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The objective of this study was to investigate the quality of chin-chin produced from aerial yam and wheat flour blends with the aim to improve the utilisation of aerial yam flour and reduce over-dependence on wheat flour. A portion of aerial yam tubers was sun-dried and the other was dried in a dehydrator. They were made into flour and substituted with wheat flour at varying proportions (85:15, 67.5:32.5, and 50:50). 100% wheat flour was used as the control. The flour blends were analyzed for proximate, functional, and phytochemical properties. The chin-chin produced were evaluated for their sensory properties. Wheat-aerial yam flour blends were nutritionally superior (with respect to protein, fat, fibre, and carbohydrates), and had better functional and phytochemical properties when compared to plain wheat flour used as the control. Sensory evaluation revealed that the most appealing sample among the flour blends was W 85 AYD 15 (with 85% wheat flour and 15% dehydrated aerial yam flour) even though samples W 50 AYS 50 (with 50% wheat flour and 50% sun-dried aerial yam flour) and W 50 AYD 50 (with 50% wheat flour and 50% dehydrated aerial yam flour) were more nutritious. Since the findings of this study showed that highly nutritious and functional flours can be produced by including aerial yam flour in flour blends, the industrial production of aerial yam flour will increase its economic value by improving utilisation and providing cheaper alternatives to wheat flour. Graphical Abstract

Serendipity berry (Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii) contains a protein sweetener termed monellin which could be substituted for sugar in foods for diabetics and dieters. Therefore, effects of partial substitution of sugar with serendipity berry extract on quality of white wheat bread were investigated. The pasting properties of wheat flour treated with mixtures of 5 % sugar solution and serendipity berry extract (100:0 control, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50 and 40:60) were investigated. Wheat flour were blended with other ingredients and mixtures of 5 % sugar solution and serendipity berry extract to form dough which were allowed to rise prior to baking. Chemical, microbiological and sensory properties of the breads were evaluated. Pasting temperature, peak, final and setback viscosities of the control (sugar solution treated-flour) and serendipity extract treated flour were significantly (p˂0.05) different. Moisture, ash, protein, fat, fibre and carbohydrate contents of the breads ranged from 11.93–15.22 %, 0.75–3.06 %, 11.67–14.13 %, 4.29–9.06 %, 1.24–2.50 % and 55.01–68.14 %, respectively. Although the bacterial (0.0–61 ×103 cfu/g) and fungal (2.0–76.0 ×103 cfu/g) counts of the breads increased throughout the 5 days storage period, the serendipity berry extract exerted antimicrobial activities in the treated breads. The proximate, except carbohydrate, of the breads increased while the bacterial and fungal counts decreased with increase in concentration of the serendipity extract. The 60 % serendipity extract treated-bread (mean sensory scores ≥ 8.0) compared favourably with the control (sugar solution treated-bread). This study revealed that 60 % serendipity berry extract could be substituted for sugar for production of high quality bread with extended shelf life.

Renewed interest in natural materials as food flavors and preservatives has led to the search for suitable essential oils. Moringa oleifera seed essential oil was extracted by solvent-free microwave and hydrodistillation. This study assessed its chemical constituents. Cytotoxicity of the oils was investigated using hatchability and lethality tests on brine shrimps. A total of 16 and 26 compounds were isolated from the hydrodistillation extraction (HDE) and solvent-free microwave extraction (SME) oils, respectively, which accounted for 97.515% and 97.816% of total identifiable constituents, respectively. At 24 h when the most eggs had hatched, values of the SME (56.7%) and HDE (60.0%) oils were significantly different ( P <0.05) from those of sea water (63.3%) and chloramphenicol (15.0%). Larva lethality was different significantly ( P <0.05) between HDE and SME oils at different concentrations and incubation periods. The median lethal concentration (LC 50 ) of the oils was >1000 mg/ml recommended as an index for non-toxicity, which gives the oil advantage over some antioxidant, antimicrobial, therapeutic, and preservative chemicals.

