Can ceylon leadwort (Plumbago zeylanica L.) acclimate to lead toxicity? - studies of photosynthetic apparatus efficiency

Ceylon leadwort (Plumbago zeylanica) is ornamental plant known for its pharmacological properties arising from the abundant production of various secondary metabolites. It often grows in lead polluted areas. The aim of presented study was to evaluate the survival strategy of P. zeylanica to lead toxicity via photosynthetic apparatus acclimatization. Shoots of P. zeylanica were cultivated on media with different Pb concentrations (0.0, 0.05, and 0.1 g Pb∙l−1). After a four-week culture, the efficiency of the photosynthetic apparatus of plants was evaluated by Chl a fluorescence measurement, photosynthetic pigment, and Lhcb1, PsbA, PsbO, and RuBisCo protein accumulation, antioxidant enzymes activity, and chloroplast ultrastructure observation. Plants from lower Pb concentration revealed no changes in photosynthetic pigments content and light-harvesting complex (LHCII) size, as well as no limitation on the donor side of Photosystem II Reaction Centre (PSII RC). However, the activity and content of antioxidant enzymes indicated a high risk of limitation on the acceptor side of Photosystem I. In turn, plants from 0.1 g Pb∙l−1 showed a significant decrease in pigments content, LHCII size, the amount of active PSII RC, oxygen-evolving complex activity, and significant remodeling of chloroplast ultrastructure indicated limitation of PSII RC donor side. Obtained results indicate that P. zeylanica plants acclimate to lead toxicity by Pb accumulation in roots and, depending on Pb concentration, by adjusting their photosynthetic apparatus via the activation of alternative (cyclic and pseudocyclic) electron transport pathways

Active Packaging of Button Mushrooms with Zeolite and Açai Extract as an Innovative Method of Extending Its Shelf Life

As the market demand for button mushrooms is constantly growing, it is important to extend their shelf-life. Active packaging with built-in active components offers the possibility of extending the shelf life of products which are sensitive to external factors. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to check the effect of active packaging with zeolite (clinoptilolite) and aҫai extract on the bioactive compounds content, antioxidant activity, volatile compound profile, and physical quality of mushrooms subjected to storage for 28 days at 4 °C. Packing mushrooms in active packages improved their chemical characteristics by increasing antioxidant activity (p ≤ 0.001) in comparison to the conventional packaging methods. Moreover, it slowed down water loss and the browning process both on the surface and inside the mushroom. Furthermore, the results showed a strong correlation (p ≤ 0.001) between antioxidant activity, bioactive compounds content and color parameters. The obtained results suggest that the addition of the aҫai extract and zeolite into packaging material protects mushrooms from deterioration for a longer period of time. The use of active packaging to extend product shelf life can contribute to the reduction of the use of food preservatives, but also protects the environment by reducing the volume of waste

Effect of Processing on Volatile Organic Compounds Formation of Meat—Review

Meat is a rich source of different volatile compounds. The final flavor of meat products depends on the raw material and processing parameters. Changes that occur in meat include pyrolysis of peptides and amino acids, degradation of sugar and ribonucleotides, Maillard’s and Strecker’s reactions, lipid oxidation, degradation of thiamine and fats, as well as microbial metabolism. A review of the volatile compounds’ formation was carried out and divided into non-thermal and thermal processes. Modern and advanced solutions such as ultrasounds, pulsed electric field, cold plasma, ozone use, etc., were described. The article also concerns the important issue of determining Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) markers generated during heat treatment

Quality of Beef Burgers Formulated with Fat Substitute in a Form of Freeze-Dried Hydrogel Enriched with Açai Oil

The growing number of people at high risk of cardiovascular disease development contributed to both changes in diets by consumers and the reformulation of food products by food producers. Cardiovascular diseases are caused by the i.a. consumption of meat that contains animal fat rich in saturated fatty acids (SFA). The use of fat substitutes in meat seems to be a promising tool for the reduction of cardiovascular disease occurrence. In the presented study, beef fat was replaced at 0 (CO), 25 (S-25%), 50 (S-50%), 75 (S-75%), and 100% (S-100%) by a fat substitute in a form of a lyophilized hydrogel emulsion enriched with encapsulated açai oil. The chemical (TBARS, volatile compound profile, fatty acid profile, pH), and physical (TPA, consumer rating, L*a*b* color, cooking loss) analyses were performed on raw and grilled burgers subjected to storage at cold conditions (4 °C) in days 0 and 7. Burgers formulated with hydrogels had a higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) of about 32% (p < 0.05) and reduced SFAs by 22%. Reformulation of the burger resulted in lower nutritional indices of the atherogenicity index (AI) (0.8 for CO, 0.3 for S-100%, p < 0.05) and thrombogenicity index (TI) (1.8 for CO, 0.6 for S-100%, p < 0.05), as well as led to an increased h/H ratio (1.3 for CO, 3.9 for S-100%, p < 0.05). Furthermore the application of freeze-dried hydrogels reduced cooking loss. Moreover, consumers did not observe significant differences (p < 0.05) between the control and S-25% and S-50% burgers. Thus, the use of lyophilized hydrogels formulated with konjac flour and sodium alginate and enriched with encapsulated acai oil can be successfully applied as a fat substitute in beef burgers

Optimization of Microwave and Ultrasound Extraction Methods of Açai Berries in Terms of Highest Content of Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activity

Rapid technological progress focuses on lowering costs, labor and time. Thus, in order to minimize the expenses of bioactive compound production, great effort is undertaken to optimize the extraction of these compounds. Green extraction is popular and relatively inexpensive. However, the same extraction method does not always work for all types of matrixes due to the biological diversity of the tissue. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the optimal green extraction method of açai berries (ultrasound or microwaves) able to isolate extracts containing the highest possible number of phenolic compounds with the highest antioxidant activity. The results show that the highest content of total phenolic compounds in the extracts was obtained after the application of a temperature of 45 °C, using ultrasound for 25 min and 45 min, microwaves for 3.16 min and a water bath for 25 min. Ultrasound turned out to be the most effective method of flavonoid extraction. In turn, the highest anthocyanin content was obtained for microwave extraction. Additionally, the application of microwaves for 4.33 min (45 °C) guaranteed the highest ferric-reducing antioxidant activity (FRAP) among the extracts. The results show that the use of microwaves shortens the açai extraction time and ensures both a high content of total phenolic compounds and strong antioxidant activity in the extract

Packaging in a High O2 or Air Atmospheres and in Microperforated Films Effects on Quality of Button Mushrooms Stored at Room Temperature

Cold conditions are obligatory for mushrooms storage. However, in most cases, the cold chain is interrupted at various stages. Thus, is of great importance to propose a packaging system capable of inhibiting the detrimental effect of high temperature on mushrooms’ quality. The study evaluates the effect of high oxygen atmosphere (80% O2) in conjunction with films of different levels of microperforations (polysulfon (PSF) films, low: PSF_1000, PSF_2000; medium: PSF_3500; and high: PSF_7000) on antioxidant capacity, volatile compounds profile, sensory acceptance, and quality of mushrooms stored at 20 °C. Results showed that high O2 atmosphere inhibits the respiration rate of mushrooms. Application of high O2 atmosphere and film of high level of microperforations preserved desired color and profile of volatile compounds, ensured consumers color and overall acceptance. In turn, the single effect of the perforation level of the applied film was observed for antioxidant capacity, weight loss, vitamin C, malonylodialdehyde (MDA), and phenolics content. Packaging in low microperforated films led to the least amount of phenolics, highest MDA content, and poor antioxidant capacity in mushrooms. In turn, packaging with films of a medium level of perforation contributed to the highest vitamin C and phenolic content. There was no effect of treatment on texture, maturity index, protein content, and percentage of open capped mushrooms

The Effect of Cold Plasma Pretreatment on Water-Suspended Herbs Measured in the Content of Bioactive Compounds, Antioxidant Activity, Volatile Compounds and Microbial Count of Final Extracts

Cold plasma is a new technology of promising potential to use as a part of technological extraction lines constructed to implement green chemistry solutions or simply to reduce resources in solvent-based extraction lines. The present study was undertaken to verify the effect of nitrogen cold plasma pre-treatment conducted for 8 min (20 kHz) on the content of antioxidants, antioxidant activity, the profile of volatile compounds, microbial count, pH and color measured in herb extracts (12 herbs: Echinacea purpurea; Salvia officinalis; Urtica dioica; Polygonum aviculare; Vaccinium myrtillus; Taraxacum officinale; Hypericum perforatum; Achillea millefolium; Sanguisorba officinalis; Leonurus cardiaca; Ballota nigra; Andrographis paniculata) obtained with its usage. The surface morphology of extracted herbs was examined as well. Herbs used for extraction were ground and suspended in water before cold plasma treatment, which is a novel approach not studied before. Most plasma-treated extracts were characterized by a higher content of polyphenols (11 out of 12). Content of flavonoids and anthocyanins increased in four extracts and in the case of anthocyanins was significantly higher in comparison to control (up to 77%). The antioxidant activity measured at least by one method (ABTS, DPPH, FRAP) was also higher in nine plasma-treated solutions. Moreover, plasma decreased total aerobic bacteria, affected the color and increased pH of the extracts. The surface structure of the plant material after the extraction process was significantly damaged, which probably led to a higher extraction yield of bioactive compounds and in consequence to the higher antioxidant activity of extracts obtained with the cold plasma treatment

Influence of <i>Nigella sativa</i> L. Oil Addition on Physicochemical and Sensory Properties of Freezer-Stored Ground Pork for Pâté

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Nigella sativa L. (NS) oil addition on the quality of ground pork for pâté stored for one month and two months (−20 ± 1 °C). The study was conducted on a negative control (C), a positive control with the addition of antioxidant (CB) butylated hydroxyanisole (E320), and two groups with the addition of NS oil at the level of 1.9% (O1) and 3.8% (O2). The quality parameters tested in the meat were colour (measured in the CIELab system), lipid oxidation products, the fatty acid profile, thrombogenicity (T1), atherogenicity (A1), and the ratio of hypocholesterolemia to hypercholesterolemia (h/H). After roasting the pâtés, their volatile compound profiles were studied and sensory tests were conducted. A significant effect of NS oil additive on meat colour was found and ΔE for C-O2 increased faster during storage than for C-O1 and C-CB. NS oil additive in pork pâté improved the fatty acid profile. Significant differences in the rate of the fatty acid profile change during storage were observed with the addition of 3.8% NS oil compared to the other groups. Only the O2 group showed no change in PUFA content, while the h/H ratio was approximately 20% higher in the groups with added oil. The addition of NS oil also slowed the growth of TBARSs compared to the C and CB groups. The volatile compound profile of the raw pâté was most influenced by the proportion of terpenes in the NS oil. After two months of meat storage, the O1 pâté received the highest sensory ratings

Incidence of severe critical events in paediatric anaesthesia (APRICOT): a prospective multicentre observational study in 261 hospitals in Europe

Background Little is known about the incidence of severe critical events in children undergoing general anaesthesia in Europe. We aimed to identify the incidence, nature, and outcome of severe critical events in children undergoing anaesthesia, and the associated potential risk factors. Methods The APRICOT study was a prospective observational multicentre cohort study of children from birth to 15 years of age undergoing elective or urgent anaesthesia for diagnostic or surgical procedures. Children were eligible for inclusion during a 2-week period determined prospectively by each centre. There were 261 participating centres across 33 European countries. The primary endpoint was the occurence of perioperative severe critical events requiring immediate intervention. A severe critical event was defined as the occurrence of respiratory, cardiac, allergic, or neurological complications requiring immediate intervention and that led (or could have led) to major disability or death. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01878760. Findings Between April 1, 2014, and Jan 31, 2015, 31â127 anaesthetic procedures in 30â874 children with a mean age of 6·35 years (SD 4·50) were included. The incidence of perioperative severe critical events was 5·2% (95% CI 5·0â5·5) with an incidence of respiratory critical events of 3·1% (2·9â3·3). Cardiovascular instability occurred in 1·9% (1·7â2·1), with an immediate poor outcome in 5·4% (3·7â7·5) of these cases. The all-cause 30-day in-hospital mortality rate was 10 in 10â000. This was independent of type of anaesthesia. Age (relative risk 0·88, 95% CI 0·86â0·90; p<0·0001), medical history, and physical condition (1·60, 1·40â1·82; p<0·0001) were the major risk factors for a serious critical event. Multivariate analysis revealed evidence for the beneficial effect of years of experience of the most senior anaesthesia team member (0·99, 0·981â0·997; p<0·0048 for respiratory critical events, and 0·98, 0·97â0·99; p=0·0039 for cardiovascular critical events), rather than the type of health institution or providers. Interpretation This study highlights a relatively high rate of severe critical events during the anaesthesia management of children for surgical or diagnostic procedures in Europe, and a large variability in the practice of paediatric anaesthesia. These findings are substantial enough to warrant attention from national, regional, and specialist societies to target education of anaesthesiologists and their teams and implement strategies for quality improvement in paediatric anaesthesia. Funding European Society of Anaesthesiology