Effects of a citrus based juice on biomarkers of oxidative stress in metabolic syndrome patients

Bioactive substances found in numerous foods can be successfully and safely used to modify various cellular functions and affect the oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of a citrus-based juice (juice citrus (95%) with 5% of aronia extract (Aronia melanocarpa)) on biomarkers of oxidative stress in patients with metabolic syndrome compared with healthy individuals. The study comprised 20 healthy subjects and 33 patients with metabolic syndrome. Eighteen patients consumed daily 300 mL of a citrus-based juice during 6 months and 15 patients consumed 300 mL of a placebo beverage. The control group consumed a citrus-based juice (CJ). Before, and at sixth months after consuming of a citrus-based juice the following parameters were determined: 15-isoprostane F₂, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), reduced and oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSH), carbonyl groups and oxidized LDL (ox-LDL). After consuming CJ during 6 months the values of 8-OHdG, carbonyl groups and LDL-ox decreased in both analyzed groups and the values of GSH/GSSH increased. Significant differences were observed in both groups. Thus consumption of citrus-based juice improved the biomarkers of oxidative stress in metabolic syndrome patients.     

Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction Followed by Capillary High-Performance Liquid Chromatography for the Determination of Six Sulfonylurea Herbicides in Fruit Juices

In this study a simple, rapid, and efficient method has been developed for the determination of six sulfonylurea herbicides (SUHs): triasulfuron, metsulfuron-methyl, chlorsulfuron, flazasulfuron, chlorimuron-ethyl, and primisulfuron-methyl in commercial grape and apple juice samples, using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with capillary high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. Various parameters that influence the extraction efficiency, such as the type and volume of extraction and disperser solvents, sample pH, and salt addition, were investigated and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, limits of detection and quantification of the method were in the ranges of 2–9 and 8–29 μg L^?1, respectively, lower than the maximum residue limits set by the European Union for the raw fruits, such as grape and apple. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations varied from 1.0 to 8.2 and 1.8 to 9.8 %, respectively, with recoveries between 72.0 and 109.5 % for commercial grape (both white and red) and apple juice samples, showing satisfactory accuracy for the determination of SUHs in fruit juices.     

Application of Fast Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry in Combination with the QuEChERS Method for the Determination of Pesticide Residues in Fruits and Vegetables

A fast gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method has been developed for multiresidue determination of up to 56 pesticides in fruits and vegetables in a chromatographic run time of <10 min, using a single quadrupole mass spectrometer operating in selected ion monitoring mode. The well-known acetate-buffering version of the QuEChERS method has been used for sample preparation. Programmable temperature vaporizer injection of 3 μL allowed reaching limits of detection between 0.15 and 15 μg/kg for most compounds in the sample matrices tested. The applicability of the method has been evaluated in apple, orange, carrot, and tomato. Recoveries at three fortification levels (0.01, 0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg) ranged from 70 to 120 % for most compounds, with relative standard deviations below 20 % in all cases. The developed method has been applied to fruit and vegetable samples from different Spanish provinces.     

Investigations into acrylamide precursors in sterilized table olives: Evidence of a peptic fraction being responsible for acrylamide formation

Formation of acrylamide from commercial model peptides containing protein-bound aspartic acid, alanine and methionine, respectively, at 200 °C and different times in the absence of any carbonyl sources, was demonstrated by HPLC–MS/MS analyses. Further experiments using a more complex model system based on olive water, i.e., the aqueous fraction of olive pulp from untreated and lye-treated green olives, were performed. After partial fractionation of olive water by solid-phase extraction, only peptides/proteins containing fractions, being devoid of free asparagine, generated significant amounts of acrylamide during less harsh heat treatment (121 °C for 30 min). In contrast, acrylamide was not detected after heating the same fraction under identical thermal conditions when previously subjected to acid hydrolysis. Consistently, significant amounts of acrylamide were released after heating the albuminous precipitate resulting from acetone precipitation of olive water. These results strongly support the role of peptides/proteins as precursors of acrylamide formation in sterilized olives.     

