Moisture Adsorption Isotherms of Watermelon Seed and Kernels

The moisture adsorption isotherms of watermelon seeds and kernels from Citrullus lanatus Cv Mateera and Citrullus vulgaris Cv Sugar baby were obtained using standard static method with saturated salt solutions over a range of water activities from 0.113 to 0.92 at 20-60°C. The adsorption capacity of seeds decreased with the increase in temperature at constant water activity. Sorption models were used to explain the adsorption behavior involving water activity and moisture content (Type I) and also temperature (Type II). Oswin's models gave best fit among Type I with coefficient of determination of 0.953-0.995, standard error of 0.031-0.0571, mean relative error of 0.071-0.152, and scattered residual plots. Modified Oswin was the best fit model among Type II for the seeds and kernels of both the cultivars with coefficient of determination of 0.997-0.999, standard error of 0.151-0.255, mean relative error of 0.018-0.244, and scattered residual plots. The net isoelectric heat of adsorption, estimated from Clausius-Clapeyron decreased from about 27.0 to 0.5 kJ/mol in kernels and 18.0 to 0.5 kJ/mol in seeds of both the cultivars as the moisture content increased from 5 to 25% (dry basis).     

Moisture Adsorption Isotherms of Watermelon Seed and Kernels

The moisture adsorption isotherms of watermelon seeds and kernels from Citrullus lanatus Cv Mateera and Citrullus vulgaris Cv Sugar baby were obtained using standard static method with saturated salt solutions over a range of water activities from 0.113 to 0.92 at 20–60°C. The adsorption capacity of seeds decreased with the increase in temperature at constant water activity. Sorption models were used to explain the adsorption behavior involving water activity and moisture content (Type I) and also temperature (Type II). Oswin's models gave best fit among Type I with coefficient of determination of 0.953–0.995, standard error of 0.031–0.0571, mean relative error of 0.071–0.152, and scattered residual plots. Modified Oswin was the best fit model among Type II for the seeds and kernels of both the cultivars with coefficient of determination of 0.997–0.999, standard error of 0.151–0.255, mean relative error of 0.018–0.244, and scattered residual plots. The net isoelectric heat of adsorption, estimated from Clausius-Clapeyron decreased from about 27.0 to 0.5 kJ/mol in kernels and 18.0 to 0.5 kJ/mol in seeds of both the cultivars as the moisture content increased from 5 to 25% (dry basis).     

Influence of Temperature on the Fatty Acid Composition of the Oil From Sunflower Genotypes Grown in Tropical Regions

The influence of temperature on the fatty acid composition of the oils from conventional and high oleic sunflower genotypes grown in tropical regions was evaluated under various environmental conditions in Brazil (from 0° S to 23° S). The amounts of the oleic, linoleic, palmitic and stearic fatty acids from the sunflower oil were determined using gas chromatography (GC). The environment exhibited little influence on the amounts of oleic and linoleic fatty acids in high oleic genotypes of sunflower. In conventional genotypes, there was broad variation in the average amounts of these two fatty acids, mainly as a function of the minimum temperature. Depending on the temperature, especially during the maturation of the seeds, the amount of oleic acid in the oil of conventional sunflower genotypes could exceed 70 %. Higher temperatures led to average increases of up to 35 % for this fatty acid. Although the minimum temperature had the strongest effect on the fatty acid composition, locations at the same latitude with different minimum temperatures displayed similar values for both oleic acid and linoleic acid. Furthermore, minimum temperature had little influence on the amounts of palmitic and stearic fatty acids in the oil.     

