Tulay Ozcan

Phenolics in Human Health

Recent research focuses on health benefits of phytochemicals, especially antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of phenolic compounds, which is known to exert preventive activity against infectious and degenerative diseases, inflammation and allergies via antioxidant, antimicrobial and proteins/enzymes neutralization/modulation mechanisms. Phenolic compounds are reactive metabolites in a wide range of plant-derived foods and mainly divided in four groups: phenolic acids, flavonoids, stilbenes and tannins. They work as terminators of free radicals and chelators of metal ions that are capable of catalyzing lipid oxidation. Therefore, this review examines the functional properties of phenolics.

Determination of Boza's Organic Acid Composition as it is Affected by Raw Material and Fermentation

In the current study boza, a low-alcohol-content beverage, is produced from rice, maize, millet and wheat flours by spontaneous fermentation at 24 ± 1°C for 24 h. During the fermentation and storage period, changes in total titritable acidity, pH, alcohol and organic acid profiles, and sensory properties were determined. The major organic acids were found as oxalic, lactic, pyruvic, and acetic acids. Even though the ratings of sensory parameters were not within wide limits, they were significantly affected by storage time. Maize boza scored higher due to the similarity in its colour and flavour to that sold in the market.

The Therapeutic Potential of Pomegranate and Its Products for Prevention of Cancer

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is considered one of the oldest known edible fruits and is the symbolic of abundance and prosperity. For thousand of years, many cultures have believed that pomegranate have beneficiary effects on health, fertility, longevity and rebirth. The recent interest for this fruit is not only because of the pleasant taste, but also due to the scientific evidences that suggest therapeutic activity such as anti-atherogenic, antiparasitic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and antiinflammatory effects. These beneficial effects were attributed to the antioxidative properties of pomegranate phenolic compounds, tannins and anthocyanins as well as other phytochemicals. The constituents of pomegranate have been thoroughly investigated, however, clinical trials are in progress to explore the therapeutic potential of pomegranate products, particularly determining preventive efficacy of pomegranate extracts in cancer, cardiovascular diseases, inflammation, diabetes and ultraviolet radiation-induced skin damage. In order to facilitate the further investigations the information contained in this work is based upon the immense work on impact of administration of pomegranate extracts, particularly in cancer prevention such as skin, prostate, breast, and colon.

The effect of natural and liquid smokes on the benzo[a] pyrene content and quality parameters of Circassian cheese

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of natural smoke and liquid smoke application methods on quality characteristics of smoked Circassian cheese. The microbial counts of liquid smoked cheeses were found to be higher than naturally smoked cheeses. It can be concluded that although natural smoke inhibited the growth of micro-organisms more than liquid smoke application, benzo[a]pyrene, an indicator component for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), was detected on the outer surface of naturally smoked cheeses. Therefore, liquid smoking could be used as an alternative method for smoked Circassian cheese production.

Effects of High-Pressure Technology on the Functional Properties of Milk and Fermented Milk Products

HPP (high pressure processing) is one of the novel technologies to produce microbiologically safe food. HPP is a non-thermal food processing method, wherein the food is subjected to a very high pressure ranging between 100-800 MPa in order to prevent undesirable chemical and microbiological reactions, and hence, prolong the shelf-life. HPP is also called as “high hydrostatic processing, ultra-high pressure processing or isostatic processing”. In dairy products, HHP has the potential to modify the functional properties of proteins, polysaccharides and alter biochemical reactions without significantly affecting the nutritional and sensory properties. HPP treatment induces significant changes in milk components particularly in proteins (whey proteins and caseins), as well as on their applicability in innovative dairy productions. HPP influences technological properties of various milk products such as firmness, water-holding capacity of the gel and network structure, cheese yield, rennet coagulation time and ripening.

Consumers’ Behavior towards Table Olives

Table olives are among the nutritious and functional foods with respect to high contents of monounsaturated fatty acids, phenolic compounds, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. World raw olive production is around 1.3-1.8 million tons per year, and about 10% of these olives are processed into table olives. Food quality focuses on customer needs and expectations and is an important means of competition on the market due to the high competition pressure and saturation of the market Consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay more for specific foods’ attributes, meaning high quality-foods, is a complex decision-making process. A powerful tool to understand the quality of foods and customer behaviors is consumer preference surveys, since cultural practices, sensory properties (color, taste, texture), package and socioeconomic status strongly influence the popularity of any food product. Hence, by understanding consumer preferences direct prediction and increase of consumption is possible based on the degree of happiness, satisfaction, enjoyment, or utility that olives provide.

Textural Properties of Herby Cheese

Herby (Otlu) cheese is a traditional cheese variety which is manufactured broadly in the eastern and southeastern regions of Turkey. In this study the textural properties of herby cheese containing various herbs sold in the markets was determined. The textural characteristics of traditional cheeses were different from industrial herby cheeses, particularly depending on manufacturing practices as well as raw milk composition, herbs, salt, etc. Traditional herby cheese had lower sensory scores for color, fracturability. Future studies should concentrate on the standardization of manufacturing process and the effect of herbs and their combination on final product properties to improve consumer perception and acceptability.

Bioactive Components of Soybeans and Their Health Effects

Article history: Received 08 October 2014 Accepted 28 January 2015 Available online, ISSN: 2148-127X Depending on scientific developments and advancement in consumer awareness differences in types of nutrition and choice of foods resulted in increment on tendance to functional foods which have favorable effects on human health. The occurrence of positive effects on human health and inclusion of functional characteristics of the bioactive components in soybean compound has made possible adding of these soybean components in to the foods. In this compilation the importance of soybean active components in food are mentioned and along with this their positive effects on human health are introduced.

Effect of Different Rennet Type on Physico-Chemical Properties and Bitterness in White Cheese

White cheese is a soft or semi-hard cheese variety of the brined cheeses family which had its origin in the Turkey and other Mediterranean countries. The changes in physico- chemical properties, proteolysis and bitterness of White cheeses made from animal-calf rennet (A) and microbial rennet from Rhizomucor miehei (M) were investigated during a 90 day ripening period. Physico-chemical characteristics were similar for cheeses made with both types of rennet. Phe, Leu - Ile, Gln, Val, Pro and Ala were the principal free amino acids (FAAs) in the White cheeses at all stages of ripening. The differences in the contents of the total bitter tasting amino acids (Phe, Leu - Ile, Val and Pro) were not influenced by the type of rennet.

Assesment of some microbiological and chemical properties of pismaniye sweet

The objective of this research was to determine some microbiological and chemical properties of pismaniye sweet. A total of 47 plain and with cacao pismaniye samples were purchased from retail markets in the Marmara region, Turkey. Mean moisture, ash, fat and total sugar contents were found as 3.16 to 3.31, 0.18 to 0.23, 11.67 to 11.87 and 37.10 to 35.72%, for plain and with cacao, respectively. The microbial counts were in the range of 3.05 to 3.12 log cfu g -1 for total mesophilic aerobic bacteria (TMAB). 2.19 to 2.51 log cfu g -1 for yeast and mould, 0.17 to 0.59 log cfu g -1 for total Coliform group bacteria. It was observed that 51.06% of samples were contaminated by Staphylococcus types, 42.55% by Salmonella-Shigella and 10.64% by Escherichia coli. The microbiological findings showed the presence of high counts of microorganisms depending on poor sanitary practices due to empiric traditional manufacturing procedures.