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In the present study, the effects of different cadmium (Cd) levels of irrigation water (0, 5, 10 and 20 mg L^-1) on corn plants (foliage) under different irrigation intervals (1, 3, and 7 days) were investigated. Clear Cd toxicity symptoms appeared on the plants at the end of the experiment. The results showed that stem dry weight (DW) followed by transpiration (T) and plant height were the measured plant parameters most sensitive to increasing Cd levels of irrigation water. In addition, Cd reduced water uptake by corn and led to more soil moisture. The results also demonstrated that corn might produce more shoot biomass with Cd application, which should be taken into consideration if no visible symptoms of Cd toxicity and considerable amounts of the metal uptake are present. Cadmium application through irrigation did not show a marked impairment in the nutrient status of the plants. Moreover, accumulation of Cd in the leaves was more than the stems by 24, 56, and 27% at 1, 3, and 7-day irrigation frequencies, respectively. Also, corn stem was found to be more sensitive to Cd than leaf. The results showed that corn might be used for phytoremediation of Cd under optimum moisture conditions and light contamination of the soil. Furthermore, shoot Cd concentration followed an asymptote pattern as a function of soil Cd, which was expressed by a plateau-type model under each irrigation interval.

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Due to the increasing consumption of ready-made foods such as burgers and their popularity among the general population, the aim of the present study is to produce mixed burgers with different percentages of surimi and chicken minced and also, increasing the maintenance time of burgers by adding cumin and thyme essential oils (500 ppm) to burgers. First, surimi gel was produced and burgers formulated with the surimi and chicken minced based on applying the Response Surface Methodology. By analyzing the results of sensory evaluation using RSM that the best formula for burgers was chicken 37% + surimi 63%, then the pH, total volatile basic nitrogen, thiobarbituric acid and peroxide values and some microbiological characteristics were studied on selected burger for the duration of storage 27 days at 2 ⁰C. The results showed that essential oils had a significant effect on the chemical and microbiological parameters in comparison with the control group (without essential oil) throughout the entire period. The use of thyme/cumin essential oils showed the good effect to extend the shelf life of fresh new formulated burgers. So that, in the presence of essential oils, the burgers can be stored for up to 9 days in terms of microbiological and chemical factors, although some of the chemical factors (TBA in all groups and TVN in the presence of essential oils) did not exclude the end of the maintenance period. The results show that optimum burger production with Surimi and chicken minced meat in the presence of essential oils is an appropriate option for the industries that sell their products as fresh meat products.
 

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In this study, the effect of chia seed gum (0.1-0.3%) and albumin (5-15%) on physicochemical properties of barberry powder (stability and density of foam, pH, density of powder, total anthocyanin content, Hygroscopic, water solubility index and Water absorption index) produced by foam-mat drying was evaluated. Results showed the increase of albumin and chia seed gum increased the stability of the foam and the solubility of the powder, while the foam density and hygroscopic of powder decreased. Increasing the concentration of albumin reduced the density and total anthocyanin content of the samples. Increasing the chia seed gum (0.1-0.2%) increased the density of powder, while increasing the chia seed gum (0.2-0.3%) reduced the density of powder and incorporated chia seed gum had no significant effect (P<0.05) on total anthocyanin content. Based on the results, pH of powders produced in the range of 3.35-3.31. The incorporation of albumin to 10%, had no significant effect (P<0.05) on pH, while incorporation of albumin (10 to 15%) significantly increased pH. Also, increasing chia seed gum (0.1-0.3 %) significantly increased the pH of the powders.

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        In this study, Antibacterial activity of garlic essential oil used by disk diffusion method, micro-dilution broth (minimum inhibitory concentration) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) on a number of pathogenic strains (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Listeria innocua and Staphylococcus aureus) was studied in vitro. Chemical compounds of garlic essential oil were identified by gas chromatography. The antioxidant potential, total phenol and flavonoid were determined using radical reduction capacity, Folin–Ciocalteu and aluminum trichloride colorimetric, respectively. The results showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration of garlic essential oil was 128, 128, 32 and 64 mg/ml for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria innocua respectively. By increasing the concentration of essential oil, the diameter of the inhibition zone increased. The highest inhibition zone with 31.70 ± 0.55 mmm diameter was due to Staphylococcus aureus. The results showed that gram-negative bacteria of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most resistant to garlic essential oil. The results of identification of the chemical compounds of garlic essential oil showed that the combination of di-allyl disulfide was 40.3% higher. Total phenol, flavonoids and antioxidant activity of garlic essential oil was 0.33 mg gallic acid in gram, 0.24 mg quercetin in grams and 80% respectively. The results of this study showed that garlic can be used as a potential source for the production of pharmaceutical compounds.