Clustering Analysis,Structure Fingerprint Analysis,and Quantum Chemical Calculations of Compounds from Essential Oils of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) Receptacles

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is an appropriate crop for current new patterns of green agriculture, so it is important to change sunflower receptacles from waste to useful resource. However, there is limited knowledge on the functions of compounds from the essential oils of sunflower receptacles. In this study, a new method was created for chemical space network analysis and classification of small samples, and applied to 104 compounds. Here, t-SNE (t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding) dimensions were used to reduce coordinates as node locations and edge connections of chemical space networks, respectively, and molecules were grouped according to whether the edges were connected and the proximity of the node coordinates. Through detailed analysis of the structural characteristics and fingerprints of each classified group, our classification method attained good accuracy. Targets were then identified using reverse docking methods, and the active centers of the same types of compounds were determined by quantum chemical calculation. The results indicated that these compounds can be divided into nine groups, according to their mean within-group similarity (MWGS) values. The three families with the most members, i.e., the d-limonene group (18), α-pinene group (10), and γ-maaliene group (nine members) determined the protein targets, using PharmMapper. Structure fingerprint analysis was employed to predict the binding mode of the ligands of four families of the protein targets. Thence, quantum chemical calculations were applied to the active group of the representative compounds of the four families. This study provides further scientific information to support the use of sunflower receptacles.     

Nutritional and Stability Characteristics of High Oleic Sunflower Seed Oil

High Oleic Sunflower Seed Oil is a monounsaturated oil, containing approximately 80 percent of its fatty acids as oleic acid. This is the highest level of monounsaturate available on the market today. This unusually high level imparts excellent nutritional properties to the oil, especially with respect to cholesterol metabolism. A study conducted to determine this effect has been done. Results indicate decreases in cholesterol and LDL while maintaining levels of beneficial HDL. This study will be discussed. The stability of High Oleic Sunflower Seed Oil was compared to other monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils. In accelerated oxidation studies it proved to exhibit greater stability than other oils. These results will be discussed.     

Kinetics,Isotherms and Equilibrium Study of Co(II) Adsorption from Single and Binary Aqueous Solutions by Acacia nilotica Leaf Carbon

The removal of cobalt ion from aqueous solution by Acacia nilotica leaf carbon (HAN), is described. Effect of pH, agitation time and initial concentration on adsorption capacities of HAN was investigat...     

Optimization of Deacidification of Mixtures of Sunflower Oil and Oleic Acid in a Continuous Process

Mixtures of refined sunflower seed oil and oleic acid were deacidified using nitrogen as stripping gas in a pilot-plant scale continuous deodorizer. To optimize the process, two different levels were tested for the classical operating parameters of oil temperature, nitrogen flow rates, oil mass flow rates and initial free fatty acid contents. In addition, two heating procedures were tested, including one using separate electrical heating of the oil and gas distillates to maintain the same temperature in both parts of the deodorizer, and another in which only the oil was heated and controlled, resulting in a temperature difference between the oil and the gas distillates. The statistical technique of blocking with paired comparisons was used to analyze the final free fatty acid content, rate of free fatty acid loss with respect to the processed oil flow rate, free fatty acid content in the distillates recovered by condensation, and efficiency. The results showed that the oil temperature and maintaining the same temperature in the oil and the gas distillates produced the most relevant effects, having a positive effect on most of the responses.     

Oxidative Stability of Crude Mid-Oleic Sunflower Oils from Seeds with High γ- and δ-Tocopherol Levels

In this study, mid-oleic and high-oleic sunflower seeds were developed with high levels of γ- and δ-tocopherols by traditional breeding techniques. Sunflower seeds containing various profiles of tocopherols, ranging from traditional high α, low γ, low δ relative to those with high γ, high δ, and low α, were extracted, and the crude oil evaluated for oxidative stability. After aging at 60 °C, oils were measured for peroxide value and hexanal as indicators of oxidation levels. We found that when the γ-tocopherol content of mid-oleic sunflower oil (MOSFO) (NuSun) was increased from its regular level of 20 to 300–700 ppm, the oxidation of the oil was decreased significantly compared to MOSFO with its regular low γ-tocopherol level. The modified oils had α-tocopherol contents of up to 300 ppm without negatively affecting the stability of the oil. An oil with one of the best oxidative stabilities had a tocopherol profile of 470 ppm γ, 100 ppm δ, and 300 ppm α, indicating that MOSFO could be more oxidatively stable and still be a good source of Vitamin E from α-tocopherol. Names are necessary to report factually on available data; however, the USDA neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product, and the use of the name by USDA implies no approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may also be suitable.     

