Phenolic characterisation of red wines from different grape varieties cultivated in Mendoza province (Argentina)

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of the chemical composition of wine and its association with the grape variety/cultivar is of paramount importance in oenology and a necessary tool for marketing. Phenolic compounds are very important quality parameters of wines because of their impact on colour, taste and health properties. The aim of the present work was to study and describe the non‐flavonoid and flavonoid composition of wines from the principal red grape varieties cultivated in Mendoza (Argentina). RESULTS: Sixty phenolic compounds, including phenolic acids/derivatives, stilbenes, anthocyanins, flavanols, flavonols and dihydroflavonols, were identified and quantified using high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection coupled with electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (HPLC‐DAD/ESI‐MS). Marked quantitative differences could be seen in the phenolic profile among varieties, especially in stilbenes, acylated anthocyanins and other flavonoids. CONCLUSION: The polyphenolic content of Malbec wines was higher compared with the other red varieties. Dihydroflavonols represent a significant finding from the chemotaxonomic point of view, especially for Malbec variety. This is the first report on the individual phenolic composition of red wines from Mendoza (Argentina) and suggests that anthocyanins, flavanols and phenolic acids exert a great influence on cultivar‐based differentiation. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

New applications for Schizosaccharomyces pombe in the alcoholic fermentation of red wines

The fermentation of grape must using non‐Saccharomyces yeasts with particular metabolic and biochemical properties is of growing interest. In the present work, red grape must was fermented using four strains of Schizosaccharomyces pombe (935, 936, 938 and 2139), Saccharomyces cerevisiae 7VA and Saccharomyces uvarum S6U, and comparisons were made over the fermentation period in terms of must sugar (glucose + fructose), malic acid, acetic acid, ammonia, primary amino nitrogen, lactic acid, urea (a possible fermentation activator or precursor of other metabolites) and pyruvic acid (a molecule affecting vitisin formation and therefore colour stability) concentration. The colour intensity of the fermenting musts was also recorded. The Schizosaccharomyces strains consumed less primary amino nitrogen and produced less urea and more pyruvic acid than other Saccharomyces species. Further, three of the four Schizosaccharomyces strains completed the breakdown of malic acid by day 4 of fermentation. The main negative effect of the use of Schizosaccharomyces was strong acetic acid production. The Schizosaccharomyces strains that produced most pyruvic acid (938 and 936) were associated with better ‘wine’ colour than the remaining yeasts. The studied Schizosaccharomyces could therefore be of oenological interest.     

A multi-residue method for the determination of pesticides in high water content matrices by gas chromatography-single quadrupole mass spectrometry with electron ionisation (EI-GC/MS)

An EI-GC/MS method for the determination of pesticide residues in vegetable matrices with high water content was validated using papaya samples. The validation of a multi-residue pesticide method was in agreement with national and international regulations enabling the Ministry of the Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply of Brazil to cover a large number of matrices and pesticide residues in its monitoring and control programmes. The extraction used 60 mL of ethyl acetate and 30 g of sample previously processed. After extraction, clean-up of all the extracts was carried out by percolation through GBC cartridges. The samples were then injected in an EI-GC/MS system. Calibration curves were prepared in quadruplet by fortifying blank extracts with a standard solution containing all the pesticides studied at 0.000, 0.005, 0.010, 0.020, 0.030, 0.050, 0.080 and 0.100 mg kg(-1). For the recovery study, blank samples were fortified at 0.010, 0.020, 0.030, 0.050 and 0.080 mg kg(-1) and then submitted to the extraction procedure. The complete procedure was repeated over four different days by two analysts. The regression parameters of calibration curves were calculated for each validation day. Linearity, selectivity, specificity, robustness, limits of detection and quantification were also assessed. The uncertainty was estimated for each analyte at each spike level studied. The method had recoveries between 91% and 105% and precision results ≤ 20%. Limits of quantification were below or equal to the maximum residue limits (MRLs) regulated by Brazilian legislation. The MRLs of the selected pesticides are not regulated by CODEX Alimentarius. The results are also in agreement with SANCO/10684/2009.     

