Food and Health
Volume:5 Issue: 1, Winter 2022

Food products could be exposed to heat treatments during manufacture, storage, and distribution chains which can affect the rheological properties of hydrocolloid solutions. Viscosity is an important factor for quality evaluation in many food products. In the current study marshmallow seed mucilage, as a potential new source of hydrocolloid, was prepared at concentrations of 4, 6, and 8 % (w/v) and subjected to heat treatments at 30, 55, and 80 °C. Afterward, time-independent rheological behaviors of examined concentrations were assessed by using a rheometer.  The findings revolved around that marshmallow seed mucilage showed a pseudoplastic behavior (n<1) as well as in the power low model. In the mentioned model the consistency coefficient (K) of all analyzed concentrations significantly has been increased at different temperatures (p≤0.01). Also, the flow behavior index value changed from 0.5092 to 0.7934 and showed a significant decrease at higher temperatures (55 and 80 °C) and also as a result of increasing in concentration. The concentrations of 4 % and 8% showed the highest temperature-dependency of consistency coefficient and flow index, respectively. In contrast, the lowest temperature dependency of consistency coefficient and flow index were detected at 6 and 4 % mucilage solution, respectively. At low concentrations, Bingham and at high concentrations Casson models, in addition, Hershel-Bulkley model best fitted with the mucilage solution.

In recent days, there have been many recommendations on social media about eating healthy fruits to strengthen the immune system and corona resistance. Therefore, it is very important to identify spoiled fruits at this time when human society is concerned about coronavirus and the human body needs healthy fruits in case of this disease. This paper proposes a method to identify the type of defects found in orange fruits. We used a machine vision system to capture sample images, which includes a charge-coupled device camera, black box, lighting system, and personal computer. The citrus fruits are classified into eight classes, including Wind scar, Stem-end breakdown, Snail bites, Thrips scar, Scale injury, Medfly, Rings, and Calyx, depending on the type and model of the defects. In the proposed method, classification by the neural network with the help of co-occurrence matrix for four angles θ=0°, 45°, 90°, and 135°, were extracted to identify various defects and 24 features related to the areas with defect in citrus. For the final classification of defects in citrus, after evaluating many classification tools from various tools available, Feed-forward Back Propagation Neural Network (FFBPNN) is used. The result of the neural network classifier was obtained with the help of the co-occurrence matrix by taking four angles (horizontal, right diagonal, vertical, and left diagonal) with an accuracy of 89.65%. The evaluation shows acceptable results compared with similar studies. It is a reliable method in the food classification industry with reasonable accuracy.

The increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome on the one hand and its relationship with other chronic non-communicable diseases on the other hand has led to many studies to investigate the causes of metabolic syndrome or its components. This study was a case-control study that was performed on 160 men and women (80 individuals with metabolic syndrome and 80 healthy individuals) with a mean age of 47.8 years. In this study, demographic questionnaires, 147-item feed frequency, anthropometric and body composition information, blood pressure, and a fasting blood sample were taken from all subjects. All data were analyzed using SPSS software. People with metabolic syndrome had higher intakes of cereals, offal, fruits, oils, and snacks, and the differences were significant. Also, the mean atherogenic plasma index (AIP), Cardiac Risk Ratio, and Atherogenic Coefficient (AC) in the group of patients with metabolic syndrome were higher significant than in the patients. However, there was no significant difference between the ORAC diet in the healthy and affected groups. There was also no association between dietary ORAC and AIP. Among the food groups, only nuts and viscera were not associated with the ORAC diet, but more food groups such as legumes, meats, fast foods, vegetables, spices, nuts, tea, coffee, and sugars were not associated with AIP. The results also showed that according to AIP values, 71.3% of healthy people are at risk of developing metabolic syndrome. According to the results, it seems that indicators related to the quality of dietary fat have an effective role in the development of the metabolic syndrome and its components. However, the ORAC index did not have a significant effect on the development of the metabolic syndrome and its components and was associated only with the intake of many food groups.

Punica granatum L. is one of Iran’s native medical plants which represents many nutritional compounds and pharmaceutical properties. The amount of biochemical composite of the fruit depends on the cultivar, environment, climate, ripeness stage, cultivating operations, and method of storage. The point of this research focuses on describing, assessing, and comparing 24 genotypes of the Iranian pomegranate using some noticeable nutritional features belonging to different provinces. In October 2017 pomegranate fruits from the collection of Yazd Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Training Center were harvested in three repetitions. The results revealed significant differences between genotypes of the pomegranates in terms of nutritious characteristics at 1%. Our finding showed that the most amount of anthocyanin was seen in genotype Tabestani Shirin Saveh (S783) while the maximum level of polyphenols and total soluble solids were in genotype Gell mamouli Taft (Y491). The highest amount of antioxidant capacity was obtained in genotype Malas Daneh Ghermez Kan (T191) when the maximum level of total acidity was observed in Malas Zoodras Kan (T411). (T191) Malas Daneh Ghermez Kan and (Y976) Malas Poost Nazok Yazd which have good appearance quality and red-colored juice. The grouping of all the existing genotypes in the mentioned collection, due to biochemical and nutritional properties, should be considered a research priority.

At the beginning of 2020, a new coronavirus, namely SARS-CoV-2, has started to spread worldwide leading to the so-called COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to review the effectiveness of disinfectants in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, after an introduction to the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of disinfectants in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic is discussed. To identify the articles, English databases including Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science, and PubMed from December 2020 to November 2020 were examined using keywords. There is also a manual search in journals, a collection of abstracts in conferences, and conferences and dissertations. Hand hygiene is a well-accepted principle in preventing the transmission of most infectious diseases. Given that many formulations of sanitizers can be effective against COVID-19, it may alter the integrity and function of the skin barrier and increase the risk of dermatitis on the hands.

Diabetes is one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases worldwide which can lead to significant macrovascular and microvascular complications. A majority of patients with diabetes suffer from type 2 diabetes and its prevalence and incidence continue to increase globally. Its underlying pathophysiology is complicated. Both genetic predisposition and lifestyle risk factors can result in relative insulin deficiency and the development of type 2 diabetes. Patients with type 2 diabetes can present with polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia, blurred vision, and recurrent infections. However, many patients may be initially asymptomatic, resulting in late diagnosis. Delayed diagnosis can also result in presenting with already established complications at the time of diagnosis. There are various diagnostic methods and these include measurements of glycated hemoglobin, fasting plasma glucose, or random plasma glucose together with classical signs and symptoms of hyperglycemia. Alternatively, an oral glucose tolerance test can be carried out to confirm the diagnosis. Lifestyle modification and pharmacotherapy are the backbones of type 2 diabetes treatment. Metformin is considered to be the first-line therapy of choice. However, if the desired glucose control is not achieved, then metformin is combined with other anti-diabetic medications. As type 2 diabetes is largely a preventable disease, its primary prevention is of utmost significance. The aim of primary prevention is to reduce the modifiable risk factors such as obesity, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and smoking.