Effect of sample pretreatments on the storability of ground melon ?egusi??Colocynthis citrillus L.

Abstract

In the maintenance of shelf-stability, nutritional and organoleptic properties of ground melon 'egusi'-Colocynthis citrullus L., vacuum-packaged samples were found to be better than unpackaged samples and samples treated with 0.2% butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and 0.02% BHA + 0.045% sodium metabisulphite. After 56 days at 35 degrees C, stored samples showed significant differences (P < or = 0.01) in chemical composition peroxide value (PV), fungal counts and organoleptic attributes. Lipid oxidation and, to a lesser extent, fungal deterioration were responsible for the spoilage of stored ground melon kernel. The dominant fungal flora isolated from stored samples were of the genera Penicillium, Botryodiplodia, Rhizopus and Aspergillus.

Physicochemical and fatty acid profile of egusi oil from supercritical carbon dioxide extraction

“…The physicochemical properties of egusi oil are shown in Table 3. Oxidative stability index (OSI) is a measure of overall oxidation level of oil samples, which can give a better estimation of the progressive oxidative deterioration of oil (Adegoke and Ndife, 1993; Smith et al., 2007). The oxidative stability of oil will be high when polyunsaturated fatty acid is low due to the presence of a high degree of saturation in the bond of the oil.…”

Influence of different spices on the microbial reduction and storability of laboratory‐processed tomato ketchup and minced meat

“…However, in developing countries for economic reasons, some modern methods of food preservation may not be readily available. Thus the use of antioxidants derived from spices coupled with effective packaging mechanisms have been suggested for the preservation of some perishable foods [4] particularly with some adverse reports about synthetic antioxidants [ 171. In the food industries, spices are used as flavourants and they make the appearance of foods pleasing to the eye by the addition of colouring materials derived from, for example, turmeric, paprika or chillies [22]. Spices in finished food products are commonly used as flavourants at concentrations of 0.5 to 1 .OYO [23].…”

“…From the plant foods standpoint, postharvest losses of up to 20% have been found with fresh tomatoes, pepper and onions [20]. Food losses can be traced to poor processing and storage methods [4] and microbial deterioration [9]. Following our earlier studies with deteriorative effects of microorganisms in tomatoes in transit [ 11 and the usefulness of curing mixtures in the reduction of microbial loads in meat and sausage [3] and considering the magnitude of food losses in the tropics [7] and adverse reports on synthetic additives [21] we report here our findings with the preservative effects of some non-commercial spices.…”