Enzymatic Interesterification of High Oleic Sunflower Oil and Tripalmitin or Tristearin

The objective of this study was to produce low saturated, zero‐trans, interesterified fats with 20 or 30 % saturated fatty acids (SFA) such as C16:0 or C18:0. Tripalmitin (TP) or tristearin (TS) was blended with high oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) at different ratios (0.1:1, 0.3:1, and 0.5:1 [w/w]). Total C16:0 and C18:0 compositions of the resulting TP/HOSO and TS/HOSO blends, respectively, were plotted against blending ratios. Linear interpolation was used to estimate blending ratios that would yield physical blends (PB) with 20 or 30 % SFA. Interesterified blends (IB) were then synthesized from the customized PB using Lipozyme TL IM as the biocatalyst. Total and sn‐2 fatty acid compositions, triacylglycerol (TAG) molecular species, thermal behavior, and oxidative stability of PB and IB were compared. The total fatty acid compositions of PB and IB were similar but fatty acid positional distributions and TAG molecular species composition differed. IB contained 5–10 % more SFA at the sn‐2 position than corresponding PB. Furthermore, interesterification generated mono‐ and disaturated TAG species which resulted in broader melting profiles for IB. However, IB had lower oxidative stability than PB. The reformulation of food products with zero‐trans interesterified fats may be advantageous to the reduction of cardiovascular disease burden in the population.     

向日葵盘精油的化学成分及抗氧化活性

为明晰采收后向日葵盘精油的成分及其体外抗氧化活性,应用水蒸气蒸馏法提取采收后向日葵盘精油,利用气相色谱-质谱联用法（GC-MS）分析其化学成分,通过DPPH自由基和ABTS自由基清除法对精油的体外抗氧化活性进行测定。结果显示：从向日葵盘精油中共鉴定出49种化学成分（占精油总量91.16%）,其中α-蒎烯（28.22%）、柠檬烯（6.55%）、α-蛇麻烯（4.99%）、反式-β-金合欢烯（3.58%）和莰烯（3.39%）为其主要成分。向日葵盘精油具有一定的体外抗氧化活性,其清除DPPH自由基、ABTS自由基的半数有效浓度（EC₅₀）值分别为0.47、0.30 g/L,明显高于阳性对照BHT的EC₅₀值（分别为8.21和6.16 mg/L）。     

Taguchi Method and Grey Relational Analysis to Improve in Situ Production of FAME from Sunflower and Jatropha curcas Kernels with Subcritical Solvent Mixture

This study investigates the possibility of employing in situ (trans)esterification (ISTE) under the subcritical condition (200–250 °C) of the solvent mixture (methanol + acetic acid) with a high solid loading and a low solvent to solid ratio (SSR). The Taguchi method together with grey relational analysis was used to improve both FAME yield and productivity. It was found that temperature reaction time and SSR were factors which contributed the most in obtaining high FAME yields. In addition to the above‐mentioned factors the addition of acetic acid also significantly improved the productivity. Employing the following conditions: 250 °C; 8.8 MPa; 3–7 mL/g SSR; 10 % acetic acid was found to provide an improved FAME yield and productivity. A confirmatory test resulted in a FAME yield of 87.5–92.7 % for sunflower kernels and 88.2–97.22 % for Jatropha curcas L. kernels and productivity up to 37.5 kg/m³/h can be obtained with good repeatability. Furthermore, the process developed in this study can tolerate moisture and a free fatty acid content of up to 25 %. The direct application of the method using whole kernels was also investigated.     