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Recently, the use of chemical and synthetic preservatives for the control of microbial pathogenesis growth has been remarkably decreased. Today, essential oils (EOs) have been considered to be natural preservatives. Fennel is among the aromatic medicinal plant that can be used as a natural preservative. In this study, to investigate the antimicrobial activity of fennel essential oil on some pathogenic microorganisms causing infection and food poisoning (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans) were used disk diffusion agar (Kirby-Bauer), well diffusion agar, minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentration methods. The interaction of fennel essential oil (FEO) with kanamycin antibiotic was investigated. The results disc diffusion agar and well diffusion agar antimicrobial assays showed that S. aureus was the most sensitive bacteria with the highest inhibition zone compared to the other microorganisms. The effects of interaction of FEO with kanamycin antibiotic on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus showed synergistic status. In general, FEO was able to prevent the growth of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans “in vitro”.

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In this study, the effect of incorporating chia seed modified flour(MSF) (0-7.5 %) on moisture content, fat content, total fiber content, antioxidant activity, total phenol content, color, texture and organoleptic characteristics of functional barbari bread was evaluated. The results showed addition of MSF increased the moisture content, oil and total fiber content, total phenol content and antioxidant activity (17.9±0.9 % to 66.2 ± 0.2%) in the samples. While increasing the amount of MSF, the L* value and hardness of the samples was decreased. The organoleptic characteristics of bread containing 2.5% MSF had no significant different (P<0.05) with the control. Increasing the replacement of wheat flour with MSF (2.5 to 7.5%) reduced the acceptability of organoleptic characteristics of bread. Based on the results of the simultaneous thermal analysis (STA), the enthalpy for control was 4119.94 (J/g) and for the bread containing 5% MSF was about 4369.1 (J/g).  SEM results showed that the incorporation of MSF created a more uniform structure with smaller cavities in the bread.

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In this research, carrots were first cut into equal pieces and then subjected to different treatments at different levels. The voltage levels were at 40, 60 and 80 volt in ohmic pretreatment and at 3, 5, and 7 minutes. The parameters studied in the blanching pretreatment included time, with different levels of 5, 10, and 15 minutes. Immediately after pretreatment, samples were dried in microwaves at 360, 600 and 900 watts. Finally, for each case of microwave dried and pretreated samples and their different levels, the energy efficiency values and their lost energy were calculated. According to the results, in the majority of cases, we see that increasing the amount of microwave power increases the energy efficiency, and subsequently, the lost energy decreases, so that the maximum value was 15.8797%. In the study of the effect of voltage in the ohmic pretreatment, a similar result was obtained, with the highest energy efficiency of 15.7061%. Also, in evaluating the effect of time parameter in ohmic pretreatments, it was observed that with increasing pretreatment time, the amount of energy efficiency was also increased and the energy lost was reduced, so that the highest amount of energy efficiency and the lowest amount of energy lost were respectively 15.7409% and 8.2358 MJ were measured.

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In this study, the effect of storage period on some characteristics of synbiotic ultrafiltrated white cheese (SC) as compared with two non-probiotic (NPC) and probiotic cheese (PC) samples were evaluated. SC with optimized formulation as: 0.43 microbial transglutaminase enzyme (U/g protein), 8.24% demineralized whey powder solution (34% T.S. substituted with retentate) and 0.71% inulin was produced. Lactobacillus acidophilus LA5 was used as probiotic bacteria. Cheese samples were evaluated for color indexes, texture profile analysis (hardness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess and chewiness) and total acceptance during a two-month storage period (3, 15,30, and 60 days) under refrigeration conditions. Results of texture profile analysis of cheese samples showed that except for springiness, all texture values of SC sample during the storage intervals were significantly (p<0.05) higher than NPC- and PC- control cheeses. Although SC sample had the higher springiness than other cheeses, it was not significant (p>0.05). The hardness, gumminess and chewiness values of the all cheeses until 30 days of storage were increased and thereafter decreased significantly (p<0.01). In terms of color indexes, SC samples had the higher L* values than other cheeses but no difference in relation to a* and b* parameters were determined. decreasing trend and a decreasing and increasing trend respectively. Furthermore, during the storage period, L^* value of all cheese treatments were meaningfully (p<0.05) decreased. Based on the results of evaluated parameters, SC sample had a higher cheese quality than two control cheeses after two months of cold storage.

