دکتر فروغ شواخی

In this study some physical and geometrical properties of 11 superior apricot genotypes were determined. These properties such as respiration rate, fruit dimensions, perimeter, surface area, volume, compact factor, geometric mean diameter, projected area, shape factor, circularity, length to width ratio, length to thickness ratio, and length to mass ratio were measured at harvesting moisture content ranging from 75.19 to 87.67 %. Then the correlation among average values of the attributes was performed and the genotypes were classified using principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that all the genotypes had significant differences in terms of all the studied attributes (P<0.01). There was a significant and positive correlation between fruit length and weight and fruit length and moisture content. Fruit shape factor and compression factor showed a positive and significant correlation, while these attributes had negative and significant correlations with circularity. This study showed that Iranian apricot genotypes could be discriminated by differences in their geometrical characteristics using principal component analysis. Based on the PCA results, the first two components account for the most of the variation in the data (91%) and five distinct groups were observed. Overall, the results of this study can be beneficial for the design of equipment for harvesting, transportation, separating, packaging, and processing of apricot fruit.

In this study, 23 local genotypes of sour cherry from collection in Meshkin Dasht-Karaj in terms of physical and chemical characteristics including weight, flesh to core ratio, firmness, total soluble solids, dry matter content, titratable acidity, pH, flavour index, respiration rate, color indices of fruits and juices (L*, b*, a*, Hue and Chroma) and their correlations were examined. The results showed that all genotypes had significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) in terms of the studied characteristics. Based on the correlations in the color indices, a* index alone can be used to evaluate the red color differences of various genotypes. According to the results, genotypes of KB-100, KB-450, and KB-213 with suitable characteristics such as weight (>2.8 g), flesh to core ratio (>8.5), flavour index (>9.5) and acidity (<1.75%) are more suitable for fresh consumption and genotypes of KB-232 and KB-247 with suitable weight (>3.7 g), dry matter content (>15%) and respiration rate (<9000 mg CO2/kg.hr) are more applicable for processing. Also, genotypes with high acidity (>3%) such as KB-157, KB-121, KB-234, and KB-152 are more suitable for pickling and fruit roll-up processing. Genotypes with high dry matter content (>21%) and intense redness (a*<9 for skin and a*<16 for fruit juice) such as KB-136 and KB-449 are more suitable for the production of powder, dried sour cherries, syrup and nectar. Late harvested genotypes with firmness (>6N) such as KB-343 and KB-353 are also recommended for compote and jam processing, respectively.

In this study, the effect of essential oils of dill in 4 levels of 0, 250, 500 and 750 µl/L in some physicochemical properties (moisture, acidity and pH), color index (a*, b* and L*), microbial (total count, Coliform, E Coli, mold and yeast) and sensory properties including color, flavor and texture of sun dried raisins during storage time was investigated. The results of statistical analysis of the data showed that during storage, the moisture and  indexes of b* (blue to yellow) and a* (green to red) and L* (brightness and darkness) of samples decreased significantly, but these properties with increasing amounts of essential oil of dill in the solution increased (p<0.01). Also during storage, with increasing the amount of dill essential oil, the acidity decreased and the pH increased (p<0.01). The results of microbial experiments showed that during storage, with increasing the amount of essential oil, the total count and coliforms decreased, which was significant in treatments containing 500 and 750 µl/L. The number of molds and yeasts also increased during the storage times and decreased with the amount of dill essential oil (p<0.05). According to the results of sensory evaluation, with increasing the amount of dill essential oil up 500 µl/L, the score of flavor and texture increased, but with further increase of the amount of essential oil caused decreased the flavor score compared to the control sample (P <0.05). Based on the results obtained of this study, the use of 500 µl/L of dill essential oil for storage of sun dried raisins, is recommended.

The aim of this study was to monitor the accumulation of minerals and to measure nitrite and nitrite anions in different organs of Salicornia plant in Tehran province (Varamin) to study the pattern of accumulation of these elements in different organs for human consumption of this plant. Measurements of iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, manganese, calcium, sodium and potassium elements, and also nitrate and nitrite anions were performed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS), Flame Photometric Spectrophotometer and Spectrophotometer respectively. The highest amount of ash in shoot (22.95 ± 0.49%) and the lowest in root (7.36 ± 0.12%) were based on dry weight. Generally, the nitrite content of different organs of Salicornia has been significantly less than nitrate in the same organ. Due to the presence of sodium and potassium ions, and useful nutritional elements, it can be a good alternative to table salt. Based on the results of this study, the green aerial parts of Salicornia can be used as source of minerals. Considering the highest level of nitrite and nitrate in the shoot (317.14 and 16.67mg/100gr dry weight respectively) and comparing them with the their comparison with international standard values was in the range of very low-nitrate vegetables (lower than 200 ppm) such as artichoke, asparagus, pepper and tomato and it can be consumed without problem.