Impact of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) Extracts Upon Reserve Mobilization and Energy Metabolism in Germinating Mustard (Sinapis alba L.) Seeds

One commonly observed effect of phytotoxic compounds is the inhibition or delay of germination of sensitive seeds. Mustard (Sinapis alba L.) seeds were incubated with aqueous extracts of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) leaves. Although sunflower phytotoxins did not influence seed viability, extracts completely inhibited seed germination. Inhibition of germination was associated with alterations in reserve mobilization and generation of energy in the catabolic phase of germination. Degradation of lipids was suppressed by sunflower foliar extracts resulting in insufficient carbohydrate supply. The lack of respiratory substrates and decrease in energy (ATP) generation resulted in suppression of the anabolic phase of seed germination and ultimately growth inhibition.Ewa Kupidłowska and Agnieszka Gniazdowska contributed equally to this work.     

Equilibrium Moisture Characteristics of Raw and Parboiled Paddy, Brown Rice, and Bran

Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of raw and parboiled paddy, brown rice, and bran were obtained by equilibrating them at 20-80% equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) at 13, 30, and 40°C above saturated inorganic salt solutions. Four EMC-ERH models namely modified Henderson, modified Chung-Pfost, modified Halsey, and GAB were fitted to the observed data and were evaluated using mean relative percent error, standard error of estimate and residual plots. At a constant relative humidity, equilibrium moisture content decreased with increasing temperature. The GAB model described the EMC data the best, modified Henderson and modified Chung-Pfost equations gave good fit while the modified Halsey model gave a poor fit. The heat of vaporization (h_fg) of raw and parboiled paddy at different grain moisture contents and temperatures was estimated from EMC data and using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation.     

Equilibrium,Kinetics, and Thermodynamics of Bovine Serum Albumin Adsorption on Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

We investigated the equilibrium, kinetics, and thermodynamics of bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) from aqueous solutions with different pH and temperatures. We analyzed the experimental adsorption equilibrium and kinetic data to evaluate the adsorption characteristics of SWNTs for BSA. The results show that the effects of pH and temperature were important. Moreover, the adsorption isotherm data of BSA on SWNTs are consistent with the Langmuir and Freundlich models, while the kinetics can be expressed by the pseudo-first-order and the intraparticle diffusion rate models. The maximum protein adsorption capacity of SWNTs, which have a surface area of 191.2 m²/g, was found to be 609.8 mg g^?1 at pH 4 and 40°C, and this was the highest value obtained among our previous studies examined with various metal oxides. In addition, the zeta potential measurements were examined to understand the effects of charge density of the surface and the protein on the adsorption process. Thermodynamic analysis results indicate that the nature of adsorption changes with pH. SWNTs were found to be effective for BSA adsorption.     

Sunflower Acid Oil-Based Production of Rhamnolipid Using Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Its Application in Liquid Detergents

Utilization of industrial waste as substrates for the rhamnolipid synthesis by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a worthy alternative for conventionally used vegetable oils and fatty acids to reduce the production cost of rhamnolipid. Sunflower acid oil (SAO), a by-product of the oil industry, contains 70% 18:0 fatty acid, with oleic acid as a major component. In this scope, production and analysis of rhamnolipid was successfully demonstrated using SAO as a new substrate. Pseudomonas aeruginosa produced rhamnolipid (a glycolipid biosurfactant) at a maximum concentration of 4.9 g L⁻¹ with 60 g L⁻¹ of SAO in the medium. Structural properties of rhamnolipid biosurfactant are confirmed using thin layer chromatography (TLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Further surface-active properties of the crude rhamnolipid were evaluated by measuring surface tension and emulsification properties. The synthesized rhamnolipid reduced the surface tension of water to 30.12 mN m⁻¹ and interfacial tension (against heptane) to 0.52 mN m⁻¹. Moreover, rhamnolipid shows the highest emulsification index (above 80%) for vegetable oils. This study confirms the use of SAO as a potential substrate for rhamnolipid production. The synthesized rhamnolipid was incorporated in liquid detergent formulation along with alpha olefin sulfonate (AOS) and sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES). The performance properties including foaming and cleaning efficiency of liquid detergent were compared.     

