Because of the high incidence of cardiovascular diseases in Asian countries, traditional fermented foods from Asia have been increasingly investigated for antiatherosclerotic effects. This study investigated the production of nattokinase, a serine fibrinolytic enzyme, in pigeon pea by Bacillus subtilis fermentation. B. subtilis 14714, B. subtilis 14715, B. subtilis 14716, and B. subtilis 14718 …
Electrolyzed water has significant disinfection effects, can comply with food safety regulations,and is environmental friendly. We investigated the effects of immersion depth of electrodes, stirring, electrode size, and electrode gap on the properties and chlorine generation efficiency of electrolyzing seawater and its storage stability. Results indicated that temperature and oxidation-reductio…
A new hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) sensor is fabricated based on a multiwalled carbon nanotube-modified glassy carbon electrode (MWCNT-GCE) and reactive blue 19 (RB). The charge transfer coefficient, a, and the charge transfer rate constant, ks, of RB adsorbed on MWCNT-GCE were calculated and found to be 0.44 ± 0.01 Hz and 1.9 ± 0.05 Hz, respectively. The catalysis of the electroreduction of H2O2…
Most studies of tea trees have focused on their ornamental properties, there are fewer published studies on their medical values. The purpose of this study was to compare the chemical constituents and the biological potential of the water extract of leaves in eight species of Camellia including Camellia sinensis. Among eight Camellia species, Camellia sasanqua showed potent anticancer activitie…
Xuefu Zhuyu decoction, a classic prescription in traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used in the clinical treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In order to profile the chemical material basis of this formula, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Q/TOF MS) method has been established for rapid se…
The quality and acrylamide content of deep-fried and microwave-puffed shrimp chips fortified with 0.1%, 0.5%, or 1.0% calcium salts (calcium lactate, calcium carbonate, calcium citrate, or calcium acetate) were investigated. Microwave-puffed shrimp chips contained higher amounts of acrylamide (130.43 ppb) than did deep-fried shrimp chips. The greatest mitigation of acrylamide formation in over…
The relationships between the perceptions and practical implementation of food safety regulations by food suppliers in Taiwan were evaluated. A questionnaire survey was used to identify individuals who were full-time employees of the food supply industry with at least 3 months of experience. Dimensions of perceptions of food safety regulations were classified using the constructs of attitude o…
Gelidium amansii (GA) is an edible red algae that is distributed mainly in northeastern Taiwan. This study was designed to investigate the effects of GA on plasma glucose, lipids,and adipocytokines in rats with streptozotocin-nicotinamide-induced diabetes. Rats were divided into four groups: (1) rats without diabetes fed a high-fat diet (control group); (2) rats with diabetes fed a high-fat die…
Mycotoxins are toxic food contaminants that are naturally produced by certain fungi. They induce negative effects on human health by making food unsafe for consumption. In this study, analyses were performed to determine the levels and incidence of aflatoxins (AFs) in peanut products, tree nuts, spices, and Coix seeds; ochratoxin A (OTA) in wheat and roasted coffee, as well as OTA and AFs in ri…
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a naturally occurring toxin in food, especially in puffer fish. TTX poisoning is observed frequently in South East Asian regions. In TTX-derived food poisoning outbreaks, the amount of TTX recovered from suspicious fish samples or leftovers,and residual levels from biological fluids of victims are typically trace. However,liquid chromatographyemass spectrometry and liquid …
Lophatheri Herba (Danzhuye; LH), the dried leaves of Lophatherum gracile Brongn (Poaceae),is commonly used in Chinese herbal medicine as an antipyretic, antibacterial, and diuretic. Chemical analysis has been conducted to isolate and identify seven major flavonoid glycosides,including a new flavone C-glycoside, luteolin 6-C-b-D-glucuronopyranosyl-(1/2)-b-D-glucopyranoside (1), isoorientin (2), …
Electrolyzed water is a sustainable disinfectant, which can comply with food safety regulations and is environmentally friendly. We investigated the effects of platinum plating of electrode, electrode size, cell potential, and additional stirring on electrolysis properties of deep ocean water (DOW) and DOW concentration products. We also studied the relationships between quality properties of e…
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasing rapidly, and its treatment with pioglitazone is likely to induce rhabdomyolysis. We aimed to determine the effect of cotreatment with pioglitazone and red mold dioscorea (RMD) produced by Monascus purpureus NTU 568 on pancreas function in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. In diabetic rats fed RMD, RMD with pioglitazone, and pio…