Carotenoid and anthocyanin contents of grains of Brazilian maize landraces

BACKGROUND: Carotenoid and anthocyanin contents of 26 maize landraces cultivated in southern Brazil were determined to evaluate their potential as natural colorants or functional food ingredients. RESULTS: The major carotenoids detected in the whole grain flour were zeaxanthin and lutein. Anthocyanins of landraces with purple starchy endosperm (Lingua de Papagaio and Mato Grosso Palha Roxa) were more extractable in methanol–HCl (1%, v/v), exhibiting 2.45 and 0.94 g kg^?1 of whole grains flour, respectively. In contrast, butanol–HCl (30%, v/v) was more effective for the extraction of anthocyanins from the purple‐colored landraces Roxo 29 and Roxo 41; genotypes with pigments localized in the outer parts (pericarp) of grains (2.60 and 2.19 g kg^?1). The Roxo 41 landrace showed the highest concentration of pigments, e.g. 11.72 10^?3 g kg^?1 of total carotenoids and 2.16 g kg^?1 of total anthocyanins. Similarly, the yellow‐colored MPA 1 and the purple‐colored Roxo 29 landraces showed prominent amounts of carotenoids (10.86 10^?3 g kg^?1) and anthocyanins (2.60 g kg^?1), respectively. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the colored grains of maize landraces studied may hold promise for the development of grain‐based functional foods or natural colorants regarding their carotenoid and anthocyanin contents and as genetic resource in breeding programs. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Novel varieties of broccoli for optimal bioactive components under saline stress

BACKGROUND: Consumption of broccoli is increasing steadily worldwide because of the interest in its bioactive composition and nutritive value for health promotion. Novel broccoli cultivars to be established under current adverse conditions in production areas (aggressive environmental conditions and saline irrigation waters) need to maintain physical and nutritional quality for consumption and year‐round supply to the markets. The newly introduced cultivars ‘Naxos’ and ‘Parthenon’ have been selected as potential candidates to replace the currently underperforming ‘Nubia’ variety. We aimed to compare the physical and phytochemical quality (glucosinolates, hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonoids, vitamin C and minerals), as well as the in vitro antioxidant capacity of these three cultivars under conditions of environmental stress. RESULTS: ‘Parthenon’ showed equal productivity and nutritional composition to ‘Nubia’, whereas ‘Naxos’ presented in general the best results when compared to ‘Nubia’ and ‘Parthenon’. For phenolic compounds ‘Nubia’ presented the highest contents, although ‘Naxos’ seemed better adapted to saline stress conditions, as suggested by the lowest degree of variation in the contents of healthy phytochemicals, including phenolic compounds, when grown under such conditions. CONCLUSION: ‘Naxos’ broccoli performed best and is a suitable candidate to replace ‘Nubia’ for marketable, nutritive and phytochemical quality, especially in areas of production under adverse conditions as found in Mediterranean southeast Spain (semiarid climate with saline irrigation water). Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Partial characterization of a new kind of Chilean Murtilla-like berries

The aim of this research was to characterize a new kind of Chilean Murtilla-like berries (Myrteola nummularia (Poiret) Berg. Myrtaceae, called by locals as Daudapo) vs.well known Murtilla, blueberries, raspberries and black chokeberries. Polyphenols, flavonoids, flavanols and tannins and the level of antioxidant activity by ABTS, FRAP and CUPRAC radical scavenging assays of methanol extract of studied berry samples were determined and compared. It was found that the contents of the polyphenol compounds and the level of antioxidant activity in extracts of berries differ significantly (P < 0.05). The significantly highest contents of polyphenol compounds were in methanol extract of non-ripe Murtilla (121.31 ± 5.9 mg GAE/g for polyphenols; 14.43 ± 0.7, 31.79 ± 1.5, and 9.93 ± 0.3 mg CE/g for flavonoids, tannins and flavanols, respectively). Also the antioxidant activity according to ABTS, FRAP and CUPRAC was significantly highest in methanol extract for non-ripe Murtilla (878.18 ± 41.2, 486.92 ± 23.3 and 1012.42 ± 43.2 ??M TE/g, respectively). The amount of polyphenol compounds and their antioxidant activities of Murtilla berries are significantly higher than in other studied berries and are comparable with blueberries and raspberries, however, these indices in the Murtilla-like non-ripe berries were the following: 31.55 ± 1.4 mg GAE/g for polyphenols; 5.22 ± 0.3, 12.16 ± 0.6 and 2.24 ± 0.1 mg CE/g for flavonoids, tannins and flavanols; ABTS, FRAP and CUPRAC: 244.22 ± 12.1, 81.32 ± 3.9 and 203.83 ± 9.3 ??M TE/g, respectively. The correlation between the polyphenol compounds and the antioxidant activities were relatively high. DPPH kinetic measurements were used to compare, distinguish and discriminate the antiradical activity among berry methanolic extracts by multivariate analysis. 3-D fluorescence was used as an additional tool for the characterization of the polyphenol extracts during various stages of ripening and different berries cultivars. The interaction between methanol polyphenol extracts of Murtilla-like and bovine serum albumin (BSA) showed that the new kind of berries has a strong ability, as other studied berries, to quench the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA by forming complexes.In conclusion, for the first time these berries were analyzed and compared with widely consumed cultivars, using their polyphenols' composition, antioxidant activities and fluorescence properties. The ability of Murtilla-like berries to quench the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA and relatively high content of polyphenol compounds can be used as a new source of antioxidants.     

