(Press-News.org) Essential oils have boomed in popularity as more people seek out alternatives to replace their synthetic cleaning products, anti-mosquito sprays and medicines. Now scientists are tapping them as candidates to preserve food in a more consumer-friendly way. A study from ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reports the development of new edible films containing oils from clove and oregano that preserve bread longer than commercial additives.
Nilda de F. F. Soares and colleagues note that the search for new ways to keep packaged food from spoiling has led some scientists to essential oils, which can keep bacteria and mold at bay. Oils from clove and oregano had already been incorporated into edible films. But scientists still needed to optimize the effectiveness of these films and test them under real-life conditions for other uses. So Soares's team decided to test how well different edible films with clove and oregano essential oils could maintain bread's freshness and see how they measured up against a commercial antimicrobial agent. Bread is a common staple around the world and is often kept fresh with calcium propionate. Though naturally occurring, some research suggesting negative side effects have tarnished its popularity.
The scientists bought preservative-free bread and placed slices in plastic bags with or without essential oil-infused edible films. To some slices, they added a commercial preservative containing calcium propionate.
After 10 days, the latter additive lost its effectiveness, but the edible films made with small droplets of the oils continued to slow mold growth.
INFORMATION:
The authors acknowledge funding from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development.
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 161,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.
Follow us: Twitter Facebook
Preserving bread longer: A new edible film made with essential oils
2014-06-04
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Quantum criticality observed in new class of materials
2014-06-04
Quantum criticality, the strange electronic state that may be intimately related to high-temperature superconductivity, is notoriously difficult to study. But a new discovery of "quantum critical points" could allow physicists to develop a classification scheme for quantum criticality -- the first step toward a broader explanation.
Quantum criticality occurs in only a few composite crystalline materials and happens at absolute zero -- the lowest possible temperature in the universe. The paucity of experimental observations of quantum criticality has left theorists wanting ...
Understanding mussels' stickiness could lead to better surgical and underwater glues
2014-06-04
Mussels might be a welcome addition to a hearty seafood stew, but their notorious ability to attach themselves to ships' hulls, as well as to piers and moorings, makes them an unwelcome sight and smell for boaters and swimmers. Now, researchers report in ACS' journal Langmuir a clearer understanding of how mussels stick to surfaces, which could lead to new classes of adhesives that will work underwater and even inside the body.
Shabeer Ahmad Mian and colleagues note that mussels have a remarkable knack for clinging onto solid surfaces underwater. That can make them a ...
E-cigarettes: More than just hot air
2014-06-04
E-cigarettes are a potential smoking cessation aid and they may also be able to lower the risk of nicotine dependency in high-risk groups. The available scientific evidence, however, remains insufficient. This is the conclusion reached by Dennis Nowak et al. from Munich in this issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2014; 111: 349–55).
The authors performed a systematic literature search for data on e-cigarettes' mechanism of action, their emissions, how they are seen by groups of potential users, their efficacy in smoking cessation, and their addiction ...
BMJ urged to widen its approach to transparency
2014-06-04
A group of New Zealand health policy researchers from the University of Otago's Dunedin and Christchurch campuses has called on the leading medical journal BMJ to be much more even handed in scrutinizing the transparency of what it publishes.
Professor Robin Gauld, the Director of the Centre for Health Systems, has co-written a letter that has appeared in the BMJ on 31 May, expressing concern about a journal editorial reviewing a report into the performance of the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) prepared by the King's Fund in England.
The report, released in ...
First demonstration in human cells of chromosomal translocations that cause certain cancer
2014-06-04
Scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) and the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas (CNIO) have succeeded in reproducing, in human cells, the chromosomal translocations that cause two types of cancer: acute myeloid leukemia and Ewing's sarcoma. The findings, published today in Nature Communications, open the way to the development of new therapeutic targets for the treatment of these cancers.
The study was led by Juan Carlos Ramírez and Raúl Torres, of the CNIC Viral Vectors Unit, and Sandra Rodríguez-Perales, of the Molecular ...
Tree hugging helps koalas keep their cool
2014-06-04
Australia's koalas cope with extreme heat by resting against cooler tree trunks, new research has revealed.
Thermal imaging uncovered the koalas' cool plan, confirming that they choose to hug trees that can be more than 5°C cooler than the air during hot weather.
Researchers observed the behaviour of 30 koalas during hot weather at French Island, Victoria.
Co-author Andrew Krockenberger from James Cook University in Cairns, in far north-east Australia, says heat wave events can hit koala populations hard.
"We know that about a quarter of the koalas in one population ...
How to tell when a sewage pipe needs repair -- before it bursts
2014-06-04
The nation's sewer system is a topic most people would prefer to avoid, but its aging infrastructure is wearing out, and broken pipes leaking raw sewage into streets and living rooms are forcing the issue. To better predict which pipes need to be fixed, scientists report in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology that certain conditions in the pipes can clue utilities in to which ones need repair — before it's too late.
Mark T. Hernandez and colleagues note that the maintenance of U.S. wastewater collection systems costs an estimated $4.5 billion every year, ...
Crop science booms in 'The Triangle' and strives to address population growth
2014-06-04
Research Triangle Park (RTP) might not have the international renown that Silicon Valley has developed, but the North Carolina region has become a tech powerhouse in its own right – in crop science. A recent growth spurt promises intense new research with the potential to transform how — and how well — the world is fed, says an article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society.
Melody M. Bomgardner, a senior editor at C&EN, notes that the park, which is nestled between the higher education triad Raleigh, Durham and ...
Soda consumers may be drinking more fructose than labels reveal
2014-06-04
LOS ANGELES — Soda consumers may be getting a much higher dose of the harmful sugar fructose than they have been led to believe, according to a new study by the Childhood Obesity Research Center (CORC) at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), part of Keck Medicine of USC.
In the study, published online June 3, 2014 in the journal Nutrition, Keck School of Medicine researchers analyzed the chemical composition of 34 popular beverages, finding that beverages and juices made with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, ...
International committee re-defines how multiple sclerosis is described and understood
2014-06-04
Multiple sclerosis manifests itself in many different ways and different courses. A recent effort to fine-tune descriptions – or phenotypes -- of MS was undertaken by an international team of leaders in MS research and clinical care. The results of this effort by the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in MS, including recommendations for more research, has just been published (Neurology 2014;83:1). The volunteer Committee is jointly supported by the National MS Society and the European Committee for Treatment and Research in MS (ECTRIMS).
"Having better ...