Pilot-scale supercritical fluid extraction of okra seeds was carried out, using carbon dioxide as solvent, at temperatures of 40, 50 and 60 • C and pressures of 150, 300 and 450 bar. Laboratory-scale Soxhlet extraction of the ground seeds was carried out with ethanol and n-hexane. The yields of supercritical fluid extraction and n-hexane Soxhlet extractions were similar. The ethanol Soxhlet extraction gave the highest yield, but the concentrations of β-sitosterol and tocopherols in this extract were lower than in the supercritical fluid extraction product. The fatty acid profiles of the extracts were determined, and a high unsaturated/saturated ratio was observed. The fatty acid compositions were only slightly different for oils obtained by the different extraction methods.

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Spices are various plant parts that contain flavor and aroma compounds that in small amounts enhance the enjoyment value of foods.Nowadays, spices play a key role in modern food preparation as they contribute to salt reduction, reduce the utilization of artificial additives, impart natural color to foods, and act as natural antioxidants (Clemenson, 2019). Spices have been found to provide health benefits based on their bioactive ingredients. Diverse spices and herbs, namely anise, cinnamon, black cumin, curry, coriander, ginger, fenugreek, turmeric, garlic, mustard, pepper, and onion, are potentially involved in diabetes control (Sanlier & Gencerb, 2020).Spices are additives used in small quantities, owing to a high potential for microbial contamination as they are used in many food commodities. This possibility may be attributed to the existing various critical points (vulnerabilities) of microbial contamination during plant cultivation and product supply chain (Alegbeleye et al., 2018;Székács et al., 2018). Even though the spices have low water activity, they could be harbored by diverse pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms (Costa et al., 2020;Melo González et al., 2017). As dried herb products, they may be contaminated by different molds too.Due to the high tolerance to dehydration stress, Salmonella species can survive longer in dry products such as spices. The contamination can occur at several phases of the production including

Blackberries are rich in antioxidants due to their high polyphenol and vitamin content, making them an excellent source of health protection. It is well known that good quality juices and fruit extracts can be obtained only from high quality fruits. The aim of this research is to characterize the antioxidant properties of garden blackberries fruits grown in Turia (Romania). Extracts were made from blackberry fruits with four different solvents, and the antioxidant capacity was studied by applying DPPH and FRAP assay. The total phenolic content (with Folin–Ciocâlteu reagent), total anthocyanin content (with the pH differential method), and total flavonoid content (with aluminum chloride colorimetric method) were also measured. The quercetin and gallic acid content were also determined by HPLC-DAD. As the best results were obtained with 90% v/v acidified acetonitrile, the Hansen parameters analysis was performed for the acetonitrile-water solvent mixture as a solvent and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside as a solute.

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