Contribución al control de calidad de resinas epoxídicas destinadas a entrar en contacto con productos alimenticios

Una resina epoxídica está básicamente constituida de la propia resina y de un endurecedor. No existen fabricantes nacionales de resina y su suministro está controlado por las grandes compañías multinacionales: la Shell, la Ciba, Dow Chemical ... Las resinas epoxi generalmente necesitan para su completo endurecimiento, además del correspondiente reactividad y la generación de sistemas de alta viscosidad. Es por ello que se piensa que una resina epoxídica alifática hidroxilada cumpliría perfectamente con el tándem REACTIVIDAD-COMPATIBILIDAD ECOLOGICA. y podría ser de utilidad en la fabricación de revestimientos interiores de tanques destinados a contener alimentos y bebidas para consumo humano (bebidas alcohólicas, aceite ...)

Summarizing minimization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in thermally processed foods by different strategies

Financiaciado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUGPolycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental carcinogens which are produced in food during their processing and thermal treatment. Consumption of such foods results in diverse diseases including cancer in humans, raising a serious need to either prevent formation of these compounds in food or reduce and remove these carcinogens once they are formed. The concern is very important and reasonable as diet contributes to 88–98% exposure. Some of the processes followed to prevent PAHs formation include regulation of the cooking/ processing practices/methods and revolves around deodorization and refining of oil as well as sugars, choosing right type of oil and frying process, choosing liquid smoking process over traditional practices, reducing fat content of product and preferring the right part of product (especially in meats), roasting and baking products at lower time-temperature combinations with preferences to electric oven and indirect processes, using the right heat medium (wood chips for barbequeing/charcoal grilling, using correct wraps for food products to prevent direct contact with heat and fat drippings and much more. Though these processes may be followed at household and commercial scales and have been stated in several published literature, but the absence of PAHs may not always be guaranteed in food products. This leaves the scientific community to attempt and develop strategies which can remove the already existing PAHs from food products and needs to be extensively reviewed and worked in future. This review bridges the PAHs’ reduction and removal strategies [different types of ingredients (marination, spice addition), the specific kind of packaging (aluminium foils, plastic films, charred barrels, paraffin rind), the heating treatments (irradiation, microwave preheating, defatting, brewing etc.), but also the characteristics of adsorbents and filters used (active charcoal, diatomaceous earth, zeolite filters, molecular sieves), together with innovative removal apparatus] with emphasis on biological and physical-chemical factors influencing their formation/reduction or removal/degradation, mainly in heat-processed food [such as composition and surface adsorption properties, etc.]. The overall goal is to develop the understanding of the interactions amongst all factors affecting PAHs removal and draw recommendations based on conclusions of scientific evidence and propose future challenges in this area

Classification and authentication of tea according to their harvest season based on FT-IR fingerprinting using pattern recognition methods

Finanaciado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUGThe potential of FT-IR spectral fingerprinting was investigated to classify tea samples based on the harvest season (May and September). Tea samples were collected from five geographical regions (north of Iran) during the harvesting period 2019–2020. Principal component analysis (PCA), principal component analysis-linear discriminant analysis (PCA-LDA) and partial least square-linear discriminant analysis (PLS-LDA) were employed in order to assess the feasibility of discrimination of tea samples based on their harvest season using their FT-IR spectral data. The results showed that the tea samples from two harvest seasons can be identified based on FT-IR spectral fingerprints. All calibration samples were correctly classified (100.0 %) by the PCA-LDA and PLS-LDA models using leave-one-out cross validation. The mean sensitivity and specificity (for prediction set) were both 98.6 % for PCA-LDA model and 100.0 % for PLS-LDA mode. A high percentage of correct classifications for the training set shows the strong relationship between the FT-IR spectral fingerprinting and the harvest season, while the satisfactory results for the prediction set demonstrates the ability to identify the harvest season of an unknown tea sample based on its FT-IR spectral data

The Potential of Seaweeds as a Source of Functional Ingredients of Prebiotic and Antioxidant Value

Two thirds of the world is covered by oceans, whose upper layer is inhabited by algae. This means that there is a large extension to obtain these photoautotrophic organisms. Algae have undergone a boom in recent years, with consequent discoveries and advances in this field. Algae are not only of high ecological value but also of great economic importance. Possible applications of algae are very diverse and include anti-biofilm activity, production of biofuels, bioremediation, as fertilizer, as fish feed, as food or food ingredients, in pharmacology (since they show antioxidant or contraceptive activities), in cosmeceutical formulation, and in such other applications as filters or for obtaining minerals. In this context, algae as food can be of help to maintain or even improve human health, and there is a growing interest in new products called functional foods, which can promote such a healthy state. Therefore, in this search, one of the main areas of research is the extraction and characterization of new natural ingredients with biological activity (e.g., prebiotic and antioxidant) that can contribute to consumers? well-being. The present review shows the results of a bibliographic survey on the chemical composition of macroalgae, together with a critical discussion about their potential as natural sources of new functional ingredients.Fil: Gomez Zavaglia, Andrea. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Prieto Lage, Miguel Ángel. Universidad de Vigo; EspañaFil: Jiménez López, Cecilia. Universidad de Vigo.; EspañaFil: Mejuto, Juan Carlos. Universidad de Vigo. Facultad de Ciencias de Ourense; EspañaFil: Simal Gándara, Jesús. Universidad de Vigo; Españ