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The plant Stachys schtschegleevii is used in the Iranian traditional medicine for the treatment of bacterial infections, rheumatism fever, and inflammatory diseases. In this study, the maceration extraction method with ethanol and water was used to obtain S. schtschegleevii extract, and extraction yield, total phenol content, and antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the obtained extracts were evaluated. The extraction yield of S. schtschegleevii ethanolic extract was higher than that of aqueous extract (8.8±0.27 vs. 6.9±0.33%), and its total phenol content was also higher compared to the aqueous one (55.35±0.28 vs. 49.4±0.62 mg gallic acid/g dried extract). Antioxidant activity based on IC50 showed that the ethanolic extract, due to its higher total phenol content, has the ability to deactive and neutralize free radicals more efficiently in comparison to the aqueous extract. Antimicrobial results (disk diffusion agar, minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration) indicated that bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria innocua, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were more sensitive to the ethanolic extract, and at the same concentration of ethanolic and aqueous extracts, gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria innocua) had higher sensitivity than the gram-negative ones (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Thus, S. schtschegleevii extract rich in phenolic compounds with appreciable antimicrobial and antioxidant activity could be used as an ingredient to increase nutritional value and shelf-life of food products.

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This study was aimed to fabricate a novel active edible coating with remarkable antioxidant and antimicrobial activity to ameliorate the beef shelf-life. For this purpose, the essential oil of Thymus vulgaris was firstly extracted by hydrodistillation method and its in-vitro antioxidant and antibacterial properties were then evaluated. The essential oil had a potentially high antioxidant activity and it was able to reduce the growth of bacteria Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The essential oil was then mixed with Plantago lanceolata seed mucilage to fabricate an active edible coating. The edible coating was used to coat beef and increase its shelf-life. The use of edible coating containing different concentration of essential oil significantly (p<0.05) inhibit the fat oxidation extent (primary and secondary products) and increase in total viable count, psychrotrophic bacteria, and coliforms in beef samples, and improved its shelf-life up to 6-day storage at refrigeration condition. In general, the T. vulgaris essential oil-loaded P. lanceolate seed mucilage-based edible coating could be used to control the lipid oxidation and microbial growth, as well as, to improve the shelf-life of meat products or other food products.

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In this investigation, the Cordia myxa fruit mucilage (CMFM) was extracted by water to seed ratio 1:6, extraction temperature 58 ᵒC, and pH 4. After sterilization of extracted mucilage, its antibacterial activity was assessed on pathogenic bacteria including Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria innocua, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis under laboratory conditions. Antimicrobial potential of mucilage, at the different CMFM levels: 37.5, 75, 150 and 300 mg/ml was evaluated using disk diffusion agar and well diffusion agar methods. Furthermore, the interaction of CMFM with gentamicin and chloramphenicol antibiotics was assessed. Results shown that by increasing the CMFM concentrations, the inhibition zone diameter around the discs were noticeably increased. In the disk diffusion agar method, the highest inhibition zone diameter was observed at the concentration of 300 mg/ml CMFM for Staphylococcus epidermidis with 11.10 mm. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria innocua, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis was 64, 64, 16, 32, 128, 64, 256 and 64 mg/ml, respectively. Results shown that the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of CMFM for the all tested bacterial strains was greater than their MIC.

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Assessing factor affecting Iranian Pistachio export due to comparative advantage and share of Iran in international market of this crop is very important. In recent years, pistachio exports has faced many challenges including limitation of aflatoxin maximum of importing countries. In the present study, factors affecting on Pistachio export with emphasis on the role of aflatoxins were evaluated by gravity model. For obtained this goal, the major importing countries pistachio were determined and panel data from the years 1990-2017 were used. The results of gravity model estimation showed that the limitation of aflatoxin, GDP, population and border for selected importing countries has significant positive effect on the export of Iran Pistachio. The result suggested that Iran to maintain it is share in the Pistachio global market, pistachio with high quality and lesser aflatoxin have to be product, as well as, sanitation laws are approved based on international laws could be very useful.

