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To understand the effects of salinity stress on four different growth stages of sorghum, a greenhouse experiment with 10 treatments, considering all possible combinations of salinity stress and salt- free periods was carried out. The four growth stages for stress application included: emergence until growing point differentiation, growing point differentiation until half bloom, half bloom until soft dough, and soft dough until physiological maturity. Treatments were arranged based on randomized complete block design with 3 replications at the Research Greenhouse of theFerdowsiUniversityofMashhadin 2010-2011. Salinity stress during early growth and panicle differentiation declined the plant height and tiller number. The highest biological yield was obtained from the control treatment, but it was the lowest when plants were salinized throughout the growing season. When plants were stress-free at 2-3 early stages and then subjected to salt stress, reductions in total dry matter were remarkably less than those experienced when salinity was imposed in later growth stages, especially if salinity occurred at a late individual stage. Continuation of salt stress from emergence to both blooming and soft dough stages led to remarkably adverse effects on grain yield. The effect of salinity appears to be most effective on yield components that are growing or developing at the time the salt stress is imposed. The critical period of salinity stress for biological yield was more distinct than that of the grain yield. This indicates that sorghum is not sensitive to salinity at seed setting and seed filling periods.

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Some lactic acid bacteria (LAB), in particular proteolytic strains, in raw milk have useful technological properties and play important role in developing desired characteristics in the final products. However, they are mostly lost during heating and technological processes. Therefore, it would be important to be isolated and maintained for further applications as pure adjunct cultures. In this study, after selective isolation of LAB from raw cow’s, ewe’s and goat’s milks on MRS agar and M17 agar, Gram-positive catalase-negative were selected and maintained as pure cultures. Then, the isolates were screened according to their proteolytic activities on skim milk agar (well-diffusion method). The potent Gram-positive, catalase-negative proteolytic strains were identified via 16S rDNA gene sequencing and antibiotic resistance (10 antibiotic agents, disc-diffusion method) and hemolytic activities (on blood agar containing 5% sheep blood) were evaluated. BLAST analysis resulted in identification of Lactobacillus delbruekii (five isolates), L. delbruekii subsp. bulgaricus, L. fermentum, L. reuteri, L. curvatus, Lactococcus lactis subsp. Lactis, and Streptococcus lutetiensis. L. lactis subsp. Lactis obtained from cow milk showed the highest proteolytic activity as a 23-mm halo zone was observed on skim milk agar plate after 48 h incubation at 37 °C. In case of hemolysin production, only Lactobacillus fermentum showed α-hemolytic activity and the others showed no activities. All the identified isolates were sensitive to tetracycline, ampicillin, erythromycin, vancomycin and gentamycin with the exception of L. reuteri and lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis that found to be resistant to vancomycin and gentamycin, respectively. About penicillin, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, kanamycin and gent streptomycin, the results were varied. Our results verified diversity of wild proteolytic LAB strains in raw milk, as reported before. Although LAB mainly belong to the GRAS list, strains isolated from raw milk should be re-checked for their safety-related properties.

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Apple is one of the most valuable fruits which is produced and consumed throughout Iran. Fruit processing especially production of dried slices can be considered as a way to increase the value of apples and to prevent wastes. Producing apple slices with proper color and texture has always been one of the goals of producers in this field. In recent years, use of plant extracts has been the interest of many researchers in order to increase the shelf-life of agricultural products. In this study, the effect of grape pomace extracts (0، 100، 200، 300 and 400 ppm) on the phenolic content, antioxidant activity and color of apple slices dried at 47°C in Industrial dryer, 50°C and 60°C in oven were investigated. The results showed, the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity (85.97%), Fe reducing power (1.87 absorbance at wavelength of 700 nm) and phenolic content (245/87 mg of gallic acid equivalents in 100 g of dry matter) were achieved using 400 ppm concentration of grape pomace extracts. Also, the highest sensory score of dried apple slices were achieved at 300 ppm concentration of grape pomace extracts. In general, the results of this study indicated that the effect of Grape pomace extracts on the quality of apple dried slices was significantly positive. Concentration of 300 ppm of grape pulp extract has positive effect on the amount of phenolic complex and antioxidant properties of apple slices and its does not affect its taste.

