Development of methods for determining free fatty acid contents in red colored oils

Food Science and Biotechnology - Buah merah oil and red palm oil are red colored and unrefined edible oils. Because of this color characteristic, measuring acid value by titration method can be...     

Properties and applications of β‐glycosidase from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron that specifically hydrolyses isoflavone glycosides

To modify the glycan part of glycosides, the gene encoding β‐glycosidase was cloned from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron VPI‐5482. The cloned gene, bt_1780, was expressed in Escherichia coli MC1061 and the expressed enzyme was purified using Ni‐NTA affinity chromatography. The purified enzyme, BTBG, showed optimal activity at 50 °C and pH 5.5. Interestingly, this enzyme did not have any hydrolysing activity on ordinary β‐linkage–containing substrates such as xylobiose, lactose and cello‐oligosaccharide, but specifically hydrolysed isoflavone glycosides such as daidzin, genistin and glycitin. Compared to a commercial beta glucosidase, BTBG selectively hydrolysed isoflavone glycosides in soybean extract mixture solution. These results suggest that BTBG may be a specialized enzyme for the hydrolysis of glycosides and that the substrate specificity of BTBG is applicable for the bioconversion of isoflavone glycosides in the food industry.     

Bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities of the Korean lotus leaf (Nelumbo nucifera) condiment: volatile and nonvolatile metabolite profiling during fermentation

Recent studies have shown that lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) leaf has various pharmacological effects. However, there have been no scientific investigations into these leaves as a fermented crude liquid. This study compared the in vitro antioxidant capacity of lotus leaf‐fermented broth (LLFB) with that of 57° Brix sugar broth (SB) as a control over a period of 6 months based on 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, ferric ion reducing power, superoxide dismutase‐like activity, tyrosinase inhibition and nitrite scavenging activity. The dominant species during fermentation process were Leuconostoc lactis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae for LLFB. A total of thirty‐six metabolites such as alkaloids, fatty acids, organic acids, phenolics, sugar and sugar derivatives, ethyl esters and monoterpenoids differed between SB and LLFB using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Meanwhile, nine volatile compounds in LLFB contributed pleasant, slightly sweetish and fruity odour of condiment and sensory evaluation score of 4.06 ± 1.52 in the proportion of 1:9 LLFB/water.     

Compensation paradox: the influence of monetary rewards on user behaviour

Many e-commerce companies collect users’ personal data for marketing purposes despite privacy concerns. Information-collecting companies often offer a monetary reward to users to alleviate privacy concerns and ease the collection of personal information. This study focused on the negative effects of monetary rewards on both information privacy concerns (IPC) and information disclosure. A survey approach was used to collect data and 370 final responses were analysed using a two-way analysis of variance and a binomial logistic regression model. The results show that monetary rewards increase IPC when an information-collecting company requires sensitive information. Additional results indicate that building trust is a more effective way of collecting personal data. This study identifies how organisations can best execute information-collection activities and contributes additional insights for academia and practitioners.     

离子液体水热法辅助合成稀土Ce掺杂ZnO纳米材料的制备及其应用研究

以1-甲基咪唑和氯代正丁烷为原料,合成1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑氯盐离子液体;以醋酸锌[Zn(Ac)2]、硫酸锌(ZnSO4)和氯化锌(ZnCl2)为锌源,在1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑氯盐离子液体和丙氨酸体系中与硝酸铈反应,经水热合成法制备得到Ce掺杂的纳米ZnO。采用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、紫外-可见光吸收光谱(UV-Vis)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、X射线光电子能谱分析(XPS)和红外光谱(FT-IR)对产品进行表征。以亚甲基蓝(MB)为目标降解物,采用UV-Vis检测,考察了Ce掺杂的纳米ZnO的光催化活性。研究表明,焙烧温度对光催化的晶体结构和光催化活性产生较大的影响;2%Ce/ZnO、焙烧温度为500℃、催化时间为30 min、亚甲基蓝用量0.05 g、pH值为10时降解率可达99.5%以上。