Production of hard-type cheese using free or immobilized freeze-dried kefir cells as a starter culture

This study provides a contribution to hard-type cheese starter culture production through the use of a freeze-dried culture in the ripening of hard-type cheeses. The effect of initial cell concentration, ripening temperature, and cell immobilization of kefir on the degree of openness, mold spoilage, microbial associations, physicochemical characteristics, and aroma-related compounds was studied. Use of kefir starter cultures resulted in cheese with an increased shelf life and resistance to spoilage as compared to control cheeses without kefir inoculants. Furthermore, the freeze-dried kefir culture improved aroma, taste, and texture characteristics while increasing the degree of openness in comparison to traditional hard-type cheese products. The kefir culture resulted in an increase in counts of total aerobic bacteria, yeasts and molds, lactococci, and lactobacilli until the 15th day of ripening. From then on, only lactobacilli counts increased, reaching levels up to 9.17 log CFU/g in cheeses ripened at 5 degrees C using freeze-dried kefir cells immobilized on casein. SPME-GC/MS analysis revealed major differences in volatile composition, especially with regard to alcohols (up to 75%), carbonyl compounds (up to 75%), and esters (up to 64%) between cheeses made with kefir cells and cheeses made without kefir inoculants.     

Isolation and characterization of three novel peptides from casein hydrolysates that stimulate the growth of mixed cultures of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus

In this study, sodium caseinate hydrolysates produced by papain with strong growth-stimulating activity for Streptococcus thermophilus (St) and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (Lb) were obtained. A series of separation methods including ultrafiltration, macroporous adsorption resin chromatography, gel filtration chromatography, and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) were applied to isolate and purify the peptide(s), which were mainly responsible for the activity. Finally, three novel growth-stimulating peptides, H-2-A, F2-c, and F2-b, corresponding to amino acid residues 29-35 and 103-108 of bovine α(S2)-casein and 181-186 of bovine α(S1)-casein, respectively, were obtained. With supplementation of H-2-A, F2-b, or F2-c at a protein concentration of 0.3%, the biomass yield of these two lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was enhanced by 193.3, 166.7, or 151.7%, respectively. In addition, there were significant (p < 0.05) increases in viable counts of St and lactic acid production of LAB in the presence of the purified peptides.     

Evaluation of fly ash as a soil amendment for the Atlantic Coastal Plain: II. Soil chemical properties and crop growth

Crop yields in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the U.S.A. are limited by the low moisture-holding capacities of the sandy soils common to the region. Corn was grown in a Hammonton loamy sand soil amended with fly ash (0, 5, 10, 20, 30, and 40%) to determine if the ash rates required to improve soil moisture holding capacity would adversely affect plant growth, or soil and plant levels of nutrients and heavy metals. Fly ash increased soil test levels of P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Cu, Zn, B, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb. Nutrient concentrations in plants grown in the ash-amended soils, except P, Mn, and B, remained within established sufficiency ranges. The 20 and 40% ash rates increased soil soluble salt (EC) levels from 0.2 to 1.1–1.5 and 1.7–2.1 mmho cm^?1, soil pH from 5.6 to 6.0–6.4 or 6.3–6.9, and extractable B from 0.2 to 2.2–5.9 and 2.2–9.0 mg kg^?1. Fly ash reduced corn germination, delayed seedling emergence, and reduced root and shoot dry weights. Plant B concentrations at the 40% ash rate were in the phytotoxic range (136–189 mg kg^?1). Management practices that allow for pre-leaching of B and soluble salts will likely be required to attain satisfactory corn growth in ash-amended soils.