Imunoenzimske metode u procjeni kvalitete meda i pčelinjih proizvoda

Imunoenzimska ELISA metoda (engl. Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay) se istražuje u posljednje vrijeme kao brza, jednostavna i visokospecifična analitička metoda za unaprjeđenje i standardizaciju kvalitete meda i pčelinjih proizvoda. Med i pčelinji proizvodi se osim zbog nutritivne vrijednosti učestalo koriste i zbog brojnih pozitivnih bioloških učinaka, a ELISA metoda svoju primjenu u standardizaciji njihove kvalitete može pronaći kod utvrđivanja autentičnosti, botaničkog podrijetla te razlikovanja uzoraka prirodnog meda. Metoda se razvija u svrhu određivanja pčelinjih proteina i peptida, kao što su apalbumin-1 i defensin-1, a koji mogu predstavljati biljege izvornosti. Imunoenzimska ELISA metoda primjenu pronalazi i u određivanju peludi određene biljne vrste u svrhu utvrđivanja botaničkog podrijetla, te pri procjeni kvalitete određivanjem enzima, kao i u svrhu razlikovanja uzoraka prirodnog meda određivanjem specifičnih proteina.

Vegetable by-products in the European food legislative framework

Vegetable by-products are a source of many useful bioactive compounds, dietary fiber, fatty acids and proteins that have a great potential in the development of new food products and the promotion of the circular economy and sustainability.Considering processed pepper by-products as an example, the aim of this paper is to provide an overview of EU food legislation that should be taken into account before placing such products on the market, as well as of the voluntary labeling of functional, nutritional and sustainability benefits important for consumers.

High Hydrostatic pressure

Proces obrade visokim hidrostatskim tlakom, kao netoplinski proces, se koristi za inaktivaciju mikroorganizama uz minimalnu preinaku same namirnice. Postiže se jednaki standard sigurnosti hrane kao kod toplinske pasterizacije te se zadovoljavaju zahtjevi potrošača za svježim i minimalno procesiranim proizvodima uz kraće vrijeme obrade za razliku od konvencionalnih tehnika. U novijim istraživanjima, visoki tlak se smatra zaslužnim za promjene u strukturi stanice i biopolimera u stanicama obrađivanih namirnica što rezultira boljem vezivanju vode, procesima želiranja te nastanku novih tekstura i proizvoda. Ovaj rad prezentira upotrebu visokog hidrostatskog tlaka kod procesiranja crvenog mesa i mesnih prerađevina, voća i povrća te utjecaj na mikroorganizme u namirnici. Uz pasterizaciju, proces se koristi i za ekstrakciju bioaktivnih tvari iz sirovina, uz značajno bolje prinose i kvalitetu u usporedbi s konvencionalnim metodama ekstrakcije.

Overview of packaging materials for Dairy packaging

Regarding milk producing, it is well known that processing and packaging are the two equally important operational phases. Packaging is the last, but definetly not the less important phase. Various automation strategies are constantly being utilized in every phase of processing, packaging and production/use of new packaging materials. The most suitable packaging will provide adequate properties to pack liquid milk and dairy products which have an important role to prolonged product shelf life. Temperature and moisture are important parameters which affect the shelf life of packaged milk and dairy products, due to their effect on the bacterial growth especially in fermented milk products. The aim of this review article is to introduce advantages and disadvantages and principles of packaging methods and materials correlated to shelflife of dairy products.

Jestivo cvijeće

Jestivo cvijeće dio je tradicionalne medicine već stoljećima, ali se koristi i za pripremu različitih jela poput juha i salata te kao dekoracija. U zadnje vrijeme, jestivo cvijeće postaje kulinarski trend. Sve veći interes za jestivo cvijeće u kulinarstvu potiču kuharice, kulinarski članci te televizijske emisije s naglaskom na njihove hranjive i funkcionalne sastojke. Cilj ovog rada je dati pregled dosadašnjih spoznaja o najzastupljenijim vrstama jestivog cvijeća na tržištu vezano uz njihovu nutritivnu vrijednost, antioksidacijsku aktivnost, funkcionalnost, a obuhvaća cvjetove ukrasnog i začinskog bilja.

Aerobni granulirani mulj u obradi otpadnih voda

Aerobni granulirani mulj (AGS, engl. Aerobic Granular Sludge) predstavlja obećavajuću tehnologiju u obradi otpadnih voda kućanstva i industrije. Aerobne granule su samoimobilizirane mikrobne nakupine, bez nosača, a karakterizira ih kompaktna gusta struktura, visoko zadržavanje biomase, visoka učinkovitost uklanjanja onečišćenja i svojstvo brzog taloženja. Na formiranje i stabilnost aerobnog granuliranog mulja utječu brojni čimbenici, poput koncentracija otopljenog kisika, vrijeme prozračivanja, vrsta izvora ugljika, sile smicanja, period gladovanja, vrijeme taloženja. Zbog slojevite strukture granule, sa vanjskim aerobnim slojem i anoksičnim i anaerobnim zonama prema središtu granule, moguće je istovremeno uklanjanje C, N i P. AGS tehnologija ima potencijal smanjenja infrastrukture i operativnih troškova pročišćavanja otpadnih voda. Ovaj rad daje pregled najnovijih spoznaja iz literature o mehanizmu granulacije i svojstvima aerobnih granula.