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Due to the extensive use of chemical preservatives to increase the shelf life of foods and the prevalence of colorectal cancer, the demand for natural and safe pharmaceuticals and preservatives has increased. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and cytotoxic potentials of Foeniculum vulgare essential oil, which has vast applications in the traditional medicine. In this study, the essential oil of F. vulgare was extracted by hydrodistillation method and its chemical constituents were identified quantitatively and tentatively using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The total phenol and flavonoid contents of the essential oil and its antioxidant activity (DPPH and ABTS free radicals scavenging activity and β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching inhibition) were also investigated. The cytotoxic effect of F. vulgare essential oil was evaluated on colon cancer cell lines (HT29) using MTT assay. Anethole (75.61%) was the main chemical compound of F. vulgare essential oil and its absorption peaks were appeared at 1244 and 840 cm^-1. The total phenol and flavonoid contents of F. vulgare essential oil were 12.87 mg GAE/g and 39.67 mg QE/g, respectively. The antioxidant capacity of the essential oil, based on DPPH radical scavenging activity, ABTS radical scavenging activity, and β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching inhibition, were 26.68, 39.57, and 32.38%, respectively. The cytotoxic effect of the essential oil on the colon cancer cells was depended on its concentration. The F. vulgare essential oil could be used as a natural compound to inhibit the oxidation of foods and the prevalence of colorectal cancers.

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Clove and Fennel have been widely used in traditional medicine for treatment of diseases. Regarding the existence of the active biological compounds in these plants, it seems that these plants have considerable antibacterial effects.In this experimental study, the Kirby–Bauer, the dilution method in the liquid medium and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were used to evaluate and compare the antibacterial effects of the Clove and Fennel essential oils. The interactions were determined by calculating fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC), according to the European Committee for antimicrobial susceptibility testing protocol. The checkerboard method was performed using 96-well microtiter plates. The results showed that Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most sensitive strain to Clove and Fennel essential oils. The effects of interaction of Clove and Fennel essential oils with chloramphenicol antibiotic on all bacteria showed synergistic status (except for the fennel essential oil on Bacillus cereus). Calculation of fractional inhibitory concentration indicated that there was no interaction between the Clove and Fennel essential oils on Salmonella typhi, Enterobacter aerogenes and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Regarding the checkerboard data, one FICIs (>0.5 to 1) indicated the additive effect (Bacillus cereus). Bacillus cereus is one of the most important bacteria that causing food poisoning, it is possible to use a combination of Fennel and Clove essential oils as a natural preservative in the food industry.

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Stachys byzantina belongs to Lamiaceae family. Regarding to the biologically active compounds and traditional use of the Stachys byzantina for treatment of wounds and a cold, it seems that this plant has significant antibacterial effects. The aim of this study was evaluation of antibacterial effect of ethanolic extract of Stachys byzantina against Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. The inhibition zone diameter of the Stachys byzantina extract on Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus was identified on a concentration of 25, 50, and 75 mg/mL, respectively, by Cylinder-plate and Kirby-Bauer methods. Moreover, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (agar dilution and micro-well dilution) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the pathogenic microorganisms were determined in this study. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test. The highest and lowest inhibition zone with a diameter of 17.90 and 13.10 mm at a concentration of 75 mg/mL were observed for Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacter aerogenes bacteria, respectively (Cylinder-plate method). The MIC of Stachys byzantina extract for Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus was 100, 50, 25 and 12.5 mg/mL respectively (agar dilution). The ethanolic extract of Stachys byzantina “in vitro” has a significant antibacterial effect on Enterobacter aerogenes and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative bacteria) and Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive bacteria).

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 Medicinal plants have been used for its medicinal attributes from several thousand years ago. Eucalyptus is one of these plants which the antimicrobial effects has long been used to treat a cold and influenza in most parts of the world. The aim of this experimental study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of Eucalyptus globulus essential oil (EGEO) in 4 ways: disc diffusion agar, well diffusion agar, microdilution broth and minimum bactericidal concentration on a number of strains pathogens and the cause of food spoilage in vitro. The sensitivity profile of microorganisms against the EGEO (disc diffusion agar) is as follows form the most resistant to the most sensitive: Salmonella typhi > Escherichia coli > Pseudomonas aeruginosa > Bacillus subtilis > Streptococcus pyogenes > Staphylococcus aureus. The mean inhibition zone in well diffusion agar was equal to 18.62 mm against Gram-positive bacteria. The mean inhibition zone in well diffusion agar was equal to 11.93 mm against Gram-negative bacteria. The results showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration of EGEO for Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus was 128, 64, 64, 32, 16 and 8 mg/ml respectively. The minimum bactericidal concentration for microorganisms was 512, 256, 128, 128, 32 and 16 mg/ml respectively. It is recommended that additional tests be performed to use EGEO for use as a natural preservative in the food and pharmaceutical industry.

