The growing demand for fresh-cut products has led to an increasing interest in the study of enhancing the quality of ready-to-eat products. Eggplants are consumed as fresh-cut vegetables, which represent an increasing consumption rate. To extend the shelf life of the product, combination treatments have been proposed to inhibit the browning index (BI). Moreover, the storage temperature (4, 16, 25 °C), the concentration of ascorbic acid (AA) (1, 2, 3, and 4 g/L), and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) (MAP-1, O2: 80 Kpa + CO2: 0 Kpa; MAP-2, O2: 5 Kpa + CO2: 15 Kpa; MAP-3, O2: 10 Kpa + CO2: 10 Kpa; MAP-4, O2: 15 Kpa + CO2: 5 Kpa; MAP-5, O2: 0 Kpa + CO2: 80 Kpa) are screened through the BI of fresh-cut eggplant. Then, the effect of AA combined with MAP on the BI, phenolic content, and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) of fresh-cut eggplants is investigated over four days. In particular, two different areas of fresh-cut eggplant with seed and without seed were chosen to measure the BI. The result shows that the proper temperature (16 °C) maintains the BI of fresh-cut eggplant with seed during two days through screening. The screening of AA demonstrates that AA of 2 g/L is the better concentration to protect the color of fresh-cut eggplant with seed and without seed. AA of 2 g/L shows lower BI for fresh-cut eggplant with seed and without seed in MAP-2, MAP-3, MAP-4. The combination of AA (2 g/L) and MAP-2 significantly inhibited the browning of fresh-cut eggplants with seed. The application of AA (2 g/L) combined with MAP-2 inhibits the PPO and total phenol content activity over two and three days. Taken together, using AA combined with MAP may constitute a potential approach for maintaining the quality and inhibiting the browning of fresh-cut eggplants.

Fresh-cut potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) are a popular food owing to their freshness, convenience, and health benefits. However, they might present a potentially high health risk to consumers during transportation, processing, and marketing. In the current study, 18 essential oils (EOs) were screened to test their antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes (LM), Salmonella Typhimurium (ST), Staphylococcus aureus (SA), and Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EC O157:H7). The antibacterial effectiveness of a chitosan edible coating (EC) containing cinnamon oil was evaluated against microorganisms on fresh-cut potatoes. Fresh-cut potatoes were treated with chitosan EC and chitosan EC containing different concentrations (0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6%, v/v) of cinnamon oil, and uncoated samples served as the control. The viability of naturally occurring microorganisms and artificially inoculated LM on fresh-cut potatoes was evaluated, as were the colour, weight loss, and firmness of potatoes, every 4 days for a total of 16 days at 4 °C. The results demonstrate that the inhibition zones of cinnamon, oregano, and pomelo oils were 16.33–30.47 mm, 22.01–31.31 mm, and 21.75–35.18 mm, respectively. The cinnamon oil exhibits the lowest MIC (0.313 μL/mL) for four foodborne pathogens compared with oregano and pomelo oils. The chitosan EC containing 0.2% cinnamon oil effectively maintains the quality of fresh-cut potatoes including inhibiting the browning, preventing the weight loss, and maintaining the firmness. The decline of total plate counts, yeast and mould counts, total coliform counts, lactic acid bacteria count, and Listeria monocytogenes in EC containing 0.2% cinnamon oil were 2.14, 1.92, 0.98, 0.73, and 1.94 log cfu/g, respectively. Therefore, the use of chitosan EC containing cinnamon oil might be a promising approach for the preservation of fresh-cut potatoes.

The polysaccharides derived from various deproteinization methods were prepared from Flos Sophorae Immaturus (FSI) to investigate the prebiotic efficacy of Lactobacillus fermentum (L.f ). The implications of polysaccharides from FSI (PFSI) gained after purification performed by non-deproteinization and different deproteinization processes (Savage method, papain method, and TCA method) via one-factor optimization were firstly investigated for the influences on the growth of L.f. The utilization of carbohydrate sources and the synthesis of protein and lactate during its growth were analyzed, as well as the variations of LDH, SOD, and GSH- Px enzyme dynamics. The results showed that the one-factor optimization of the deproteinization process with the protein removal rate and polysaccharide retention rate as the indexes led to the optimal methods of the Sevage method with 5 elution times, papain method with 80 U/mL concentration, and TCA method with 2.5 ratio, respectively. In addition, the PFSI obtained with or without deproteinization purification had a certain effect on promoting L.f proliferation. Moreover, the PFSI gained by the third deproteinization purification, at a concentration of 10 g/L, significantly elevated L.f biomass and growth rate compared with the blank control, and the utilization of reducing sugars and the synthesis of protein and lactic acid were higher than the control (P < 0.05); improved LDH, SOD, and GSH-Px activity in L.f (P < 0.05), and the TCA method could be effectively applied to eliminate the proteins affecting FSI in probiotics, and PFSI may be a potentially beneficial prebiotic and intestinal reinforcer.

Flos Sophorae Immaturus (FSI) serves as one of the Chinese medicinal herbs of homologous provenance, whose polysaccharides constitute part of the active compounds that exert their pharmacological properties. Single-factor and response surface methodology were employed to investigate optimal extraction conditions for the ultrasonic-microwave synergistic extraction (UMSE) of polysaccharides from FSI (PFSI), which were deproteinized by Sevage, papain, and trichloroacetic acid methods, and the antioxidant potential of PFSI by contrasting deproteinization methods based on free-radical scavenging capacity. The optimum conditions for UMSE extraction of PFSI were 500 W microwave power, 265.887 W ultrasonic power, 20.078 min extraction time, and 94.995:1 liquid-to-material ratio. Meanwhile, the sequence of the single factors on the yield of polysaccharides indicated that microwave power > extraction time > D liquid to material ratio > B ultrasonic power, and that the obtained average value of polysaccharide yield was 37.05%, which was analogous to the predicted value of 37.17%, indicating that the optimization method was reasonable. In vitro, the antioxidant assay demonstrated that PFSI, with or without deproteinization, had a definite capability to scavenge oxidative free radicals. This research provides a theoretical basis for the industrial production of PFSI as a natural antioxidant, and a scientific basis for its industrial development.

The objectives of this study are to optimize the ultrasonic microwave synergistic extraction (UMSE) of anthocyanins from Lycium ruthenicum Murr (ALRM) by response surface methodology and also to investigate its antioxidant activity in vitro. Based on the single-factor experiments, we optimized the ALRM extraction process by response surface methodology assuming anthocyanin extraction rate as the response point and microwave power, ultrasonic power, extraction time, and liquid-to-material ratio as the investigating parameters as well as performed correlation analysis between DPPH·, ·OH, ABTS·, O2-· radical scavenging potential, and ferric-reducing antioxidant power. The results showed that the influence on anthocyanin yield was in the order of liquid to material ratio > microwave power > ultrasonic power > extraction time; the elicited extraction conditions were: ultrasonic power 216.253 W, microwave power 89.311 W, time 26.141 min, liquid to material ratio 17.294 mL/g, the forecast content was 10.157 mg/g, while the actual value was consistent with the preview value. Meanwhile, ALRM obtainable by UMSE was identified as yielding favorable antioxidant properties firstly, when the concentration of purified ALRM (ALRM-1) was increased, the antioxidant capacity was strengthened. Theoretically, we provide a basis for the extraction procedure of ALRM and its antioxidant activity, which serves as a promising antioxidant and free radical scavenger.