Effectiveness of the fountain-microwave drying method in some selected pumpkin cultivars
Publication date: April 2017 Source:LWT - Food Science and Technology, Volume 77 Author(s): Agnieszka Nawirska-Olszańska, Bogdan Stępień, Anita Biesiada Nowadays, the least invasive methods of pumpkin drying are sought. They include the microwave drying technique that applies energy carried by short electromagnetic waves for heating and thus dehydrating the material. In the study, five pumpkin cultivars of the species Cucurbita moschata and C. ficifolia were dried using the new fountain-microwave method. As a result, dry material was obtained whose stress resistance was 10–30 times lower than that of raw pumpkin...
Source: LWT Food Science and Technology - November 28, 2016 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Cucurbita moschata Duch and its active component, β-carotene effectively promote the immune responses through the activation of splenocytes and macrophages.
Authors: Kim HY, Nam SY, Yang SY, Kim HM, Jeong HJ
Abstract
Cucurbita moschata Duch. has long been used for traditional health food in many countries. However, influence to enhance the immune system of Cucurbita moschata Duch. and its major component, β-carotene is not clear. Here, we determined the immune enhancement effect of Cucurbita moschata Duch. and β-carotene in mouse splenocytes and RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line. We prepared baked Cucurbita moschata Duch. (Sweetme Sweet Pumpkin(TM), SSP) and steamed Cucurbita moschata Duch. (SC). Splenocytes isolated from the spleen of BALB/c mice were treated ...
Source: Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology - June 18, 2016 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol Source Type: research
Modelling Effective Moisture Diffusivity of Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) Slices under Convective Hot Air Drying Condition
Authors: Onwude, Daniel I. / Hashim, Norhashila / Janius, Rimfiel B. / Nawi, Nazmi / Abdan, Khalina (Source: International Journal of Food Engineering)
Source: International Journal of Food Engineering - April 15, 2016 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Byproduct from pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duchesne ex poiret) as a substrate and vegetable matrix to contain Lactobacillus casei
Publication date: May 2016 Source:Journal of Functional Foods, Volume 23 Author(s): C. Genevois, S. Flores, M. de Escalada Pla Pumpkin waste was used as a substrate and support of Lactobacillus casei (ATCC-393). A complete factorial design (24) was performed in order to study the effect of water content, whey, inoculum concentration and the incubation period on cell growth and viability. According to the results of the experimental design, L. casei could use pumpkin waste as a substrate successfully and the system with 10 mL/g of water and without whey was selected to continue with further assays. The kinetic...
Source: Journal of Functional Foods - March 31, 2016 Category: Nutrition Source Type: research
Resistance to Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus in Cucurbita spp.
Abstract
Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) is a bipartite begomovirus (family Geminiviridae) first reported in India and its neighbouring countries. ToLCNDV severely affects zucchini crop (Cucurbita pepo) in the main production areas of Southern Spain since 2012. This emerging begomovirus is a serious threat to this and other cucurbit crops. Breeding resistant cultivars is the most promising method for disease control, but requires the identification of sources of resistance in the Cucurbita genus. In this work, we screened for ToLCNDV resistance a large collection of Cucurbita spp. accessions, including landraces...
Source: Annals of Applied Biology - March 16, 2016 Category: Biology Authors: C. Sáez, C. Martínez, M. Ferriol, S. Manzano, L. Velasco, M. Jamilena, C. López, B. Picó Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Resistance to Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus in Cucurbita spp.
Abstract
Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) is a bipartite begomovirus (family Geminiviridae) first reported in India and its neighbouring countries. ToLCNDV severely affects zucchini crop (Cucurbita pepo) in the main production areas of Southern Spain since 2012. This emerging begomovirus is a serious threat to this and other cucurbit crops. Breeding resistant cultivars is the most promising method for disease control, but requires the identification of sources of resistance in the Cucurbita genus. In this work, we screened for ToLCNDV resistance a large collection of Cucurbita spp. accessions, including landraces...
