Sinem Argun

Recently, more sustainable and biodegradable packaging materials have begun to attract attention in food packaging due to major, rising concerns related to plastic usage. This study aims to develop and characterize biodegradable food packaging materials, namely poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) enriched with pomegranate peel extract (PoPE). Firstly, the optimal extract selected was a 24 h maceration of PoPE with 60% ethanol, after production with different solvents and methods. PLA- and PCL-based films were produced via melt compounding with the addition of PoPE at different concentrations (1, 3, 5 and 10%, w/w). FTIR confirmed that the PoPE did not modify the chemical backbones of PLA or PCL, with only a more pronounced O–H band in PCL, suggesting mainly non-covalent/physical interactions. UV–Vis spectroscopy showed tunable warm coloration and strong UV shielding with reduced transparency; for PLA ~3–5 wt.%, PoPE enabled near-complete UV blocking, while PCL achieved very high UV protection even at low loadings. PoPE improved toughness in PLA (3–5 wt.%) and maintained ductility in PCL (1–10 wt.%). PoPE-added PLA and PCL films maintained thermal stability up to 10 wt.% according to TGA results. DSC/XRD indicated a matrix-dependent crystallization response. PLA remained largely amorphous, whereas PoPE promoted PCL crystallinity without changing polymer crystal polymorphs. SEM images revealed homogenous dispersion of PoPE in the films.

This study presents a comparative analysis of Vietnamese rubber ( Hevea brasiliensis ) and melaleuca ( Melaleuca cajuputi ) honeys, focusing on their pollen composition, physicochemical parameters, and volatile compound profiles. Melissopalynological analysis confirmed that both samples are monofloral, with dominant pollen types exceeding 45%. Rubber honey had a higher total pollen count and a more limited variety of pollen types, while melaleuca honey showed greater pollen diversity. Good manufacturing practice and quality indicators, such as moisture content, free acidity, and electrical conductivity (EC), were generally consistent across the samples. The moisture content averaged approximately 20.3%, marginally exceeding the Codex standard for honey. The free acidity levels adhered to established standards, with rubber honey measuring 24.5 ± 3.0 meq/kg and melaleuca honey at 22.5 ± 5.9 meq/kg. EC was comparable between the samples, recording values of 49.1 and 49.0 mS/m, respectively, both below the specified threshold for nectar honey. Freshness markers indicated low levels of hydroxymethylfurfural, with rubber honey at 8.6 ± 9.0 mg/kg and melaleuca honey at 9.7 ± 13.9 mg/kg. Diastase activity was higher in rubber honey (20.3 ± 3.9) compared to melaleuca honey (13.5 ± 2.5). The color appeared varied, with melaleuca measuring 52.0 ± 18.1 mm and rubber measuring 82.3 ± 15.1 mm (Pfund). Analysis of volatile compounds indicated that melaleuca honey possesses a more intricate chemical and aromatic profile, with methyl salicylate, terpinen‐4‐ol, and linalool oxides exerting significant influence on the classification of melaleuca samples. Conversely, isophorone and its derivatives appear to significantly impact rubber honey positioning. These results highlight the importance of volatile profiling for honey authentication and quality assurance.

Microfluidization has been gaining popularity as a size reduction process in recent years. In this study, microfluidization technique was used for olives to change the cell wall structure and decrease the size of oil droplets. Olive powders were produced from green, black and raw olives using freeze drying following microfluidization at 1200 bar. Antioxidant activity was not affected significantly for all powders while total phenolic content decreased for green and raw olive powders with microfluidization. Among all olive powders, the one raw olive gave the highest antioxidant activity and phenolic content. In microscopic analysis, Scanning Electron Microscope images revealed that microfluidization results in finer particles which are self-encapsulated by trapping the oil droplets. Stability analysis through Turbi Scan and rheological measurements of the powder suspensions showed that microfluidization process enables more stable suspensions having higher water holding capacity. Herschel–Bulkley model was found for the flow behaviours of the olive powder suspensions.

Celiac disease is a serious and lifelong disorder that is associated with gluten consumption. Celiac patients should commit to a strict gluten free diet. Besides celiac patients, gluten can also cause allergenic reactions in a significant portion of population. Thus, there is a growing trend in replacing sources of gluten with alternatives. This work concentrated on improving the quality and consumer acceptance of gluten-free cakes made out of rice flour by using quince seed extract, which is a unique hydrocolloid product that exhibits emulsification properties. The cake batter and cooked cakes were characterized in terms of water activity, color, porosity, emulsion stability, textural properties, rheological behavior and sensorial attributes. Emulsion stability results indicated an excellent improvement of physical stability of batter emulsions by addition of quince seed extract (QSE) and lecithin, which was identified with no visible phase separation in samples Q0.1E and Q0.2E. All cake batters displayed a pseudoplastic flow behavior with apparent viscosities and shear thinning behavior increasing substantially with increasing QSE concentrations. Hardness values gathered from texture profile analysis, implied that best cake texture was obtained via QSE and lecithin incorporation. Sensory analysis results also supported the same result in that, samples with egg yolk and QSE both, yielded a more preferable appearance and texture. Therefore, with this study, it was possible to observe the promising effects of QSE incorporation on cake batter and baked cake properties.

Mayonnaise is a popular solid like sauce obtained typically from the ingredients; vegetable oil, vinegar, egg yolk, and salt. For mayonnaise production, vegetable oils with low costs are preferred. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), despite its high cost, is unique in that it has some very exceptional nutritional and sensorial properties and positive health promoting effects. However, EVOO mayonnaises pose some challenges in preparation and particu-larly in maintaining their stability for elevated periods. This study explored some options that could extend the shelf life of mayonnaise prepared from EVOO. For this purpose, two different stabilizer sodium alginate and gellan gum at two different concentrations (0.1% and 0.2%) were added to mayonnaise formulations, additionally ultrasound was applied at two different powers (40% and 70%) for 2 min. Rheological characterization revealed that all mayonnaise samples displayed a pseudoplastic behaviour which is desirable in condiments like mayonnaise. Particle size meas-urements revealed that oil particle diameters ranged between 2.1-25.5 μm. Real time and accelerated emulsion sta-bility measurement were in line with each other. According to these, sodium alginate resulted in mayonnaise with the highest physical stability. Real time emulsion stability measurements revealed that all samples except control main-tained their physical stability up to 20 days after preparation.