Food safety draws considerable attention in the modern pace of the world owing to rapidchanging food recipes and food habits. Foodborne illnesses associated with pathogens,toxins, and other contaminants pose serious threat to human health. Besides, a large amount of money is spent on both analyses and control measures, which causes significant loss to the food industry. Conventional detection m…
An increasing demand for natural additives has shifted the attention from synthetic to natural antioxidants and antifungal agents. This study was carried out to evaluate the antifungal and antioxidant activities of methanol, chloroform, and aqueous extracts of Annona squamosa Linn. leaves. The antifungal activities of all extracts of A. squamosa leaves against five different strains of fungi (A…
This article presents a precolumn derivatization procedure with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) reagent to detect oligosaccharides and monosaccharides in Hakka rice wine. The subsequent separation of the derivatized glucoseePMP also was performed using a mobile phase consisting of the molar ratio of acetonitrile to ammonium acetate buffer (0.1M) of 22:78 at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min with t…
The contents of lead, cadmium, chromium, copper, and nickel were determined in 25 tea samples from China, including green, yellow, white, oolong, black, Pu'er, and jasmine tea products, using high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The methods used for sample preparation, digestion, and quantificational analysis were established, generating satisfactory…
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are hepatotoxic, genotoxic, and carcinogenic in experimental animals. Because of their widespread distribution in the world, PA-containing plants are probably the most common poisonous plants affecting livestock, wildlife, and humans. Upon metabolism, PAs generate reactive dehydro-PAs and other pyrrolic metabolites that lead to toxicity. Dehydro-PAs are known to r…
Hazelnut is a type of plant that grows in wet and humid climatic conditions. Adverse climatic conditions result in the formation of aflatoxin in hazelnuts during the harvesting,drying, and storing processes. Aflatoxin is considered an important food contaminant,which makes aflatoxin analysis important in the international produce trade. For this reason, validation is important for the analysis…
The recent rise of specialty pharma is attributed to its flexible, versatile, and open business model while the traditional big pharma is facing a challenging time with patent cliff, generic threat, and low research and development (R&D) productivity. These multinational pharmaceuticalcompanies,facinga,havebeensystematicallyexternalizingR&Dand some even establish their own corporate venture ca…
Rhodiola is a genus of medicinal plants that originated in Asia and Europe and are used traditionally as adaptogens, antidepressants, and anti-inflammatory remedies. Rhodiola plants are rich in polyphenols, and salidroside and tyrosol are the primary bioactive marker compounds in the standardized extracts of Rhodiola rosea. This review article summarizes the bioactivities, including adaptogeni…
The fruit of Sageretia theezans is one of many underutilized edible fruits that grow along the southern seashores of East Asia. In this study, to evaluate the nutritional and nutraceutical values of S. theezans fruit, the composition of minerals, organic acids, and proximate and fatty acids, the total phenolic, total flavonoid, and total anthocyanin content, and the antioxidant and antidiabetic…
This review article discusses the analysis of ingredients with health care effects in health food in Taiwan. The top 10 items on the list of registered health food products up to 2014 in Taiwan are described, including monocolin K, u-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid), b-glucans, inulin, catechins, oligosaccharides, resistant maltodextrin,amino acids, medium chain fa…
We propose a generic approach to replace the canonical sequence representation of genomes with graph representations, and study several applications of such extensions. We extend the Burrows-Wheeler transform (BWT) of strings to acyclic directed labeled graphs, to support path queries as an extension to substring searching. We develop, apply, and tailor this technique to a) read alignment on an…
Detecting local common sequence-structure regions of RNAs is a biologically important problem. Detecting such regions allows biologists to identify functionally relevant similarities between the inspected molecules. We developed dynamic programming algorithms for finding common structure-sequence patterns between two RNAs. The RNAs are given by their sequence and a set of potential base pairs w…
