An overview of NMR-based metabolomics to identify secondary plant compounds involved in host plant resistance

Secondary metabolites provide a potential source for the generation of host plant resistance and development of biopesticides. This is especially important in view of the rapid and vast spread of agricultural and horticultural pests worldwide. Multiple pests control tactics in the framework of an integrated pest management (IPM) programme are necessary. One important strategy of IPM is the use of chemical host plant resistance. Up to now the study of chemical host plant resistance has, for technical reasons, been restricted to the identification of single compounds applying specific chemical analyses adapted to the compound in question. In biological processes however, usually more than one compound is involved. Metabolomics allows the simultaneous detection of a wide range of compounds, providing an immediate image of the metabolome of a plant. One of the most universally used metabolomic approaches comprises nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). It has been NMR which has been applied as a proof of principle to show that metabolomics can constitute a major advancement in the study of host plant resistance. Here we give an overview on the application of NMR to identify candidate compounds for host plant resistance. We focus on host plant resistance to western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) which has been used as a model for different plant species

Development of a lexicon to describe the sensory characteristics of a wide variety of potato cultivars

Potatoes have been a commodity of interest for some time due to nutritional and sensory reasons. Appearance, aroma, flavor and texture quality traits are gaining importance in breeding and processing programs, creating the need to develop a standard lexicon to provide common terminology to improve communication between breeders, producers, marketers, and researchers. A highly trained descriptive panel identified, defined, and referenced a lexicon with 64 attributes using a consensus based descriptive analysis method with 55 cultivars of potatoes. Samples were served mashed and air fried. Full lexicon includes 5 appearance, 17 aroma, 21 flavor, 13 texture, 5 mouthfeel, and 3 aftertaste attributes. The 55 cultivars used for lexicon development were also successfully profiled for the developed attributes. Cooked, potato, cardboard, umami, starchy, salty, metallic, bitter, and astringent attributes were mostly common among all samples. Attributes such as vegetable complex, beany, nutty, roasted, sweet potato, eggy, and cauliflower were unique to certain cultivars

An overview on the application of chemometrics in food science and technology: An approach to quantitative data analysis

Cozzolino, D ORCiD: 0000-0001-6247-8817During the last 30 years, food scientists and technologists all over the world are dealing with massive amounts of data derived from the use of different measuring devices (e.g. instrumental and sensory data), the integration of different analytical techniques and processes during the analysis and production of foods. Therefore, complementary disciplines and tools to the traditional ones used in food science such as statistics, experimental design and chemometrics have become essential in modern sciences and are an integral component in the day-to-day analysis of foods and derived products. The aim of this paper is to introduce as well as provide with an overview of different concepts, methods, techniques and general steps used in the quantitative analysis of foods when chemometrics or multivariate analytical methods are applied

Instrumental Food Analysis

The instrumental analysis of foods is an important step in food processing and manufacturing companies because of the presence and interactions of various compounds in foods during storage and processing. While traditional methods are still used, most analysis involves the use of different instruments. This chapter is structured to provide a description of the information each technique can provide, a simple explanation of how it works and examples of its application, and facilitates comparison of techniques. The focus of this chapter is on spectroscopic, chromatographic and electrophoretic methods, including specific examples of instruments such as capillary electrophoresis, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), atomic absorption, emission and inductively coupled plasma, fluorescence spectroscopies, gel electrophoresis, etc., among many others. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015