Chemometric Analysis of <Superscript>1</Superscript>H NMR Fingerprints of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Coffea arabica</Emphasis> Green Bean Extracts Cultivated under Different Planting Densities

High planting density has been used to increase coffee production but there are few studies related to the variations it provokes in metabolite compositions. The use of ¹H NMR data associated with chemometric techniques allows the determination of metabolic fingerprints and verification of metabolic changes when coffee is subjected to high planting densities. The aim of this work is to investigate ¹H NMR spectral data of green bean extracts of Coffea arabica cv. IAPAR 59 grown in a square pattern at two planting densities, 6000 and 10,000 plants ha^?1. Thirty extracts were obtained using a simplex centroid design with four solvents (ethanol, acetone, dichloromethane, and hexane). The lyophilized extracts were dissolved in DMSO-d₆ to obtain the ¹H NMR spectra. The spectral data were analyzed with principal component (PCA) and cluster analyses (CA). Significant differences between ethanolic and non-ethanolic extracts were found by PCA. Only the ethanolic mean spectrum showed characteristic chemical shifts of sugars and trigonelline. Acetone extracts were separated by cluster analysis.     

Multivariate Optimization for the Development of a Fast and Simple Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction Procedure for Multielemental Determination in Tea Leaves by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP OES)

The current study describes a fast and efficient procedure of ultrasound-assisted extraction for determination of Ca, Mg, K, Na, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Al in tea leaves by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). The variables of procedure were optimized using the Box–Behnken design and the conditions selected were nitric acid concentration (1.0 mol L^?1), sonication time (7 min), and sonication temperature (75 °C). The extraction efficiency was calculated using the analyte concentration obtained by a total digestion procedure as reference. Accuracy was confirmed by analysis of certified reference material of apple leaves (NIST 1515) and spinach leaves (NIST 1570a) using the procedure proposed. A statistical evaluation using Student’s t test showed that there is no significant difference between the value obtained with the proposed procedure and the certified value, at 95% confidence level. The proposed procedure was successfully applied and is a good alternative to conventional acid digestion procedure and can be applied to routine analysis for determination of Ca, Mg, K, Na, Zn, Mn, Cu, and Al in tea leaves used for the preparation of infusions.     

Development of Real-time PCR Assays for the Detection of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">pin</Emphasis> II Terminator (t<Emphasis Type="Italic">pin</Emphasis>II) Used in GM Constructs and Its Donor Organism,Potato (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum tuberosum</Emphasis>)

Two singleplex TaqMan methods were developed for the detection of potato targets: one for the detection of the tpinII terminator, which is an emerging terminator used in GM constructs, and one for the detection of the endogenous StLS gene of potato. Performance criteria such as specificity and sensitivity were successfully tested for the two methods, taking into account the recommendations of international guidelines. The presence of the StLS target was checked in 16 potato cultivars. The StLS target is present at low copy number and can be used for quantitation purposes, as demonstrated on transgenic potatoes in this paper. The StLS target is an excellent candidate to replace the presently recommended endogenous target based on the UGP gene, which shows several disadvantages due to its high copy number and lack of specificity. The research also indicates that DNA can easily be extracted from different parts of potato tubers with a classical cetyltrimethylammonium bromide method.     

Simple Solvent Extraction Coupled with Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry for the Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Rice Bran Protein Powder

A simple analytical method combining solvent extraction and liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) was developed for the analysis of pesticide residues in rice bran protein powder. Owning to the high accuracy of HRMS in determination of mass to charge ratio (m/z), a suspect screen of pesticide residues was performed by LC-HRMS prior to quantification analysis. Based on the theoretical m/z, four pesticides including isoprothiolane (IPT), tebuconazole (TBZ), propiconazole (PCZ), and tricyclazole (TCZ) were detected and further verified with their reference standards. The solvent extraction conditions were optimized according to the signal intensity of extracted ion chromatogram (XIC) in LC-HRMS. After optimization, 50% acetonitrile solution was adopted, in which the targeted pesticides could be extracted effectively (recoveries/accuracy of >?85%) with the good reproducibility (relative standard deviation (RSD)?<?10.3%). Two isotope internal standards isoprothiolane-D₄ (IPT-D₄) and propiconazole-D₅ (PCZ-D₅) were applied in quantification, and the quantification results were highly consistent with those from the standard addition method. Limit of detections (LODs) and limit of quantifications (LOQs) of the method were about 0.05–0.2 and 0.2 to 1 μg kg^?1, respectively, without additional purification/enrichment for these analytical targets. The developed method was applied for the analysis of five different batches of rice bran protein samples. It was found that these four pesticide residues were all below 0.02 mg kg^?1, well less than the maximum residue levels (MRLs) in the latest regulations in EU and China (0.1–5 mg kg^?1). Besides the rice bran protein powder, this suspect screen followed with targeted quantification approach by LC-HRMS could also be applied for other rice derivative products analysis.     

