scholarly journals Dispersing hydrophobic natural colourant β-carotene in shellac particles for enhanced stability and tunable colour

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 170919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Chen ◽  
Chun-Xia Zhao ◽  
Camille Lagoin ◽  
Mingtan Hai ◽  
Laura R. Arriaga ◽  
...  

Colour is one of the most important visual attributes of food and is directly related to the perception of food quality. The interest in natural colourants, especially β-carotene that not only imparts colour but also has well-documented health benefits, has triggered the research and development of different protocols designed to entrap these hydrophobic natural molecules to improve their stability against oxidation. Here, we report a versatile microfluidic approach that uses single emulsion droplets as templates to prepare microparticles loaded with natural colourants. The solution of β-carotene and shellac in the solvent is emulsified by microfluidics into droplets. Upon solvent diffusion, β-carotene and shellac co-precipitates, forming solid microparticles of β-carotene dispersed in the shellac polymer matrix. We substantially improve the stability of β-carotene that is protected from oxidation by the polymer matrix and achieve different colour appearances by loading particles with different β-carotene concentrations. These particles demonstrate great promise for practical use in natural food colouring.

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ehsan Taghavizadeh Yazdi ◽  
Simin Nazarnezhad ◽  
Seyed Hadi Mousavi ◽  
Mohammad Sadegh Amiri ◽  
Majid Darroudi ◽  
...  

The use of naturally occurring materials in biomedicine has been increasingly attracting the researchers’ interest and, in this regard, gum tragacanth (GT) is recently showing great promise as a therapeutic substance in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. As a polysaccharide, GT can be easily extracted from the stems and branches of various species of Astragalus. This anionic polymer is known to be a biodegradable, non-allergenic, non-toxic, and non-carcinogenic material. The stability against microbial, heat and acid degradation has made GT an attractive material not only in industrial settings (e.g., food packaging) but also in biomedical approaches (e.g., drug delivery). Over time, GT has been shown to be a useful reagent in the formation and stabilization of metal nanoparticles in the context of green chemistry. With the advent of tissue engineering, GT has also been utilized for the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds applied for both hard and soft tissue healing strategies. However, more research is needed for defining GT applicability in the future of biomedical engineering. On this object, the present review aims to provide a state-of-the-art overview of GT in biomedicine and tries to open new horizons in the field based on its inherent characteristics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 35-40
Author(s):  
Vasile RAŢᾸ ◽  
Liliana RUSU

Since the emergence of humanity, the marine environment has provided a safety net in many ways, has fostered socio-economic development, creating links between states, between continents. In the same time, it represents a priority source of food for a considerable percentage of the population. The same marine environment also creates solutions to current global problems, as a potential source of sustainable energy for the future. In recent decades, the stability of this ecosystem has been  considerably shaken by the various types of pollution resulting from human activities. The Black Sea is not immune to these results from economic activities, such as the transport of goods by water, which creates the context for the migration of living organisms from one geographical region to another. The threat of ecosystems has been intensified by the process of globalization, by changing the natural food chains following the accidental introduction of non- indigenous marine life by discharging ballast water from ship tanks. Risk assessment to limit the effects of this biohazard problem is the first step in a normal regional chain of action..


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Vargas ◽  
Diana T. Reyes-Castillo ◽  
Eduardo Coutino-Gonzalez ◽  
Citlali Sánchez-Aké ◽  
Carlos Ramos ◽  
...  

Halide perovskites offer great promise for optoelectronic applications, but stability issues continue to hinder its implementation and long-term stability. The stability of all-inorganic halide perovskites and the inherent quantum confinement of low dimensional perovskites can be harnessed to synthesize materials with high PL efficiency. An example of such materials is the recently reported new family of layered double perovskites, Cs4Mn1−xCdxBi2Cl12. Herein, we report a new synthetic procedure that enhances the maximum PLQY of this family materials to up 79.5%, a 20% enhancement from previous reports and the highest reported for a Mn-doped halide perovskite. Importantly, stability tests demonstrate that these materials are very stable towards humidity, UV irradiation, and temperature. Finally, we investigated the photophysics, the effects of magnetic coupling and temperature in the PL efficiency and proposed a mechanism for the emission process. Our results highlight the potential of this family of materials and related layered all-inorganic perovskites for solid-state lighting and optoelectronic applications<p></p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renzhou Meng ◽  
Chengwen Wang ◽  
Xiliang Dong ◽  
Chao Xiong

