Search Results (16)

Tomato by-products are widely generated during processing, which deserve revalorization due to being rich in bioactive compounds that can be incorporated into novel formulas. This study explores the use of tomato by-products as a source of pigments and antioxidant compounds to develop a seasoned cucumber beverage enriched with encapsulated carotenoids. Extracts from industrial tomato pomace were obtained using ultrasound-assisted extraction (USAE) and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), and then encapsulated by spray-drying with inulin (I), maltodextrin (M), or a maltodextrin–inulin blend (MI). The powders were added to a cucumber beverage treated with high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) and stored for 28 days at 4 °C. Physicochemical properties, microbial load, carotenoid content (U-HPLC), free phenolic content (FPC), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were monitored. Beverage samples with maltodextrin (ASE-M, USAE-M) and the maltodextrin–inulin blend (ASE-MI, USAE-MI) showed superior color stability and pH maintenance. USAE-MI achieved the highest TAC at the end of storage and ensured microbial safety by reducing mesophilic bacteria, molds, and yeast. During storage, FPC declined (to ~3.5–5 mg 100 mL⁻¹), TAC increased (to ~16–20 mg 100 mL⁻¹), and carotenoid was kept stable (~9–13 mg L⁻¹). These results highlight the potential of combining HHP with tomato by-product encapsulates to improve the shelf life, quality, pigment stability, and antioxidant properties of vegetable-based beverages. Full article

Food industries generate tomato by-products rich in health-promoting compounds, which can be extracted and encapsulated for use in food products. This study aimed to fortify cucumber juice with encapsulated tomato by-products rich in carotenoids and assess its shelf life. The encapsulated tomato by-product, prepared by spray-drying with maltodextrin and inulin, was added to cucumber juice (5 g L⁻¹). The total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and microbial load were monitored for 3 weeks at 4 °C. High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment improved the TAC by ~25% and reduced the microbial load by ~69%. No significant sensory or physical changes were observed, suggesting fortification enhances beverage health benefits during refrigeration. Full article

Bitter Hawkesbury watermelon (BHW) Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. and Nakai (syn. Citrullus vulgaris Schad) contain high concentrations of cucurbitacin-E-glycoside (CEG), a compound that acts as an arrestant and feeding stimulant for diabroticine leaf beetles that are corn (maize) and cucurbit pests. Juice from BHW is used as feedstock to produce an insecticide synergist for improved chemical control of pests in cucurbit cropping systems. A positive linear relationship was observed between the CEG concentration of parent and offspring grown in open-pollinated field plots. However, subsequent experiments that explored the influence of parent and fruit maturity on CEG concentration did not confirm a relationship between accumulation patterns among offspring of half-sibling families. An effect of maturity was observed in that earlier harvested fruit had greater CEG concentrations than ripe or overripe fruit. In a field study, CIDETRAK L (active ingredient is BHW juice) was mixed with commonly used insecticides to enhance behavioral control of striped cucumber beetle Acalymma vittatum (F.) and squash vine borer Melittia cucurbitae (Harris). Equivalent control of A. vittatum and M. cucurbitae was observed on zucchini when treated with foliar applications of spinosad, acetamiprid, or lambda-cyhalothrin versus ground applications of the same products mixed with CIDETRAK L. Full article

The effects of dynamic high-pressure microfluidization (DHPM at 400 MPa) and heat treatment (HT) on the microbial inactivation, quality parameters, and flavor components of not-from-concentrate (NFC) cucumber juice were investigated. Total aerobic bacteria, yeasts and molds were not detected in the 400 MPa-treated cucumber juice. Total phenolic content increased by 16.2% in the 400 MPa-treated cucumber juice compared to the control check (CK). The significant reduction in pulp particle size (volume peak decreasing from 100–1000 μm to 10–100 μm) and viscosity increased the stability of the cucumber juice while decreasing the fluid resistance during processing. HT decreased the ascorbic acid content by 25.9% (p < 0.05), while the decrease in ascorbic acid content was not significant after 400 MPa treatment. A total of 59 volatile aroma substances were identified by gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), and a variety of characteristic aroma substances (i.e., valeraldehyde, (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-nonenal, and (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal, among others) were retained after treatment with 400 MPa. In this study, DHPM technology was innovatively applied to cucumber juice processing with the aim of providing a continuous non-thermal processing technology for the industrial production of cucumber juice. Our results provide a theoretical basis for the application of DHPM technology in cucumber juice production. Full article

