This invention relates to the use of an Aronia berry extract or a composition comprising said extract for enhancing the reaction time, attention, concentration and psychomotor control of a mammal, more in particular a human. The composition comprising the Aronia extract is formulated for oral ingestion.

The present invention involves a new method to produce pure coconut powder. Under ultra-high-pressure condition, the fiber of coconut meat shortens and puffs, consequently, its specific surface area increases. This enhances its ability to absorb fat, which enables the natural fiber in coconut meat to act as the excipient (carrier) of spray drying or lyophilization (whereas in traditional coconut milk powder formulations, art starch hydrolysates are added to act as the excipient). Further the natural fiber replaces emulsifiers and anti-caking agents used in the traditional formula. This produces a pure coconut powder that has no foreign additives, but at the same time has a good instant solubility and reconstitution stability, as well as possesses rich dietary fiber. This invention produces no by-product (desiccated coconut), realizing the zero-residue processing of coconut meat.

A dried powder of an edible plant which hardly gets damped, without relying on a substance other than a dried edible plant serving as a main food material for imparting features to a flavor and a color tone of a dried powder, and a method for producing the same is provided. The dried powder contains an edible part and a non-edible part of a dried edible plant which a proportion of the non-edible part to the edible part of the dried edible plant is 1% by mass or more and 200% by mass or less, a repose angle is 0.7 rad or more, loose bulk density/tight bulk density is 0.88 or less and a moisture content is 20% by mass or less.

Described are dried cranberries with reduced sugar content, while retaining a desired sweetness and texture, and methods of making such dried cranberries. Dried cranberries include erythritol and a sweetener that interferes with erythritol crystallization.

Disclosed in the present invention is a composition for treating diarrhea, comprising the following components calculated by weight ratio: Colocasia esculenta and antidiarrheal foods. The composition of the present invention has low cost, available raw materials, is safe and non-toxic, and is suitable for industrial production. The antidiarrheal effect of the product is remarkable. The rehabilitation time for the common diarrhea is 24-48 hours, and for the diarrhea caused by rotavirus is 48-72 hours, and the rehabilitation time is shortened by 2.5 days on average. The effective rate for persistent diarrhea within 5 days is 90.16%. For diarrhea of infants with milk protein allergy during the addition of supplementary feeding, six to eight kinds of foods can be added in one month, and thus the composition is especially suitable for infants and young children.

The present invention relates to isolated nucleic acid molecules and their corresponding encoded polypeptides able confer the trait of improved plant size, vegetative growth, growth rate, seedling vigor and/or biomass in plants challenged with saline conditions. The present invention further relates to the use of these nucleic acid molecules and polypeptides in making transgenic plants, plant cells, plant materials or seeds of a plant having plant size, vegetative growth, growth rate, seedling vigor and/or biomass that are improved in saline conditions with respect to wild-type plants grown under similar conditions.

The present invention relates to isolated nucleic acid molecules and their corresponding encoded polypeptides able confer the trait of improved plant size, vegetative growth, growth rate, seedling vigor and/or biomass in plants challenged with saline conditions. The present invention further relates to the use of these nucleic acid molecules and polypeptides in making transgenic plants, plant cells, plant materials or seeds of a plant having plant size, vegetative growth, growth rate, seedling vigor and/or biomass that are improved in saline conditions with respect to wild-type plants grown under similar conditions.

A method for identifying a quantitative trait locus associated with desirable nutritional traits in canola includes: analyzing a population of canola plants or germplasm for desirable nutritional traits; determining the genotype of the canola plants or germplasm using at least one marker selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:1 through SEQ ID NO:111; mapping the canola plants or germplasm for the presence of a quantitative trait locus (QTL) associated with the markers; and associating the QTL with the desirable nutritional trait. An isolated and/or recombinant nucleic acid includes a sequence associated with a quantitative trait locus (QTL), wherein the QTL is associated with a desirable nutritional trait in a canola plant or germplasm and wherein the QTL is further associated with at least one marker selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:1 through SEQ ID NO:111.

In accordance with the teachings of the disclosure, a process is disclosed for pitting drupes. In some embodiments of a pitting process, the pitting machine uses a pitting knife that has a longitudinal passageway that extends axially through the pitting knife. The pitting machine has a steam source that provides pressurized steam to the passageway of the pitting knife. Prior to pitting the drupe, the pressurized steam flows through the passageway and onto a portion of a drupe positioned within a carrier in the pitting machine. The heat and pressure of the steam between the drupe and the cutting end of the cutting knife can soften a localized portion of the drupe so that the cutting knife can cut through the flesh of the drupe and eject the pit out of the opposite side of the drupe.

Provided herein is a transgenic plant having increased expression of a coding region encoding a resistance protein, where the transgenic plant has increased resistance to infection by Leptosphaeria maculans. In one embodiment, the transgenic plant is B. napus, B. oleraceae, B. rapa, or B. juncea. Also provided are methods of increasing resistance of a member of the genus Brassica to infection by Leptosphaeria maculans, methods of making a transgenic plant with increased resistance to Leptosphaeria maculans, and methods of producing food, feed, or an industrial product using a transgenic plant.