Yogurt was prepared from raw milk and oolong tea powder with added L-theanine and muscovado sugar using a starter culture of lactic acid bacteria. The effects of the concentration of oolong tea powder, muscovado sugar and L-theanine and inoculum size on the pH value, acidity, viscosity, water-holding capacity and sensory score of yoghurt were investigated by using a combination of one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) method and orthogonal array design (OAD). The results showed that under the conditions of 0.3% oolong tea powder concentration, 8% muscovado sugar concentration, 0.09% L-theanine concentration and 0.010% inoculum size, the sensory score, pH value, acidity, water-holding capacity, and total viable count of the prepared yogurt were 96 points, 4.54, 72 °T, 67.34%, and 5.78 × 109 CFU/g, respectively. The product had a rich flavor, bright color, exquisite texture, prominent muscovado sugar-like flavor, strong aroma, and smooth taste without suspended particles.

Ion chromatography was used to determine the inositol content in formula foods for special medical purposes. The sample was acidified by hydrochloric acid to precipitate proteins, and inositol was dissolved in the supernatant and then detected with an amperometric detector. The results showed that the peak area was linearly related to the concentration of inositol in the range of 0.025 to 40.000 mg/L with a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.999 9. The detection limit and quantitation limit were 0.125 and 0.5 mg/100 g, respectively. The average recovery of inositol was 83.1%–102.9% at different spiked levels. The method was proved to be simple, sensitive reproducible and suitable for the determination of inositol in formula foods for special medical purposes.

Lactic acid bacteria have commonly been used in fermented foods, which will exert health-beneficial functions only when reaching a certain population level. Some lactic acid bacteria have strict requirements on growth conditions, making it difficult for many fermented products to ensure a high number of viable bacteria within the shelf life. How to promote the proliferation of lactic acid bacteria and maintain its stability has become a research hotspot. This paper reviews the roles of functional oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, whey protein hydrolysate and plant-derived materials in promoting the growth of lactic acid bacteria. It has been demonstrated that some growth-promoting materials are useful for promoting high-density culture of lactic acid bacteria, ensuring a high number of viable cells in fermented dairy products during storage, and improving the functions of probiotic products.

In order to find the difference between the cleavage sites in bovine milk proteins by metalloproteinase from Paenibacillus spp. BD3526 and chymosin, the peptides generated from αs1-, αs2- and κ-casein and β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg) digested by the enzymes were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadruple-timeof- flight mass spectrometer (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS-MS). The results indicated that the cleavage sites in bovine milk proteins by metalloproteinase and chymosin shared high similarity and both of these enzymes specifically cleaved the Lys-Thr, Lys-Phe, Arg- Phe and Arg-Tyr peptide bonds to generate peptides with ACE inhibitory, antimicrobial and immunomodulating activities.

The objective of this study was to explore and compare the effect of different heat treatments on the stability of buffalo milk. For this purpose, milk samples were subjected to different heat treatments for the comparative determination of pH buffer capacity, total dissolved solids (TDS) content, the amount of protein precipitation and apparent viscosity. The results showed that the pH buffering capacity, TDS, protein precipitation and apparent viscosity of buffalo milk were significantly changed after heat treatments. After treatment at 121 ℃ for 15 min, the pH buffering capacity, TDS, protein precipitation and apparent viscosity reached their maximum levels, while pH buffering capacity and TDS were minimized after treatment at 95 ℃ for 5 min. Therefore, it was concluded that the stability of buffalo milk was most affected by treatments at 121℃ for 15 min and at 95 ℃ for 5 min in the experimental range investigated.

Phellinus baumii is a highly-valued medicinal mushroom. In the current study, inhibitory effects of different concentrations of the 95% ethanol extract from Phellinus baumii were examined on Gram-positive, Gram-negative, molds and yeasts. The results showed that the Phellinus baumii ethanol extract at concentrations in the range of 0.1 to 5 mg/mL was effective against the growth of harmful bacteria and fungi and could obviously control the total number of bacteria in milk without having any significant adverse impact on beneficial bacteria. Meanwhile, the extract had a broader antimicrobial spectrum than antimicrobials such as nisin, suggesting its potential application for inhibiting harmful microorganisms in milk and dairy products.

An HPLC method to determine dicyandiamide in milk and dairy products was proposed and validated in the present study. A comparative investigation of gradient and isocratic elution was carried out for the chromatographic separation of dicyandiamide. The results of this study indicated a good linear relationship for dicyandiamide over the concentration range of 0.1002 to 10.0200 μg/mL under gradient elution conditions (r = 0.9996). The average recovery of dicyandiamide was 92.8%, and the limit of detection was 0.01 μg/mL. This method proved to be applicable for the determination of dicyandiamide in milk and dairy products.