The effect of environmental variables on vitamin C degradation in the analysed plant and vegetable juice samples was investigated. The study focused on samples from chives, dandelion, and nettle, as well as tomato, carrot, cucumber, red and white peppers, and cabbage. The aims of the study were to summarise the impact of storage time, temperature, and packaging materials on antioxidants (using vitamin C as an example) in processing plant and vegetable juices. The vitamin C concentration was tested iodometrically at 0 to 21 days intervals. Storage was carried out at different temperatures (4 °C, 23 °C, −18 °C) and in two selected packaging materials (glass and plastic). The analyses showed that low temperatures (t = 4 °C) and storage in glass containers are best for preserving vitamin C content. Storage time influenced the decrease in vitamin C values, with higher losses accompanying longer storage times. Plastic containers had a shorter shelf life for vitamin C compared to glass containers. In general, high temperatures during processing and storage have a negative effect on the preservation of vitamin C. Therefore, storing juices in the refrigerator and glass containers intended for food applications to minimise vitamin C degradation is important. Full article

The study aimed to detect the content of mandipropamid enantiomers in unprocessed and processed tomato, cucumber, Chinese cabbage, and cowpea samples and assess the health risks to Chinese consumers. Data showed that washing and soaking with an acidic solution reduced the mandipropamid residue from vegetable samples by 54.1–82.2%. The pickling process resulted in a 6.2–65.2% loss of mandipropamid from cucumber, Chinese cabbage, and cowpea samples. Peeling and juicing were the best removing techniques for mandipropamid residues in tomato and cucumber (removal rate (RR) value > 91%), and cooking for 5 min could effectively reduce the levels of mandipropamid in Chinese cabbage and cowpea (RR values of 81.4–99.7%). The values of processing factor for the processed vegetable samples are all less than one. No significant enantioselectivity of mandipropamid was found in the vegetables during processing. Health risk data showed that samples of four types of mandipropamid-contaminated vegetables were safe for consumption after processing. Full article

This work demonstrates the suitability of a newly developed ionic liquid (IL)-based silica SPME fiber for the determination of seven organophosphorus insecticides in cucumber and grapefruit samples by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) with a gas chromatography–flame ionization detector (FID). The sol-gel method released four different sorbent coatings, which were obtained based on a silica matrix containing ILs immobilized inside its pores. In order to obtain ionogel fibers, the following ionic liquids were utilized: 1-Butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide; Butyltriethyl ammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide; 1-(2-Methoxyethyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, and 1-Benzyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. The developed fibers were applied for the extraction of seven different insecticides from liquid samples. The most important extraction parameters of HS-SPME coupled with the GC-FID method were optimized with a central composite design. The new SPME fiber demonstrated higher selectivity for extracting the analyzed insecticides compared with commercially available fibers. The limit of detection was in the range of 0.01–0.93 μg L⁻¹, the coefficients of determination were >0.9830, and 4.8–10.1% repeatability of the method was found. Finally, the obtained ionogel fibers were utilized to determine insecticides in fresh cucumber and grapefruit juices. Full article

Watermelon rind is treated as agricultural waste, causing biomass loss and environmental issues. This study aimed to identify free amino acids and volatiles in watermelon rind, flesh, and rind-flesh juice blends with ratios of 10%, 20%, and 30%. Among the 16 free amino acids quantified, watermelon rind alone contained higher total amino acids (165 mg/100 g fresh weight) compared to flesh alone (146 mg/100 g). The rind had significantly higher (1.5×) and dominant amounts of citrulline and arginine (61.4 and 53.8 mg/100 g, respectively) than flesh. The rind, however, contained significantly lower amounts of essential amino acids. Volatile analysis showed that watermelon rind total volatiles (peak area) comprised only 15% of the flesh volatiles. Of the 126 volatiles identified, the rind alone contained 77 compounds; 56 of these presented in all five samples. Aldehydes and alcohols were most prevalent, accounting for >80% of the total volatiles in all samples. Nine-carbon aldehyde and alcohol compounds dominated both the flesh and rind, though the rind lacked the diversity of other aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, terpenes, terpenoids, esters and lactones that were more abundant in the watermelon flesh. Watermelon rind was characterized by the major aroma compounds above their thresholds, including 17 aldehydes and six unsaturated nine-carbon alcohols. This study demonstrated the potential for rind as a food or beverage supplement due to its key features such as concentrated citrulline and arginine, relatively low odor intensity, and valuable volatiles associated with fresh, green, cucumber-like aromas. Full article

