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Essential oils (EOs) are important aromatic components of herbs and spices and their biological activities have been known and utilised since ancient times in perfumery, food preservation, flavouring, and medicine. Some of their biological activities include antibacterial, antifungal, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects amongst others. EOs have received attention in recent years as potential 'natural' alternatives for replacing antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) in animal diets due to their positive impact on growth performance, gut microbiota and welfare. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of our own published and unpublished data on the antibacterial, antifungal and insecticidal activity of thymol and cinnamaldehyde (TC blend), and to describe the effects of this specific EO blend on gut microbiota, growth performance and welfare, carcass characteristics and food safety. The possible modes of action of EOs are discussed and areas for future research are proposed.

This study investigated whether the crystalline structure of the retrograded starch affects the contents of slowly digestible starch (SDS) and resistant starch (RS). When the relative crystallinities were similar, there was no difference in RS content between the retrograded starches with A- and B-type crystallites. However, the SDS content in A-type crystalline structure was constantly higher than B-type, contradicting the observation that the granular starches with B-type crystallites were more enzyme resistant. Therefore, the primary factor that accounts for the digestibility of granular starch is not the crystalline structure, but the granular properties, including the surface pores and the size.

The hypothesis of the current study was that various domestic heating processes such as blanching and microwaving could change content, digestibility, and radical scavenging capacities of caffeoylquinic acids (CQAs) from Su Ri Chwi, Korean wild vegetable. The greatest amount of the total CQAs (300.18 μg/g fresh weight) was observed in blanching for 1 min. Blanching for 5 min showed the highest digestibility of total CQAs (44.72 %). The highest DPPH, ABTS, and ORAC values were found from Su Ri Chwi microwaved for 30 s, blanched for 3 min, and fresh, respectively. The total CQAs in fresh and microwaving for 1 min Su Ri Chwi were significantly correlated to ORAC assay (R = 0.99 and R = 0.97, respectively.). The significant correlations with DPPH and ORAC were measured in digestibility of microwaving for 2 min (R = 0.98) and microwaving for 30 s (R = 0.94), respectively. Our results suggest useful information to consumer for choice of processing procedures to get CQAs, improving the absorption and antioxidant capacity.

:  Cellulose digestion by Corbicula japonica was investigated according to the hypothesis that without any symbiotic aid, this organism can utilize cellulose as a carbon source. Enzymatic studies revealed the complete cellulase activity of this species, and molecular cloning resulted in the isolation of cDNA with an ORF encoding a 596‐amino‐acid protein that shares significant homology with abalone and termite cellulases with an amino acid identity of 52.2% and 50.5%, respectively. The isolated cellulase had a carbohydrate‐binding module at the N‐terminal region that was also reportedly present in abalone cellulase, and its mRNA were specifically expressed in the digestive gland. These findings strongly support the assumption that C. japonica has an endogenous cellulose, as well as abalones and termites. It is further believed that C. japonica plays an important roll in decomposing cellulose, and consequently contributes to the carbon‐cycle in the aquatic environment, as termites do in terrestrial forests.

Composite flours containing 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% of chia seed flour and corn were used for tortilla formulations. The effects of chia powders supplementation on the physicochemical and sensorial characteristics as well as starch digestibility of the tortillas were evaluated. Nutritionally, all chia tortillas had significantly higher levels of protein, lipids, and total dietary fibre than the control. The reduced enzymatic starch hydrolysis rate and predicted glycemic index recorded for the chia seed-added tortilla indicated slow digestion features. Sensory evaluation did not show significant differences in the attributes among tortillas. Owing to the increase in the total dietary fibre, lower digestion, and predicted glycemic index values, chia seed-added tortilla can be considered as a nutraceutical food. Therefore, the newly developed tortilla supplemented with chia seed flour could represent a valuable staple in improving the nutritional value of the original food product.

The effects of surfactants on the pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis stages of recycled newspaper processing were examined. Newspaper substrate was pretreated with surfactants at 40℃ and 400 rpm for 1 h, and the enzymatic digestibilities of the pretreated substrate were compared. NP-20 was 10-20% more effective as a surfactant than Tween-20 and Tween-80. To investigate the effects of the surfactants on the subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis stage, the newspaper was pretreated with NP-20 and then hydrolyzed in the presence of TW-20 or TW-80.

To improve the digestibility of the forage crop alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD), which catalyses the last step in the biosynthesis of the lignin monomers, was down-regulated by using an antisense approach. A subset of six transgenic lines with reduced CAD activity and control lines were analysed when grown in the greenhouse and in the field. The down-regulation of the CAD enzyme was associated with a red coloration of the stem. The lignin quantity remained unchanged, but the lignin composition, as determined by thioacidolysis, was altered. The highest reduction of CAD activity was associated with a lower syringyl/guaiacyl (S/G) ratio and a lower S+G yield, mainly because of a decreased amount of S units. An increase in in situ disappearance of dry matter and of cell wall residue was detected in one of the transgenic lines grown in the greenhouse, and for two of the lines grown in the field the rate of disappearance of dry matter slightly improved. Furthermore, these two lines had a higher solubility in alkali as shown by the lower yield of saponified residue. This study opens perspectives for improving forage crop digestibility by the modulation of enzymes involved in lignin biosynthesis.

With the aim of improving the nutritive value of an important grain legume crop, a chimeric gene specifying seed-specific expression of a sulfur-rich, sunflower seed albumin was stably transformed into narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolus L.). Sunflower seed albumin accounted for 5% of extractable seed protein in a line containing a single tandem insertion of the transferred DNA. The transgenic seeds contained less sulfate and more total amino acid sulfur than the nontransgenic parent line. This was associated with a 94% increase in methionine content and a 12% reduction in cysteine content. There was no statistically significant change in other amino acids or in total nitrogen or total sulfur contents of the seeds. In feeding trials with rats, the transgenic seeds gave statistically significant increases in live weight gain, true protein digestibility, biological value, and net protein utilization, compared with wild-type seeds. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using genetic engineering to improve the nutritive value of grain crops