Rosa x alba:source of essential minerals and volatile oils

Rosa x alba is cultivated almost exclusively for the production of aromatic water and fruits widely used as ingredients in some traditional food preparations sold commercially.Results of the proximate and elemental analyses revealed that flowers exhibited higher moisture content while the dry matter content was higher in leaves.Total fat and ash was higher in fruits when compared with leaves and flowers.All studied organs were found to be rich in essential mineral such as K,Ca,P and Mg.Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the volatile oils revealed different composition patterns between organs.Linalool and geraniol were found as major constituents of the leaf oil whereas 2-phenethyl alcohol and eugenol were the major constituents of the floral oil.In contrast,fruits showed very distinct composition and alkanes/alkenes were found to have the major contribution.The present composition could justify the traditional use of Rosa x alba which could be considered as a potential source of essential minerals and volatile constituents.

Influence of Culinary Treatment on Soriz Mineral Elements (Sorghum Oryzoidum)

Soriz (Sorghum oryzoidum) is a relatively new cereal of hybrid origin obtained at the Research Institute for Maize and Sorghum of Moldova. This paper presents and analyzes the results of the study of essential minerals content (K, Na, Ca, P, Mg, Fe) in native and hulled sorghum grains and their changes under the effect of hydrothermal treatment. The results show that the sorghum grains are a good source of essential minerals, especially of K, P and Mg and are less rich in Ca, Na and Fe. The experimental data have demonstrated that the technological process applied to obtain hulled sorghum leads to a considerable decrease in minerals content. Culinary treatment had a greater impact on the K content and lower on P and Mg content. The results will be used to optimize the parameters of raw material processing and culinary treatment with the aim of minimizing the mineral loss as well as for the nutritional value balance of soriz sorghum dishes.