The consumption of plant-based dairy alternatives has increased rapidly around the world as a result of numerous positive health effects. Little information is available about the potential use of watermelon seed milk in the manufacture of yoghurt. The present study was undertaken to investigate the remedial action of yoghurt enriched with watermelon seed milk in renal injured hyperuricemic rats. A new yoghurt, substituting cow’s milk with different proportions of watermelon seed milk was prepared, followed by evaluation of its acceptability and functionality. Four different types of yoghurt were prepared from cow’s milk containing 3% fat, with different proportions of blended watermelon seed milk (0.0, 25, 50 and 75%). Sensorial traits, i.e., appearance, flavor, body and texture, and overall acceptability demonstrated that the blended treatment (50% cow’s milk and 50% watermelon seed milk.) was the most acceptable. This blend was then tested as an anti-hyperuricemia agent in rats. In this respect, twenty-four male albino rats were assigned into four groups (n = 6). The first group was solely administered a standard diet, and served as the negative control. The other rats (n = 18) received a basal diet including 20 g/kg dietary potassium oxonate in order to induce hyperuricemia. The hyperuricemic rats were then divided into three groups; the first group did not receive any treatment and served as the positive control, while the second and third groups were administered 10% cow’s milk yoghurt and 10% watermelon seed milk yoghurt, respectively. Interestingly, the results showed that the hyperuricemic group receiving a diet supplemented with 10% watermelon seed milk yoghurt was not significantly different from the negative control in the measured biological parameters, and saw a significant improvement in renal function compared to the positive control. The biologically favorable action of watermelon seed milk yoghurt could be attributed to its potential promotion of antioxidant status via enhancement of the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione transferase. Collectively, this study concluded that watermelon seed milk can be used in yoghurt manufacturing in proportions of up to 50%, and may improve kidney function as an anti-hyperuricemic agent.

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This study aimed to optimize the antimicrobial efficacy of plant extracts for control of foodborne pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms using food model media based on meat and milk. The extracts of 7 medicinal plants (Gambooge, Clove, Marjoram, Galangal, Thyme, Cinnamon and Marigold) were screened for their antimicrobial activities against nine standard microbial strains (S. aureus, B. cereus, L. monocytogenes, E. coli, P. aeruginosae, S. enterica, C. albicans, Rhizopus sp and A. flavus). All alcoholic extracts (except that of Marigold ) inhibited all tested microorganisms. Gambooge extracts showed the best activity against all tested microorganisms producing the widest inhibition zones ranged from 13 to 40 and 8 to 25 mm against bacteria and fungi respectively, followed by Clove extracts with inhibition zones ranged from 11 to 33 and 8 to 22 mm respectively. The most susceptible bacteria among Gram-positives to the tested plant extracts were Bacillus cereus, while the least susceptible were L. monocytogenes. The most susceptible bacteria among Gramnegative bacteria were Salmonella enterica while the least susceptible were P. aeruginosa. on the other hand fungal strains showed the highest resistance more than all tested bacteria and yeast. aqueous extracts showed less activity than alcoholic extracts. When the methanolic extracts were mixed into food models the antimicrobial activity were reduced and the required minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were duplicated. MICs of Gambooge extract ranged from 0.234 to 3.750, 0.468 to 6.666 and 0.877 to 7.5 mg/ml when tested on microbiological (control) media, meat model and milk model respectively. The antimicrobial activity was reduced on semi-skimmed milk model more than that on meat model and control media respectively. The results indicated that plant extracts possessing antimicrobial activity can be exploited as ideal food preservatives after taken into account the reaction and interaction between food components and extract.

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