In this research, the effects of microwave (190, 375, and 680 W) vacuum (500, 600, and 700 mbar) and oven (70, 85, and 100 °C) drying methods on the total phenolics, antioxidant capacity, colour and drying characteristics of celery slices were studied. For the selection of the most suitable thin layer drying model, five mathematical models (Page, Modified Page, Logarithmic, Lewis, and Henderson and Pabis) have been applied to the treatments. In light of the statistical tests, Page and Modified Page models were considered the best to describe drying characteristics. Regarding the colour value changes during drying, L*, ΔEab and h° decreased, and a* increased. Additionally, both b* and C*ab increased with microwave and oven drying but decreased with vacuum drying. Dried celery had 38.51-75.34% less total phenolic content than fresh samples, while its antioxidant capacities was greater. The highest ferric-reducing ability of plasma (FRAP; 49.35±3.10 μmol TE/g dw) and cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity (CUP...

The aim of the present work was to design new beverages using lemonade and some herbal extracts (linden, heather, green tea, lemon verbena, clove, peppermint, ginger and mate) rich in vitamin C and flavonoids. The linden-added lemonade showed the highest value (597.9 mg/kg) for ascorbic acid content, whereas the lemon verbena-added lemonade showed the lowest value (486.04 mg/kg). The amount of saccharose was changed by 11.07-11.58%, the glucose by 1.11-1.62% and the fructose between 11.07-11.58% in the beverages. K, Na, Mg and P values in the lemonades were determined in the range of 178.83-210.98 mg/kg, 33.75-39.13 mg/kg, 22.37-27.89 mg/kg and 7.22-10.04 mg/kg, respectively. The total phenolic content in the samples changed between 315.11-397.57 mg GAE/100 g. When the samples were analyzed for antioxidant activity, FRAP (17.13-26.79 µmol trolox/mL) and ABTS (16.91-25.38 µmol trolox/mL) methods gave higher results than the DPPH (14.88-17.72 µmol trolox/mL) method. Linden-, ginger- and peppermint-added lemonades, which had been found to be rich in total phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid, showed higher antioxidant activity than the control sample. Overall, the most preferred lemonades were heather- and ginger-added beverages and the control sample. Mate-added lemonade was the least preferred.

BACKGROUND: Honey has a very important commercial value for producers as a natural product. Honey aroma is formed from the contributions of several volatile compounds, which are influenced by nectar composition, botanical origins, and location. Selected‐ion flow‐tube mass spectrometry (SIFT‐MS) is a technique that quantifies volatile organic compounds simply and rapidly, even in low concentrations. In this study, the headspace concentration of eight monofloral (chestnut, rhododendron, lavender, sage, carob, heather, citrus, and pine) and three multiflower Turkish honeys were analyzed using SIFT‐MS. Soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) was used to differentiate honey samples based on their volatiles.RESULTS: This study focused on 78 volatile compounds, which were selected from previous studies of selected honeys. Very clear distinctions were observed between all honeys. Interclass distances greater than 8 indicate that honeys were significantly different. Methanol and ethanol were abundant in the honeys. Chestnut honey collected from the Yalova region had the highest total concentration of volatiles followed by heather honey and chestnut honey collected from the Düzce region.CONCLUSION: Honeys with different botanical and geographical origins showed differences in their volatile profile based on chemometric analysis. Of the honey samples, methanol, ethanol, acetoin, ethyl acetate, and isobutanoic acid had the highest discriminating power. Methanol and ethanol, and then acetic acid, were the volatiles with the highest concentrations in most honeys. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata) is recognized as a functional food due to its abundant content of health-promoting compounds, including carotenoids and polyphenols. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of industrial freezing stages on the bioaccessibility of carotenoids and polyphenols in organic Butternut squash supplied for baby food. Identification and quantification of bioactive compounds were carried out using UPLC-ESI-MS/MS and HPLC-PDA, respectively. The results revealed that industrial freezing of squash did not cause a significant change in bioaccessibility of α- and β-carotene. On the other hand, frozen squash was found to contain higher levels of bioaccessible epicatechin (main flavonoid) (117.5 mg/kg) and syringic acid (main phenolic acid) (32.0 mg/kg) compared to fresh internal fruit. Moreover, the levels of bioaccessible epicatechin and syringic acid were found to be the highest in discarded pomace and seed sample (454.0 and 132.4 mg/kg, respectively). Overall, this study emphasized that industrial freezing could be an effective strategy for preserving carotenoid bioaccessibility in organic Butternut squash, while also enhancing the levels of bioaccessible polyphenols. In addition, we also demonstrated that pomace and seed, which are discarded as waste, have significant potential to be utilized as a food source rich in bioactive compounds.

Citrus fruits, regarded as a prominent fruit crop, are cultivated extensively around the globe and orange (Citrus sinensis L.) is a widely cultivated popular member of the citrus family. Dried oranges have gained recognition as a healthy snack option among consumers and worldwide markets due to the absence of additional ingredients such as sugar and chemicals, whilst yet containing significant natural beneficial components. The drying method is very intriguing due to its ability to facilitate the efficient production, packaging, storage, and transportation of dried oranges at a cost-effective price. In this study, the effects of microwave pretreatment (Mpt) (90 W, 30 min) on hot air drying (HTAD-MW) (60, 70, and 80°C) were investigated, along with the effects on the drying kinetics, rehydration capacity, and quality properties of the orange snack including phenolic compounds (vanillic acid, gallic acid, epicatechin, hesperidin, naringenin, chlorogenic acid, sinapic acid, and o-coumaric acid), antioxidant capacities (with DPPH, FRAP, and CUPRAC methods), and ascorbic acid contents. For modeling the kinetics of orange snack drying in all tests, logarithmic, Wang and Singh’s, diffusion approach, two term, and Wang and Sing’s models performed best. Hot air drying (HTAD) at 70°C applied orange snacks showed the lowest △Eab value, and the color values were close to those of fresh orange slices. The levels of total and individual phenolics, antioxidant capacity (AC), and ascorbic acid (AA) in dried orange snacks were found to be significantly lower ( < 0.05) than in the fresh orange slices. Results also showed that HTAD-MW-applied orange snacks contained more total phenolic (TP) content, individual phenolic content, and AC but lower AA than HTAD-applied samples. The highest amount of phenolic compound was hesperidin for fresh and dried orange snacks. The method that best preserves the TP content and AC of dried orange snacks was found at the drying condition of HTAD-MW at 60°C. As a conclusion, it was suggested that the use of microwave and hot air combination is a promising method to introduce a new functional healthy snack to the dried product market with high quality.