of 4.44mg/KOH/g, saponfication value of 193.54 –198.81mg/KOH/g, iodine values of 64 – 80wijis, peroxide value of 4.40 – 61.20meq/kg, unsaponifiable matter of 0.0044 – 0.0070mg/KOH/g, free fatty acid of 1.085 – 4.22mgKOH/g, viscosity of 45 – 48.0mpa/s and refractive index of 1.502 – 1.8 at 360C. The results revealed that Balanites seed when boiled and soaked had better physiochemical properties than groundnut oil, however with low oil yield. This could provide good quality oil to food, pharmaceutical and for bioenergy generation industry. Keyword; Balanites aegyptiaca, Kernels, oil yield, physiochemical properties

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO, EC 1.14.18.1) is the main enzyme responsible for enzymatic browning, a natural process which produces deterioration of fruits and vegetables. One alternative to prevent this undesirable process is to inhibit the catalytic activity of PPO by encapsulating enzyme’s substrates in cyclodextrins (CD). In this article the effect of a Thiol-CD on PPO from Red Delicious apple was studied, demonstrating that this compound is a powerful tool for controlling oxidative processes in food. Thiol-CD could encapsulate the polyphenols, natural substrates of the enzyme, by means of the cyclodextrin hydrophobic internal cavity. Simultaneously, through the thiol group, it could inactivate the PPO by reducing the copper ions from the active site of the enzyme. Moreover, thiol moieties could decrease the browning by reducing the quinones generated by oxidative processes. The isolation and purification of PPO from apple was performed in order to study those effects, different polyphenols, chlorogenic acid (CA) and 4-methylcatechol (4-MC), were assayed as enzymatic substrates. Both ß-CD and Thiol-CD exhibited better enzyme inhibition value for CA than for 4-MC. Moreover, Thiol-CD showed an extraordinary performance compared with ß-CD. When CA 10 mM was used, 5 mM ß-CD gave 11 % PPO inhibition, meanwhile nearly 100 times less concentration of Thiol-CD (45 µM) gave 100 % of enzyme inhibition. Keywords Antibrowning agents, enzymatic browning, oxidative processes in food.

Pre-analytical sampling conditions play an important role for the correct determination of blood concentrations of biomarkers and drugs in the clinical environment. In the context of daily clinical routine and clinical studies, oxidative stability in vitro should be carefully considered. Herein we report differences in vitamin C levels under commonly used handling and storage conditions and we propose a simple and efficient sampling protocol. Plasma and serum samples were analyzed by HPLC-UV and different handling-, time- and storage conditions were investigated in detail. Our findings show that protection from oxidation significantly prevented degradation under different storage conditions. The immediate separation of stabilized plasma from blood cells showed a protective effect on vitamin C stability. In addition, long-term storage of vitamin C was positively influenced by addition of protective agents, assuring stability up to six months. Oxidative degradation could affect not only vitamin C but also other small molecule metabolites and should therefore be intensively evaluated before implementation in daily clinical routine as well as in metabolomics studies.

Brazilian laws established regulatory limits in lettuce only to thermotolerant coliforms (fecal coliforms) and coagulase-positive Staphylococci of 102 MPN g-1 and 103 CFU g-1 respectively. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare contamination of lettuce from conventional and organic cultivation, commercialized at fairs in south of Brazil, by the fecal coliforms, coagulase-positive Staphylococci, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes. Eighty samples of traditionally and organically produced lettuce each were collected. The contaminated samples percent were 35 and 71.25, for fecal coliforms, 35 and 32,5 for coagulase-positive Staphylococci, 0 and 5 for Salmonella spp., 2.5 and 2.5 for Listeria monocytogenes, in conventional lettuce and organic lettuce, respectively. Results indicated that 35% of the samples of conventionally produced lettuce and 71.25% of the samples of organically produced one presented fecal coliform count above regulatory limits. Coagulase-positive Staphylococci counts above regulatory limits were verified in 28 and 26 samples from the conventional and organic agriculture, respectively. Salmonella spp. was present in 5% of organically produced samples and L. monocytogenes in 2.5% of lettuce samples from both types of agricultures. Obtained results highlight the importance of good practices from cultivation to commercialization to improve the hygienic-sanitary quality of vegetables. Keywords: Vegetables, microorganisms, hygienic-sanitary quality