Transcriptional and functional responses of Escherichia coli O157:H7 growing in the lettuce rhizoplane

Lettuce and spinach are increasingly implicated in foodborne illness outbreaks due to contamination by Escherichia coli O157:H7. While this bacterium has been shown to colonize and survive on lettuce leaf surfaces, little is known about its interaction with the roots of growing lettuce plants. In these studies, a microarray analyses, mutant construction and confocal microscopy were used to gain an understanding of structure and function of bacterial genes involved in the colonization and growth of E. coli O157:H7 on lettuce roots. After three days of interaction with lettuce roots, 94 and 109 E. coli O157:H7 genes were significantly up- and down-regulated at least 1.5 fold, respectively. While genes involved in biofilm modulation (ycfR and ybiM) were significantly up-regulated, 40 of 109 (37%) of genes involved in protein synthesis were significantly repressed. E. coli O157:H7 was 2 logs less efficient in lettuce root colonization than was E. coli K12. We also unambiguously showed that a ΔycfR mutant of E. coli O157:H7 was unable to attach to or colonize lettuce roots. Taken together these results indicate that bacterial genes involved in attachment and biofilm formation are likely important for contamination of lettuce plants with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains.     

High prevalence of antimicrobial‐resistant Escherichia coli from animals at slaughter: a food safety risk

BACKGROUND: There has been concern about the increase of antimicrobial resistant bacteria and protection of animal and public health, along with food safety. In the present study, we evaluate the incidence of antimicrobial resistance among 192 strains of Escherichia coli isolated from faecal samples of healthy food‐producing animals at slaughter in Portugal. RESULTS: Ninety‐seven % of the pig isolates, 74% from sheep and 55% from cattle were resistant to one or more antimicrobial agents, with the resistances to ampicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline and trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole the most common phenotype detected. Genes encoding resistance to antimicrobial agents were detected in most of the resistant isolates. Ninety‐three % of the resistant isolates were included in the A or B1 phylogenetic groups, and the virulence gene fimA (alone or in association with papC or aer genes) was detected in 137 of the resistant isolates. Five isolates from pigs belonging to phylogroup B2 and D were resistant to five different antimicrobial agents. CONCLUSION: Our data shows a high percentage of antibiotic resistance in E. coli isolates from food animals, and raises important questions in the potential impact of antibiotic use in animals and the possible transmission of resistant bacteria to humans through the food chain. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Innovative Quality Improvement by Continuous Microwave Processing of a Faba Beans Pesto Sauce

Nowadays, consumers demand healthy, safe, and ready-to-eat horticultural products because of their lifestyle. In this regard, new legume-based food product development with eco-innovative technologies seems to be an interesting market. The effect on quality of an innovative pesto sauce, made of fresh faba bean seeds, of an alternative continuous microwave treatment pasteurization (MW, 11 kW; 30 s) regarding a conventional pasteurization (85 °C; 5 min) throughout 20 days at 5 °C was studied. Non-heated blended samples were used as control. The microbial quality was satisfactory in all treatments. MW treatment improved the sensorial quality of pesto sauce and decreased condensed tannins. Additionally, MW-treated samples showed the best texture, consistency, and color, preserving its chlorophyll and carotenoid content. On the other hand, thermal treatments showed a decrease in total phenolic compounds (TPC) and antioxidant capacity (TEAC) after heating, regarding control samples; however, TPC and TEAC remained quite constant throughout the storage.     

In vitro digestibility of phenolic compounds from edible fruits: could it be explained by chemometrics?

The health benefits of phenolic compounds depend on the ingested amount, molecular diversity and gastrointestinal digestibility. The phenolic profile of eight fruits (blackberry, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, mulberry, pomegranate, green and red globe grapes) was chemometrically associated with their in vitro digestibility (oral, gastric, intestinal). Extractable phenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins strongly correlated with each other (r ≥ 0.84), proanthocyanidins with anthocyanins (r = 0.62) and hydrolysable phenols with both extractable phenols (r = 0.45) and proanthocyanidins (r = ?0.54). Two principal components explained 93% of the variance [61% (free‐phenols), 32% (bounded‐phenols)], and four clusters were confirmed by hierarchical analysis, based in their phenolic richness (CLT 1‐4: low to high) and molecular diversity. In vitro digestibility of extractable phenols and flavonoids was blackberry (CLT‐4)> raspberry (CLT‐2)> red grape (CLT‐1) related to their phenolic richness (r ≥ 0.96; P < 0.001), but anthocyanins’ digestibility was pH‐dependent. Chemometrics is useful to predict the in vitro digestibility of phenolic compounds in the assayed fruits.