Food Science

The occurrence of pesticide residues in food matrices has become a necessity due to the toxicity and permanence of these xenobiotics. Translocation of pesticides in local and imported cabbage samples was investigated using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrophotometer (GC/MS) procedures. Cabbage samples were fractionated with respect to distance from the skin to the core and prepared for analysis. Results showed that organochlorine, organophosphate and synthetic pyrethroid residues were translocated in cabbage samples analyzed. With respect to cabbage fractions, the outer pulp retained more of the residues than the pulp and the central core. On chemicals species, organochlorines were retained more in the outer pulp than the other fractions of the vegetable. Synthetic pyrethroid residues were restricted to the outer and inner pulp samples. All the chemical species identified were translocatable across the fractional parts of the vegetable with the exception of synthetic pyrethroid residues. There were significant differences in translocation and residue accumulation of pesticide among the fractional parts of the vegetable.

Metal monitoring in food, like teas, provides basic information on safety aspects of food in regulatory processes in terms of suitability of food for consumption, as well as its nutritional value. The aim of this work was to measure the total content of Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn in ten brands of commercially available black tea, on the Ghanaian market. All of the samples were microwave-assisted acid digested followed by measurement of the elemental contents by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The concentrations of all the elements varied among the different brands of tea analysed. The total contents of Fe were comparatively higher than the other analyzed elements and varied between 302.95–27.30 µg/g. the ranges of the other elements observed, in µg/g, were as follows: Cr (<0.006-0.90), (3.85- 9.95), Mn (5.34-219.25), Pb (<0.001-2.05) and Zn(2.80-5.50). Cadmium and Cobolt were below detection limits. All values recorded were below the maximum permissible limit set by the WHO.

In this research modeling of moisture content of three different varieties of bean (Talash, Sadri and MahaliKhomein) was studied during soaking by applying Khazaei mathematical model and artificial neural networks (ANNs). The procedures were carried out in three experimental temperatures (5, 25 and 45?C) in distilled water. Water abortion characteristics of samples were considered by measuring the increase in the mass of seeds with respect to time. Amulti layer perceptron (MPL) and radial basis function (RBF) approach were used with three layers of neurons, in designing ANNs. The soaking temperature and time were used as input parameters and the moisture content was used as output parameter of ANNs. To evaluate the prediction of mathematical and ANNs model, coefficient of determination (R2),root mean square error (RMSE) and distribution of residual errors plot were used. The results indicated that the MLP approach using back propagation training structure, Broyden- Fletcher- Goldfarb- Shanno(BFGS) algorithm and 2-6-1 topology of the network achieves the best results for moisture content estimating in three studied varieties of bean. Besides that, the instant moisture content curves based on temperature and time independent variables using MLP method expressed with increasing the time and temperature of seed immersion, water absorption is increasing.

The present investigation was carried out to find the effect of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of bark of Ficus religiosa for its anti-inflammatory activity in Hamsters. Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated using acute inflammatory models like carrageenan induced paw edema models. The biochemical parameters like thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), enzymatic anti-oxidants and non enzymatic anti-oxidants were carried out in blood and tissues of control and experimental animals in each group. Oral administration of the ethanolic extract (Ficus religiosa bark) at the dose 100mg/kg body weight (b.w) showed significant effect than aqueous extract and was also much comparable to that of standard drug, Ibuprofen. The mechanism of anti-inflammatory effect of Ficus religiosa is probably due to their inhibitory action on the release of mediators of inflammation.