Increasing the shelf life of fresh in-hull pistachio using nanocomposite packaging of zinc nanoparticles and pistachio green hull essential oil

Fresh in-hull pistachio is one of the highly consumed but perishable forms of pistachio and can still be contaminated by aflatoxin-producing fungi. In this study, the packaging film prepared from an electrospun nanofibers was evaluated in order to increase the shelf life of raw pistachios. For this purpose, PVC and zinc nanoparticles combined with pistachio green hull essential oil (PGHEO) were used as the matrix and reinforcing phase of the composite, respectively. According to the results, monoterpenes such as α-pinene and limonene constitute more than 90% of PGHEO. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the essential oil ranged from 62.5 to 500 μg/mL which were more effective against Aspergillus flavus, a mycotoxigenic fungus affecting pistachio safety and quality, than other studied fungi. According to FE-SEM images, fibers were formed on film surfaces with diameters ranging from 89 nm to 295 nm. EDX spectra revealed some characteristic peaks for zinc indicating the existence of ZnO nanoparticles on the top surface of the composite. The prepared nanocomposite indicated the antifungal activity against Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus with the growth inhibition percentage approximately 16.20, 9.60 and 2.88%, respectively. Finally, raw pistachios could be stored for 60 days in packaging made of nanocomposite, so that the amounts of aflatoxin B1 and B2 were lower than the allowed maximum level (< 12 ppb). It seems that the packaging used in this study can be a suitable solution to increase the shelf life of raw pistachios and reduce the waste caused by its spoilageUniversidade de Vigo/CISU

Nutmeg ( Myristica fragrans Houtt.) essential oil: a review on its composition, biological, and pharmacological activities

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUGMyristica fragrans (Houtt.) is an evergreen tree native to the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. M. fragrans kernel is extensively used in Indian traditional medicines to treat various diseases. Several studies attempt to compile and interpret the pharmacological potential of Myristica fragrans (Houtt.) aqueous and various chemical extracts. Thus, the pharmacological potential of nutmeg essential oil has not been reviewed phytochemically and pharmacologically. Therefore, the present study aimed to share appropriate literature evidence regarding the plant essential oil chemical composition and therapeutic potential of Myristica fragrans essential oil (MFEO). MFEO of leaf, mace, kernel, and seed were used worldwide as potential Ayurvedic medicine and fragrance. MFEO extracted by various methods and oil yield was 0.7–3.2, 8.1–10.3, 0.3–12.5, and 6.2–7.6% in leaf, mace, seed, and kernel. The primary chemical constituents of MFEO were sabinene, eugenol, myristicin, caryophyllene, β-myrcene, and α-pinene. Clinical and experimental investigations have confirmed the antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, anticancer, antimalarial, anticonvulsant, hepatoprotective, antiparasitic, insecticidal, and nematocidal activities of MFEO. It is the first attempt to compile oil yield, composition, and the biological activities of MFEO. In future, several scientific investigations are required to understand the mechanism of action of MFEO and their bioactive constituents

Influence of enzymatic hydrolysis and molecular weight fractionation on the antioxidant and lipase / α-amylase inhibitory activities in vitro of watermelon seed protein hydrolysates

This study aims to evaluate the potential in vitro antioxidant and anti-obesity activities of watermelon seed protein hydrolysates (WSPH) obtained using different combinations of enzymes alcalase–proteinase K (ALC-PK) and alcalase–actinidin (ALC-ACT). There was a direct relationship between the degree of hydrolysis (DH) and the biological activities of the WSPH, with the highest DPPH (approximately 85%) and lipase inhibitory activities (≈59%) appreciated at DH of 36–37% and 33–35% when using ALC-PK and ALC-ACT, respectively. Following molecular weight fractionation, the ALC-PK WSPH < 3 kDa (F1) assayed at 1 mg.mL−1 had the highest DPPH-radical scavenging (89.22%), ferrous chelating (FC) (79.83%), reducing power (RP) (A 0.51), lipase inhibitory (71.36%), and α-amylase inhibitory (62.08%) activities. The amino acid analysis of ALC-PK WSPH and its fractions revealed a relationship between the biological activity of the extracts and their composition. High contents of hydrophobic amino acids, arginine, and aromatic amino acids were related to high antioxidant, lipase inhibitory, and α-amylase inhibitory activities in the extracts, respectively. Overall, this study revealed that underutilized protein sources such as WSPH, using the appropriate combination of enzymes, could result in the generation of new ingredients and compounds with powerful antioxidant and anti-obesity activities with promising applications as nutraceuticals or functional foods.Department of Agriculture Food and the Marinethe ERA-NET Cofund ERA HDHL | Ref. 69629

