Effect of surface waxes on the persistence of chlorpyrifos-methyl in apples, strawberries and grapefruits

The effects of the cuticle and epicuticular waxes of grapefruit, strawberry and apple on the photodegradation and penetration of chlorpyrifos-methyl were studied. Photodegradation experiments were conducted by exposing the insecticide to the light of a xenon lamp in the presence of a film of wax extracted from the fruit surface. The half-life of chlorpyrifos-methyl irradiated in absence of waxes was 9.6 min. The half-lives of pesticide irradiated in the presence of wax extracts of apple, grapefruit and strawberry were 83, 34 and 26 min, respectively. In penetration studies, fruit with and without wax layers were treated with an aqueous suspension of pesticide. The penetration of the pesticide from the cuticle to the pulp was measured after 24 h. Samples without wax contained a higher total amount of insecticide than those with wax. No pesticide was detected in samples of apple and grapefruit pulp. Residues were detected in all fractions of strawberry. The waxes and cuticle appear to have some effect on the photodegradation and penetration of chlorpyrifos-methyl in fruit samples.     

Addition of pectolytic enzymes: an enological practice which improves the chromaticity and stability of red wines

Summary The effect of the addition of four commercial pectolytic preparations on the visual characteristics (colour and turbidity) of red wines has been evaluated. The effect of both clarifying and colour extracting enzymes and the effect of different doses used, were evaluated and compared. All the red wines treated enzymatically, independent of the type of enzyme and dose, present chromatic characteristics which can be considered better than those of the control wines. Also, those wines treated with enzymes had greater stability during 2 years storage in bottles, in particular the turbidity was better than untreated wines.     

New HPLC Method to Determine Ethyl Carbamate in Alcoholic Beverages Using Fluorescence Detection

ABSTRACT: A new methodology to the quantification of ethyl carbamate (EC) has been developed. This method allows the analysis by HPLC of ethyl carbamate in samples of wine, fortified wine, and wine brandy, by a pre-column derivatization with 9-xanthydrol, and fluorescence detection. This does not require previous sample extraction or concentration. The method presents an average recovery of 96% among samples studied, a detection limit of 4.2μg/L, and an average intermediate precision of 6.3%. The comparison of the results obtained for EC analysis on the same wine brandy samples by GC/MS and HPLC are statistically indistinguishable with 97.5% probability. The results of the analysis of 42 samples are presented.     

溴化亚铜脉冲激光光动力学疗法治疗鲜红斑痣临床研究

用ＣｕＢｒ脉冲激光光动力学疗法治疗鲜红斑痣８例２１个区域，其中１１个区红色完全褪去，７个区残留少量浅色，３个区红色明显褪去，２０个区域无疤痕形成。     

Volatile constituents of palm wine and palm sap

Palm wine and pasteurised palm sap volatiles were collected, concentrated on a Tenax GC and analysed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Eighty-two components were identified: 47 esters, 9 alcohols, 5 acids, 6 carbonyls, 2 acetals, 4 terpenes and 9 hydrocarbons. These had all been found previously in conventional wines. Odour evaluation of the separated palm wine components as they eluted suggested that no one compound is responsible for the characteristic palm wine odour. The acetates of higher alcohols and the ethyl esters of straight-chain aliphatic C₆-C₁₀ acids seemed to be important and may play a big role in imparting the fruity nuances of characteristic palm wine odour. Their association with alcohols seemed also to be necessary for the expression of typical palm wine odour. The qualitative difference between palm sap aroma and palm wine aroma appeared to be due mainly to the presence of these esters and alcohols in palm wine and their apparent absence from palm sap, as well as to the presence of some low-boiling esters and alcohols in palm sap and their apparent absence from palm wine.     