Abstract Oil-based drilling fluid (OBDF) is an important means for offshore drilling, but it would affect the cementing quality. Nanoemulsions shows potential for OBDF removal, but how to prepare nanoemulsion meeting the engineering requirement is lack of good understanding. Moreover, nanoemulsions usually behave badly under low/high temperature, which would restrict the application. Revealing removal mechanisms of nanoemulsion and improving nanoemulsion stability at different temperature are of great significance. The nanoemulsion could rapidly spread on the wellbore surfaces, cause the adhering OBDF to curl into little droplets, and solubilize the removed OBDF. The removal efficiency can reach more than 98%. Low temperature and higher concentration of dispersed phase both increased the viscosity of nanoemulsions stabilized by surfactants. PEGs can induce the bridging of emulsion droplets at low temperature, leading to significant increase of nanoemulsions viscoelasticity at low temperature (around 5°C). To control the rheological properties of nanoemulsions, a hydrophobic association polymer, HAAP, was proposed. Nanoemulsions containing HAAP does not gel at low temperature (&lt; 15°C). And the viscoelasticity of nanoemulsions increased slightly when the temperature is higher than 70°C because of the thermoassociating behavior of polymer, which can ensure the stability of the nanoemulsions at high temperature. This paper is helpful to establish a generic route for preparing nanoemulsions with controlled rheological properties under different temperature, which is benefit for their applications in offshore.


Author(s):  
Elena Andreea POP ◽  
Andrea BUNEA ◽  
Florina COPACIU ◽  
Carmen SOCACIU ◽  
Adela PINTEA

Apricots are well known for the high content of bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, polyphenols, vitamins and minerals. Several studies have pointed out the chemical composition or the biological effects of apricots, but limited information are available regarding the stability of active compounds during storage or processing. The aim of this study was to determine the stability of major carotenoids in commercial dried apricots during storage.Carotenoids were extracted monthly from dried apricots kept in a dark environment, at room temperature, for twelve months. Total carotenoids were determined using the spectrophotometric method while the most relevant carotenoids were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection (HPLC-PDA) on a C30 column and using a gradient elution system.Initial carotenoid content of dried fruits was 6.72 mg/100g, while after six months of storage it decreased to 2.46 mg/100g. After twelve months of storage the total carotenoid content was 0.82 mg/100g, representing 20.35 % of the initial concentration. The major carotenoids identified in apricots were: all trans β-carotene, its geometrical isomers (9-cis-β-carotene; 13-cis-β-carotene; 9,13-di-cis β-carotene); β-carotene-5,8-epoxide; β-cryptoxanthin and β-cryptoxanthin palmitate. Significant decreases were observed for all pigments but all trans β-carotene appears to be the most sensitive pigment, with 15.7 % residual concentration. Although the concentrations of β-cryptoxanthin palmitate is small, it has shown significant increased stability compared to carotenes.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gong-Liang Zhang ◽  
Hong-Yan Wu ◽  
Ying Liang ◽  
Jie Song ◽  
Wei-Qi Gan ◽  
...  

The influence of 11 kinds of oxygen-containing sulfur flavor molecules was examined on β-carotene stability under UVA irradiation in ethanol system. Both the effects of sulfides on dynamic degradation of β-carotene and the relation between structure and effect were investigated. The oxidation products of β-carotene accelerated by sulfides under UVA irradiation were also identified. The results indicated that the disulfides had more obvious accelerative effects on the photodegradation of β-carotene than mono sulfides. The degradation of β-carotene after methyl (2-methyl-3-furyl) disulfide (MMFDS), methyl furfuryl disulfide (MFDS) and bis(2-methyl-3-furyl) disulfide (BMFDS) exposure followed first-order kinetics. Furan-containing sulfides such as MMFDS and BMFDS showed more pronounced accelerative effects than their corresponding isomers. The oxidation products were identified as 13-cis-β-carotene, 9,13-di-cis-β-carotene and all-trans-5,6-epoxy-β-carotene. These results suggest that both the sulfur atom numbers and the furan group in oxygen-containing sulfides play a critical role in the photooxidation of β-carotene.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Fengshan Si ◽  
Zhengkun Yan ◽  
Jing Wang ◽  
Daoming Dai

