Monitoring the Shelf-Life of Minimally Processed Fresh-Cut Apple Slices By Physical–Chemical Analysis and Electronic Nose

Fresh-cut apples, in slices or in cubes, are minimally processed products, which are currently collecting a great interest by fruit marketers for their promising diffusion. Their shelf life, from a microbiological point of view, has been fixed about 2 or 3 weeks under refrigeration. However in a few days they undergo biochemical degradations with production of off-flavors and texture breakdown. In this work, the change of aromatic fingerprint of apple slices packaged in air and in a modified atmosphere (with 100% N2) and stored at 4°C was measured, by using a commercial electronic nose. The obtained data were also compared with sensory evaluation of judge’s panel. Moreover, quality parameters such as total acidity, total soluble solids and firmness were determined at different storage times (0, 4, 8 and 12 days). The data show that the electronic nose is able to discriminate between the two different storage conditions applied: the multivariate analysis, Principal Component Analysis, presents clearly differences among the four sampling times when the apple slices are stored in air and in N2. Our results indicate that the electronic nose can be considered a valid supplementary tool to human sensory panel assessment especially in food quality safety and control and it can be a simple, objective and rapid method to control the food quality during the storage

Application of MOOSY32 eNose to assess the Effects of Some Post Harvest Treatments on the Quality of "Salustiana" Orange Juice

A new prototype of Electronic Nose instrument, Multisensory Odor Olfactory System MOOSY32, with a processing method based on a multivariate classification analysis was used to assess different postharvest and storage treatments effects to Salustiana oranges. The analysis method is based on the measurement of the volatile compounds produced under different environmental and operational conditions. The Electronic Nose system revealed that orange juice flavor changes even when juices are analyzed right after each treatment and fruits are stored under refrigerated conditions. The instrument was able to detect even small changes in the aromatic pattern of the juices, confirming that the packing line itself is able to cause perceptible changes in the flavor. This can be a new and important finding in the Salustiana orange treatment that can lead to a significant improvement of fruits quality on the markets.Cupane, M.; Pelegrí Sebastiá, J.; Climent, E.; Guarrasi, V.; Sogorb Devesa, TC.; Germana, MA. (2015). Application of MOOSY32 eNose to assess the Effects of Some Post Harvest Treatments on the Quality of "Salustiana" Orange Juice. Journal of Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 6(4). doi:10.4172/2155-6210.1000184S6

Antilisterial effect of citrus essential oils and their performance in edible film formulations

[EN] The antimicrobial activity of eight essential oils (EOs) extracted from the fruit peel of Citrus genotypes (orange, mandarin and lemon) was evaluated against 76 strains of Listeria monocytogenes, previously isolated from different food matrices. EOs showing the most (EO L2 and EO L8) and least (EO O3 and EO M7) effective inhibition activities were chemically characterized by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to compare their composition. EO L2 and EO L8 were chosen to determine the MIC and to evaluate the cell viability of the most sensitive strains (L. monocytogenes LM35 and LM69) after 1, 2, 4 and 6 h of exposure. The effectiveness of chitosan (CH) and methylcellulose (MC) edible films, alone and in combination with EO L2 and EO L8, was determined against LM35 and LM69 at 37 C for 0, 8 and 24 h and at 8 C for 0, 1, 3 and 7 days. In addition, the analysis of the microstructure of the films were performed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) to evidence the interactions between the polymers and EOs. Thirty-five and twenty-nine strains were clearly inhibited by EO L2 and EO L8, respectively, while the other Citrus EOs showed poor (EO M1, O4, O5, O6) or minimal (EO O3 and M7) antimicrobial activity. A total of 36 chemical volatile substances was identified by GC/MS to detect the compounds that might play an important role in the characterization of the EOs. The chemical characterization points to oxygenated monoterpenes as relevant compounds in inhibiting Listeria strains, since they have been detected in lemon EOs in concentrations four/five folds higher than orange EOs. Generally, CH- and MCbased films containing EO L2 and EO L8 showed antilisterial activities, even though, the best performances were observed in case of CH-films at 8 C, with a major reduction up to 3 log (CFU/cm2) in case of EO L2 incorporation. The microstructures observed by SEM suggested a better incorporation of the EOs in CH matrix, where a higher amount of oil droplets was distinguished. Therefore, lemon EOs incorporated into chitosan films could be an efficient tool to control Listeria monocytogenes, especially in refrigerated applied conditions.WR was supported by the "Student Mobility for Placement - SMP" grant of the EU Life Learning Program. The authors thank the "Azienda Sperimentale Palazzelli C.R.A. - Centro di ricerca per l'agrumicoltura e le colture mediterranee Contrada Palazzelli Scordia" (CT, Italy) for providing some of the fruits used for EOs extractions.Randazzo, W.; Jiménez Belenguer, AI.; Settanni, L.; Perdones Montero, A.; Moschetti, M.; Palazzolo, E.; Guarrasi, V.... (2016). Antilisterial effect of citrus essential oils and their performance in edible film formulations. Food Control. 59:750-758. doi:10.1016/j.foodcont.2015.06.057S7507585

