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In this study, the heat pump drying technique was applied to develop the production process of dried mango from Tu Quy mango sources, Ben Tre province, Vietnam. The experiment was performed in three steps. First, mango slices were treated through the blanching process. Samples were pretreated with sizes from 6 to 12mm at 80-95°C for 3-6min, and then the mango slices were soaked in a syrup solution concentration range of 25-40°Bx, citric acid of 0.5-2%, and glycerol of 0.1-0.4% at 35-65°C for 90-180min. Finally, the samples were dried using a pilot-scale heat pump dryer until the moisture content reached 14-16%. The results showed that the blanching and osmosis processes were carried out under optimal conditions to inactivate the Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme, obtain maximum polyphenol compounds, and conform to the product appearance. Additionally, the drying process was carried out at 30°C for 1,080min with the polyphenol content retaining 11.71 mgGAE/gDW--This signifies a successful endeavor in developing production methodologies and expanding the range of mango-derived products. Employing innovative technological processes enhances both the quantity and quality of the products. Moreover, the manufacturing procedure was executed on a pilot device, streamlining the synchronization of large-scale production processes effortlessly. This advancement not only enhances economic value but also addresses the issue of congestion prevalent in the current state of the mango industry in Vietnam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pomelo flavedo extract (PFE) from the pomelo peel (an agricultural waste) is well known with many functional properties. In this study, the incorporation of PFE into the bio‐based polymer (pectin) for the formulation of the coating film was generally developed. The PFE showed a very high inhibitory effect against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (9.22 ± 0.37 mm of inhibition zone diameter), whereas Escherichia coli was found to be resistant to the PFE treatment. The incorporation of varying PFE contents into the pectin film with glycerol as a plasticizer for developing PFE‐Gly‐Pectin composite film and its effect on the film performance was investigated. PFE was found to reduce the swelling degree and increase the solubility of the Gly‐Pectin film as well as increase the flexibility of the resulting film. However, the molecular structure, structural morphology, and contact angle of the Gly‐Pectin film were insignificantly affected by the presence of PFE. The composite film at the PFE:Pectin ratio of 3.4 g/g was selected for the preliminary preservation of jackfruit bulbs which was stored at ambient temperature. As a result, coated jackfruit bulbs appeared to maintain a better quality after 3 days with an alleviated change in weight loss, color parameters, and total soluble solids, whereas the uncoated jackfruits showed signs of spoilage on Day 2 of the storage period. Therefore, the PFE conjugated pectin film suggested potential in the preservation of food materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vietnam is located in the tropical monsoon climate area (Southeast Asia), along with the biodiversity of plant species, which has created many types of monofloral and polyfloral honey. However, there has not been a study that fully reports on the physicochemical composition, antioxidant activity and content of phytochemical compounds of honey in this country. Therefore, this study aimed to determine Vietnam's physicochemical properties, antioxidant activity, and phytochemical content of longan flower honey and natural polyfloral honey (from Micrapis honeycomb). The reference analytical methods were modified based on previous honey studies. Following proximate indicators were found: The moisture content varied from 21.9 to 30.5%, the ash content varied from 0.37 to 0.48%, the protein content varied from 0.25 to 0.41%, and the 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde (HMF) varied from 33.4 to 75.4%. The total phenolic and flavonoid concentrations ranged from 0.890 to 1.110 mgGAE/g and 0.049 to 0.089 mgQE/g. Besides, the antioxidant activity of longan flower honey was recorded as the best, with the IC50 value of 68.49 mg/mL. In addition, Water content, free acidity, sugar content (glucose, fructose, and sucrose), and HMF concentration were all tested and presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports on the optimization of a microwave-assisted distillation process to obtain Dong Van marjoram essential oil, and the determination of its composition, content of constituents, and cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities. Using the response surface method (RSM), the optimal essential oil distillation conditions were determined as material size 0.74 (cm), water to material ratio 4.14:1 (mL/g), microwave power 302.4 (W), and distillation time 2.1 hours. At optimal conditions, the mass of Dong Van marjoram essential oil obtained was 0.887 ± 0.007 g, corresponding to a content of 0.6% essential oil in the material. GC-MS and GC-FID methods showed that the main chemical constituents of Dong Van marjoram essential oils obtained were rosefuran epoxide (44.9%), caryophyllene (10.8%), germacrene D (2.6%), and α-humulene (1.3%). The essential oil exhibited moderate inhibition against both tested cancer cell lines, with IC50 values of 23.9 µg/mL (for PC3) and 56.2 µg/mL (for A549). However, the oil exhibited strong effectiveness against three bacterial strains, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus, and a yeast strain, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranged from 50 to 100 µg/mL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversification of products that are derived from essential oils carries important implications in reducing agricultural waste and promoting the medicinal materials industry. In this study, we formulated a shampoo and a body wash product incorporated with lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oils (LEOs) and evaluated their color stability and the LEO compositional change. We first determined the color change and chemical composition of bare LEO under different storage conditions. Afterward, the washing product base was formulated, and its formulation process was optimized to minimize the color change by varying a wide range of parameters including pH, the inclusion of preservatives and antioxidants, LEO/antioxidant ratio, and emulsification temperature. The base product was then used in body wash and shampoo formulation following our previously reported procedure. The results indicated that direct incorporation of the LEO into the cosmetic products resulted in better color stability and citral retention in comparison with emulsion formation. In addition, shampoo and body wash products showed no detectible presence of compounds resulting from citral decomposition such as 3,7-dimethyl-1,3,6-octatriene, p-mentha-1,5-dien-8-ol, and p-cymene-8-ol. The current findings are expected to aid in diversifying LEO-derived commodities and justifying scalability of the cosmetics production process with a focus on the incorporation of naturally derived ingredients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycosmis stenocarpa is a species of shrub found in the Northern provinces of Vietnam. Its roots contain different carbazolic derivatives, mainly Murrayafoline A (Mu-A), which exhibits valuable biological activities. In this study, we performed an extraction of Mu-A from the roots of G. stenocarpa and optimized this process using response surface methodology (RSM) according to a central composite design, with three independent parameters including extraction time (min), extraction temperature (°C), and solvent/material ratio (mL/g). Two dependent variables were the Mu-A content (mg/g raw materials) and extraction efficiency (%). The optimal conditions to extract MuA were found to be as follows: extraction temperature, 67°C; extraction time, 165 min; and solvent/material ratio, 5:1. Under these conditions, the Mu-A content and extraction efficiency were 38.94 ± 1.31 mg/g raw materials and 34.98 ± 1.18%, respectively. Mu-A exhibited antiproliferation and antitumor-promoting activity against the HepG-2 cell line. The present optimization work of Mu-A extraction from G. stenocarpa roots contributed to the attempt of designing a large-scale extraction process for the compound and further exploitation of its potential in vivo applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]