This paper investigates the reliability issues of junctionless cylindrical surrounding-gate (JL CSG) MOSFET by employing temperature variations, ranging from 200 K to 500 K, along with the influence of interface trap charges. Furthermore, the analog/RF performance evaluation and linearity distortion analysis due to the interface trap charges in terms of figure-of-merit metrics, i.e., drain cur…
This review article discusses the analysis of ingredients with health care effects in health food in Taiwan. The top 10 items on the list of registered health food products up to 2014 in Taiwan are described, including monocolin K, u-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid), b-glucans, inulin, catechins, oligosaccharides, resistant maltodextrin,amino acids, medium chain fa…
This review article discusses the analysis of ingredients with health care effects in health food in Taiwan. The top 10 items on the list of registered health food products up to 2014 in Taiwan are described, including monocolin K, u-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid), b-glucans, inulin, catechins, oligosaccharides, resistant maltodextrin,amino acids, medium chain fa…
A simple, rapid, and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of benzoyl peroxide (BPO) in wheat flour samples was developed. The detection principle is based on BPO reacted with 2,20-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) to obtain a blue-green colored product that was detected at 415 nm by spectrophotometry. The effect of factors influencing the color reacti…
The effect of different high pressure homogenization energy input parameters on mean diameter droplet size (MDS) and droplets with > 5 mm of lipid injectable emulsions were evaluated. All emulsions were prepared at different water bath temperatures or at different rotation speeds and rotor-stator system times, and using different homogenization pressures and numbers of high-pressure system reci…
Ruta graveolens (the common rue) has been used for various therapeutic purposes, including relief of rheumatism and treatment of circulatory disorder. To elucidate the effects of rue on main drug-metabolizing enzymes, effects of an aqueous extract of the aerial part of rue and its ingredients on cytochrome P450 (P450/CYP), uridine diphosphate (UDP)- glucuronosyltransferase, and reduced nicotin…
A simple method has been developed and validated for quantitative determination of lumefantrine in antimalarial finished pharmaceutical products using gas chromatography coupled to flame ionization detector. Lumefantrine was silylated with N,Oebis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoro-acetamide at 70C for 30 minutes, and chromatographic separation was conducted on a fused silica capillary (HP-5, 30 m leng…
Four isoflavonoids were isolated from stems of Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi growing in Democratic People's Republic of Korea and identified as daidzein (1), genistin (2), daidzin (3), and puerarin (4), structures, which were elucidated by means of spectroscopic analysis. Isoflavonoids were isolated using silica gel chromatography and purified with organic solvents. Isoflavonoid contents in P.…
Carbon paste electrodes (CPEs) modified with silver particles present an interesting tool in the determination of paraquat (PQ) using square wave voltammetry. Metallic silver particle deposits have been obtained via electrochemical deposition in acidic media using cyclic voltammetry. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements show that the silver particles are deposited ont…
Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) allows rapid detection of Salmonella in frozen dairy products, but it might cause a false positive detection result because it might amplify DNA from dead target cells as well. In this study, Salmonella-free frozen ice cream was initially inoculated with heat-killed Salmonella Typhimurium cells and stored at 18C. Bacterial DNA extracted from the sampl…
Hypericum perforatum L. (Hypericaceae) has been widely prescribed for mild to moderate depression following the release of promising results in clinical trials. However, it is known that its constituents may be affected by milieu. The stability complexities of the constituents of H. perforatum have gained interest in recent years. The aim of the present study was to examine the impact of storag…
A quantitative structureeactivity relationship (QSAR) study was performed on a set of amino-substituted nitrogen heterocyclic urea derivatives. Two novel approaches were applied: (1) the simplified molecular input-line entry systems (SMILES) based optimal descriptors approach; and (2) the fragment-based simplex representation of molecular structure (SiRMS) approach. Comparison with the classic…
There have been rapid increases in consumer products containing nanomaterials, raising concerns over the impact of nanoparticles (NPs) to humankind and the environment, but little information has been published about mineral filters in commercial sunscreens. It is urgent to develop methods to characterize the nanomaterials in products. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs in unmodi…
