Cation transporters/channels in plants: Tools for nutrient biofortification

Cation transporters/channels are key players in a wide range of physiological functions in plants, including cell signaling, osmoregulation, plant nutrition and metal tolerance. The recent identification of genes encoding some of these transport systems has allowed new studies toward further understanding of their integrated roles in plant. This review summarizes recent discoveries regarding the function and regulation of the multiple systems involved in cation transport in plant cells. The role of membrane transport in the uptake, distribution and accumulation of cations in plant tissues, cell types and subcellular compartments is described. We also discuss how the knowledge of inter- and intra-species variation in cation uptake, transport and accumulation as well as the molecular mechanisms responsible for these processes can be used to increase nutrient phytoavailability and nutrients accumulation in the edible tissues of plants. The main trends for future research in the field of biofortification are proposed

Occurrence of Trihalomethanes in Chlorinated Waters from Different Sources Used for Urban Supply

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are the most common disinfection by-products formed by the reaction of chlorine and/or bromide with organic matter. Total THMs in chlorinated treated water are defined as the sum of the concentrations of chloroform (TCM), bromodichloromethane (BDCM), dibromochloromethane (DBCM), and bromoform (TBM). The monitoring of trihalomethanes in distribution tap water collected in from five regions of Portugal, from North to South, in a total of 33 samples, during spring to summer season, is described. Solid phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography and electron capture detector methodology was applied to determine whether THMs concentrations in urban water supply systems are is in agreement with European Regulations. It was found a great discrepancy in total THMs concentration values, with concentrations varying from 1.8-97.7 μg/L, although the results were below the European parametric value of 100 μg/L. Regarding the Environmental Protection Agency regulations, however, only 97% of samples fulfilled the established criterion of 80 μg/L. and investigate if the individual compounds trihalomethanes content in was also investigated in order to determine if there is observed distribution tap water follows a common or a different THMs pattern in close geographical areas. In the geographical areas under study, mean values of concentrations measured revealed two different clusters: one including the three groups from the North geographical areas, with samples revealing a similar pattern (TCM>BDCM>DBCM>TBM), and another including the two groups from South with a different THMs pattern (DBCM>BDCM>TCM>TBM). A great degree of variation in the concentrations of THMs in tap water was observed, although the results the total THMs concentrations were below the European parametric value (100 μg/L). Mean results of samples grouped by five geographical areas revealed a similar pattern in samples collected from North and Centre TCM>BDCM>DBCM>TBM, whereas samples from South presented a different pattern, DBCM>BDCM>TCM>TBM. The origin of raw water (surface or groundwater) seems to influence this different pattern formation of brominated compounds.This work received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds POCI/01/0145/FEDER/007265) and National Funds (FCT/MEC, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Ministério da Educação e Ciência) under the Partnership Agreement PT2020 UID/QUI/50006/2013. One of the authors (A. Melo) wishes to thank the Fundação Ciência Tecnologia grant SFRH/BPD/86898/2012.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Detection of adulterations in food products containing milk and/or milk proteins

A critical review of the most relevant analytical methodologies for quality and authenticity control of dairy products and foods containing milk proteins is presented. Chromatographic, electrophoretic and immunological methods are used for: detection of cow's milk in ewe and goat milks, detection of whey added to milk, detection of caseins and/or whey proteins in non-lactic foods and study compounds resulting from milk proteins degradation. Techniques based on polimerase chain reaction are also suitable for detection of cow's milk on cheeses of ewe and goat milks

Chayote (Sechium edule): A review of nutritional composition, bioactivities and potential applications

