Mehmet Musa Özcan

Some compositional properties and mineral contents of carob (Ceratonia siliqua) fruit, flour and syrup.

The approximate composition and mineral contents of carob fruit (Ceratonia siliqua), and the traditional foods produced from this fruit, carob flour and carob syrup, were studied. Protein, crude fiber and ash content and energy values of carob syrup were lower than the values of both carob fruit and carob flour. According to the results, the total sugar content, the most important constituents of carob products, were 48.35%, 41.55% and 63.88% for fruit, flour and syrup, respectively. These products contained high amounts of calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium and phosphorus, which were the most abundant elements in carob fruits (P<0.05). Among the samples, potassium, phosphorus and calcium had the highest values in carob syrup, respectively. Carob flour also contained these elements in high amounts, with the addition of sodium. We extended the notion that carob fruit, flour and syrup were rich sources of carbohydrates, proteins and minerals.

Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activities of Buds and Leaves of Capers (Capparis ovata Desf. var. canescens) Cultivated in Turkey

Abstract Essential oils of caper (Capparis ovata Desf. var. canescens) buds and leaves obtained by steam distillation followed by solvent extraction were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Eighty-six compounds were identified from the caper bud extract and 100 from the caper leaf oil. The major volatile compounds found in caper bud oil were benzyl alcohol (20.4%), furfural (7.4%), ethanal methyl pentyl acetal (5.9%), 4-vinyl guaiacol (5.3%), thymol (5.1%), octanoic acid (4.8%) and methyl isothiocyanate (4.5%). The major volatile compounds found in caper leaves were methyl isothiocyanate (20.0%), thymol (15.5%), 4-vinyl guaiacol (4.3%), hexyl acetate (3.6%) and trans-theaspirane (2.6%). These oils inhibited hexanal oxidation by 80% over 40 days at the level of 200 μg/mL. Also, they inhibited oxidation of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl hydrate by over 70% at the 500 μg/mL level. The dichloromethane and methanol extracts from caper buds and leaves exhibited higher antioxidant activities than those of their essential oils in both testing systems.

Some physico-chemical and sensory properties of heat treated commercial pine and blossom honey

Summary In this paper, the effects of heat treatment on some physicochemical characteristics (brix, pH, colour, hydroxyl methyl furfural (HMF)) and sensory properties (consistency, odour, colour, flavour) of pine and blossom honey samples were determined. Heating temperature and time were found to have important effects, especially on HMF content of the samples. Heat treatment had not been significantly effective not only on the pH and brix values of honey samples but also on the sensory characteristics of the pine honeys but effective on the blossom honey. Unheated honey samples had higher L* values than those of the heated samples, indicating their lighter colour. Both types of honey samples showed lower a* values when the temperature was increased. Heat treatment time did not significantly affect b* values of pine honey samples. Heat treated blossom honey samples showed lower b* values than the unheated samples.