Colour evolution of conventionally and organically cultivated Hungarian red spice paprika varieties

Colour evolution of conventionally and organically cultivated Szegedi-20, Meteorit, Mihálytelki and Kármin spice paprika varieties was studied in green, break, pale red, deep red and over-ripened maturity stages. As the ripening stages forwarded the organic samples gradually lost their initial extractable colour (ASTA value) gain toward their conventional counterparts. The over-ripened colour levels were satisfactorily high in the conventional (169.9-264.8 ASTA) and in the organic (160.8-210.5 ASTA) paprika varieties as well, although the colour accumulation was 9.0-62.8 ASTA lower in the organic samples. Significant and perceptible visual colour differences (ΔE*ab) were found between the organic and conventional crops. The lightness difference (ΔL*) indicated that the organic paprika generally were lighter than the conventional ones. The positive hue difference (ΔH*ab) showed that the colour of deep red and over-ripened organic Szegedi-20, Mihálytelki and Kármin paprika crops were more yellow compared with the conventional group. The lightness (L*) and hue angle (h°ab) were found the most suitable instrumental colour parameters to distinguish the ripening stages and the colour characteristics of the samples. The better colour evolution of conventional crops was attributed to the soil characteristics, nutrient supply and chemical plant protection that were specifically designed for the needs of paprika in the conventional farming

QUANTIFICATION OF CAROTENOIDS IN SOME VARIETIES OF RED PEPPERS (CAPSICUM ANNUM L.) AND THEIR PROCESSED PRODUCTS

The red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the most essential vegetable crops due to multiple ways it can be processed, as well as for the content of the nutritional phytochemicals, such as carotenoids, which are important for human health. Carotenoids are responsible for the pepper’s colour, as natural antioxidants. They are present in relatively high amounts in the ripe fruit and they play a positive role to ensure the colour stability of the final product.This research examined the carotenoids composition of the red pepper varieties: kurtovska kapija, palanechko chudo and horgosh. For each of the varieties, the following preservation technologies have been applied: pasteurization, freezing, and drying. The extraction method of carotenoids was performed by using methanol-dichloroethan and anhydrous Na2SO4. The changes in the carotenoid pigments of examined varieties during processing have been investigated quantitatively by usage of HPLC technique. The HPLC method was performed on stationary phase Nucleosil 100-3 C18, 250 x 4,6 mm, with a flow rate: 0,7 mL/min, and the gradient program with following eluents: methanol, distilled water and a mixture of isopropanol, acetonitrile and methanol. Carotenoids have been detected between 200 and 700 nm. In all of the analyzed samples, 47 peaks of carotenoids were detected, of which 5 were unknown, one was mixed, and 41 carotenoids were identified. The red pepper variety horgosh was found to contain the highest content of total carotenoids in fresh pepper fruits (690,15 µg/g), frozen pepper (587,88 µg/g), pasteurized pepper (575,76 µg/g) and dried pepper (493,94 µg/g)

Standard Analytical Methods, Sensory Evaluation, NIRS and Electronic Tongue for Sensing Taste Attributes of Different Melon Varieties

Grafting by vegetables is a practice with many benefits, but also with some unknown influences on the chemical composition of the fruits. Our goal was to assess the effects of grafting and storage on the extracted juice of four orange-fleshed Cantaloupe type (Celestial, Donatello, Centro, Jannet) melons and two green-fleshed Galia types (Aikido, London), using sensory profile analysis and analytical instruments: An electronic tongue (E-tongue) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Both instruments are known for rapid qualitative and quantitative food analysis. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used to classify melons according to their varieties and storage conditions. Partial least square regression (PLSR) was used to predict sensory and standard analytical parameters. Celestial variety had the highest intensity for sensory attributes in Cantaloupe variety. Both green and orange-fleshed melons were discriminated and predicted in LDA with high accuracies (100%) using the E-tongue and NIRS. Galia and Cantaloupe inter-varietal classification with the E-tongue was 89.9% and 82.33%, respectively. NIRS inter-varietal classification was 100% with Celestial variety being the most discriminated as with the sensory results. Both instruments, classified different storage conditions of melons (grafted and self-rooted) with high accuracies. PLSR showed high accuracy for some standard analytical parameters, where significant differences were found comparing different varieties in ANOVA