Enzymatic Interesterification of Coconut and High Oleic Sunflower Oils for Edible Film Application

Blends [60:40, 70:30, and 80:20 (w/w)] of coconut oil (CO) and high oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) were interesterified using immobilized enzyme, Lipozyme^® TL IM (Novozymes North America Inc., Franklinton, NC, USA). The structured lipids (SLs), referred to as interesterified products (IPs) IP60:40, IP70:30, and IP80:20, were compared to CO and HOSO for application in edible films. IPs were compared based on fatty acid profile, TAG molecular species, melting profile, moisture vapor permeability, mechanical properties, film transparency, density, and thickness. Interesterification increased oleic acid content at the sn-2 position of IPs. CO had 5.50 ± 1.67 mol% oleic acid at the sn-2 position, and when interesterified with HOSO (92.81 ± 1.10 mol% oleic acid) the amount of oleic acid significantly increased (p < 0.05) at the sn-2 position for IP60:40, IP70:30, and IP80:20 (33.86 ± 1.55, 27.34 ± 1.20, 20.61 ± 1.50 mol%), respectively. There was no significant difference between SLs, HOSO, and CO for water vapor permeability and density when applied to emulsion edible films. The HOSO film was significantly different (1.43 ± 0.27 AUmm^?1) from the rest of the SLs and CO for film transparency. IP60:40 (2.20 ± 0.22 AUmm^?1) decreased the opacity and was significantly different from HOSO and IP80:20 (2.88 ± 0.08 AUmm^?1). Tensile strength of IP60:40 was 0.39 ± 0.17 MPa which was significantly different from IP70:30, IP80:20, and HOSO. The elongation at break was significantly different for HOSO and IP60:40. IP60:40 could be used to further investigate the use of SL in edible film for sports nutrition products.     

Moisture Sorption Characteristics of Blanched and Osmotically Treated Apples and Papayas

ABSTRACT

The moisture adsorption and desorpcion characteristics of blanched and osmotically treated apples and papayas and the color of the equilibraced samples were evaluated at 25-C. The sorption isotherms were in agreement with the reported shape for high sugar foodstuffs. A two-way analysis of variance showed that there was not hysteresis for the blanched fruits; however, this phenomenon was present in the osmotically treated samples. Different equations proposed in the literature were used to fit sorption data. The best fit was obtained with GAB model (average mean relative deviation of 9.8%). The apples' white and the papayas' yellow indexes of the equilibrated fruits decreased as a, increased. Browning of the apples varied with the type of isotherm (adsorption or desorption) and with the initial sugar content.     

Optimization,equilibrium, and kinetic studies of adsorptive removal of cobalt(II) from aqueous solutions using Cocos nucifera L.

Water discharged by several industries contains toxins, and it needs to be treated before disposal or reuse. In the present study, feasibility of adsorptive removal of Cobalt(II) ion in waste water, using Cocos nucifera leaf powder, is exhaustively studied and reported. Effects of contributing parameters like Cobalt(II) ion concentration, initial solution pH, adsorbent dosage, and temperature are studied and the levels of parameters optimized, following a two level?four full-factorial experimental design with 6 center points and 24 non-center points. 15?g/L of Cocos nucifera leaf powder could reduce the Cobalt(II) ion concentration by 84.82% in 70?min at a pH of 5.0 and a temperature of 303?K. Freundlich model is marginally superior to Langmuir, Halsey, and Temkin models in representing the equilibrium, at the optimized conditions. Pseudo-second-order kinetics model describes the adsorption process with a rate constant of 0.1238?g/mg-min. From thermodynamic analysis, it is noted that the adsorption is endothermic and facilitated.