Fermented pastes of soybeans and soybean-maize blends were evaluated to determine sensory properties driving consumer liking. Pastes composed of 100% soybeans, 90% soybeans and 10% maize, and 75% soybeans and 25% maize were naturally fermented (NFP), and lactic acid bacteria fermented (LFP). Lactic acid bacteria fermentation was achieved through backslopping using a fermented cereal gruel, thob...

The application of biochar to soil is considered to have the potential for long-term soil carbon sequestration, as well as for improving plant growth and suppressing soil pathogens. In our study we evaluated the effect of biochar on the plant growth of soybeans, as well as on the community composition of root-associated bacteria with plant growth promoting traits. Two types of biochar, namely, ...

Peanuts and peanut butter are commonly consumed as a snack, meal component and ingredient in various commercial products. Their consumption is associated with reduced CVD risk and they pose little threat to positive energy balance. However, questions have arisen as to whether product form (e.g. whole nut v. butter) and processing properties (e.g. roasting and adding flavours) may compromise the...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of blending ratio of malted barley, maize, and roasted pea flour on complementary food quality and sensory acceptability. D- Optimal mixture design was used to generate 14 formulations. Each ingredient had 55-90% maize, 20-35% pea and 4-12% malted barley. Pretreatments like debranning of maize, roasting of pea and dehusking of malted barley were ...

Objective(s): Copper (Cu) is an essential dietary supplement in animal feeds, which plays an important role in maintaining the balance of all living organisms. Copper nanoparticles (nCu) participate in catalysing activities of multiple antioxidant/defensive enzymes and exerts pro-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic effects on systemic organs and tissues. The present study e...

Due to the importance of Acer monspessulanum in Iranian mountain forests, a study was carried out to reliably estimate its woody biomass and growing volume via allometric equations. Four transects, five trees in each were chosen randomly. The characteristics of standing trees including: diameter at root collar, height, number of stems and crown width were measured, then trees were finally cut d...

Chilling stress is an important constraint for maize seed establishment in the field. In this study, a type of "on-off" thermoresponsive coating agent containing poly (N-isopropylacrylamide-co-butylmethacrylate) (Abbr. P(NIPAm-co-BMA)) hydrogel was developed to improve the chilling tolerance of coated maize seed. The P(NIPAm-co-BMA) hydrogel was synthesized by free-radical polymerization of N-i...

The nature of interrelationships between soil pasteurisation, and increased soil N content, on the severity of Striga hermonthica infection in maize was studied in pot experiments in the screen-house. An initial experiment revealed that there was no significant difference in amount of S. hermonthica infection in maize grown in potted soil collected from Bida (98050N, 68010E) and Ibadan (78170N,...

peppermint (mentha piperita l.) from lamiaceae family is one of the most important medicinal plants, used in food, sanitary and cosmetic industries. a field experiment was carried out in ferdowsi university of mashhad in 2010-2011 to evaluate the effects of three irrigation levels (100, 80 and 60 percent of water requirements calculated by evaporation pan class a) and two mulch types (black pla...