In this study, a method for determination of cholesterol and four phytosterols by gas chromatography coupled with electron impact ionization modeetandem mass spectrometry without derivatization in general food was developed. The sample was saponified with 7.5% KOH in methanol. After heating on hot plate and reflux for 60 minutes, the saponified portion was extracted with n-hexane/petroleum eth…
Traditional kombucha is a fermented black tea extract and sugar. Sweetened black tea (10% w/v) and wheatgrass juice (WGJ) were mixed in various ratios and used as fermentation substrate for enhancing phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. Starter, comprising of yeast (Dekkera bruxellensis) and acetic acid bacteria Gluconacetobacter rhaeticus and Gluconobacter roseus), was inoculated at 20…
The fruiting body of Antrodia cinnamomea is used as a medicinal mushroom in Taiwan and is found on the inner cavity of the endemic species Cinnamomum kanehirai. In this study,phytomics similarity index (PSI) analysis was employed for the chemical quality evaluation of the A. cinnamomea fruiting bodies from different strains, and grown on various substrates. The results indicated that the differ…
Diabetes mellitus is an endocrine disease in which the pancreas does not produce sufficient insulin or the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin therapy has been the best choice for the clinical management of diabetes mellitus. The current insulin therapy is via subcutaneous injection, which often fails to mimic the glucose homeostasis that occurs in normal individuals. T…
Cosmos caudatus, which is a commonly consumed vegetable in Malaysia, is locally known as “UlamRaja”. It is a localMalaysian herb traditionally used as a food andmedicinal herb to treat severalmaladies. Its bioactive or nutritional constituents consist of awide range ofmetabolites,including glucosinolates, phenolics, amino acids, organic acids, and sugars. However, many of these metabolites …
Gastrodia elata Blume is commonly used as a medical herb in China for ameliorating headaches, dizziness, and convulsions. In previous studies, water extracts of G. elata Bl.(WGE) have demonstrated potential to act as therapeutic agents to improve depression-like symptoms in rats. As gastrodin (GAS) is a major active compound in WGE, its quantitation in WGE is important for quality control. The …
To ensure the safety of the peanut butter ice cream manufacture, a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan has been designed and applied to the production process. Potential biological, chemical, and physical hazards in each manufacturing procedure were identified. Critical control points for the peanut butter ice cream were then determined as the pasteurization and freezing pro…
To avoid or retard the lipid peroxidation of meat products, antioxidants are commonly added. Considering the safety and health of additives in meat products, consumers prefer natural antioxidants rather than synthetic ones. Gentisic acid and epicatechin were identified as the major phenolic acid and flavonoid, respectively, of litchi flowers (LFs). The physicochemical properties of pork meatba…
Histamine is the causative agent of scombroid poisoning, a foodborne chemical hazard.Histamine is degraded by the oxidative deamination activity of certain microorganisms. In this study, eight histamine-degrading bacteria isolated from salted fish products were identified as Rummeliibacillus stabekisii (1 isolate), Agrobacterium tumefaciens (1 isolate), Bacillus cereus (2 isolates), Bacillus po…
Bacillus polymyxa D05-1, isolated from salted fish product and possessing amine degrading activity, was used as a starter culture in salted fish fermentation in this study. Fermentation was held at 35C for 120 days. The water activity in control samples (without starter culture)and inoculated samples (inoculated with B. polymyxa D05-1) remained constant throughout fermentation, whereas the pH …
Flavor is the most important aspect of food. Based on the complex matrix of the food system and the flavor structure themselves, one important factor that plays a key role in the quality attribute of food is flavor stability. Not surprisingly, there is a large volume of published research investigating the stability of different food flavor compounds, since understanding flavor stability is cru…
Pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing plants are widespread in the world and probably the most common poisonous plants affecting livestock, wildlife, and humans. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids require metabolic activation to form dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids that bind to cellular proteins and DNA leading to hepatotoxicity, genotoxicity, and tumorigenicity. At present, it is not clear how dehydropyrroliz…