Functional and Taxonomic Traits of the Gut Microbiota in Type 1 Diabetes Children at the Onset: A Metaproteomic Study

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune metabolic disorder with onset in pediatric/adolescent age, characterized by insufficient insulin production, due to a progressive destruction of pancreatic beta-cells. Evidence on the correlation between the human gut microbiota (GM) composition and T1D insurgence has been recently reported. In particular, 16S rRNA-based metagenomics has been intensively employed in the last decade in a number of investigations focused on GM representation in relation to a pre-disease state or to a response to clinical treatments. On the other hand, few works have been published using alternative functional omics, which is more suitable to provide a different interpretation of such a relationship. In this work, we pursued a comprehensive metaproteomic investigation on T1D children compared with a group of siblings (SIBL) and a reference control group (CTRL) composed of aged matched healthy subjects, with the aim of finding features in the T1D patients' GM to be related with the onset of the disease. Modulated metaproteins were found either by comparing T1D with CTRL and SIBL or by stratifying T1D by insulin need (IN), as a proxy of beta-cells damage, showing some functional and taxonomic traits of the GM, possibly related to the disease onset at different stages of severity

Gut Microbiota Functional Traits, Blood pH, and Anti-GAD Antibodies Concur in the Clinical Characterization of T1D at Onset

Alterations of gut microbiota have been identified before clinical manifestation of type 1 diabetes (T1D). To identify the associations amongst gut microbiome profile, metabolism and disease markers, the 16S rRNA-based microbiota profiling and H-1-NMR metabolomic analysis were performed on stool samples of 52 T1D patients at onset, 17 T1D siblings and 57 healthy subjects (CTRL). Univariate, multivariate analyses and classification models were applied to clinical and -omic integrated datasets. In T1D patients and their siblings, Clostridiales and Dorea were increased and Dialister and Akkermansia were decreased compared to CTRL, while in T1D, Lachnospiraceae were higher and Collinsella was lower, compared to siblings and CTRL. Higher levels of isobutyrate, malonate, Clostridium, Enterobacteriaceae, Clostridiales, Bacteroidales, were associated to T1D compared to CTRL. Patients with higher anti-GAD levels showed low abundances of Roseburia, Faecalibacterium and Alistipes and those with normal blood pH and low serum HbA(1c) levels showed high levels of purine and pyrimidine intermediates. We detected specific gut microbiota profiles linked to both T1D at the onset and to diabetes familiarity. The presence of specific microbial and metabolic profiles in gut linked to anti-GAD levels and to blood acidosis can be considered as predictive biomarker associated progression and severity of T1D

FRUIT QUALITY EVALUATION OF FOUR LOQUAT CULTIVARS GROWN IN SICILY

Chemical (soluble solids content, titratable acidity, pH), morphological (weight, longitudinal and transversal diameter, thickness of the flesh, number of seeds, peel colour), and sensorial characteristics of four loquat cultivars (‘Algerie’, ‘Claudia’, ‘Nespolone di Trabia’ and ‘Sanfilippara’) from mature, organically-grown trees in Sicily, were analysed. The determinations were carried out by traditional instrumental techniques, by a panel test and by an electronic olfactory system. A panel of 10 trained judges was used to determine intensity of some attributes in the sensory profile of the different cultivars, while the electronic olfactory system was used to identify possible differences in the aromatic “fingerprint”. The main differences in the analytical evaluation among the four cultivars were the higher acidity and the lower fraction of soluble solids of ‘Sanfilippara’ and ‘Nespolone di Trabia’; while the highest value of soluble solids was observed in ‘Claudia’. These chemical characteristics were in agreement with the assessment of judges. In an overall sensory evaluation, ‘Claudia’ scored highest with attributes such as sweetness and juiciness, while ‘Sanfilippara’ had the most characteristic loquat odor and ‘Nespolone di Trabia’ the most grass odour. The responses of electronic olfactory system sensors were analyzed with a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The plot of the two main components of the PCA analysis, PC1 and PC2, showed discrimination among the aromatic pattern of the four cultivars. The results show that the perception of volatile compounds by the human nose is important to evaluate the quality of loquat fruits, but, in this research, it is unable to discriminate the cultivars as well as the electronic nose