Resveratrol, cancer and cancer stem cells: A review on past to future

Cancer remains to be an unresolved medical challenge despite of tremendous advancement in basic science research and clinical medicine. One of the major limitations is due to the side effects of chemotherapy which remains to be palliative without offering any permanent cure for cancer. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are the subpopulation of cells in tumors that remain viable even after surgery, chemo- and radio-therapy that eventually responsible for tumor relapse. Hence, by eliminating non-stem cancer cells and cancer stem cells from the patient, permanent cure is expected. Phytochemicals have been under the intensive study to target these CSCs effectively and permanently as they do not cause any side effects. Resveratrol (RSV) is one such compound attaining lot of interest in recent days to target CSCs either alone or in combination. RSV has been used by several researchers to target cancer cells in a variety of disease models, however its CSC targeting abilities are under intensive study at present. This review is to summarize the effects of RSV under in vitro and in vivo conditions along with advantages and disadvantages of its uses against cancer cells and cancer stem cells. From the first reports on phytochemical applications against cancer and cancer stem cells in 1997 and 2002 respectively followed by later reports, up to date observations and developments are enlisted from PubMed in this comprehensive review. RSV is shown to be a potential compound having impact on altering the signal transduction pathways in cancer cells. However, the effects are variable under in vitro and in vivo conditions, and also with its use alone or in combination with other small molecules. Past research on RSV is emphasizing the importance of in vivo experimental models and clinical trials with different prospective combinations, is a hope for future promising treatment regimen

Dissipation of three fungicides and their effects on anthocyanins and color of monastrell red wines

The effect of fungicides on fermentation is of paramount importance to control the quality and safety of wines. In this work, the quality (enological parameters, color, phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and fungicide residues) of wines from Monastrell grapes fortified with iprovalicarb, mepanipyrim, and tetraconazole fungicides was evaluated. Along the winemaking process, initial residues of mepanipyrim and tetraconazole were removed in more than 90% while the dissipation of iprovalicarb was around 73%. Significant statistical differences were found in the presence of iprovalicarb and mepanipyrim residues, especially at the highest concentration assayed. For both fungicides, increases in the volatile acidity (between 4 and 8.6 times), the lactic acid content (between 8.6 and 20.5 times), the percentage of polymeric anthocyanins (between 1.3 and 1.7 times), and also a slight increase of the total phenolic index and the total anthocyanin content determined by spectrophotometry were observed. On the contrary, the total monomeric anthocyanins content decreased about 16.3% and 28.6% in the presence of iprovalicarb and mepanipyrim, respectively. These results could be related to a higher development of acetic acid or lactic bacteria in the presence of these fungicides. The color of the final wines was also different in comparison with the control, with a higher yellow component, color intensity, tonality, and hue angle because of pH changes in the medium. Tetraconazole fermentations had a more similar trend to the control wine, probably due to the lower concentration of this fungicide in the grape must at the initial time. No effects on the antioxidant activity was observed for any of the target fungicides. A multivariate statistical analysis was done to view the interrelationships between different variables (color and anthocyanins profile). The obtained model allowed the wines to be separated according to the fungicide treatment applied.Interreg | Ref. 0377_IBERPHENOL_6_EMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. AGL2015-66491-C2-1-

A selective turn-on fluorescent chemosensor 1,1-diaminoazine for azinphos-methyl

Financiaciado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUGDetection of organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) is an important challenge in environmental chemistry, because their exposure to humans can cause severe health problems. In the current study, organic nanoparticles of (E)-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-diamino-2,3-diazabutadiene were developed using eco-friendly approach which was found to be in the range of 15–20 nm. These synthesized species exhibited both U.V. Visible and “turn-on” fluorescence responses in aqueous media for the selective detection of the extremely hazardous pesticide azinphos-methyl. These organic nanoparticles also exhibit a good linear relationship in the range of 1–100 μM and the limit of detection (LOD) is 7.4 µM. The selective fluorescence response was also observed in RO water, tap water and orange juice. The FT-IR and DFT studies helped in identifying the specific H-bonding interactions responsible for the selective detection of Azinphos-methylDepartment of Science and Technology, New-Delhi, India | Ref. SP/YO/2021/231