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Hyssopus officinalis is a belongs to Lamiaceae family and a herb widely growing in Iran .The aim of this experimental study was to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of Hyssopus officinalis extract in 4 ways: disc diffusion agar, well diffusion agar, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) on some microorganism pathogen “in vitro”. The results showed that with increasing the concentration of Hyssopus officinalis extract, the inhibition zone diameter increased. The highest inhibition zone with a diameter of 19.70 mm was observed at a concentration of 80 mg/ml for Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. At a concentration of 80 mg/ml, the ethanolic extract of Hyssopus officinalis showed the lowest inhibition zone observed with a diameter of 13.30 for Escherichia coli. The results showed that the MIC of Hyssopus officinalis extract for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria innocua was 64, 64, 8 and 16mg/ml respectively. The MBC for 128, 128, 32 and 64 mg/ml respectively. The data obtained in this study confirmed that Hyssopus officinalis extract inhibit growth some microorganism pathogen “in vitro”.

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Given the rise in the infectious diseases caused by pathogens, identification of medicinal plants and purification of their nutraceuticals can be useful in treating such diseases. In this experimental study, the antimicrobial activity of Dezfuli orange peel essential oil was examined on 3 Gram-negative strains (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhi) and 5 Gram-positive strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Listeria innocua) through agar disc diffusion, agar well diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration (microdilution broth) and minimum bactericidal concentration. Furthermore, the interactions between the essential oil and chloramphenicol, gentamycin and tetracycline were investigated. The results of disc diffusion showed that the longest and shortest diameters of the growth inhibition zone belonged to B. cereus (21.20 mm) and L. innocua (13.20 mm) respectively. In the agar diffusion test, S. aureus and E. coli respectively had the longest (17.30 mm) and shortest (11.10 mm) diameters of the inhibition zone. The minimum inhibitory concentration was equal to 25, 400, 50, 12.5, 25, 25, 400 and 12.5 mg/ml for E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. typhi, S. aureus, B. cereus, B. subtilis, S. epidermidis and L. innocua respectively. The minimum bactericidal concentration of the essential oil was greater than 400 mg/ ml for all the strains.

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Ice cream is a unique food product that is very popular in Iran and around the world. As a result of much research into converting this nutrient food into a useful product, the addition of probiotic bacteria, fat reduction, dry matter enhancement and improved health benefits have been done. Probiotics ice cream contains live microbial cells that are well-suited to the distribution of probiotics to consumers. In this study, prebiotic ice cream containing Lactobacillus fermentum strain 4-17 and inulin was prepared at 0, 2.5 and 5% levels. Microbial tests, dry matter measurement, volume increase, pH and acidity determination, melting rate and tissue parameters were evaluated. Evaluation of probiotic bacterial growth over 90 days of survival in different samples showed that the survival rate of this strain in the presence of 5% inulin was about two logarithmic units higher than that produced with 2.5% inulin and about 5 logarithmic units higher than the sample. It was in control. The pH range was 6.8-8.8, 19 to 25 degrees acidity, dry matter was 61.3 to 36.14% and volume increase was 34.38- 15.85%. Also due to the increase in apparent viscosity and decrease in melting rate (from 1.89 to 0.74 g/min), improvement in tissue properties (55% increase in hardness, 69% decrease in adhesion and 29% increase in cohesion) as well as increased product desirability during storage. At 95% confidence level, inulin can be used as an alternative to fat and tissue optimizer.

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In this study, the essential oil of medicinal plant Satureja khuzestanica was extracted using hydrodistillation method and its total phenol and flavonoids contents, antioxidant property (based on DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging and beta-carotene/linoleic acid assays) and antifungal activity against fungi species causing strawberry rot and mold (Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, and Rhizopus stolonifer) were investigated. Based on the results of the total phenol and flavonoid contents of the essential oil were 87.23 mg GAE/g and 69.33 mg QE/g, respectively. The antioxidant activity of the essential oil, based on the DPPH radical scavenging, ABTS radical scavenging, and beta-carotene/linoleic acid assays, were 63.29, 58.30 and 51.19%, respectively. The antifungal activity of the essential oil (based on disk diffusion agar, well diffusion agar, and minimum inhibitory/fungicidal concentration) showed that B. cinerea was the most resistant and A. niger was the most sensitive fungal species to the essential oil. The minimum inhibitory concentration for Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, and Rhizopus stolonifer was 50, 100 and 50 mg/mL, respectively. The minimum fungicidal concentration for Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, and Rhizopus stolonifer was 200, 400 and 200 mg/mL, respectively.