Taking the carbon emissions per unit product as the standard to measure the low-carbon technology level of the enterprise, this article analyzed how the technology supplier enterprises realize low-carbon production and achieve a win-win situation for both supply and demand through technology sharing through technology research and development. Based on the positive effect of low-carbon technology level on product demand, we studied the optimal pricing strategy and the optimal low-carbon technology level in the technology supply enterprises under the Stackelberg game in 3 conditions (i.e., without technology research and development or technology sharing, with technology research and development but no technology sharing, and with both technology research and development and technology sharing). We also drew a comparative analysis of the optimal product price, the optimal low-carbon technology level, and the optimal profit in the three scenarios. Besides, by constructing a delayed differential price game model, we studied the equilibrium strategy of price competition between technology supply and demand companies and the local asymptotic stability of the game system at the equilibrium point. In addition, the effects of delay strategy on game equilibrium strategy, the influence of the degree of adjustment of decision variables on the stability of the game system, and the stability of the game system on the evolution trend of the game are also explored. By comparing and analyzing the game results of the oligopoly enterprises in the stable system and the unstable system, it confirmed that the system instability usually causes serious harm to the enterprise.


2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna A. Pulit-Penaloza ◽  
Jessica A. Belser ◽  
Terrence M. Tumpey ◽  
Taronna R. Maines

ABSTRACT The relative importance of influenza virus transmission via aerosols is not fully understood, but experimental data suggest that aerosol transmission may represent a critical mode of influenza virus spread among humans. Decades ago, prototypical laboratory strains of influenza were shown to persist in aerosols; however, there is a paucity of data available covering currently circulating influenza viruses, which differ significantly from their predecessors. In this study, we evaluated the longevity of influenza viruses in aerosols generated in the laboratory. We selected a panel of H1 viruses that exhibit diverse transmission profiles in the ferret model, including four human isolates of swine origin (referred to as variant) and a seasonal strain. By measuring the ratio of viral RNA to infectious virus maintained in aerosols over time, we show that influenza viruses known to transmit efficiently through the air display enhanced stability in an aerosol state for prolonged periods compared to those viruses that do not transmit as efficiently. We then assessed whether H1 influenza virus was still capable of infecting and causing disease in ferrets after being aged in suspended aerosols. Ferrets exposed to very low levels of influenza virus (≤17 PFU) in aerosols aged for 15 or 30 min became infected, with five of six ferrets shedding virus in nasal washes at titers on par with ferrets who inhaled higher doses of unaged influenza virus. We describe here an underreported characteristic of influenza viruses, stability in aerosols, and make a direct connection to the role this characteristic plays in influenza transmission. IMPORTANCE Each time a swine influenza virus transmits to a human, it provides an opportunity for the virus to acquire adaptations needed for sustained human-to-human transmission. Here, we use aerobiology techniques to test the stability of swine-origin H1 subtype viruses in aerosols and evaluate their infectivity in ferrets. Our results show that highly transmissible influenza viruses display enhanced stability in an aerosol state compared to viruses that do not transmit as efficiently. Similar to human-adapted strains, swine-origin influenza viruses are infectious in ferrets at low doses even after prolonged suspension in the air. These data underscore the risk of airborne swine-origin influenza viruses and support the need for continued surveillance and refinement of innovative laboratory methods to investigate mammalian exposure to inhaled pathogens. Determination of the molecular markers that affect the longevity of airborne influenza viruses will improve our ability to quickly identify emerging strains that present the greatest threat to public health.


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (18) ◽  
pp. 4188
Author(s):  
Ce Cheng ◽  
Yi Gao ◽  
Zhihua Wu ◽  
Jinyu Miao ◽  
Hongxia Gao ◽  
...  

β-carotene is a promising natural active ingredient for optimum human health. However, the insolubility in water, low oral bioavailability, and instability in oxygen, heat, and light are key factors to limit its application as incorporation into functional foods. Therefore, gliadin nanoparticles (GNPs) Pickering emulgels were chosen as food-grade β-carotene delivery systems. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the influence of GNPs concentration on the rheological properties, stability, and simulated gastrointestinal fate of β-carotene of Pickering emulgels. The formulations of Pickering emulgels at low GNPs concentration had better fluidity, whereas at high GNPs concentration, they had stronger gel structures. Furthermore, the thermal stability of β-carotene loaded in Pickering emulgels after two pasteurization treatments was significantly improved with the increase of GNPs concentration. The Pickering emulgels stabilized with higher GNPs concentration could improve the protection and bioaccessibility of β-carotene after different storage conditions. This study demonstrated the tremendous potential of GNPs Pickering emulgels to carry β-carotene.


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