This study was conducted to increase onion storage life in Hormozgan province. For curing onions, the Primavera and Texas Early Grano cultivar were placed in sunshine for two days. The bulbs were packed in a plastic net for three months in three traditional storages: optimized storage with a temperature of 33 ± 2°C and a relative humidity of 49 ± 4%, controlled storage with a temperature of 9 ± 1°C and a relative humidity of 65± 5%, and storage at a temperature of 5 ± 1°C and relative humidity of 70 ± 5%. Every 15 days, qualitative characteristics of the onions were measured, including: weight loss, germination percentage, total soluble solids, dry matter, and firmness. The results showed that during storage, significant changes were observed in qualitative traits of both onion cultivars. The percentage of soluble solids, firmness and dry matter of onions during storage were nonlinear. Total soluble solids of Primavera cultivar increased after 15 days and then decreased. After two months of storage, Texas Early Grano, comparing Primavera, showed higher storage life due to its higher solid soluble matter and higher dry matter content. At ambient temperature, after three months, the weight losses of both onion cultivars were one and a half times higher than that the initial maximum (11.51%), and in cold storages, after three months, the weight losses of both varieties were less than 2%. Both cultivars faced no decay after 45 days of storage in traditional aeration, with a weight loss of less than 3%.

The fatty acids profiles of virgin olive oil of some of the provinces of Iran were examined to investigate their similarities and differences. Indices used to classify these oils include fatty acids, oleic to linoleic ratios, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs), saturated fatty acids (SFAs), MUFA to PUFA ratios and Cox index. The sensory attributes of the olive oil samples were evaluated to determine their virgin category of olive oil. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis (PCA), and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) were used to evaluate the data. The olive oil samples were divided into two groups based on PCA and HCA. The samples of Golestan, Zanjan and Qazvin provinces (Go1, Qa1 and Z1) were in the higher quality group and the other samples were in the lower quality group. Considering the sensory characteristics results, all samples except for Qom and Fars were extra virgin. The findings of this study will help the consumer in selection of olive oil.

The halophyte Salicornia was recently introduced as a fresh vegetable crop that thrives in extreme salty conditions. In this study, the ash, minerals, heavy metal and nitric and nitrite anions in different parts (root, aerial parts and seeds) of Salicornia europaea L. were evaluated. The results showed that the ash content and sodium in the aerial parts was the highest and in the roots the lowest (P<0.05). But, potassium, copper and calcium between different organs and seed were not significant. While zinc and magnesium in seed and iron in root were higher, and zinc, manganese and magnesium content were lower in the root than other parts (p<0.05). Salicornia roots had the lowest arsenic and cobalt and the highest lead (p<0.05). The seeds containeed the lowest lead, cadmium, mercury and nickel. The aerial parts of this plant also had the least chromium and the highest levels of cadmium, mercury, nickel and cobalt. The mercury in different parts of the Salicornia was lower than the standard value. The lead in the root and cadmium in the aerial parts and chromium, arsenic and nickel in all parts were higher than the limit allowed. The highest nitrate content and the lowest nitrite content in aerial parts and the lowest nitrate content and the highest nitrite content were observed in the seeds (p <0.05). In all studied parts, the nitrate content was found in standard limit. According to the results, aerial parts of Salicornia can be used as a source of calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the composition of fatty acid and qualitative characteristics of virgin olive oils produced in different provinces of Iran including Gilan, Golestan, Zanjan, Qazvin, Qom and Fars. Acidity, peroxide, extinction coefficient differences (∆k), fatty acid compositions were measured. The results showed that acidity, peroxide and extinction coefficient differences of most samples, except for the Fars and Golestan (F, Go3), and levels of fatty acids of all oils, except for miristic acid of Qom and Zanjan (Qo, Z2), were in accordance with the national and International standard of Olive Oil. The highest monounsaturated fatty acids, MUFAs (72.12-76.21%) were traced in samples from Zanjan, Golestan and Qazvin provinces which showed the lowest saturated fatty acids, SFAs (16.99-17.99%), poly unsaturated fatty acids, PUFAs (6.49-10.42%) and Cox indices (1.49-1.84%). Based on results obtained, the sample of olive oil of Golestan, Zanjan, and Qazvin (Go1, Qa1 and Z1) were in the highest quality categories and of Fars (F) was in the lowest quality categories with different indices from other samples. Since various parameters affect on the quantity and quality of olive oil and, beside that, the low quality samples can also be found in those provinces where high quality of olive oile are produced, the fatty acids profile alone could not be consider as sole factor to geographically classify the quality of olive oil, but it can be used as one of the important iindicators in quality classification of olive oil