Performance of the Assurance GDS® Assay for the Detection of L. monocytogenes in Pure Cultures and Spiked Food Samples

Listeria monocytogenes is afoodborne pathogen with significant impacts on public health and economy worldwide. Reliable and fast detection of L. monocytogenes is of major importance for both diagnostic laboratories and the food industry.

The current study evaluated the performance of the Assurance GDS® assay for the detection of L. monocytogenes in pure culturesand spiked food samples. In the pure culture experiments, the Assurance GDS® assay for Listeria monocytogenesaccurately detected the target strains of different serotypesand was correctly negative for a variety of other Listeria species.

For reliable detection of L. monocytogenes in pure culture experiments, colony counts >105 cfu/ml were required, which emphasizes the need for an adequate enrichment step.

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Investigation on the Profile of Phenolic Acids and Flavonoids with Antioxidant Capacity in Florida Highbush (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) and Rabbiteye (Vaccinium virgatum) Blueberries

It is well documented that blueberry phenolic compositions, such as phenolic acids and flavonoids differ based on species and cultivars. However, phenolic compositions in Florida blueberries have been little explored.

Information on Florida blueberries are of interest as they are harvested earlier than other areas of the United States, which may result in compositional differences due to shorter daylight hours and cooler temperatures.

After liquid-liquid extraction and C-18 SPE cartridge purification, concentrations of phenolic acids and flavonoids of twenty two blueberry cultivars (20 highbush and 2 rabbiteye) were measured using HPLC.

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Applying Light, Histochemical and Scanning Histological Methods for the Detection of Unauthorized Animal and Herbal Content in Street Meat Sandwich

Samples of the total of 105 different meat sandwiches products were examined (Kofta, Hawawshi, and shawerma sandwich, 35 sandwiches from each type of product were collected from New Valley City from different restaurants during the year 2016 and analyzed by light and scanning electron microscope for detection of meat adulteration.

Select half samples from each group for light and histochemical microscopic examination and the rest of the same group for scanning electron microscopic examination.

The sections were stained using hematoxylin and eosin, PAS, Wigert's and Crossman's trichrome, bromophenol protein and ATPase enzyme.

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Effect of Edible Coating Containing Pomegranate Peel Extract on Quality and Shelf Life of Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) Fillet during Refrigerated Storage

Effects of edible coating containing pomegranate peel extract (PPE) on the quality and shelf life of silver carp fillet during refrigerated storage were investigated. Freshly fish fillet were assigned to three treatments: control (fillet treated with edible coating and no antioxidants); fillet treated with edible coating and 5% PPE (T1) and fillet treated with edible coating and 10% PPE (T2).

Chemical (pH, peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid) and microbiological (total viable count and psychrotrophic count) analysis were used to evaluated the effect of this treatments during refrigerated storage. The results show that addition of PPE considerably delayed lipid oxidation in silver carp fish fillet in T1 and T2 compared control samples.

According to microbiological assay, T1 and T2 samples at days 12 reached to maximum acceptability limit while it was happened in day 9 for control samples. There were significant differences (P<0.05) between treated and control samples at all the days during the refrigerated storage.

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Management of Cognitive Dysfunctions through Ayurveda – Challenges and Opportunities for CAM researchers

Ayurveda is an ancient system of Indian medicine and has been in practice since 12th Century BC. The objective of Ayurveda is to accomplish physical, mental, social and spiritual wellness by employing preventive, health promoting and holistic approach towards life.

Vata, pitta and kapha are the major dimensions (energy) regulating the entire functioning of the human body. Vata is the energy which strengthens the intellectual ability, respiration and enhances the functioning of sensory organs. Pitta regulates digestion, body temperature, intelligence and memory.

Tarpak kafa provides nutrition to the sensory organs and thus maintains the nervous tissues.Cognitive disorders are mental disorders characterized by impaired cognitive abilities and daily functioning in which biological causation is either known or presumed.

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Ayurveda Medication Non Adherence: Implications for Clinical Practice and Research

Ayurveda medication non-adherence is a growing concern of Ayurveda clinician, researchers and policy maker for its growing popularity and its clinical implications. It always hinders the therapeutic efficacy and shows low clinical outcomes in practice and research. Approximately 50% patients with chronic illness do not take prescribed medications as directed.

Medication adherence usually refers to whether patients take their prescribed medicine (e.g., as thrice daily before meal along with honey), as well as whether they continue to take a prescribed medication and intervention as advised. Medication adherence behaviour can be classified into two main categories, namely, adherence to prescribed medication and persistence of use.

These two are conceptually similar; adherence refers to the intensity of drug use during the duration of therapy, whereas persistence refers to the overall duration of drug therapy. Quite often, the terms adherence and compliance are used interchangeably.