(1) Background: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are considered to be efficient nanocarriers for improved drug delivery and can be derived from mammalian or plant cells. Cucumber-derived EVs are not yet described in the literature. Therefore, the aim of this study was to produce and characterize cucumber-derived EVs and to investigate their suitability to improve the dermal penetration efficacy of a lipophilic active ingredient (AI) surrogate. (2) Methods: The EVs were obtained by classical EVs isolation methods and by high pressure homogenization (HPH). They were characterized regarding their physico-chemical and biopharmaceutical properties. (3) Results: Utilization of classical isolation and purification methods for EVs resulted in cucumber-derived EVs. Their dermal penetration efficacy for the AI surrogate was 2-fold higher when compared to a classical formulation and enabled a pronounced transdermal penetration into the viable dermis. HPH resulted in submicron sized particles composed of a mixture of disrupted plant cells. A successful isolation of pure EVs from this mixture was not possible with classical EVs isolation methods. The presence of EVs was, therefore, proven indirectly. For this, the lipophilic drug surrogate was admixed to the cucumber juice either prior to or after HPH. Admixing of the drug surrogate to the cucumber prior to the HPH resulted in a 1.5-fold increase in the dermal penetration efficacy, whereas the addition of the AI surrogate to the cucumber after HPH was not able to improve the penetration efficacy. (4) Conclusions: Results, therefore, indicate that HPH causes the formation of EVs in which AI can be incorporated. The formation of plant EVs by HPH was also indicated by zeta potential analysis. Full article

A new method for screening pesticide residues in vegetable and fruit juices by the multi-plug filtration cleanup (m-PFC) method combined with gas chromatography-electrostatic field orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry(GC-Orbitrap/MS) was developed. The samples were extracted with acetonitrile, purified with m-PFC and determined by GC-Orbitrap/MS. Qualitative analysis was confirmed by retention time, accurate molecular mass and quantitative analysis were performed with the matrix standard calibration. It could eliminate matrix interference effectively. Eight kinds of typical samples (orange juice, apple juice, grape juice, strawberry juice, celery juice, carrot juice, cucumber juice, tomato juice) were evaluated. The linear ranges of the 350 pesticides were from 5 to 500 μg/kg, with good correlation coefficients greater than 0.990. The limits of detection (LODs) were 0.3–3.0 μg/kg and the limits of quantification (LOQs) were 1.0–10.0 μg/kg. The average recoveries at three spiked levels of 10, 100, 200 μg/kg were in the range of 72.8–122.4%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 2.0–10.8%. The method has effectively improved the determination efficiency of pesticide residue screening by high-resolution mass spectrometry in vegetable and fruit juices. Full article

Loss and waste of postharvest vegetables are the main challenges facing the world’s vegetable supply. In this study, an innovative method of value-added transformation was provided: production of bacteriocin from vegetable waste, and then its application to preservation of vegetables. Antibacterial activity to soft rot pathogen Pectobacterium cartovorum (Pcb BZA12) indicated that tomato performed best in the nutrition supply for bacteriocin production among 12 tested vegetables. Moreover, the antibacterial activity was from Lactobacillus paracasei WX322, not components of vegetables. During a fermentation period of 10 days in tomato juice, L. paracasei WX322 grew well and antibacterial activity reached the maximum on the tenth day. Thermostability and proteinase sensitivity of the bacteriocin from tomato juice were the same with that from Man-Rogosa-Sharpe broth. Scanning electron microscope images indicated that the bacteriocin from tomato juice caused great damage to Pcb BZA12. At the same time, the bacteriocin from tomato juice significantly reduced the rotten rate of Chinese cabbage from 100% ± 0% to 20% ± 8.16% on the third day during storage. The rotten rate decrease of cucumber, tomato, and green bean was 100% ± 0% to 0% ± 0%, 70% ± 14.14% to 13.33% ± 9.43%, and 76.67% ± 4.71% to 26.67% ± 4.71%, respectively. Bacteriocin treatment did not reduce the rotten rate of balsam pear, but alleviated its symptoms. Full article

Cyanocobalamin is the most widespread form of vitamin B12, which is sufficient for humans. Vitamin B12 is mainly found in animal products. However, supplementation does not have to be necessary because certain amounts of vitamin B12 are present in plant products. Previous studies showed significant contents of cyanocobalamin in sea buckthorn and in sauerkraut. In this study, selected products such as sea-buckthorn jam and fermented plant products (obtained by lactic acid fermentation) were tested in a search for vitamin B12. Bacteria involved in this type of fermentation have the potential to produce cyanocobalamin. Popular fermented plant products on the Polish market were selected, namely sauerkraut and pickled cucumbers, as well as parsley juice, beetroot juice and white borscht. The analysis was carried out using HPLC-UV. Most of the analyzed products did not contain significant levels of vitamin B12. Only sea-buckthorn jam and pickled parsley juice can provide the amount of vitamin B12 needed to prevent deficiency. Full article

