Rice noodles are popular worldwide; however, no standard procedure is available for screening the potential for rice flour to make good quality noodles. This study reports two standard laboratory-scale procedures for preparing flat (sheet type) and extruded noodles. Eight rice cultivars were examined and the cooking loss and tensile strength of cooked noodles were determined. It was relatively easy to control the amount of water added to extruded noodles, whereas flat noodles were very sensitive to the amount of water used. Sheet formation was determined based on the amount of moisture content during preparation, and the Chenmaai cultivar was found to be most appropriate for both noodles making procedures and cooking and textural properties. Finally, good noodle making cultivar such as Chenmaai was less likely to be affected by the milling method.
This study investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of extracts from Caesalpinia sappan L. (CSL) on 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced ear edema in mice. Skin inflammation was detected by immunohistochemistry and the protein and mRNA expression levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α) detected by Western blotting and RT-PCR. The activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) were analyzed by Western blotting. CSL extracts markedly inhibited the TPA-induced expression of COX-2 and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Also, CSL extracts significantly reduced the activation of NF-κB and MAPK. These results suggest that CSL extracts may serve as therapeutic agents against skin diseases related to inflammation.
This study was conducted to provide information regarding changes in antioxidant activity in response to conching temperatures, conching times, and cacao mass content (CMC) in dark chocolate. The radical scavenging activities and functional components of cacao nibs were highest for raw cacao nib (R0) under all conditions. Moreover, antioxidant activities and functional compounds increased during roasting for 25 min. As the conching temperature increased, the radical scavenging activities and functional components increased. Quantitative analysis of major catechin-derived compounds by HPLC revealed that R0 had the highest value for other roasted cacao nibs in all aspects (P<0.05). The content of procyanidin B2, catechin, and epicatechin increased during roasting for 25 min. Finally, evaluation of couvertures revealed that procyanidin B1 content increased as conching time increased to 48 h, except for 70% CMC and conched at 60°C (HH) and 70% CMC and conched at 50°C. Overall, HH48 contained the richest catechin-derived components.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.