In this study, the effect of high power ultrasound (US) probe in varying intensities and times (18.4, 29.58, and 73.95 W/cm2 for 5, 12.5 and 20 min respectively) on functional properties of millet protein concentrate (MPC) was investigated, and also the structural properties of best modified treatment were evaluated by FTIR, DSC, Zeta potential and SDS-PAGE techniques. The results showed the solubility in all US treated MPC was significantly (p < .05) higher than those of the native MPC. Foaming capacity of native MPC (271.03 ± 4.51 ml) was reduced after US treatments at low intensities (82.37 ± 5.51 ml), but increased upon US treatments at high intensities (749.7 ± 2 ml). In addition, EAI and ES increased after US treatments. One of the best US treatments that can improve the functional properties of MPC was 73.95 W/cm2 for 12.5 min that resulted in reduction of molecular weight and increase nearly 36% in the negative surface charge that was confirmed by SDS-page and Zeta potential results, respectively.

Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is an emerging technology in the food industry with a huge antimicrobial potential to improve safety and extend the shelf life of food products. Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is a popular approach for generating ACP. Thanks to the numerous advantages of DBD ACP, it is proving to be successful in a number of applications, including microbial decontamination of foods. The antimicrobial efficacy of DBD ACP is influenced by multiple factors. This review presents an overview of ACP sources, with an emphasis on DBD, and an analysis of their antimicrobial efficacy in foods in open atmosphere and in-package modes. Specifically, the influence of process, product, and microbiological factors influencing the antimicrobial efficacy of DBD ACP are critically reviewed. DBD ACP is a promising technology that can improve food safety with minimal impact on food quality under optimal conditions. Once the issues pertinent to scale-up of plasma sources are appropriately addressed, the DBD ACP technology will find wider adaptation in food industry.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the main trichothecenes, that causes health-related issues in humans and animals and imposes considerable financial loss to the food industry each year. Numerous treatments have been reported in the literature on the degradation of DON in food products. These treatments include thermal, chemical, biological/enzymatic, irradiation, light, ultrasound, ozone, and atmospheric cold plasma treatments. Each of these methods has different degradation efficacy and degrades DON by a distinct mechanism, which leads to various degradation byproducts with different toxicity. This manuscript focuses to review the degradation of DON by the aforementioned treatments, the chemical structure and toxicity of the byproducts, and the degradation pathway of DON. Based on the type of treatment, DON can be degraded to norDONs A-F, DON lactones, and ozonolysis products or transformed into de-epoxy deoxynivalenol, DON-3-glucoside, 3-acetyl-DON, 7-acetyl-DON, 15-acetyl-DON, 3-keto-DON, or 3-epi-DON. DON is a major problem for the grain industry and the studies focusing on DON degradation mechanisms could be helpful to select the best method and overcome the DON contamination in grains.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the major trichothecene mycotoxins commonly found in grains, in particular barley. This study focused on the reduction of DON concentration on barley samples using atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) treatment. The effects of moisture content, post-treatment storage, and relative humidity of air on DON degradation on barley were evaluated. Additionally, the germination and the quality parameters of barley, including protein content, β-glucan, and moisture content, were evaluated. The results showed that ACP treatment for 6 and 10 min reduced DON concentration by 48.9% and 54.4%, respectively. No significant differences were observed in the DON degradation levels by increasing the moisture content of barley from 9.5 to 15.7 g water/100 g sample and relative humidity of air from 12 to 60%. Steeping of barley grains without subsequent drying prior to ACP treatment significantly increased the degradation rate of DON by ACP due to the presence of water on the grain surface. No significant differences were observed for the tested quality parameters of barley in comparison with control samples. This study shows that ACP may offer an effective DON reduction in barley without affecting the quality attributes. However, ACP treatment parameters should be optimized to achieve a better DON reduction efficacy.