Herbal teas are functional foods that interest consumers as they contain bioactive compounds known to promote health. As such, five different formulations of Parquetina and Lemongrass (100:0%, 87.5:12.5%, 75:25%, 62.5:37.5% and 50:50%) were used for the development of composite herbal teas which were evaluated for their phytochemical and mineral compositions, antioxidant capacities, microbiological quality and sensory attributes. The phytochemicals present in the composite herbal teas included phenols that ranged from 0.36 to 0.90 mgGAE/100ml, flavonoids (0.25 to 0.58 mgQE/100ml), alkaloids (0.12 to 0.79 mg/100 ml), saponins (0.04 to 0.14 mg/100ml), cardiac glycosides (0.01 to 0.1 mgDT/100ml), tannins (0.03 to 0.05 mgTAE/100ml) and terpenoids (0.04 to 0.25 mg/100ml). Potassium was the mineral with the highest concentration and it ranged from 15.06 to 21.19 mg/100ml in the tea samples. The composite herbal teas showed antioxidant capacities that ranged from 17.77 to 40.96%. The total bacterial count of the composite herbal tea ranged from 8.05 × 10 4 to 8.95 × 10 4  cfu/g, total fungal count (2.55 × 10 4 to 3.05 × 10 4  cfu/g) and total coliform count (5.50 × 10 2 to 7.5 × 10 2  cfu/g). Sensory evaluation showed that the most preferred sample was P 50 L 50 (50% parquetina and 50% lemongrass). Conclusively, parquetina and lemongrass could be utilized in the production of a composite herbal tea with good quality and sensory attributes.

目的：研究水蒸汽蒸馏法（HDE）和无溶剂微波萃取法（SME）对辣木籽精油化学组成的影响,并评估精油的细胞毒性。创新点：比较了不同的提取精油方法对精油的化学成分及其细胞毒性的影响。方法：分别采用HDE和SME两种方法提取辣木籽精油,然后使用气相色谱-质谱法分析其化学成分。通过比较在不同浓度和孵化时间下盐水虾卵的孵化率和幼虾的死亡率来检测精油的细胞毒性。结论：HDE和SME两种方法提取的辣木籽精油分别含有16和26种化学成分,各自占总可识别成分的97.515%和97.816%。因此,SME提取法含有更多的成分。盐水虾卵分别在含有两种精油、海水和氯霉素的样品中孵化24 h后,孵化率分别为60.0%（HDE）、56.7%（SME）、63.3%（海水）和15.0%（氯霉素）,精油中的孵化率远高于含有氯霉素的样品的孵化率（P〈0.05）。同时,SME和HDE精油对幼虾的半致死量分别为2908.23和3473.63μg/ml（大于1000μg/ml被认为无毒）。因此,两种方法提取的精油可广泛适用于药物、食品防腐剂、抗氧化剂和香料等添加剂。

The antibacterial and antifungal activity of Garcinia kola of small and large seeds varieties were extracted in ethanol and water (cold and hot) and tested against some selected clinical bacterial and fungal isolates; Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa at concentrations of 10, 20, and 30 mg/ml. The same concentrations were used against the fungi Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. Agar well diffusion method was employed to determine the antimicrobial activity of the extracts against test microorganisms. The results showed that the small seed ethanol and aqueous (hot water) extracts exhibited more antimicrobial activity at a concentration of 30 mg/ml, with zones of inhibition ranging from 17 to 23mm for ethanol. The aqueous (hot water) extracts showed zones of inhibition ranging from 20 to 27mm. The extracts also showed antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) showed antimicrobial activity at lowest concentration of 0.008mg/ml and maximum concentration of 5.0mg/ml against Staphylococcus aureus. There were presence of phytochemical compounds such as flavonoids, tannins, saponins, steroids, cardiac glycosides, and reducing sugars. The results imply that the ethanol and aqueous extracts of Garcinia kola seed posses strong antibacterial and antifungal properties when compared with standard antibiotics amoxicillin; ciproxin; tetracycline and streptomycin used during the investigation, and hence its potential as a useful chemotherapeutic agent in the treatment of bacterial and fungal infections in humans.