Effect of Individual and Selected Combined Treatments With Saline Solutions and Spent Engine Oil on the Processing Attributes and Functional Quality of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.) Fruit: In Memory of Professor Leila Ben Jaballah Radhouane (1958-2021)

The results showed that soil electrical conductivity, (EC2: 7 dS/m) increased soluble solids, lycopene content, total phenolic content, hydrophilic and lipophilic radical scavenging activities (HRSA and LRSA) by 14.2, 149, 20, 46.4, and 19.0%, respectively, compared with control. Under 0.5% spent engine oil (SEO), flavonoid content decreased by 21.7% compared with the control. HRSA and LRSA of fruits subjected to EC2/SEO1 treatment were, respectively, 45.9 and 35.5% lower than control. The a*/b* ratio was positively and significantly (P < 0.01) correlated with beta-carotene (R = 0.78), lycopene (R = 0.68), total vitamin C (R = 0.71), alpha-tocopherol (R = 0.83), gamma-tocopherol (R = 0.66), HRSA (R = 0.93), LRSA (R = 0.80), and soluble solids (R = 0.84) suggesting that it may be a promising indicator of fruit quality in areas affected by such constraints. The research revealed that combined stresses induce responses markedly different from those of individual treatments, which strain the need to focus on how the interaction between stresses may affect the functional quality of tomato fruits

Assessment of The Phenolic and Flavonoid Content in Certain Globe Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) Cultivars Grown in Northern Tunisia

Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) is a worldwide popular horticultural crop. Interest in assessing bioactive compounds with potential health benefits in artichoke is increasing. Therefore, in this study, the variability in total phenolic and flavonoid contents of six artichoke cultivars, including five purple namely Brindisie, Opal, Conserto, Romanesco and Rouge de France as well as an ordinary white artichoke variety were investigated. The results showed significant differences in total phenolic and flavonoid contents between artichoke cultivars. Total phenolic content ranged from 17.31 mg GAE/ g DW in the white artichoke variety to 21.31 mg GAE/g DW in Romanesco. Flavonoid content ranged from 4.51 mg RE/g DW in white artichoke to 7.06 mg RE/g DW in Rouge de France. Therefore, the highest total phenolic content was shown by Romanesco. However, the highest flavonoid content was recorded for both Opal and Rouge de France. This study demonstrates the importance of genotypic variability in shaping the levels of total phenolic and flavonoid, emphasizing the need to evaluate artichoke biodiversity in order to improve its nutritional value and to contribute towards increasing the intake of antioxidants

