Jacques Fanni

Bacterial diversity of Darfiyeh, a Lebanese artisanal raw goat's milk cheese.

In order to contribute to the preservation of the Lebanese dairy heritage, the aim of this study was to characterize the Darfiyeh cheese, a traditional variety made from raw goats milk and ripened in goats skin. Three independent batches of Darfiyeh production were analyzed after 20, 40 and 60 days of ripening. Mesophilic lactobacilli, thermophilic coccal-shaped lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and thermophilic lactobacilli were enumerated. In order to explore the Darfiyeh natural ecosystem, a combination of phenotypical and molecular approaches was applied. The latter included Polymerase Chain Reaction-temporal temperature gel electrophoresis (PCR-TTGE), classical PCR and quantitative PCR. These methods revealed the presence of Streptococcus thermophilus, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus durans, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus malodoratus, group D Streptococcus sp., Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and L. lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus curvatus, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Escherichia coli, Clostridium sp./Eubacterium tenue. Real-time PCR enabled quantification of E. faecium, with a detection of 10(7)-10(9) cfu g(-1) of product. The present molecular approaches combined with phenotypic method allowed describing the complex natural ecosystem of Darfiyeh, giving useful information for the preservation of Lebanese artisanal dairy products.

Functionality of nutrients and thermal treatments of food.

Since discovering fire man has used heat to modify the sensory properties and to preserve foodstuffs. Nutrients are involved in a number of reactions induced by this form of treatment. Some of these reactions are desirable, e.g. the improvement in the digestibility and the attractiveness of a food. Some reactions are undesirable because they lead to considerable nutritional loss or may result in the formation of mutagenic and carcinogenic molecules. The present paper reviews recent studies in which most of the modifications generated by thermal treatments at both the industrial and domestic level are demonstrated. We focus on the processes and the importance of thermal treatments used currently, as well as the necessity for optimization to minimize undesirable effects.

Irvingia gabonensis fat: nutritional properties and effect of increasing amounts on the growth and lipid metabolism of young rats wistar sp

BackgroundDietary saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are generally considered to increase plasma cholesterol. It has also been claimed that they increase cardio-vascular disease, although the claim that some of SFAs can increase HDL-cholesterol is poorly documented. Irvingia gabonensis kernels after being dried and crushed they are generally used to prepare a sticky and aromatic soup very much consumed in Cameroun and West Africa countries. This study was therefore aimed at evaluating the effects of dika nut fat on the growing and lipids metabolism of young rats.MethodFor The nutritional evaluation related to the performances of growth and the analysis of increasing amounts of dika nut fat (0; 5.1; 7.34 and 13.48%) in young rats of wistar sp. The animals were taken individually out of metabolic cage for each ration 5 repetitions per sex (males and females) were carried out.ResultsThe results obtained during the 3 weeks of treatment shows that the performances of consumption were positive. A highly significant increase (P < 0,01) of serum cholesterol and triglycerides in the high dose fat groups (13,48%) of dika fat were observed compared to control groups. However, this rise of cholesterol is due to that of HDL-cholesterol without any change in the quantity of LDL-Receptor. In parallel, the weight of the vital organ did not vary much compared to control, except for males where we observed a significantly reduction (P < 0,01) in the weight of the liver for the three diet tests.ConclusionThis study shows that the increasing amount of dika nut fat alter significantly cholesterol and triglyceride at high dose diet, but also increase HDL-cholesterol.

Crossflow filtration of oils: selective adsorption of butter oil triglycerides on a support characterised by various hydrophobicity

The physical fractionation of butter oil by crossflow filtration on different materials characterised by various hydrophobicity is described. The initial hydrophilic support was made of glass beads (150-212μm) compacted as a column where the oil was free to percolate. The glass beads were coated either with silicone SE 30 or SE 52 at various concentrations leading to different polarities. Butter oil was submitted to percolation at 45 °C on these different filtering layers. Thick layers were used in order to highlight the role of the hydrophobicity of the supports in interaction with triglycerides (TGs). Experiments were checked by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results pointed out a complex partition phenomenon: the non-treated hydrophilic filtering layer differentiated the TGs into two groups separated by a partition number PN = 40. Using the coated supports, three groups of TGs were observed: short molecules (PN < 32) retained because of steric effect, medium molecules (34<PN≤40) that crossed the support because of their intermediate behaviour and a third group of long chain TGs which crossed the support because of hydrophobic interactions.