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Book reviews

     

A Comparative Study of the Potent Odorants of Different Virgin Olive Oils

The flavour of virgin olive oil was investigated by means of an aroma extract dilution analysis. A comparative study of four oil samples differing in the flavour, indicated that the following odorants were mainly responsible for the odour notes given in brackets: (Z)-3-hexenol, hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal and (Z)-3-hexenal (green), ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate and ethyl cyclohexanoate (fruity), (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, (E)- and (Z)-2-nonenal (fatty) and 4-methoxy-2-methyl-2-butanethiol (black currant-like).     

Contribution of linoleic acid to the bitter taste of poppy seeds (Papaver somniferum)

In lipids isolated from poppy seeds which tasted "burning-bitter" the off-taste was associated with the free fatty acids fraction. In this fraction linoleic acid predominates, while oxidized fatty acids were among the minor constituents. The taste threshold of linoleic acid emulsified in water with monolinolein lies in the range of 4.0-6.0 mumol/ml. On the basis of its high concentration and relatively low taste threshold we conclude that free linoleic acid contributes significantly to the "burning-bitter" off-taste in poppy seeds.     

Co-oxidation of beta-carotene and canthaxanthine by purified lipoxygenases from soya beans (author's transl)]

Isolation and purification of soya bean lipoxygenase (linoleate: O2 oxidoreductase, EC, 1.13.11.12) on Sephadex G-200, DEAE-cellulose and by isolectric focusing yields two isoenzymes of the L- 2 type (optimum pH 6.5) and two of the L-1 type (optimum pH9.0). Different crude extracts from soya beans as well as the purified L-2 isoenzymes exhibit the same capacity for co-oxidation of beta-carotene and canthaxanthine, when the comparison is based upon equal lipoxygenase activities. In contrast to L-2 the alkaline lipoxygenase L-1 is a poor "carotene oxidase".     

Visualizing 3D flow

We discuss volume line integral convolution (LIC) techniques for effectively visualizing 3D flow, including using visibility-impeding halos and efficient asymmetric filter kernels. Specifically, we suggest techniques for selectively emphasizing critical regions of interest in a flow; facilitating the accurate perception of the 3D depth and orientation of overlapping streamlines; efficiently incorporating an indication of orientation into a flow representation; and conveying additional information about related scalar quantities such as temperature or vorticity over a flow via subtle, continuous line width and color variations     

Structure-odour-activity relationships of alkylpyrazines

 The odour thresholds (i.e. the lowest concentration at which an odour can be detected) of 80 alkylpyrazines, most of them synthesized, were determined by gas chromatography-olfactometry. Trimethylpyrazine (1) had the lowest threshold (50 ng/l air) amongst mono-, di-, tri- and tetramethylpyrazine. Substitution of the methyl group in position 2 of 1 by an ethyl group yielded 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine (2) showing a 4500-fold lower odour threshold than 1. The thresholds of 2-ethenyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine (3), 2,3-diethyl-5-methylpyrazine (4) and 2-ethenyl-3-ethyl-5-methylpyrazine (5) were as low as that of 2. The threshold of 3-ethenyl-2-ethyl-5-methylpyrazine was 8000 times higher than that of 5, indicating that an ethenyl group was only tolerated in position 2, but not in position 3. A further increase in the odour threshold was found when the ethenyl or the ethyl group was located in position 5. Substitution of the ethyl group of 2 by a (Z)-1-propenyl group increased the threshold only by a factor of 5, whereas the (E)-isomer and the 2-propenyl group enhanced the threshold by factors of 160 and 27000, respectively. Also a propyl, butyl, pentyl, isobutyl or hexyl group in position 2 of 2 was too bulky, and in these molecules the odour threshold was at least 2200 times higher than that of 2. The geometrical structure of a theoretical receptor was obtained by superimposing the minimized structures of pyrazines with low thresholds (Chem-X force-field minimization). Sterically forbidden regions in the resulting model were found by superimposing pyrazines with high thresholds.