No abstract

Red wine has been of interest recently because many poly-phenols, that are considered to be good for health, are contained therein. Since ultrasonic irradiation accelerates maturation, its effects on phenolic compounds in wine were investigated in this study. Effects were evaluated using the indices developed by Glories. It was found that weak ultrasonic irradiation promotes an increase in the amount of phenolic compounds in red wine.

Application of ultrasound for accelerating the extraction of nutriments in food processing has been attempted. However, conditions of exposure to ultrasound were not clear in previous studies. This paper reports on the relationship between the ultrasonic pressure and the amount of extracted protein from soybeans. Experiments were conducted using a beaker, in which the ultrasonic fields were precisely measured. Soybean flakes suspended in water were put in the beaker and placed in a water tank. The amount of extracted protein in water upon ultrasonic exposure was calculated by the Kjeldahl method. It was found that the amount of extracted protein increased in proportion to ultrasonic pressure up to the total amount of soybean protein soluble in water. Furthermore, this paper describes the denaturation of the protein produced by the ultrasonic cavitation.

Recently, hazardous properties of synthetic substances contained in foods and medicines have been observed. Therefore, the pharmacological actions of natural substances became the focus of attention. Catechins, which are polyphenols, are abundant in green tea. To extract green tea catechins, there are two types of method: extraction using hot water and organic solvents. In the extraction using hot water, green tea quality deteriorates and catechins are destroyed due to the heat applied. Accordingly, the extraction of catechins at low temperatures is appropriate, although the efficiency is low. Therefore, we attempted to increase the amount of catechins extracted with ultrasonic irradiation.

The authors have been researching the promotion of lactic acid fermentation by ultrasonic irradiation. In the past research, it was proven that ultrasonic irradiation is effective in the process of fermentation, and the production of yoghurt and kefir was promoted. In this study, the effect of the ultrasonic frequency in this fermentation process was examined. In the frequency range of this study, it was found that the action of fermentation promotion was exponentially proportionate to the irradiated ultrasonic frequency.