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Bioactive peptides are released by proteolytic enzymes of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) during fermentation process which some have antioxidant activity according to their amino acids sequences. The aim of this study was to investigate the proteolytic activity of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Lactobacillus paracasei in drinking dessert mix and to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of this synbiotic drinking dessert in two types of fermented and low-lactose non-fermented. Proteolytic activity of probiotic bacteria was evaluated using the OPA indicator for amino acid residues by optical absorbance. The antioxidant activity also evaluated by optical absorbance method according to DPPH radical scavenging activity. In fermented sample, proteolytic activity of L. paracasei during fermentation time was not significant (P < 0.05), but L. rhamnosus GG had the highest proteolytic activity after 17 h of incubation. During storage time, the highest proteolytic activity for L. paracasei was in 7 and 4 days after storage (P < 0.05) and for L. rhamnosus GG was in the first day of storage. In non-fermented sample the most activity of L. paracasei was related to the first day of storage (0.5). But L. rhamnosus GG proteolytic activity was much less (0.12) and was related to the second day. Antioxidant activity of fermented dessert was not significant which shows that these two probiotic bacteria has no significant antioxidant activity. Comparing the fermented sample and non-fermented drinking dessert, the non-fermented one exhibited higher antioxidant activity due to containing cocoa powder which has antioxidant component. 

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 Today, there is a great desire to consume superfoods. Among them, foods and drinks containing probiotics and prebiotic compounds are also important. Probiotics are known as live microorganisms that balance the host's microbial flora in sufficient quantities. Most probiotic microorganisms are lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Streptococcus lactis. Inulin is a sugar compound (of the oligosaccharide type) and is indigestible or with little digestibility, it is soluble in water and has prebiotic properties, and as a source of carbon or energy, it selectively causes the growth or activity of probiotics. Cocoa milk is one of the flavored milks and high amounts of sugar are used in its formulation. Using other sweeteners as a substitute can lower the amount of calories consumed by the consumer and prevent some diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Stevia is a di-terpene glycoside, which is 300 times sweeter than sugar. In this research, stevia was used as a substitute for regular sugar and inulin as a prebiotic in the production of synbiotic cocoa milk with Lactobacillus plantarum, and 6 samples were prepared and coded; Samples include T1 (58 of stevia); T2: (%4 of stevia ); T3: (%8of inulin + %8 of sugar); T4: (%4 of inulin +%8 of sugar); T5: (%4 of stevia + %4 of inulin + 120 grams of sugar); T6: (%8 of sugar, control sample) per amount of milk consumed (3 liters of milk).The viability of probiotics, pH, acidity, Brix, viscosity, sedimentation rate and sensory evaluations of the samples were investigated on the first, third and seventh day of production. According to the results obtained from the research, samples containing inulin,especially T5 and T4 samples, had more live probiotics after 3 and 7 days of storage ....

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Three different sources of Iranian wild almond (Amygdalus scoparia from Beyza, Fars Province, A. scoparia from Borazjan, Bushehr Province, and A. hausknechtii from Firouzabad, Fars Province) were evaluated for their amino acid compositions and protein nutritive quality attributes. Hydrophobic and acidic amino acids were the most abundant amino acids found in the seed protein. When compared to the (FAO/WHO)-recommended essential amino acid pattern for an adult, lysine, sulphur amino acids (methionine+cysteine) and histidine are considered the first, the second, and the third limiting amino acids, respectively, in the protein obtained from the wild almond sources. Also, the protein and energy values of the studied wild almonds were lower than those of the domestic almond. Wild almonds were also found to be rich sources of minerals; particularly calcium, zinc, and phosphorous. Wild almonds also had higher levels of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities than those of the domestic almond. Furthermore, amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside mainly found in the fruit and seeds of Rosacea family, was obtained at significantly higher levels in the wild species (6.5-7.2%, wet basis) when compared to that in the studied domestic almond (0.9%, w/w). Overall, the results of this study show that there is a great potential for the application of wild almonds in the food industry.
 

