Phytoextraction technologies for mercury- and chromium-contaminated soil: a review

Mercury and chromium represent two important elements of environmental concern and with a strong impact on human health. Several technologies are available to clean up the environment from these kinds of contaminants, but most of them are costly and difficult to use to get optimum results. Currently, phytoextraction is an effective and affordable technological solution used to extract or remove metals from contaminated soil and water by the use of plants as tools. This technology is environment-friendly and potentially cost-effective. This paper aims to compile some information about the two metals mercury and chromium, their effects and their possible treatment by phytoextraction, a branch of phytoremediation technologies aimed to confront metal/metalloid pollution. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Characterisation of flavour compounds in Biska – a herbal spirit produced with mistletoe

Mistletoe (Viscum album) is mostly used in its herbal form owing to its content of diverse biologically active substances. In Croatia's Adriatic region, it is used for production of Biska, a strong alcoholic beverage produced by maceration of mistletoe in spirit or brandy, with or without the addition of honey. In this work, Biska was characterised by analysis of aroma compounds and physicochemical parameters and is the first study of the aroma profile of a strong alcoholic beverage produced with mistletoe. The aroma of 14 samples of Biska – five commercial and nine homemade – was analysed using GC/MS with solid‐phase microextraction. A total of 166 aroma compounds were detected. Major components were ethyl esters (medium and long chain fatty acids), fatty alcohols, isopropyl myristate, aldehyde decanal and some terpenes. The distribution of aroma compounds was evaluated by principal component analysis. Some significant differences in physicochemical properties were observed including ethanol concentration (28–44% v/v) and pH (4.4–6.5). Although the colour of Biska was light brown with greenish reflections, there were differences in chromatic parameters. The commercial samples were darker and were less transparent than homemade Biska, perhaps reflecting more extensive maceration/extraction or the addition of caramel. © 2018 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

Syrah grape skin valorisation using ultrasound-assisted extraction: Phenolic compounds recovery,antioxidant capacity and phenolic profile

The influence of ultrasound power (1000–3000 W/L), citric acid concentration (0–3%) and solid:liquid ratio (1:5–1:15) on the phenolic compounds recovery and antioxidant capacity of Syrah grape skin extracts were evaluated. Total phenolic compounds varied from 6485 to 11732 mg gallic acid/100 g and monomeric anthocyanin content from 453 to 685 mg malvidin-3-glucoside/100 g. The antioxidant capacity measured by ORAC and ABTS methods ranged from 230 to 516 μmol Trolox/g and from 442 to 939 μmol Trolox/g, respectively. The most suitable conditions chosen for extraction, within the studied ranges, were 3000 W/L of power, 2.5% citric acid and solid:liquid ratio of 1:15. The extraction yield was satisfactory, with a recovery of 59% of the quantified phenolic compounds, with only 3 min of processing. Ultrasound was considered a suitable method as compared to the conventional extraction, improving the extraction of phenolic acids and facilitating their release.     

Autochthonous white grape pomaces as bioactive source for functional jams

Seeds and skins from grape pomaces of Pecorello and Mantonico cv underwent extraction (ultrasound–assisted or maceration), in order to obtain added-value ingredients for the production of a functional pear jam. The antioxidant features of the extracts were tested by in vitro colorimetric assays. Among seeds, Mantonico by maceration (MSC) showed the best results, as well as Mantonico by ultrasound-assisted extraction (MBs) among skin extracts. The selected extracts were fully characterised by NMR and MS techniques, confirming the presence of many polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins among others. Pectin was then derivatised by the grafting procedure with the active molecules of MBs and MSC. The latter produced the best antioxidant polymer also without toxicity evaluated using Caco-2 cells and was used for the jam preparation. The functional pear jam showed improved antioxidant performances in comparison with its non-functional counterparts as well as its maintenance over time (15 days).     

Grape,apple and pineapple juice characterisation and detection of mixtures

Several multivariate statistical methods (principal component, cluster, stepwise discriminant and multiple linear regression analysis) were applied to analytical data obtained by conventional methods and to analytical data for free amino acids, in an attempt to distinguish between grape, apple and pineapple juice. Analysis for methionine, proline, asparagine, arginine and glutamic acid made it possible to differentiate among the 34 samples of grape, apple and pineapple juices studied. Multiple linear regression analysis of computer-simulated mixtures of grape and apple juices made it possible to detect the proportion of each fruit within the blend.     

超声波纤维素酶法提取紫苏叶活性物质及其抗氧化活性

对比了超声波法、纤维素酶法、先超声波后纤维素酶法、先纤维素酶后超声波法以及超声波纤维素酶同步法5 种提取方式对紫苏叶黄酮、多酚、迷迭香酸提取效果的影响并评价了其提取液的抗氧化能力。结果表明,超声波纤维素酶同步法提取紫苏叶可获得最大含量的黄酮、多酚及迷迭香酸,分别为32.74、20.91、2.42 mg/g,其提取液的DPPH自由基清除能力及铁还原能力最强,分别为614.24、3 277.72 μmol Trolox/L。其抗氧化能力与多酚的含量呈显著正相关,多酚含量与铁还原能力及DPPH自由基清除能力相关系数分别为0.878、0.804,均为极显著（P＜0.01）。     

葡萄酒酿造过程中赭曲霉毒素A迁移规律的研究

赭曲霉毒素A(OTA)是葡萄酒中常见污染毒素,本研究旨在探明葡萄酒酿造过程中OTA含量的变化规律.对红葡萄酒酿造过程中5个工艺环节取样分析,采用C18固相萃取柱(C18-SPE)净化,高效液相色谱(HPLC)检测各样品中OTA含量.结果表明,葡萄样中OTA含量为6.2 μg/kg、榨汁样中为0.7 μg/kg、浸渍样中为1.79 μg/kg、除皮渣样中为0.59 μg/kg、酒样中为0.06 μg/kg;葡萄酒酿造过程中的OTA主要来自于酿酒葡萄,在浸渍过程中OTA含量会有所升高,但大部分OTA会随着皮渣被除去,最终可使葡萄酒中的OTA含量降至很低.