No abstract

Purpose: In this study, the effect of milling on paddy rice stored at low temperature, the changes in grain temperature of bulk storage bags exposed at room temperature, the post-milling water content of paddy rice, the whiteness of rice, and the rate of pest incidence were investigated and data were analyzed. Methods: Changes in temperature inside the bulk storage bags kept at low temperature and grain temperature after exposure to room temperature were measured. Experiments were conducted for identifying the reasons of post-milling quality changes in paddy rice stored at low temperature. Results: It was determined that a short-term increase of water content in paddy rice was directly related to surface condensation, and that rice should be milled at least 72 h after removal from low-temperature storage, in order to completely eliminate surface condensation of paddy rice kept in bulk storage bags. It was observed that post-milling quality of rice changed, but water content was maintained at high levels for more than 18 d in rice that was milled when condensation occurred, regardless of paper or vinyl packaging. Rice whiteness rapidly decreased in rice that was milled when condensation occurred, regardless of packaging, while rice that was milled 72 h or more after removal from low temperature storage did not show any significant changes in whiteness. No pest incidence was observed up to 12 d after removal from low temperature storage, regardless of packaging. Starting at 18 d, after removal from low temperature storage, rice that was milled when condensation occurred, was affected by pests, while 24 d after removal from low temperature storage, all portions of rice were affected by pests. Conclusions: Our results suggest that changes in post-milling quality of rice could be significantly reduced by exposing paddy rice to room temperature for at least 72 h before milling, in order to allow the increase of grain temperature and prevent surface condensation.

The objective of this study was to investigate the protective effects of mulberry (Morus alba) sugar extracts (MSE) against H 2 O 2-induced oxidative stress in HepG2 cells. The MSEs was mixed with matured mulberry and sugar at the same ratio (1:1, w/w) and stored at 18±3℃ for 40 days. In 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging test, MSE stored for 40 days showed high activity with a ratio above 66%. Therefore, we selected 40 days as the optimum storage period. After cell viability analysis using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, we determined that the optimum concentration of MSE was 0.5%. Our results showed that MSE increased the cell viability and antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase in H 2 O 2-treated HepG2 cells. Moreover, the treatment with MSE inhibited malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in H 2 O 2-treated HepG2 cells. We also observed a reduction in apoptotic bodies in the Hoechst staining. These data show that MSE treatment significantly suppressed caspase-3 activity in HepG2 cells expored to H 2 O 2-induced oxidative stress, thereby indicationg the protective effects of MSE in H 2 O 2-induced oxidative stress.

Deseeded jujubes are commonly consumed as snacks. This study was conducted to develop a seed-removing machine for jujubes that relieves hard work in manual seed removal. The seed-removing machine consists of a jujube supplying unit, a punching unit, and a discharging unit. To test the performance of the machine, shape characteristics, seed removing rate, sarcocarp cracking rate, and flesh hardness were analyzed throughout the jujube storage period. The machine showed good seed removing and sarcocarp cracking rates at room temperature and cold temperature storage on days 2, 15, and 50. Seed removing rates were 80% at day 15 and 96% at day 50. The sarcocarp cracking rates were 33% for day 15 and 30% for day 50. Hardness started to decrease from day 8 to day 70 at both room temperature and cold temperature storage. The working capacity of the machine was 900 fruits/h. The results showed that the jujube seed removing machine is useful for reducing the labor requirements of postharvest jujube processing.