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The aim of this study was to investigate the antibacterial activity of raw milk from Domestic Balkan donkey breed toward Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. Examination of antibacterial activity was performed in artificially contaminated milk samples by monitoring the changes of count of viable cells of tested bacteria during 8 hours of incubation at 38 °C. Lysozyme and fatty acids contents were also determined in donkey milk. The obtained results indicated inhibitory effect of donkey milk toward both tested bacteria. The lysozyme content in the analyzed milk samples was ranged from 0.67 to 3.54 g/L. The most abundant fatty acids with known antibacterial activity toward Gram positive bacteria were linoleic, lauric and oleic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the antibacterial properties and the protein profile, with an emphasis on the lysozyme and lactoferrin, of raw donkeys’ milk from an autochthonous Serbian breed. The antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Salmonella enteritidis during 96 h of storage at different temperatures and changes in the microflora during 6 d of storage at 4 °C were examined. Investigation of artificially contaminated samples indicated that the most favourable temperature for the antibacterial activity against E. coli was 15 °C and against S. enteritidis was 9 °C. Clostridium perfringens, coagulase positive staphylococci, fungi, Salmonella spp. and E. coli were not detected after 6 d of storage at 4 °C, indicating strong antimicrobial activity of Domestic Balkan donkeys’ milk against these microorganisms. Lysozyme and lactoferrin content in the donkeys’ milk samples tested were 1.31 g L−1 and 4.80 mg L−1, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study had two major objectives: 1) to investigate the influence of a seven-month storage period on maize contamination with aflatoxins (AFs) and 2) to examine the distribution of total count of fungi (TCF), A. flavus and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in the stored maize kernels. In the first part of this survey, 700 maize samples were collected in the period from October 2012 to April 2013. Presence of AFs was detected in 72% of maize, before entering the silos. The survey results indicated that the percentage of contaminated maize samples as well as the distribution of determined AFs concentrations changed during the storage period of seven months. By the prolongation of storage period, the percentage of non-contaminated maize samples decreased from 28% to 16%, while the percentage of contaminated samples in the concentration range 20-50 μg/kg increased from 18% to 25%. In the second part of this study, 32 maize samples from four different silos were analysed. The results showed that TCF, A. flavus and AFB1 were unevenly distributed. According to Duncan's multiple range test, in each silo, statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were noted for all tested parameters. Furthermore, within each silo, statistically significant correlation (r=0.76 at p<0.05) between the number of A. flavus colonies and AFB1 concentrations were observed. According to the obtained results and taking into account the trends in climatic changes in Serbia, further improvement in maize management system concerning AFs is warranted. The findings of this study could be of great importance to increase the knowledge related to the AFs management strategies in Serbia as well as in neighboring countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different working temperatures were tested in order to confirm their effects on the quality of fish after osmotic dehydration. Microbiological profile and chemical content in fish were investigated, before and after osmotic treatment in sugar beet molasses solutions. Based on results it was concluded that molasses as hypertonic solution had great influence on the quality of the final product. The fat content decreased by 1.5% in sugar beet molasses solution at different temperatures (20 °C and 50 °C). The average percentages of fish sugar showed a significant increase during osmotic dehydration at the two temperatures. Osmotic dehydration treatment had great impact on nutritional improvement of fish meat, especially on the mineral composition. Results indicated that the process of osmotic dehydration with sugar beet molasses is hygienically safe. Using sugar beet molasses as an alternative medium in osmotic dehydration opens new opportunities for innovation in dehydrated products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aromatic plants are one of the most important sources of biologically active secondary metabolites, which possess various antimicrobial characteristics. The aim of this work was to examine the effect of antifungal activities of mint and caraway essential oils against the selected fungi. Eight species of molds were selected for antifungal testing: Alternaria alternata, Aspegillus flavus, A. niger, A. versicolor, Eurotium herbariorum, Penicillium aurantiogriseum, P. chrysogenum and P. expansum. Testing of essential oils antifungal activity against the selected species was conducted using the disc diffusion method by adding mint and caraway essential oils (0.5, 1, 5, and 10 µl per disc). Antifungal activity of essential oils was expressed by the diameter of inhibition zone (mm). The most powerful effect of mint essential oil was recorded against E. herbariorum, as its growth was completely inhibited by the quantity of 5 µl. The weakest inhibitory effect was observed against P. chrysogenum (inhibition zone 13.67 mm) by the quantity of 10 µl. The most powerful antifungal activity of caraway was observed against E. herbariorum as growth was completely inhibited by the quantity of 10 µl. The weakest inhibitory effect was observed against A. niger (inhibition zone 28 mm) by the quantity of 10 µl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to improve the quality of gluten-free bread made with high content of soy flour and enriched with sugar beet molasses by incorporating ingredients with a potential to simultaneously enhance the nutritional quality of the breads. The following ingredients were used: pea protein isolate, pea fibre and chia seeds. The chosen ingredients exerted positive effects on bread quality. They promoted volume increase and crumb softening. In this respect, the most effective ingredients were pea protein isolate (at 1% supplementation level), pеа fibre (at up to 2% supplementation level) and chia seeds (at 1% supplementation level). The sensory analysis revealed that pea fibre and chia addition at 1 and 2% supplementation level provided bread with higher scores regarding overall acceptance, crumb texture and taste. At 1% supplementation level, there was not found statistically significant difference in sensory attributes of bread supplemented with pea protein isolate in comparison to the control. However, pea protein isolate was found to strongly diminish bread taste at 4% supplementation level due to presence of beany taste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the nutritive characteristics, whole grain flour is a high quality product, due to its high vitamin, mineral, and dietary fiber content. However, the cereal grains are susceptible to the series of contamination during the ripening, harvesting, processing and storage. The aim of this work was to determine mold presence in grains and flour of wheat, corn and buckwheat. The determination of total number and identification of isolated genera and species of molds were the subject of this research. All samples were contaminated with the molds. The total number of molds per 100 cereal grains was between 60 cfu (wheat) and 120 cfu (buckwheat). The total number of molds in the samples of flour ranged from 6.0×101 cfu/g in white wheat flour to 5.0 ×102 cfu/g in buckwheat whole grain flour (DG18 medium). Eight fungal genera (Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Chrysonilia, Fusarium, Penicillium, Rhizopus and Scopulariopsis) and fifteen species were isolated. The largest number of species of molds was isolated from the genus Aspergillus. About 66.7% of isolated fungi belonged to potentially toxigenic species. The results pointed out the necessity of grain surface treatment, preceding the milling of grains in wheat, corn and whole grain buckwheat flour production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blueberry pomace, by-product of juice production, was processed into a new food ingredient by drying and grinding and used for a new gluten-free cookies' formulation, with the aim of improving nutritional profile and antioxidant capacity. Since duration and temperature at which dough is thermally treated during baking highly influence the quality of a baked product, the objective of this work was to optimise the baking conditions in order to obtain the best technological quality of the cookies. Referring to the results obtained at 160 and 170 °C and different baking times, the following was found: the difference in baking conditions caused variation between cookies' diameters of less than 1%, more regular shape of the cookies was obtained when baking time was shorter, hardness of cookies is highly correlated with moisture content, water activity, baking loss and short/long diameter ratio values. The colour characteristics (L*, a* and b*) of cookies' top and bottom surfaces indicated that the cookies were not overbaked under the chosen baking conditions. Baking time of 14 min at 170 °C was found to be the optimal baking conditions for the blueberry pomace enriched gluten-free cookies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]