Although sesame seed oil contains high levels of unsaturated fatty acids and even a small amount of free fatty acids in its unrefined flavored form, it shows markedly greater stability than other dietary vegetable oils. The good stability of sesame seed oil against autoxidation has been ascribed not only to its inherent lignans and tocopherols but also to browning reaction products generated when sesame seeds are roasted. Also, there is a strong synergistic effect among these components. The lignans in sesame seed oil can be categorized into two types, i.e. inherent lignans (sesamin, sesamolin) and lignans mainly formed during the oil production process (sesamol, sesamolinol, etc.). The most abundant tocopherol in sesame seed oil is γ-tocopherol. This article reviews the antioxidant activities of lignans and tocopherols as well as the browning reaction and its products in sesame seed and/or its oil. It is concluded that the composition and structure of browning reaction products and their impacts on sesame ingredients need to be further studied to better explain the remaining mysteries of sesame oil.

PLP is an acid protein-bound polysaccharide of high molecular weight, but its structure needs further study. The present results suggest that PLP could potentially be used as a natural antioxidant.

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Special-flavor Baijiu is a unique Baijiu in Jiangxi Province, China, whose uniqueness mainly depends on the unique production process of special-flavor Baijiu Daqu. However, the microbial structure and physicochemical indices of different parts of the special-flavor Baijiu Daqu are still unknown. This greatly reduces the actual value of Daqu in the production of special-flavor Baijiu. Therefore, culture-dependent and Illumina MiSeq sequencing methods were used to analyze the microbial structure of special-flavor Baijiu Daqu. The results indicated that there was a complicated microbial diversity in Chinese special-flavor Baijiu Daqu. The predominant bacterial communities were Bacillales, Lactobacillales, and Rhodospirillales, while Saccharomycetales and Eurotiales were the predominant fungal communities. Significant differences in microbial community and distribution were shown between the surface and central parts of Daqu. Acetobacter and Pichia genera were the predominant microorganisms in the surface part of Daqu, whereas Aspergillus, Kroppenstedtia, Oceanobacillus, and Bacillus genera were the predominant microorganisms in the central part of Daqu. Meantime, the different microbial distributions between the surface and central parts of Daqu caused the significant differences in the physicochemical indices. These results can provide an important theoretical basis for improving the brewing process and the quality of special-flavor Baijiu.

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A new, magnetically responsive bacterial demulsifier (MRBD) was prepared by grafting magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles onto the surface of demulsifying cells. The demulsification process and performance of the MRBD were investigated using a Turbiscan system. At a mass ratio of magnetite to demulsifying cells of 0.2, the demulsification ratio of MRBD increased from 70 to 80% in the presence of a magnetic field, the demulsification half-life decreased from 3.0 to 2.0 h, and the transmitted intensity increased 4 times compared with the native bacterial demulsifier. Analysis of the demulsification process revealed that an increased mass ratio improved the extent of drop coalescence by adjusting the balance between the surface hydrophobicity and magnetic responsiveness. The magnetic field mainly increased the drop sedimentation rate. The MRBD exhibited good recyclability and could be reused for three cycles, which may minimize demulsification costs. The simple synthesis and highly efficient demulsification performance represents a significant improvement over existing techniques.

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