Combining hand grip strength with nutritional screening tools in elderly patients with chronic kidney disease

Malnutrition in vulnerable patient populations must be rapidly detected using techniques that are easy to incorporate into everyday clinical practice. The new recommendations defined the 7-point Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) as optimal for nutritional assessment in chronic kidney disease (CKD), while Geriatric Nutrition Risk Index (GNRI) demands additional examination in elderly. This study aimed to determine the accuracy of several concise tools used in the clinical practice and the correlation of this tools with functional method hand grip strength (HGS) in elderly patients with CKD. In this cross-sectional study, anthropometric and functional data for 50 elderly hemodialysis patients were analyzed using numerous survey-based tools for screening nutritional status (Malnutrition Screening Tool – MST, Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 - NRS2002, Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool - MUST, Mini Nutritional Assessment - MNA, GNRI), which we compared to the standard 7-point SGA nutritional assessment tool. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of these tools for detecting malnutrition were compared with the standard by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. 7-point SGA classified 36.6% of participants as well nourished, and 63.4% as mildly to moderately malnourished, while the simplest alternative methods showed lower accuracy, classifying much higher proportions of participants as well nourished (MST, 92.0%; NRS2002, 80.4%). MNA had the highest accuracy based on receiver operating characteristic curves. HGS correlated moderately with 7-point SGA (r = 0.331), MNA (r = 0.410), and GNRI (r = 0.320). Our small study suggests that MNA is the best tool for malnutrition risk screening in elderly with CKD. Combining HGS with concise tools, such as GNRI, may provide better results and unburden healthcare professionals.

Biological denitrification

Ubrzani napredak industrije, poljoprivrede i domaćinstva su pogodovali povišenim koncentracijama dušika u vodenom ekosustavu, što uzrokuje eutrofikaciju. Dušik se iz otpadne vode uklanja procesom biološke denitrifikacije. U ovom preglednom radu dan je osvrt na denitrifikaciju, s aspekta mikroorganizama, koncentracije otopljenog kisika, donora i akceptora elektrona.

The assesement of bioactive potential and sensory acceptability of coffee and its byproducts- cascara and silverskin

Through the decades, coffee has been representing one of the most consumed beverages worldwide and consequently, during the coffee cherry processing, significant amount of coffee byproducts is generating, thus ending as an agro- industrial waste. Besides macro and micronutrient content, coffee cascara and coffee silverskin are coffee by-products which can have valuable bioactive potential. For that purpose, ethanol extracts and water infusions (beverages) of green coffee, roasted coffee, coffee cascara and coffee silverskin were analysed for total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and individual identification of polyphenolic compounds by High Performance Liquid Chromatography Analysis paired with Photo-Diode Array detector (HPLC- PDA), with further sensory analysis of beverages. Results showed that beverages were generally evaluated with the higher bioactive potential than ethanol extracts, while roasted coffee beverages exhibited the highest content of TPC and antioxidant capacity in comparison to the ethanol extract. Among all samples, green coffee beverage was evaluated as the most valuable source of 5-caffeoylquinic acid (36.7 mg/g dw), while coffee cascara (9.2 mg/g dw) contained the highest content of caffeine. Although roasted beverage expectedly scored as the highest acceptable (6.2), silverskin and cascara were evaluated with relatively satisfactory results of the overall acceptability (4.6- 5.2), thus showing the potential for the improvement in terms of preparation and, furthermore, greater consumer acceptance.

Vakuum sušenje u prehrambenoj industriji

Sušenje je jedan od najstarijih i najekonomičnijih procesa produljenja trajnosti hrane. Osušeni proizvodi imaju manju masu i volumen što olakšava i smanjuje troškove pakiranja, skladištenja i transporta. Nedostatci prilikom konvencionalnog sušenja prehrambenih sirovina su toplinska razgradnja nutritivno vrijednih sastojaka, boje, mogući gubitci arome, nepoželjne promjene oblika i teksturalnih svojstava te enzimsko posmeđivanje. Ti nedostatci se mogu značajno smanjiti sušenjem u vakuumu. Konvencionalno vakuum sušenje i mikrovalno vakuum sušenje te sušenje zamrzavanjem u vakuumu su najpoznatiji procesi sušenja u vakuumu. Prednosti sušenja u vakuumu su niže temperature sušenja što rezultira većim očuvanjem hranjivih tvari proizvoda odnosno boljom kvalitetom sušenog proizvoda.