Mikroelem-terhelés hatása a sóskára karbonátos csernozjom talajon

Löszön képződött vályog mechanikai összetételű karbonátos csernozjom talajon, az MTA TAKI Nagyhörcsöki Kísérleti Telepén szabadföldi kisparcellás mikroelem-terhelési kísérletet állítottunk be 1991 tavaszán. A termőhely talajának szántott rétege mintegy 5 % CaCO3-ot és 3 % humuszt tartalmazott, felvehető tápelemekkel való ellátottsága: Ca, Mg, Mn, Cu kielégítő, N és K közepes, P és Zn gyenge volt. A talajvíz 15 m mélyen helyezkedik el, a terület vízmérlege negatív, aszályra hajló. A 13 vizsgált mikroelem sóit 4-4 szinten alkalmaztuk 1991 tavaszán, a kukorica vetése előtt. A 13 x 4 = 52 kezelést 2 ismétlésben állítottuk be összesen 104 parcellán split-plot elrendezésben. A terhelési szintek 0, 90, 270 és 810 kg/ha mennyiséget jelentettek elemenként AlCl3, NaAsO2, BaCl2, CdSO4, K2CrO4, CuSO4, HgCl2, (NH4)6Mo7O24, NiSO4, Pb(NO3)2, Na2SeO3, SrSO4 és ZnSO4 formájában. A 100-100-100 kg/ha N-P2O5-K2O alaptrágyázás egységesen történt az egész kísérletben ammonnitrát-, szuperfoszfát- és kálisóműtrágyákkal. A növényi sorrend kukorica, sárgarépa, burgonya, borsó, cékla, spenót, búza és napraforgó volt. A 9. évben végzett sóska- kísérletünk eredményeit az alábbiakban foglaljuk össze: A 13 vizsgált elemből csak az arzén, kadmium és szelén bizonyult toxikusnak a sóskára 1999-ben. Ebben a kielégítő csapadék-ellátottságú évben a kontrollparcellákon 40 t/ha föld feletti zöld (ill. 2,8 t/ha légszáraz) tömeg képződött 7-8 % légszárazanyag-tartalommal. Maximális As-terhelésnél a zöld hajtás hozama 28 %-kal, a maximális Cd-terhelésnél 52 %-kal csökkent. A 9 évvel ezelőtt adott 90 kg/ha Se-terhelés 35 %-os depressziót okozott, a 270 és 810 kg/ha terhelésnél pedig a növényzet ki sem kelt.- A kontrollhoz viszonyítva erősen szennyezett talajon a Ba, Cu és Zn  2-3, az Pb és Sr 4-5-, a Ni és Cr átlagosan 7-, a Mo 39-, a Cd 102-szeresére, a Se közel 6-ezerszeresére dúsult a növényi hajtásban. A Hg- 0,5, az As-koncentráció 3,6 mg/kg értéket ért el a légszáraz anyagban. A Hg-, As-, Cd-, Pb-, Mo- és Se-kezelésekben (a nagyobb terhelésnél) a termék humán fogyasztásra, ill. takarmányozásra alkalmatlanná vált.- A talaj/növény transzfer koefficiens az egyes elemek esetében az alábbinak adódott a maximális terhelésnél (kivétel a Se): Se: 15,6, Sr: 0,42, Mo: 0,28, Ba: 0,15, Zn: 0,10, Cd: 0,07, Ni: 0,03, Cu: 0,02, As és Cr: 0,01, Pb: 0,006 és Hg: 0,002. A sóska a spenóthoz viszonyítva mérsékelt elemfelhalmozódást jelzett.- A sóska hajtása gazdag ásványi anyagokban, esszenciális elemekben, de szegény nitrátban. A K 4,80 %, N 2,40 %, Ca 1,55 %, P 0,94 %, Mg 0,80 %, S 0,26 %, Fe 265 mg/kg, Mn 113 mg/kg, Na 49 mg/kg, NO3-N 31 mg/kg, Co 0,2 mg/kg átlagos koncentrációt mutatott a légszáraz anyagban.- A 2,8 t/ha légszáraz föld feletti termésben 134 kg K, 67 kg N, 43 kg Ca, 26 kg P, 22 kg Mg, 8 kg S, 742 g Fe, 316 g Mn, 137 g Na és 0,06 g Co épült be. A 10 t/ha zöld föld feletti hajtás fajlagos elemigénye hasonló körülmények között 17 kg N, 15 kg P2O5, 40 kg K2O, 15 kg CaO, 9 kg MgO és 2 kg S mennyiséget jelenthet. Adataink iránymutatóul szolgálhatnak a szaktanácsadás számára.- A fitoremediáció csak az enyhén szennyezett talajok tisztítására lehet alkalmas, amennyiben megfelelő hiperakkumulátor növényfajjal rendelkezünk és a termesztési technika is rendelkezésre áll. Hasonló viszonyok között a sóska termése egy évszázad alatt állíthatná helyre a Se-mentes, 800 év alatt a Mo-mentes, 5-6 ezer év alatt a Cd-mentes vagy 45 ezer esztendő alatt a Cr-mentes (szennyezetlen, eredeti állapotú) talajt a 90 kg/ha terhelés esetén.- Az oxálsav koncentrációja 3-16 mg/g között ingadozott a sóska hajtásának szárazanyagában. Emelkedett átlagos értékeket 10 mg/g felett a Cd-, Pb- és Sr-kezelésekben, míg alacsony tartalmakat az As-, Cu- és Zn-kezelésekben mértünk