Microbial contamination affects beverages’ lifetime, quality, and safety. Cucumber crops are seasonally spoiled because of the overproduction. The current study aimed to maximize the importance of natural preservatives and reduce the usage of artificial ones to prolong the cucumber juice’s storage life, enhance flavor, and control the microorganisms after protein isolate and organic acids supplementation. The additions included control (no addition), citric, benzoic acid, sodium salts, kidney bean pepsin hydrolysate (KPH), chicken egg protein isolate (CEPI), duck egg protein isolate (DEPI), and quail egg protein isolate (QEPI) as J-Control, J-Citric, J-Benzoic, J-sod. Citrate, J-sod. Benzoate, J-KPH, J-CEPI, J-DEPI, and J-QEPI, respectively. The antioxidant activity of these additives and juices was evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging activity. The antimicrobial activity, including antibacterial and antifungal activities, was evaluated by using disc assay and the radial growth of fungal mycelium, respectively. The phenolic compounds and flavonoids were estimated by a spectrophotometer as Gallic acid equivalent (GAE) and quercetin equivalent (QE), respectively. Moreover, chemical parameters such as pH, total soluble solids (TSS), Titratable acidity (TTA), and Vitamin C were evaluated by AOAC. Finally, the color properties were estimated by a spectrophotometer, using the Hunter method. KPH had higher significant (p ≤ 0.05) antioxidant activity (88%), along with antimicrobial activity. It significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced the growth of G+ and G− bacteria by 71–97% and 58–66% respectively. Furthermore, it significantly (p ≤ 0.05) inhibited the tested fungi growth by 70–88% and the other additives less than that. During the storage of cucumber juice for an interval of zero, two, four, and six months, the phenolic compounds and flavonoids were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decreased. Consequently, the potential activity of the juice was reduced; in addition, pH and vitamin C were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decreased during the storage period. Meanwhile, the TSS and Titratable acidity were significantly raised. As for color and sensory properties, J-sod. Benzoate, J-KPH, J-CEPI, and J-DEPI had significantly (p ≤ 0.05) high scores in color, taste, and flavor against the control. Generally, the usage of natural additives extends the cucumber juice’s lifetime and increased the manufacture of high-quality and valuable juice. Full article

The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of drying method on flavor profiles of mulberry fruit using purge and trap (P&T) flavor extraction followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and descriptive sensory analysis using a highly trained sensory panel. Mulberry fruit samples were prepared at different temperatures (−20, 0, 50, and 60 °C). The results showed that more diverse volatile compound profiles were produced overall and had increased levels of benzaldehyde, nonanal, and 3,3-dimethylhexane in Sample 3 and 4, which were dried at higher temperature (50 °C and 60 °C). The mulberry fruit samples that received heat treatment had higher grape juice, raisin, and sour aromatics, while samples that did not received heat treatment were characterized as having cucumber, green/grassy, and sweet aromatics. Full article

Fresh vegetables (carrot and cucumber) were juiced using a juice extractor. The extracted juice was then divided into five varying proportions: A (100% carrot juice), B (80% carrot, 20% cucumber), C (70% carrot, 30% cucumber), D (50% carrot, 50% cucumber) and E (100% cucumber). The juice blends were then analyzed for proximate, mineral and vitamin compositions. The phytochemical and the antioxidant properties were also determined. The proximate composition result revealed very high moisture (82.03–83.85%), relatively low carbohydrate (5.23–10.57%) and very low crude protein (1.75–4.14%) contents. For the micronutrients, potassium (14.70–32.10 mg/100 mL) and vitamin C (14.48–24.48 mg/100 mL) were more predominant when compared to the other micronutrients that were determined. The pH was mildly acidic (5.90–6.21) and the Brix value ranged between 3.51 and 7%. The antioxidant result indicated that better bioactivity could be obtained from the blends than the individual juices. While there were no statistically significant differences in the sensory properties of the juices, the 100% carrot juice was rated higher in all the attributes evaluated. Therefore, it was concluded that a blend of carrot and cucumber at a 50:50 ratio offered comparable nutritional and better antioxidative quality when compared to other blends. Full article