Effect of ultrasound pre-treatment on the physical, microbiological, and antioxidant properties of calçots

The effect of ultrasound (US) treatment (40 kHz, 250 W) for 0, 10,25 and 45 min on the physical and microbiological quality, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total phenolic content (TPC) of calçots (Allium cepaL.) was evaluated. Moreover, the effect of roasting (270 °C, 8 min) and in vitro simulated digestion on the antioxidant properties was studied. Overall, US treatment had no effect of the physical quality and antioxidant properties of calçots regardless the treatment time, while thermal processing produced an increase on the TAC and maintenance in TPC. Furthermore, the digestion process caused a remarkable decrease on the TAC and TPC, but that decrease was higher in roasted than in fresh samples. The microbial load of all US-treated fresh samples was below 6 log (cfu g−1) and a decrease of 1-log reduction was observed after treating for 45 min. Those results indicated that US pre-treatment had no negative effects on the quality of calçot while produced a decrease on the microbial load at high processing times.This work was supported by ACCIÓ (Generalitat of Catalonia, RD14-1-004), Sociedad Agrícola i Secció de Crèdit de Valls S.C.C.L., Cooperativa of Cambrils, and PGI ‘Calçot de Valls’. This work was also supported by the ‘Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Economia i Coneixement’ (FI-2017-B2-00164, L. Zudaire) and CERCA Programme of Generalitat de Catalunya. T. Lafarga is in receipt of a ‘Juan de la Cierva’ contract awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness (FJCI-2016-29541). I. Aguiló-Aguayo thanks the National Programme for the promotion of talent and its employability of the ‘Ministerio de Economía,Industria y Competitividad’ of the Spanish Government and to the European Social Fund for the Postdoctoral Senior Grant ‘Ramon y Cajal’ (RYC-2016-19949)

Effect of pre-harvest conditions and postharvest storage time on the quality of whole and fresh-cut calçots (Allium cepa L.)

Pre-harvest conditions such as cultivar, cultivation site and planting time could affect the storability, quality and shelf-life of fruit and vegetables. The influence of onion cultivar, cultivation site and planting time on the storability and quality of whole fresh and roasted calçots (Allium cepa L.) was investigated. Moreover, the suitability for fresh-cut processing of four different calçots was studied. Samples from 'Montferri' onion cultivar presented the best storability. Overall, postharvest storage time had no remarkable effect on the quality of whole calçots but produced an increase on the antioxidant properties of all samples. In relation to the aptitude to minimal processing, 'Montferri' onion cultivar cultivated at Viladecans in August showed the best results in terms of quality throughout their postharvest storage time. Therefore, cultivar and postharvest storage time could have more effect than cultivation site and planting time on the quality of whole and fresh-cut calçots.This work was supported by ACCIÓ (Generalitat of Catalonia, RD14-1-004), Sociedad Agrícola I Secció de Crèdit de Valls S.C.C.L., Cooperativa of Cambrils, and PGI ‘Calçot de Valls’. This work was also supported by the ‘Secretaria d’Universitats I Recerca del Departament d’Economia I Coneixement’ (FI-2017-B2-00164, L. Zudaire) and CERCA Programme of Generalitat de Catalunya. I. Aguiló-Aguayo thanks to the National Programme for the Promotion of Talent and its Employability of the ‘Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad’ of the Spanish Government and to the European Social Fund for the Postdoctoral Senior Grant ‘Ramon y Cajal’ (RYC-2016-19949)

Contrasting responses of non-small cell lung cancer to antiangiogenic therapies depend on histological subtype

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway is a clinically validated antiangiogenic target for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, some contradictory results have been reported on the biological effects of antiangiogenic drugs. In order to evaluate the efficacy of these drugs in NSCLC histological subtypes, we analyzed the anticancer effect of two anti-VEGFR2 therapies (sunitinib and DC101) in chemically induced mouse models and tumorgrafts of lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Antiangiogenic treatments induced vascular trimming in both histological subtypes. In ADC tumors, vascular trimming was accompanied by tumor stabilization. In contrast, in SCC tumors, antiangiogenic therapy was associated with disease progression and induction of tumor proliferation. Moreover, in SCC, anti-VEGFR2 therapies increased the expression of stem cell markers such as aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1, CD133, and CD15, independently of intratumoral hypoxia. In vitro studies with ADC cell lines revealed that antiangiogenic treatments reduced pAKT and pERK signaling and inhibited proliferation, while in SCC-derived cell lines the same treatments increased pAKT and pERK, and induced survival. In conclusion, this study evaluates for the first time the effect of antiangiogenic drugs in lung SCC murine models in vivo and sheds light on the contradictory results of antiangiogenic therapies in NSCLC

Effects of long-term controlled atmosphere storage, minimal processing, and packaging on quality attributes of calçots (Allium cepa L.)

Calçots are the immature floral stems of the second-year onion (Allium cepa L.) resprouts. Modified atmosphere packaging or vacuum packaging are suitable alternatives to preserve fresh-cut vegetables. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of postharvest storage time of raw vegetable stored under controlled atmosphere and used packaging system after minimal processing on the quality of fresh-cut calçots. Calçots used for minimal processing were stored under 1.0 kPa O2 + 2.0 kPa CO2 at 1 ℃ for 30 and 60 days. Fresh-cut calçots were packaged using passive modified atmosphere packaging or vacuum packaging and were stored at 4 ℃ for 15 days. Calçots stored under controlled atmosphere for 30 days presented better retention of quality and in turn, being more suitable for minimally processing. Vacuum packaging preserved the physicochemical quality of fresh-cut calçots better after 15 days. Mesophilic aerobic counts were also higher in fresh-cut calçots stored under modified atmosphere packaging, but all counts were below the recommended limits during and at the end of their shelf-life (15 days). The most suitable conservation strategy might be to store whole calçots under controlled atmosphere for 30 days and after minimally processing, packaged under vacuum in order to extend the shelf-life of fresh-cut calçots.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/ or publication of this article: This work was supported by ACCIÓ (Generalitat of Catalonia, RD14-1-004), Sociedad Agrícola i Secció de Crèdit de Valls S.C.C.L., Cooperativa of Cambrils and PGI “Calçot de Valls”; AGAUR (2015-FI-B-00284); and CERCA Programme of Generalitat de Catalunya. Ingrid Aguiló-Aguayo thanks the “Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad” of the Spanish Government for the Postdoctoral Senior Grant “Ramon y Cajal” (RYC-2016-19949) and T. Lafarga for the Juan de la Cierva contract (FJCI-2016-29541)