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Protein hydrolysate is a valuable source of bioactive peptides. The production of protein hydrolysate through fermentation is an environmentally friendly approach preferred over enzymatic and chemical hydrolysis in most cases. This research employed Bacillus species, including Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus licheniformis, and Bacillus subtilis, to hydrolyze sesame meal protein. The investigated tests included measuring the concentration of peptides by the OPA method, DPPH radical inhibition, and iron ion reducing power, total antioxidant activity, and iron ion chelating activity. The concentration of peptides was evaluated after 24 h for Bacillus species. The lowest peptide concentration (0.656 mg/mL) was associated with the fermented treatment by B. licheniformis, while the highest value (1.38 mg/mL) was observed for the hydrolyzed treatment with B. subtilis. A significant difference (p<0.05) was observed among all the treatments. Results of DPPH radical inhibition showed the highest inhibition was associated with the samples hydrolyzed by B. coagulans (76.6%), and the lowest value was attributed to the hydrolysate by B. licheniformis (57.36%). The sample fermented with B. pumilus exhibited higher reducing power (0.992 absorbance at 700 nm) with a significant difference (p<0.05) observed between the treatments. The highest chelating activity (85.6%) was observed in the sample fermented with B. subtilis. The total antioxidant activity demonstrated that the protein hydrolysate with fermentation by B. coagulans had the highest absorbance value at 695 nm with a significant difference between the treatments (p<0.05). In conclusion, the fermentation of sesame meal protein by Bacillus species resulted in the production of protein hydrolysate with substantial antioxidant activity, positioning it as a promising source for inclusion in food formulations.

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Ready-to-feed liquid infant formula  (LIF) is used for preterm infants when human milk is unavailable. However, sterilization of liquid infant milk using ultra-high temperature  (UHT) treatment leads to the formation of Maillard reaction products  (MRPs), which may negatively impact the immune system and kidney development. In this study, infant liquid milk, after being prepared at the Pegah Tehran pilot plant, was subjected to UHT treatment  (137°C for 3 seconds). The color indices, nutritional content, and initial Maillard reaction products were examined before and after the UHT process. The findings revealed that there were significant differences in the numerical values of L*, a*, and b* indices before and after thermal processing  (p<0.05). The available lysine content before and after UHT treatment was 2.30±0.23 and 1.99±0.05 % in dry matter, respectively  (13.48% reduction). The amount of Furosine  (early-stage indicator) before and after UHT treatment was reported as 60.64±0.91 and 178.57±1.51 mg per 100 grams of protein, respectively. Vitamin C levels, another nutritional index, decreased during the UHT process  (before and after UHT treatment were 147.15±0.49 and 128.29±1.65 mg per kilogram, respectively). Overall, while UHT treatment has benefits for food safety, it significantly reduces the nutritional value of infant liquid milk through Maillard reaction products.

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Application of plant extracts in the formulation of sourdough can improve sensory characteristics and shelf-life of the produced bread. In the present study, effects of combined application of fermented sprouted wheat and garlic extract in the formulation of traditional sourdough containing yoghurt and vinegar were investigated on the quality characteristics of loaf wheat bread. Based on the results of texture analysis, among the produced breads the lowest crumb hardness was observed in the sample containing fermented sprouted wheat along with garlic extract (2.94 N), which was significantly (p<0.05) lower than those of the control sample. In addition, combined application of fermentation and sprouting increased the specific volume and reduced the gumminess of the product. Moreover, although the lowest surface growth of Aspergillus flavus was observed on breads containing yoghurt-vinegar and also garlic extract alone, there was no significant difference between the fungal growth rate on the sample containing fermented sprouted wheat along with garlic extract and bread containing calcium propionate. Bread containing fermented sprouted wheat and control sample had no significant difference in terms of overall acceptability. Accordingly, sprouted wheat sourdough containing garlic extract can be used as a biological preservative to improve the quality characteristics and shelf-life of wheat bread.
 

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