BACKGROUND: Nowadays, the interest in functional food has dramatically increased. Herbal plants and functional foods have health-enhancing effects on consumers due to their medicinal, antioxidant, and nutritional properties. Probiotics are one of the most emerging and popular functional food products. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the effect of irradiated and non-irradiated saffron petal extract on the viability of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei (M4PM99) in probiotic yogurt.METHODS The ethanolic extract of irradiated saffron petals with a 10 KGy dose of gamma ray at concentrations of 25, 50, and 75 mg/mL and non-irradiated extract at the same concentrations were used and their effect on the viability of Lacticaseibacilus paracasei and their antioxidant and physicochemical properties in set yogurt were studied. Probiotic survival, pH, acidity, content of total phenolic compounds, DPPH inhibition percentage, and sensory properties on days 0, 7, 14, and 21 were assessed.RESULTS: Both irradiated and non-irradiated saffron extracts significantly increased the viability of probiotic bacteria compared to the control sample (P<0.05). The addition of extracts was effective in increasing acidity and decreasing pH compared to the control (P<0.05). With the increase in the amount of extract, the percentage of DPPH inhibition and phenolic compounds significantly increased in the irradiated samples (P<0.05). The effect of storage time was also significant on these indicators, such that the antioxidant properties and phenolic compounds increased until the 14th day and then decreased (P<0.05). In the sensory evaluation, in terms of taste, odor, and color, the lowest score was related to the sample containing 0.75% extract. No significant difference was observed in other concentrations compared to the control sample.CONCLUSIONS: Saffron petal extract has a positive effect on the viability of probiotics during storage. Gamma irradiation has a significant effect on the amount of total phenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity of saffron petal extract. It can be used as a natural antioxidant in dairy products.

The present study was designed to show the potential role of zinc oxide nanoparticles againstthe toxicity of L. donovani. The study were conducted on 15 adult male rats that arranged inthree groups (5 rates for each), The control group that received normal saline, The second is thegroup with rats injected with L. donovani at dose rate of 1.2&times; 1 0 6 cell/ 0.2ml . intraperitoneally,The third group is rats injected with L. donovani at a dose rate of 1.2&times; 1 0 6 cell/ 0.2ml andtreated with50ug/kg of ZnO-NPs for two weeks. The results show a high significant increased (P&lt; 0.05) in levels of Malondialdehyde (MDA) and a high significant decreased (P &lt; 0.05) inlevels of GSH, catalase in the second group compared with the controls. The results of thirdgroup showed non-significant changes (P &lt; 0.05) in all parameters compared with controls whenusing green zinc oxide nanoparticles. The results of the histopathological study of sectionsprepared from animals of the second group indicated a thickening wall of bronchiole in mostregions with sever lymphocytes infiltration and damage in wall of alveoli. However , Aftertreatment, the sections that prepared from the third group show a semi-normal structure ofbronchiole, alveolar sac and alveoli. It has been was concluded that green zinc oxidenanoparticles have the true been potential role against the toxicity of L. donovani in adult malerats.