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The Influence of Intercropping Sorghum with Legumes for Managementand Control of Striga in Sorghum at Assosa Zone

Sorghum is an important cereal crop and occupies third place in production after Maize and Tef in Ethiopia. Striga hermonthica reduces sorghum yields by competing for water, nutrients, space, light and photosynthates with the host plants.

Information on the influence of intercropping sorghum with legumes for management and control of striga in sorghum in the Assosa Zone is scanty. On farm experiments were they are conducted at three locations, for three years, to investigate the effect of eleven treatments (Intercrop ground nut with Sorghum 1:1 and Simultaneous planting, Intercrop ground nut with sorghum 1:1 and Relay planting, Intercrop ground nut with Sorghum 2:1 and Simultaneous planting, Intercrop ground nut with Sorghum 2:1 and Relay planting, Intercrop soybean with sorghum 1:1.

Simultaneous planting, Intercrop soybean with sorghum 1:1 and Relay planting, Intercrop soybean with sorghum 2:1 and Simultaneous planting, Intercrop soybean with sorghum 2:1 and Relay planting, Sole soybean, Sole Sorghum and Sole Ground nut.) and was laid out in a randomised complete block design (RCBD) with three replication.

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Effect of Nano-Zinc Oxide on the Leaf Physical and Nutritional Quality of Spinach

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) belongs to family Amaranthaceae and is one of the important and nutritious leafy vegetable consumed in India. The pot culture experiment is carried out during 2014-15 to study the effect of nanozinc oxide particles on the leaf physical and nutritional traits of spinach.

The spinach plants were sprayed with graded concentration of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) after 14 days of sowing. The leaf physical parameters like leaf length, leaf width and leaf surface area are recorded at the time of maturity (45-50 days). The protein, carbohydrate, fat and dietary fiber content in leaf samples are determined.

The plants sprayed with ZnO NPs at the concentration of 500 and 1000 ppm showed the increased leaf length, width, surface area and colour of leaf samples when compared to control leaf samples. Similarly treated plants with ZnO NPs at the concentration of 500 and 1000 ppm showed higher values of protein and dietary fibre content in comparison to control leaf samples of spinach. Hence our study suggests that the nano-zinc oxide sprayed spinach is more nutritious to vegetarian diet by providing, protein, fiber and required amount of vegetarian fat to diet.

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What Should Consumers Know about the Foods they are Consuming?

Consumers are becoming more and more interested in knowing not only what is in the foods they are purchasing and consuming, but also how they were produced. One way to help consumers to understand this is by providing labels on the food items which are easy to interpret and also list all ingredients in the foods.

Today, however, many consumers are asking for more information about these ingredients, including how they were produced and whether they are organic or were produced by genetically modified organisms (GMO or GM).

The food labels are supposed to be disclosing and guiding the consumer about the ingredients and nutritional values of food. The food labeling policies have been evolving and have become more complex since 1892 when President Lincoln founded the two main Federal Departments involved in food labeling, namely the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Bureau of Chemistry which later became the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the two Federal agencies responsible for food label policy and food safety

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Utilization of Fermented Yeast Rice by the Fungus Monascus ruber AUMC 4066 as Food Coloring Agents

The red fermented rice has higher nutritive value and the function of building up body. The red rice contains abundant protein, fats, vitamins, trace elements and coarse fiber. Red yeast rice fermented by Monascus ruber 4066 was used for the study. Yogurts with Streptococcus thermophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum were prepared using cow’s milk supplemented with red yeast rice flour (RYRF) at 1%, 2%, 3% (wt/wt) and stored at 5°C to 14 days.

All preparations of RYRF yogurts showed higher titratable acidity, viscosity, water holding capacity (WHC), hardness, adhesiveness and cohesiveness compared to that of plain yogurts throughout the storage period. The count of B. bi?dum in RYRF yogurts (> 7 log cfu. g-1) was more than that of plain yogurts (> 6 log cfu. g-1) at the end of storage period, probably due to prebiotic effect of RYRF.

There were significant differences among the yogurt samples in relation to their organoleptic properties. The current results recommend addition of 3% RYRF to yoghurt that enhanced physicochemical, organoleptic and textural properties and the viability of B. bi?dum in bio-yoghurt as functional food.

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Bioprospecting and Drug Development, Parameters for a Rational Search and Validation of Biodiversity

Natural products (NP) are defined as all substances produced by living organisms that include secondary metabolites defined as compounds produced by biological processes that are not necessary for primary or energy metabolism, but are important for ecological fitness. These molecules have been developed by the evolutionary pressure on biosynthetic pathways which results in a large and exuberant chemical diversity with potent biological activity with high impact on chemical biology and pharmaceutical industry.

NPs are obtained from biological diversity defined in Article 2 of the Convention on Biological Diversity as “The variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems”.

The prospective study of biodiversity looking for applications in agriculture, industry and medicine; known as bioprospecting, is defined as the process of looking for in natural sources new promising genetic resources and bioactive compounds as well as organisms with biotechnological uses.

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