Nine plantain samples from some communities in the Bibiani mining town and surrounding towns/villages, Abrofrem, Akwawuakrom, Beposo, Besie, Fahiakorbor, Kofikrom, Hwenampori and Old Town – all in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai District – have been analysed using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) for their levels of the essential elements, Ca, Cl, Cu, K, Mg, Mn, Na and Zn. The aim of the study was to determine the levels of the above essential elements in the plantain samples and also to establish whether the mining activities have had any impact on the levels measured. The concentrations of Ca, Cl, K, Mg and Na referred to as major nutrients measured were in the ranges; 495 – 1895 mg/kg for Ca, 1076 – 3019 mg/kg for Cl, 1800 – 17000 mg/kg for K, 946 – 1337 mg/kg for Mg, and 42.34 – 83.20 mg/kg for Na. The micro/trace elements measured in the samples were in the ranges, 2.55 – 25.44 mg/kg for Cu; 7.40 – 17.20 mg/kg for Mn and 8.25 – 67.96 mg/kg for Zn. The results supported the claim that plantain contains high levels of K and low levels of Na. However, with regard to the RDA/AI values of the various nutrient elements, it could be said that plantain is relatively richer in Mn, followed by Cu and Mg than K. This was due to the fact that relatively lower amount of plantain is required to meet the RDA/AI values of those elements than K. The levels of the nutrient elements measured in the plantain samples did not give any indication of impact of mining activities which could have resulted in loss of soil fertility since the results obtained in this work compared favourably with the results obtained in a similar study conducted by Danso et al (2006) in a non mining area. The only difference observed in the results obtained in this work from that of Danso et al (2006) was with the levels of Mg and Mn. The levels of Mg and Mn measured in this work were however, consistent with the geology of the area as well as their respective RDA/AI values.

Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) has been used to determine the Ca, Fe and Zn content in eight sorghum and maize cultivars. The phytate content is also determined together with the phytate/mineral molar ratios in order to estimate the inhibitory effect of phytate on the bioavailability of these minerals. The results obtained indicated high phytate/mineral molar ratio and suggest thus that reduced and possible non-bioavailability of the minerals may be incited. Nonetheless the [CaxPh]:Zn ratios suggests that the cereal cultivars are a good source of the minerals and that processing of the cereals would improve bioavailability of the mineral.

This study aimed to assess the growth pattern of adolescent boys in Mysore city in south India. In this cross sectional study anthropometric profile of 1083 boys aged 10- 18years was measured and compared to 50th centiles of W.H.O standards for height and weight and the measurement of MUAC and SFT were compared to NHANES standard. Self-reporting questionnaire to obtain data related to family socioeconomic status and personal information was implemented. The increase in height exhibited linearity from 10 to 18 years of age, mean height was 141.8?1.56 cms in boys aged 10years while boys aged 18 year had a mean height of 172.2± 7.15 cms The mean weight at age 10 was 31.7± 3.10 kgs and at 18 years the mean body weight was 58.6± 9.04 kg. In this study population the mean BMI was15.63±2.21 at the age 10 and increased to 19.71 ± 2.42 at age 18th year The mean MUAC at the age 10 was 19.6±1.72 cm and skin fold at triceps was 11.07±3.5 mm. These participate boys were shorter and lighter in all the stages of adolescences as compared to reference, although the difference for height was smaller than that seen for weight. BMI, of boys in all age groups was lower as compare to the W.H.O references.

Ready-to-eat breakfast cereal (RBC) containing underutilized legume was made to improve its nutrient and reduce cost. Blends of yellow maize (Zea mays) and African yam bean (AYB) (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) at 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, and 70:30 were used to produce RBC using locally adaptable process. Products were analyzed for proximate, anti-nutritional and mineral contents, as well as sensory test. Highest protein content of 15.98% was obtained in 70:30 AYB supplemented sample. There was no significant (p<0.05) difference in gross energy of the samples which were liked by the panelists. Low technology for producing RBC could improve food security among the poor.

The health and cosmetics industry in Malaysia is growing rapidly and is expected to grow steadily in the future. However, the usage of ostrich oil in this industry is still new. This paper aims to analyze the strategic issues and challenges faced by ostrich oil based manufacturing company in the health and cosmetic industry known as MS Worldwide Manufacturing (M) Sdn. Bhd. The qualitative study is done based on several unstructured interviews and also based on the published data obtained from relevant websites. Based on this primary and secondary data, the company is found to be facing problems with strategy and execution in the specific market place of Malaysia. This paper discusses the situation and tries to diagnose the problems areas, generate alternative solutions, predict outcomes and evaluate alternatives strategic planning and implementation to produce better results.

Moringa preparations and its consumption have become popular among Ghanaians. In the present study a survey was carried out in Techiman in the Brong Ahafo to determine the existing socio-economic status and Moringa safety knowledge of consumers. Data on socio –economic profile of 100 consumers were obtained through questionnaires. Results from the study showed that more of the respondents got the information on Moringa from family (46 %,) followed by other sources (20%), from the media (18%) and from friends (16%) in that order. Results also indicated that majority of the manufacturers fail to indicate the exact amount of metal concentrations incurred by consumers after consumption.