The objectives of this study were to determine the extraction yield and phytochemical composition of different Artemisia herba-alba (AHA) extracts, as well as to investigate in-vitro their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-glycation,... more
The objectives of this study were to determine the extraction yield and phytochemical composition of different Artemisia herba-alba (AHA) extracts, as well as to investigate in-vitro their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-glycation, and antibacterial activities. Four solvents with different polarities were used to prepare AHA extracts. The extraction yield was determined using the gravimetric method. The qualitative analysis was performed using the standard methods. The quantitative analysis, the antioxidant, and the anti-inflammatory activities were estimated using the colorimetric method. The anti-glycation activity was measured using the spectrofluorimetric method. The antibacterial activity was performed using an agar diffusion method. Our findings showed that 80% aqueous ethanolic extract significantly (p ≤ 0.05) compared to other extracts exhibited high extraction yield (15.3%), high phytochemical content (263.93±2.46 mg GAE/g E for total phenols), (40.94±1.45 mg QE /g E f...
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Origanum syriacum L. (common name Za’atar) is a wild growing medicinal plant in Jordan and the Middle East, while Origanum majorana L. is a native plant of Cyprus and south Turkey. In this research collecting missions were conducted in... more
Origanum syriacum L. (common name Za’atar) is a wild growing medicinal plant in Jordan and the Middle East, while Origanum majorana L. is a native plant of Cyprus and south Turkey. In this research collecting missions were conducted in different agroecologies in Jordan which allowed the sampling of 14 wild populations of O. syriacum L. In addition, four cultivated O. syriacum L. accessions and two accessions of O. majorana L. were obtained from farmers and local market. The collected material was evaluated during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 growing seasons. The obtained results indicated significant differences between different populations/accessions for all the studied characters with an overall diversity value of (H′=0.897) using Shannon Wiener diversity index. Cluster analysis clearly differentiated between O. syriacum L and O. majorana L. and also between the cultivated accessions and the wild populations. Essential oil content significantly varied between the growing seasons and t...
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Whey produced during the manufacture of labneh was supplemented with yeast extract (10 g/1), and then fortified with lactose, treated with β‐galactosidase or fermented with Lactobacillus helveticus, prior to inoculation with free living... more
Whey produced during the manufacture of labneh was supplemented with yeast extract (10 g/1), and then fortified with lactose, treated with β‐galactosidase or fermented with Lactobacillus helveticus, prior to inoculation with free living cells of Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp shermanii or Propionibacterium acidipropionici or cells immobilized in aliginate beads. Under anaerobic batch conditions, fermentation of the whey with Lb helveticus followed by P acidipropionici (free cell system) for 2.5 days at 32°C gave a broth with 5.9 g/l of propionic acid and 2.4 gll of acetic acid, while immobilized cells of the same organisms gave a broth with 11.0 gll propionic acid and 3.2 g/l acetic acid over 4 days. These latter values were the maximum levels recorded with any of the treatments, and it is suggested that such yields might make recovery economically feasible in certain countries.
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This study was conducted during the 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 seasons, under open field and plastic houses conditions in the Jordan Valley, to evaluate yield and quality of Origanum syriacum, and Origanum majorana cultivated accessions and... more
This study was conducted during the 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 seasons, under open field and plastic houses conditions in the Jordan Valley, to evaluate yield and quality of Origanum syriacum, and Origanum majorana cultivated accessions and wild population at three dates of initial cutting. Several agro-morphological traits including oil content were studied. Spilt-plot arranged in a randomized complete block design with repeated measurement design replicated three times was used. The highest fresh and dry weight production was found to be produced when the first cut was performed at February 26. The highest essential oil percentage was obtained when the first cut was performed in March 26 for all population/accessions. The cultivation of Origanum under plastic house in Jordan valley positively affected plant height, fresh and dry weight, leaf/stem ratio, leaf area but it had no significant effect on essential oil content. Essential oil content varied during the growing seasons. In the second season the highest essential oil content was for the wild O. syriacum population when the first cut was performed on March 26 (2.12%), followed by the cultivated O. syriacum accessions 1 (1.91%) and 2 (1.90%) and then the two accessions of O. majorana with 1.66% each.
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This study was carried out to investigate the antioxidant properties of synbiotic product, Lactobacillus acidophilus supplemented with 2.5% royal jelly in skim milk and Bifidobacterium bifidum supplemented with 7.5% royal jelly in skim... more
This study was carried out to investigate the antioxidant properties of synbiotic product, Lactobacillus acidophilus supplemented with 2.5% royal jelly in skim milk and Bifidobacterium bifidum supplemented with 7.5% royal jelly in skim milk, using DPPH (1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assay, reducing power, total antioxidant in linoleic acid system and formation of diene-conjugation assay. Results showed that the synbiotic effect of royal jelly and probiotic bacteria provided substantial antioxidant activities. Milk samples fermented by B. bifi dum supplemented with 7.5% royal jelly and L. acidophilus supplemented with 2.5% royal jelly exhibited high scavenging activity with 96.8 and 93.3%, respectively, at a concentration of 500 μg/mL. IC50 values were estimated at 226.7 μg/mL for B. bifidum supplemented with 7.5% royal jelly and at 210.2 μg/ml for L. acidophilus supplemented with 2.5% royal jelly. On the other hand, L. acidophilus supplemented with 2.5% royal jel...
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The present study was done to evaluate the effect of three different royal jelly samples on the kinetic growth of two isolates of lactic bacteria; Lactobacillusacidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum. The results showed that the addition... more
The present study was done to evaluate the effect of three different royal jelly samples on the kinetic growth of two isolates of lactic bacteria; Lactobacillusacidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum. The results showed that the addition of royal jelly supported and improved the growth of L. acidophilus and B. bifidum. The highest count of L. acidophilus was 9.01 (log10 cfu/mL) when 2% (w/v) of the royal jelly sample 3 was added to milk. The highest count of B. bifidum was 9.07 (log10 cfu/mL) when 5% (w/v) of the royal jelly sample 1 was added to milk. Based on the obtained results, royal jelly showed the capability of prebiotic activity and increasing the activity of L. acidophilus and B. bifidum. Royal jelly promotes SCFAs productions which are believed to have an antitumor effect. The results showed the presence of signifi cant synbiotic effect of fermented milk and royal jelly on the intestinal microflora. This effect is translated by the reduction in the faecal enzyme activitie...
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Nabulsi cheese is one of the most popular white brined cheeses produced in Jordan and, traditionally, no starter cultures are employed for ripening. However, the resultant high pH means that spoilage problems arise in cheeses stored at... more
Nabulsi cheese is one of the most popular white brined cheeses produced in Jordan and, traditionally, no starter cultures are employed for ripening. However, the resultant high pH means that spoilage problems arise in cheeses stored at ambient temperatures. Direct acidification or the use of commercial starter cultures have an adverse effect on flavour, but cultures derived from lactic acid bacteria isolated from local milks gave rise to cheeses that were as acceptable as the traditional products. In addition, the pHs of the cheese brines were in the range associated with stability during storage (pH 5.1–5.3), and hence it is suggested that these locally derived cultures could be employed by the industry to manufacture a nabulsi cheese from pasteurized milk that should: (a) be free from pathogens; (b) not deteriorate in‐store at ambient temperature; and (c) have a flavour profile similar to traditional nabulsi cheese.