A survey of nitrate and nitrite content of fruit and vegetables grown in Slovenia during 1996-2002

Monitoring of nitrate (NO₃^-) and nitrite (NO₂^-) content in agricultural products in Slovenia has been carried out since 1996. The results of monitoring over the period 1996-2002 are presented. During this time 924 samples of 14 different agricultural products (potato, lettuce, apples, carrot, silage maize, cabbage, grapes, peaches, string beans, cereals, pears, cucumbers, strawberries and tomato) were analysed. The samples were taken at the time of maturity directly from growing sites and they were analysed using segmented flow analysis. The average nitrate contents were the highest in lettuce (1074 mg kg^-1), cabbage (881 mg kg^-1), string beans (298 mg kg^-1) and carrot (264 mg kg^-1), and they were moderately high in potato (158 mg kg^-1), silage maize (122 mg kg^-1), strawberries (94 mg kg^-1), cucumbers (93 mg kg^-1) and cereals (49 mg kg^-1). Low nitrate contents (below 6 mg kg^-1) were found in fruit (grapes, peaches, apples and pears) and tomato. With the exception of cereals (8.9 mg kg^-1), apples (1.5 mg kg^-1), potato (1.2 mg kg^-1) and pears (1.0 mg kg^-1) the content of nitrites did not exceed 0.5 mg kg^-1. It may be concluded that the results of the monitoring were in most cases similar to the results of investigations obtained in other countries.     

Effects of temperature, ammonium and glucose concentrations on yeast growth in a model wine system

In enology, alcoholic fermentation is a complex process involving several mechanisms. Slow and incomplete alcoholic fermentation is a chronic problem for the wine industry and factors leading to sluggish and stuck fermentations have been extensively studied and reviewed. The most studied cause of sluggish and stuck fermentation is the nitrogen content limitation. Nevertheless, other factors, such as temperature of fermentation and sugar concentration can affect the growth of yeasts. In this study we modelled the yeast growth‐cycle in wine model system as a function of temperature, sugar and ammonium concentrations; the individual effects and the interaction of these factors were analysed by means of a quadratic response surface methodology. Cell concentrations and weight loss were monitored in the whole wine fermentation process. The results of central composite design show that lower is the availability of nitrogen, higher is the cell growth rate; moreover, initial nitrogen concentration also influences survival time of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.     

Spouted bed drying of cork stoppers

The spouted bed is commonly used to dry granular particles as it displays some special characteristics which render it capable of performing cyclic operations, with particles that are very difficult to fluidize under a different type of bed.Information on the characteristic drying rates of cork stoppers is still very limited in the technical and scientific literature, and until now no published data was found on the spouted bed drying of cork stoppers.The characterization of the drying performance of Port wine cork stoppers was carried out in a laboratory scale spouted bed. Characteristic drying curves were determined with 29 mm × 21 mm cork stoppers under several operating conditions. Values for the effective diffusivity were obtained in the range of 1.36 × 10⁻⁹ to 4.44 × 10⁻⁹ m²/s, with the temperature dependence represented by an Arrhenius-type relationship. The activation energy obtained was 28.72 kJ/mol.     

Red Wine Polyphenols for Cancer Prevention

Conventional cancer therapies, the second leading cause of death worldwide, result in serious side effects and, at best, merely extend the patient''s lifespan by a few years. Searching for effective prevention is of high priority in both basic and clinical sciences. In recent decades natural products have been considered to be an important source of cancer chemopreventive agents. Red wine polyphenols, which consisted of various powerful antioxidants such as flavonoids and stilbenes, have been implicated in cancer prevention and that promote human health without recognizable side effects. Since resveratrol, a major component of red wine polyphenols, has been studied and reviewed extensively for its chemopreventive activity to interfere with the multi-stage carcinogenesis, this review focuses on recent progress in studies on cancer chemopreventive activities of red wine polyphenol extracts and fractions as well as other red wine polyphenols, like procyanidin B5 analogues and myricetin.     

Effect of harvesting time and fruit size on titratable acidity, soluble solid and distribution of limonin in Thai tangerine juice

The effect of fruit size and harvesting of Thai tangerine fruit ( Citrus reticulata , Blanco) at different growth stages, 8–12 months after fruit set, on the distribution of limonin in whole fruit as well as in the individual fruit parts and extracted juice was investigated. The highest limonin concentration was observed in seed, followed by albedo, flavedo, segment membrane and juice sacs in decreasing order. The limonin concentration in juice as well as in whole fruit was decreased when fruit was harvested 8–12 months of fruit set. Increasing harvesting time from 8 to 12 months showed corresponding decreases in the amount of limonin in flavedo, albedo and seed. There was a decrease in titrable acidity and increase in total soluble solid and total soluble solid/titrable acidity ratio of juice with a later than normal harvesting time. However, fruit size showed no effect on limonin content and other properties of juice extracted from tangerine.