Twenty-five years of total antioxidant capacity measurement of foods and biological fluids: merits and limitations

This review summarises 25 years of investigations on antioxidants research in foods and biological fluids and critically analyses the merits and limitations of using the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) measurement in the metabolomic era. An enormous bulk of knowledge was produced regarding the antioxidant capacity of foods and large TAC databases were developed. A direct link between a food TAC value and any health benefit is erroneous and has led to several cases of consumer deception. However, the striking epidemiological evidence associating a high dietary TAC with some disease prevention and the availability of well-constructed TAC databases deserve attention and must be taken into account to establish the usefulness of measuring TAC in both foods and biological samples. The in vivo TAC measurement, usually performed in plasma, is influenced by many external factors, such as dietary habits, as well as environmental and behavioural factors, which are integrated towards homeostatic control by fine physiological mechanisms with high inter-individual variability. Therefore, plasma TAC cannot be considered as a unique biomarker of individual antioxidant status. However, the combined evaluation of plasma TAC with known markers of disease, individual metabolism, inflammation and genetics, as well as with markers of gut microbiota composition and activity, may lead to the identification of populations that are more responsive to food/diet TAC. In this framework, the appropriate use of TAC measurement both in food and in vivo can still provide support for the interpretation of complex phenomena and be a tool for sample screening when making a quick decision toward in-depth research investigations. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Nutritional aspects of gluten‐free products

In recent years, gluten‐free (GF) goods have become popular, fuelling a growing market, as they not only cater to individuals with medical needs but also to consumers who seek a GF diet. In their development, it is pivotal to pay attention to nutritional quality. This review aims to provide some insights on the nutritional quality of GF products, focusing on major concerns and the strategies to overcome them. In order to mimic the viscoelastic properties of gluten, a large number of flours and starches and other ingredients have been used. Therefore the different mixtures of these ingredients bring a wide difference in the nutritional composition of GF foods with respect to gluten‐containing counterparts. Several GF foodstuffs contain more fat, including saturated, and salt but fewer minerals and vitamins than their equivalents with gluten. The increased fibre content and improved technological processes have positively affected the glycaemic responses from these goods. However, in order to improve their nutritional quality, wholemeal GF cereals and pseudocereals with high nutritive value should replace the low‐nutritional GF flours and consequently the technological processes would be optimized. The improvement of the nutritional quality of GF products, and in turn that of the GF diet, should also be aimed at lowering the risk of later chronic degenerative disorders, especially for infants and young children. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry     

Stringency of regulation and innovation in waste management: an empirical analysis on EU countries

The transformation of waste into a valuable resource is a key process towards sustainable development and green growth and therefore represents a major concern for policy-makers. Technological innovation plays a crucial role in waste management and therefore understanding the way in which regulation may spur innovation in this domain constitute is crucial. This article aims at testing the weak version of the Porter hypothesis in waste management, by analysing the dynamic relationship between the stringency of environmental regulation and innovation in a European cross-country setting. Results confirm that the stringency of regulation positively affects innovation, but the effect is non-linear, suggesting the existence of an optimal cap to the stringency of regulation. Furthermore, the overall environmental conditions of the country, as well as the presence of highly polluting sectors hinder the development of environmental innovations.     

Synthesis and Antiplasmodial Activity of Novel Chloroquine Analogues with Bulky Basic Side Chains

Chloroquine is commonly used in the treatment and prevention of malaria, but Plasmodium falciparum, the main species responsible for malaria‐related deaths, has developed resistance against this drug. Twenty‐seven novel chloroquine (CQ) analogues characterized by a side chain terminated with a bulky basic head group, i.e., octahydro‐2H‐quinolizine and 1,2,3,4,5,6‐hexahydro‐1,5‐methano‐8H‐pyrido[1,2‐a][1,5]diazocin‐8‐one, were synthesized and tested for activity against D‐10 (CQ‐susceptible) and W‐2 (CQ‐resistant) strains of P. falciparum. Most compounds were found to be active against both strains with nanomolar or sub‐micromolar IC₅₀ values. Eleven compounds were found to be 2.7‐ to 13.4‐fold more potent than CQ against the W‐2 strain; among them, four cytisine derivatives appear to be of particular interest, as they combine high potency with low cytotoxicity against two human cell lines (HMEC‐1 and HepG2) along with easier synthetic accessibility. Replacement of the 4‐NH group with a sulfur bridge maintained antiplasmodial activity at a lower level, but produced an improvement in the resistance factor. These compounds warrant further investigation as potential drugs for use in the fight against malaria.     

Mono and Bifunctional Catalysts for Styrene Oxide Isomerization or Hydrogenation

Abstract  

Styrene oxide can be effectively isomerized to phenyl-acetaldehyde (98%) over amorphous silica alumina catalysts under very mild liquid phase conditions. On the other hand, a copper catalyst prepared using a silica zirconia support gave up to 80% yield in the hydrogenation of styrene oxide to 2-phenyl-ethanol.     

Application of near (NIR) infrared and mid (MIR) infrared spectroscopy as a rapid tool to classify extra virgin olive oil on the basis of fruity attribute intensity

A sensory analysis of 112 virgin olive oils was performed by a fully trained taste panel. The samples were divided in “defective” and “not defective” on the basis of their olfactory attributes. Then, the “not defective” samples were classified into “low”, “medium” and “high” according to the fruity aroma intensity perceived by assessors. All samples were also analysed by FT-NIR and FT-IR spectroscopy and processed by classification methods (LDA and SIMCA). The results showed that NIR and MIR spectroscopy coupled with statistical methods are an interesting technique compared with traditional sensory assessment in classifying olive oil samples on the basis of the fruity attribute. The prediction rate varied between 71.6% and 100%, as average value. The spectroscopic methods, combined with chemometric strategies, could represent a reliable, cheap and fast classification tool, able to draw a complete fingerprint of a food product, describing its intrinsic quality attributes, that include its sensory attributes.