Drivers of change in groundwater resources: a case study of the Indian Punjab

Indian Punjab, a strategically important region from India’s national food security standpoint, is increasingly the focus of attention for academics and policymakers because of serious concerns about over-exploitation of its groundwater resources. Currently, policy makers and agricultural researchers/scientists in India are in a fix to prescribe an alternative, probably more sustainable, crop-mix to farmers that can save water while maintaining farm incomes. Using primary data from 120 farmers, this paper evaluates the current situation of groundwater resources in Punjab, and outlines the major socio-economic factors that have a significant association with the change in the groundwater depth in this region. General ANOVA regression results suggest that groundwater depth varied significantly with respect to agro-climatic regions, crop diversity, and farmer education. Crop diversity had an inverse relationship with groundwater depth whereas the association between farmer education and groundwater depth was non-linear although in the case of Gurdaspur, they showed a direct relationship. In the central zone of Indian Punjab, groundwater level on 92% of the farms had depleted by more than 0.60 m annually between 2000 and 2010, while the current state of groundwater resources in the other two regions was not so serious and are manageable for the time being. However, if the existing policy framework for groundwater resources in the state, which allows the state government to release 0.11 million more connections to farmers, putting much pressure not only on the groundwater resources but also burdening the state exchequer, continues, Punjab may end up losing all its groundwater resources for ever. Considering this alarming situation, one-fifth of the farmers surveyd agreed to delay the sowing of rice by another 2 weeks i.e. up to 30 June which could save the fast depleting groundwater resources in Punjab.     

The seafood supply chain from a fraudulent perspective

Food fraud is an intentional act for economic gain. It poses a risk to food integrity, the economy, public health and consumers’ ethics. Seafood is one commodity which has endured extensive fraudulent activity owing to its increasing consumer demand, resource limitations, high value and complex supply chains. It is essential that these fraudulent opportunities are revealed, the risk is evaluated and countermeasures for mitigation are assigned. This can be achieved through mapping of the seafood supply chains and identifying the vulnerability analysis critical control points (VACCP), which can be exposed, infiltrated and exploited for fraudulent activity. This research systematically maps the seafood supply chain for three key commodities: finfish, shellfish and crustaceans in the United Kingdom. Each chain is comprised of multiple stakeholders across numerous countries producing a diverse range of products distributed globally. For each supply chain the prospect of fraud, with reference to species substitution, fishery substitution, illegal, unreported and unregulated substitution, species adulteration, chain of custody abuse, catch method fraud, undeclared product extension, modern day slavery and animal welfare, has been identified and evaluated. This mapping of the fraudulent opportunities within the supply chains provides a foundation to rank known and emerging risks and to develop a proactive mitigation plan which assigns control measures and responsibility where vulnerabilities exist. Further intelligence gathering and management of VACCPs of the seafood supply chains may deter currently unknown or unexposed fraudulent opportunities.     

Protective effect of carvacrol from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thymus quinquecostatus</Emphasis> Celak against <Emphasis Type="Italic">tert</Emphasis>-butyl hydroperoxide-induced oxidative damage in Chang cells

Carvacrol is a monoterpenic phenol present in Thymus quinquecostatus Celak. The protective effects of carvacrol against tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced oxidative damage were investigated in human Chang cells. Cells treated with carvacrol extracts promoted Chang cell survival and protection was associated with stabilization of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), prevention of oxidative stress-triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS), and lipid peroxidation (MDA production). In addition, Annexin V/PI, observed using Hoechst staining, indicated that carvacrol inhibited t-BHP-induced cell damage and stimulated the antioxidant capability of Chang cells due to elevation of glutathione (GSH) levels, which were reduced by t-BHP treatment. Carvacrol prevented oxidative stress-induced Chang cell damage via suppression of ROS and MDA levels, and increased GSH levels.     

Rheological properties of reduced-fat and low-fat ice cream containing whey protein isolate and inulin

Instrumental analyses were used to evaluate the rheological properties of regular (10%), reduced-fat (6%) and low-fat (3%) ice cream mixes and frozen ice creams stored at −18 °C. The reduced-fat and low-fat ice creams were prepared using 4% whey protein isolate (WPI) or 4% inulin as the fat replacement ingredient. The composition, colour, apparent viscosity, consistency coefficient, flow behaviour index, hardness and melting characteristics were measured. No effect of WPI or inulin was obtained on the colour values. Compared with regular ice cream, WPI changed rheological properties, resulting in significantly higher apparent viscosities, consistency indices and greater deviations from Newtonian flow. In addition, both hardness and melting resistance significantly increased by using WPI in reduced-fat and low-fat ice creams. Inulin also increased the hardness in comparison to regular ice cream, but the products made with inulin melted significantly faster than the other samples.     

Effects of microwave-discharged cold plasma on synthesis and characteristics of citrate derivatives of corn starch granules

The objectives of this study were to identify the potential function of microwave-discharged cold plasma (MCP) treatment in preparing starch citrate (SC) non-thermally and to investigate the physicochemical properties of MCP-induced starch citrates. SCs were prepared by either dry heating in a convection oven (as a reaction control; COV) or MCP treatment using N₂ (N₂-MCP) and N₂–O₂ (N₂/O₂-MCP). Fourier transform-infrared spectra of the MCP-induced SCs revealed new peaks indicating ester bonds. The molar degree of substation was 0.013–0.015 depending on the reaction conditions. The plasma-formed dents were observed more on the surfaces of granular starch citrates (GSCs) treated with N₂/O₂-MCP than N₂-MCP. Relative to COV, MCP-induced GSCs possessed lower resistant starch content, solubility, and gelatinization temperatures and higher swelling power. The pasting viscosities were higher with N₂-MCP GSCs and lower with N₂/O₂-MCP GSCs. The results suggest that MCP can be used as a novel catalyst for non-thermal starch citration.