Chayote (Sechium edule) has gained widespread consuming acceptance and recognized by its nutritional and bio-functional properties. The present review surveys and describes the current findings about the nutritional, phytochemical and pharmacological properties of chayote and identifies opportunities for further research. It also discusses chayote's versatile utility in nutrition, as a functional ingredient in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, as well as in nanotechnology and biotechnological processes. It was concluded that although the pharmacological properties of chayote are currently well-established, only a few reports have been conducted on the isolation and identification of individual chemical constituents, and similarly, only a few in vivo studies have been conducted to assess their biological efficacy. In addition, the valorisation of the underutilized chayote by-products can be an important aspect in waste management from both economic and environmental standpoints. Thus, the recovery and utilization of valuable compounds from chayote is an important challenge for scientists.This work was supported by European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) through the project UID/QUI/50006/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluation of cheese authenticity and proteolysis by HPLC and urea-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

Chromatographic and electrophoretic methods have been established as useful tools in characterising cheese ripening and in the detection of milk adulteration. The purpose of this work was to evaluate casein proteolysis of cheeses made from bovine, ovine or mixtures of bovine and ovine milks, as well as ovine cheese authenticity, for 30 days of ripening by HPLC and urea–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Complementary information was obtained by both techniques when applied to the study of casein proteolysis during 30 days of ripening of ovine milk cheeses, ovine milk cheeses with 10% and 20% of bovine milk and bovine milk cheeses, manufactured according to the traditional Terrincho technology. For ovine cheeses, a-casein was the fraction that showed the higher degradation during cheese ripening. A similar behaviour was observed for ovine milk cheese with 10% of bovine milk. The profile for ovine milk cheese with 20% of bovine milk was more similar to that obtained for bovine cheese. Concerning bovine milk cheeses, electrophoresis was the most sensitive technique for the evaluation of proteolysis in these cheeses. Ten and 20% of bovine milk could be detected in ovine milk cheeses by urea–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and HPLC, respectively, even after 30 days of ripening.Project Agro No. 26, Medida 8, Acção 8.

Bioaccessibility and intestinal uptake of minerals from different types of home-cooked and ready-to-eat beans

Limited information exists on the bioaccessibility and intestinal uptake of essential minerals from different types of beans cooked through different cooking methods. This study aimed to estimate the in vitro bioaccessibility and intestinal uptake of the essential minerals K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu and Mo from four different types of beans (kidney, black, white and cowpea) cooked under different conditions (home-cooked and industrially processed canned product). Results showed that the bioaccessibility and uptake of most essential minerals is higher in canned beans. Mn was the mineral that presented the highest bioaccessibility (43–63%), and Mo had the lowest (3–36%). The highest uptake was observed for Mg (59.9%), while the lowest was found for Fe (10.5%). Regarding the type of beans, white beans presented the highest bioaccessibility and uptake for all the analyzed essential minerals and thus its consumption is preferable from a nutritional point of view.Edgar Pinto and César Oliveira acknowledge Instituto de Ciências e Tecnologias Agrárias e Agro-Alimentares da Universidade do Porto (ICETA) for their contracts NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-0001 and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000011, respectively. This work received financial support from the European Union (POCI/01/0145/FEDER/007265), from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through COMPETE – Operational Competitiveness Programme and from national funds provided by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology under the project UID/QUI/50006/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Influence of red wine pomace seasoning and high-oxygen atmosphere storage on carcinogens formation in barbecued beef patties

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAs) are carcinogenic compounds formed in barbecued meat. Conditions that reduce their formation are of major interest. This study aims to evaluate the influence of red wine pomace seasoning (RWPS) and high-oxygen atmosphere storage on the formation of PAHs and HAs in barbecued beef patties. In general, the levels of PAHs and HAs quantified were low. The storage (9 days) promoted higher formation of PAHs in control patties without increase of HAs. RWPS patties cooked at preparation day presented higher levels of PAHs and HAs than control. Nevertheless, RWPS patties cooked after storage presented lower levels of PAHs and HAs than control. ABTS assay pointed out that higher radical scavenging activity may be related to with lower PAHs or HAs formation. In conclusion, RWPS can be an interesting ingredient to inhibit the formation of cooking carcinogens in barbecued patties stored at high-oxygen atmosphere.Autonomous Government of Castilla y León through the research project BU282U13 and from project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000011 – Qualidade e Segurança Alimentar — uma abordagem (nano) tecnológica

Anthocyanin-rich edible flowers, current understanding of a potential new trend in dietary patterns.

Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the following institutions: FCT- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia through the unit funding UIDB/50006/2020 and project AnthoE.Flos - 2022.01014. PTDC; European Regional Development Fund ( ERDF ), through the NORTE 2020 (Programa Operacional Regional do Norte 2014/2020) for the AgriFood XXI I&D&I project (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000041). H.O. and A.L.F. would like to also acknowledge their CEEC contracts 2021.00002. CEECIND and CEECIND/00029/2018, respectively. Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the following institutions: FCT- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia through the unit funding UIDB/50006/2020 and project AnthoE.Flos - 2022.01014. PTDC; European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the NORTE 2020 (Programa Operacional Regional do Norte 2014/2020) for the AgriFood XXI I&D&I project (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000041). H.O. and A.L.F. would like to also acknowledge their CEEC contracts 2021.00002. CEECIND and CEECIND/00029/2018, respectively. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Elsevier LtdBackground: Among the many sources of anthocyanins, edible flowers are regaining interest for both consumers and researchers due to their nutritional profile and the need for even more healthy dietary alternatives. In such context, anthocyanin-rich edible flowers may be one of the most interesting groups of such cultivars but also of anthocyanins source. Scope and approach: In this review, we discuss the latest findings regarding such type of edible flowers, from their consumption patterns to their nutritional and anthocyanins composition, their reported health benefits, the challenges about the consumption of edible flowers and the future research necessities on this promising thematic. Key findings and conclusions: Anthocyanins have become a key group of natural compounds during the last years due to their broad applications in different areas. From a nutritional and health perspective, these compounds have been showing potential roles against different pathologies. The excellent aroma, taste and appearance of anthocyanin-rich edible flowers turns meals more appealing to consumers. Moreover, their nutritional profile, bioactive properties, and health benefits, encourages the development of functional foods with nutraceutical purposes, thus promoting the consumption of these type of edible flowers worldwide. Further knowledge in food processing methods is a key factor on the comeback and the addition of anthocyanin-rich edible flowers to our dietary habits.publishersversionpublishe

Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction for the Simultaneous Determination of Parent and Nitrated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Water Samples

A new method for simultaneous extraction and quantification of 6 nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAHs) and 16 parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water matrices was optimized and validated. The extraction procedure was based on dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction technique, followed by gas chromatography-mass detection. The optimum conditions of extraction (volume of the extraction solvent, dispersive solvents and amount of salt) were selected using central composite design. The best results were found by using 200 μL of acetonitrile as dispersive solvent, 60 μL of chloroform as extraction solvent, and 10% (w/v) NaCl. Excellent linearity was observed in the range of 10–150 ng L−1 with correlation coefficients (r2) ranging between 0.9996 and 0.9999 for nitro-PAHs and in the range of 5–150 ng L−1 with r2 ranging from 0.9998 to 1.000 for PAHs. The limits of detection for the nitro-PAHs studied ranged from 0.82 to 3.37 ng L−1, whereas for PAHs ranged from 0.62 to 3.48 ng L−1. The intra- and inter-day precisions for nitro-PAHs were in the range of 0.45 to 19.54% and 0.43 to 19.62%, respectively, and for PAHs ranged between 0.45 to 17.42% and 0.38 to 18.97%, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied in analyses of groundwater, sea, rain water and river water, being appropriate for routine analyses.This work received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds POCI/01/0145/FEDER/007265) and National Funds (FCT/MEC, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Ministério da Educação e Ciência) under the Partnership Agreement PT2020 UID/QUI/50006/2013. One of the authors (A. Melo) wishes to thank the Fundação Ciência Tecnologia, grant SFRH/BPD/86898/2012.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio