Cultured meat: A survey of awareness among Greek consumers

As the technology of cultured meat continues to evolve and reach the market, it is important to understand the dynamics of consumer attitudes and preferences in order to provide insights into the potential adoption of cultured meat in Europe. Our aim was to explore the attitudes of Greek consumers, via an online survey addressed to 1230 consumers. The results revealed that only 39.35% of participants in this survey were aware of the term "cultured meat", but 55.69% would be willing to try it with the group of young (18–25 years old) being more willing to try compared to > 25 years old and also male and graduates. Among the perceived benefits, the first rated benefit was the contribution to animal welfare, followed by the lower environmental impact of cultured meat. The highest concerns about the potential negative consequences of cultured meat were about the unknown long-term adverse health effects and about a negative impact on the local livestock producers. Most of the respondents (80.73%) agreed that cultured meat is an artificial product. In conclusion, our results revealed a level of skepticism and reservations regarding cultured meat among Greek consumers and addressing public concerns might be especially important to increase public acceptance of cultured meat

Carotenoids from Foods of Plant, Animal and Marine Origin: An Efficient HPLC-DAD Separation Method

Carotenoids are important antioxidant compounds, present in many foods of plant, animal and marine origin. The aim of the present study was to describe the carotenoid composition of tomato waste, prawn muscle and cephalothorax and avian (duck and goose) egg yolks through the use of a modified gradient elution HPLC method with a C30 reversed-phase column for the efficient separation and analysis of carotenoids and their cis-isomers. Elution time was reduced from 60 to 45 min without affecting the separation efficiency. All-trans lycopene predominated in tomato waste, followed by all-trans-β-carotene, 13-cis-lutein and all-trans lutein, while minor amounts of 9-cis-lutein, 13-cis-β-carotene and 9-cis-β-carotene were also detected. Considering the above findings, tomato waste is confirmed to be an excellent source of recovering carotenoids, especially all-trans lycopene, for commercial use. Xanthophylls were the major carotenoids of avian egg yolks, all-trans lutein and all-trans zeaxanthin in duck and goose egg yolk, respectively. In the Penaeus kerathurus prawn, several carotenoids (zeaxanthin, all-trans-lutein, canthaxanthin, cryptoxanthin, optical and geometrical astaxanthin isomers) were identified in considerable amounts by the same method. A major advantage of this HPLC method was the efficient separation of carotenoids and their cis-isomers, originating from a wide range of matrices

Optimization of Polyphenol Extraction from Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum through Response Surface Methodology

Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum has been recognized as a rich source of secondary metabolites, including phenolic acids, flavonoids and flavonoid polymers (proanthocyanidins or condensed tannins), with related health benefits. Both parts of Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum (white bulb and pseudostem) are traditionally consumed either as a vegetable or as a condiment in many Mediterranean countries. The aim of the present study was to optimize the extraction conditions of polyphenols from white leek stem and green leek leaf by implementing a Box-Behnken design (BBD). The optimization considered basic factors affecting extraction efficiency, including extraction time, solvent to plant material ratio and solvent mixture composition. Maximum polyphenol yield was achieved at an extraction time of 80 and 100 min for white leek stem and green leek leaf extracts respectively, solvent to plant material ratio of 5:1 (v/w) and methanol to water ratio of 40:60 (v/v), for both leek extracts. Interestingly, higher total phenolic content was found in green leek leaf extracts compared to white leek stem extracts, due to a possible relationship between polyphenol production and sunlight radiation. High correlation values were also observed between total phenolic content and antioxidant-antiradical activity of optimized leek extracts

Effects of Infrared Radiation on Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) Greenhouse Cultivation and Fruits’ Phenolic Profile

The implementation of Infrared (IR) radiation in heated greenhouses possesses the advantage of high directional control and focused compensation of energy losses, appropriate for creating local microclimate conditions in highly energy-consuming systems, such as greenhouses. Moreover, it can efficiently maintain favorable environmental conditions at the plant canopy. The present study studies the application of Infrared (IR) heating in an experimental greenhouse with eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) cultivation. The experimental results are presented from a full cultivation period inside two identical, small scale experimental greenhouses, with IR and forced air heating system, respectively. The effects of IR heating over plant growth parameters, including the yield of the fruits as well as the total phenolic content and the antioxidant profile of eggplants fruits’ extracts are measured and discussed. The results indicate a greater uniformity production in the IR heating greenhouse in terms of antioxidant and radical scavenging activities, as well as the total phenolic content. Moreover, the phenolic profile of eggplant fruits from both greenhouses revealed the existence of numerous bioactive compounds, some of which were only characteristic of the eggplant fruits from IR heated greenhouses

GC-FID and NMR Spectroscopic Studies on Gamma Irradiated Walnut Lipids

Walnuts have an excellent fatty acid profile, beneficial for coronary heart diseases. A diet rich in walnuts has shown to decrease the total and LDL cholesterol levels as well as lipoprotein levels. In this study, the effects of different doses of γ-irradiation and different packaging conditions on proximate composition and fatty acid profile of walnuts (Juglans regia L.) were investigated merging data from different spectroscopic techniques. Walnuts moisture, ash, fat, and protein content as well as fatty acid profile were evaluated immediately after irradiation. GC-FID results showed that SFA increased and MUFA and PUFA decreased with the increase of irradiation dose. Moreover, MUFA/SFA and PUFA/SFA ratios decreased P<0.05 compared to control samples. Furthermore, NMR spectroscopy was implemented to examine possible discrimination patterns based on irradiation dose and packaging. This approach revealed the role of PUFA decrease with the parallel increase of irradiation dose while indicating the protective role of vacuum and MAP compared to air packaging. In conclusion, at irradiation doses of up to 5 kGy, the walnuts retained the nutritional benefits of its fatty acids, in particular MUFA and PUFA. Concerning the different types of packaging, greater stability in the nuts was observed using MAP packaging

Electric Field Induced Drift of Bacterial Protein Toxins of Foodborne Pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli from Water

Bacterial protein toxins secreted by foodborne pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains, may cause severe toxicosis in humans if present in foods or water and constitute an important public health problem. These toxins are large biomolecules with negative and positive ions due to the ionizable groups in the residual amino acids. An innovative theoretical model of purifying aqueous flowing solutions from ionic toxins is proposed in this study. The principle of the model is based on the drift of the ionic toxins, under the application of the external electric field, towards the walls of the duct, leaving the largest part of the duct with reduced levels of toxin. Parameters, such as toxin concentration, potential and electric field intensity distributions, and surface charge densities, are studied analytically for various duct widths and various external electric fields. The proposed model succeeded to reduce toxin levels by more than 99%, for duct widths less than 1cm, making it suitable for small-scale water purification

Association of <i>TNF</i>-α 308G/A and <i>LEPR</i> Gln223Arg Polymorphisms with the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

The objective of the present study was to identify the association of the TNF-α- 308G/A and leptin receptor (LEPR) Gln223Arg polymorphisms with the risk of development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: A total of 160 volunteers were studied: 108 with T2DM and 52 participants as control, who served as the control group. Polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for the genomic region of TNF-α- 308G/A and LEPR Gln223Arg were carried out. Results: The frequency of LEPR Gln223Arg genotypes in T2DM and control groups showed significant differences in the distribution of genotypes (p TNF-α- 308G/A genotypes in T2DM and control subjects showed significant differences in the distribution of genotypes (p p < 0.05)

Electric Field Induced Drift of Bacterial Protein Toxins of Foodborne Pathogens <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and <i>Escherichia coli</i> from Water

Bacterial protein toxins secreted by foodborne pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains, may cause severe toxicosis in humans if present in foods or water and constitute an important public health problem. These toxins are large biomolecules with negative and positive ions due to the ionizable groups in the residual amino acids. An innovative theoretical model of purifying aqueous flowing solutions from ionic toxins is proposed in this study. The principle of the model is based on the drift of the ionic toxins, under the application of the external electric field, towards the walls of the duct, leaving the largest part of the duct with reduced levels of toxin. Parameters, such as toxin concentration, potential and electric field intensity distributions, and surface charge densities, are studied analytically for various duct widths and various external electric fields. The proposed model succeeded to reduce toxin levels by more than 99%, for duct widths less than 1cm, making it suitable for small-scale water purification

On the Characterization and Correlation of Compositional, Antioxidant and Colour Profile of Common and Balsamic Vinegars

Commercially available common and balsamic vinegars were examined, using a combination of spectrophotometric, chromatographic, colorimetric and spectroscopic methods. Total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, radical scavenging capacity, phenolic profile, colour parameters, Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) absorbance spectra and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) spectra were comparatively studied. The main scope was the assessment of vinegar antioxidant and metabolic profiles and the identification of the most appropriate features influencing their type and subtypes. Red grape balsamic vinegars exhibited the strongest antioxidant profile. High total phenolic content and radical scavenging-antioxidant activity of vinegars was strongly correlated with high hue-angle and colour density values and low lightness and a* values. FT-IR spectra analysis confirmed the presence of organic acids and carbohydrates and, in combination with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), the occurrence of phenolic compounds. NMR spectroscopy enabled the identification of 27 characteristic metabolites in each type of vinegar. The combination of all applied techniques provides critical information on compositional differences among the vinegars and could serve as an application tool for similar fermentation products