Source: Annals of Applied Biology - March 15, 2016 Category: Biology Authors: C. S áez, C. Martínez, M. Ferriol, S. Manzano, L. Velasco, M. Jamilena, C. López, B. Picó Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Improvement of depressive behavior by Sweetme Sweet Pumpkin™ and its active compound, β-carotene
In conclusion, these findings suggest the potential of SSP and β-carotene as a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of depression. (Source: Life Sciences)
Source: Life Sciences - January 27, 2016 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Application of edible coatings to improve global quality of fortified pumpkin
This study shows that the production of fortified pumpkin is simple and transferable to the food industry, and constituting a contribution from the food technology to the innovation of processes and formulation of a functional food fortified with Fe. (Source: Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies)
Source: Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies - December 2, 2015 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (DHCA) modulates the differentiation of Th17 and Th1 cells and suppresses experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis
Publication date: Available online 23 October 2015 Source:Molecular Immunology Author(s): Junghun Lee, Jinyong Choi, Wonwoo Lee, Kyeongryang Ko, Sunyoung Kim Dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (DHCA), originally isolated from the stems of Cucurbita moschata, has previously been shown to exhibit anti-adipogenic and anti-lipogenic effects in 3T3-L1 cells and primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) (Lee et al., 2012). Here, we investigated whether synthetic DHCA could suppress the CD4 T helper 17 (Th17)-mediated production of the interleukin (IL)-17 protein. The results from RT-qPCR suggest that DHCA-mediated down-re...
Source: Molecular Immunology - October 26, 2015 Category: Allergy & Immunology Source Type: research
Subcellular distribution and uptake mechanism of di-n-butyl phthalate in roots of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) seedlings.
In this study, a series of hydroponic experiments using intact pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) seedlings was conducted to investigate how di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), one of the most frequently identified PAEs in the environment, enters and is distributed in roots. DnBP was transported into subcellular tissues rapidly in the initial uptake period (<12 h). More than 80 % of DnBP was detected in the cell walls and organelles, which suggests that DnBP is primarily accumulated in these two fractions due to their high affinity to DnBP. The kinetics of DnBP uptake were fitted well with the Michaelis-Menten equation, suggesting...
Source: Environmental Science and Pollution Research International - August 26, 2015 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Lin Q, Yang X, Huang X, Wang S, Chao Y, Qiu R Tags: Environ Sci Pollut Res Int Source Type: research
Molecules, Vol. 20, Pages 11184-11201: A Novel Aqueous Two Phase System Composed of Surfactant and Xylitol for the Purification of Lipase from Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) Seeds and Recycling of Phase Components
This study demonstrated that the proposed novel aqueous two phase system method is more efficient and economical than the traditional aqueous two phase system method for the purification and recovery of the valuable enzyme lipase. (Source: Molecules)
Source: Molecules - June 17, 2015 Category: Chemistry Authors: Mehrnoush AmidMohd ManapMuhaini HussinShuhaimi Mustafa Tags: Article Source Type: research
Combined Effect of Bioactive Compounds and Storage Temperature on Sensory Quality and Safety of Minimally Processed Celery, Leek and Butternut Squash
Abstract
In this work, the combined effect of bioactive compounds (tea tree essential oil, propolis extract and gallic acid) and storage temperature (15 and 5C) on microbiological and sensory quality of fresh‐cut celery, leek and butternut squash was studied. It was confirmed that a good control of refrigeration temperature limits the growth of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms. Tea tree essential oil and propolis showed significant effectiveness in controlling the microbiota present in vegetables. Also, both endogenous Escherichia coli and inoculated E. coli O157:H7 counts were significantly reduced in vegetables...
Source: Journal of Food Safety - May 1, 2015 Category: Food Science Authors: María V. Alvarez, Alejandra G. Ponce, María R. Moreira Tags: Original Article Source Type: research
Effective suppression of pro‐inflammatory molecules by DHCA via IKK‐NF‐κB pathway, in vitro and in vivo
Abstract
Dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (DHCA) is a lignan compound isolated from the stems of Cucurbita moschata that has previously been shown to contain anti‐adipogenic and anti‐lipogenic effects in 3T3‐L1 and primary embryonic fibroblasts (Lee et al., 2012). Here, we investigated the effects of DHCA on various inflammatory molecules in Raw264.7 cells, a mouse macrophage cell line. DHCA decreased the protein level of pro‐inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, interleukin (IL)‐6, IL‐1β and C‐C motif chemokine 2 (CCL2). Similar results were obtained, using primary macrophages derived f...
Source: British Journal of Pharmacology - March 20, 2015 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Junghun Lee, Jinyong Choi, Sunyoung Kim Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research
Transferability of Cucurbita SSR markers for genetic diversity assessment of Turkish bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) genetic resources
Publication date: April 2015 Source:Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, Volume 59 Author(s): Mehtap Yildiz , Hugo E. Cuevas , Suat Sensoy , Ceknas Erdinc , Faheem S. Baloch The genetic diversity present in crop landraces represents a valuable genetic resource for breeding and genetic studies. Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) landraces in Turkey are highly genetically diverse. However, the limited genomic resources available for this crop hinder the molecular characterization of Turkish bottle gourd germplasm for its adequate conservation and management. Therefore, we evaluated the efficacy of 40 SSR markers fro...
Source: Biochemical Systematics and Ecology - January 30, 2015 Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research