Beer volatile analysis: optimization of HS/SPME coupled to GC/MS/FID

A powerful technique was developed for the identification and quantification of 9 volatile compounds of beer, using headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS/SPME) and gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer and a flame ionization detector (GC/MS/FID). Optimized parameters included type of fiber, desorption time, and exposure time. Optimization was achieved with standard solutions of the target compounds. All samples were analyzed in triplicate. An exposure time of 45 min with PDMS fiber in the sample headspace was enough to reach equilibrium of the phases. A desorption time of 15 min in the gas chromatograph injector was enough for the fiber to desorb the target compounds. It was found that less polar compounds were more readily absorbed by the fiber (for example, isoamyl acetate) than more polar compounds (for example, acetaldehyde), under the extraction conditions, due to the nature of the fiber. Extraction conditions are important criteria to perform a good quantification of volatile compounds. Concentrations found in sampled beer, for the compounds of interest, ranged between 0.32 and 41.7 ppm. Results show that the reproducibility of the technique depends on the compounds. Esters have higher values (RSD mean value 5.05%) than higher alcohols (RSD mean value 2.5%) and aldehydes (RSD 3.7%). The simplicity of the validated methodology enables its use as a regular quality control procedure for beer flavor analysis. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This study describes a technique successfully used to identify and quantify volatiles of interest in beer that can be used for quality control purposes under normal brewery production conditions. The technique uses a gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer with a flame ionization detector.     

The role of dietary fiber in the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of fruit and vegetable antioxidants

Antioxidants are abundant compounds primarily found in fresh fruits and vegetables, and evidence for their role in the prevention of degenerative diseases is continuously emerging. However, the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of each compound differs greatly, and the most abundant antioxidants in ingested fruit are not necessarily those leading to the highest concentrations of active metabolites in target tissues. Fruit antioxidants are commonly mixed with different macromolecules such as carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins to form a food matrix. In fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates are the major compounds found, mainly in free and conjugated forms. Dietary fiber, the indigestible cell wall component of plant material, is considered to play an important role in human diet and health. Most studies on antioxidant bioavailability are focused on foods and beverages from which antioxidants are easily released. There is evidence indicating that food microstructure affects the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of several nutrients, referring mostly to antioxidants. Nevertheless, the specific role of dietary fiber in the absorption of antioxidants has not been widely discussed. In this context, the purpose of the present review is to compile and analyze evidence relating to the association between dietary fiber and antioxidants, and the physical and chemical interactions that modulate their release from the chyme in the gastrointestinal tract.     

Evolution of Mineral Contents in Tomato Fruits During the Ripening Process After Harvest

A comparative study was carried out to evaluate the mineral content of tomato during ripening after harvest. Calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn) contents were determined in three of the main tomato types (round, elongated, and cherry) consumed in Portugal. Ca, Mg, Se, and Zn were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry, Na and K by flame photometry, and P by visible spectrometry. No significant variation was found in the Zn, P, Na, and K concentrations during the tomato ripening after harvest. For Ca, Mg and, especially, Se, significant variations in their corresponding concentrations were observed. The content of Ca and Mg tended to decrease from the initial concentration. Conversely, a considerable increase in Se content was observed. A decrease in total tomato mineral content was determined for all studied types after an 11-day period of maturation after harvest. Therefore, a new and significant aspect to emphasize as an outcome of this study is that an 11-day post-harvest ripening period for tomato ingestion by the final consumer should be recommended in order to benefit from the highest mineral content. This acquaintance could be very important for tomato agricultural practices and for economic development of this type of cultivation, as well as for the consumer’s health.