Honey volatiles as a fingerprint for botanical origin: a review on their occurrence on monofloral honeys

Honeys have specific organoleptic characteristics, with nutritional and health benefits, being highly appreciated by consumers, not only in food but also in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Honey composition varies between regions according to the surrounding flora, enabling its characterization by source or type. Monofloral honeys may reach higher market values than multifloral ones. Honey's aroma is very specific, resulting from the combination of volatile compounds present in low concentrations. The authentication of honey's complex matrix, according to its botanical and/or geographical origin, represents a challenge nowadays, due to the different sorts of adulteration that may occur, leading to the search for reliable marker compounds for the different monofloral honeys. The existing information on the volatiles of monofloral honeys is scarce and disperse. In this review, twenty monofloral honeys and honeydews, from acacia, buckwheat, chestnut, clover, cotton, dandelion, eucalyptus, fir tree, heather, lavender, lime tree, orange, pine, rape, raspberry, rhododendron, rosemary, strawberry tree, sunflower and thyme, were selected for volatile comparison purposes. Taking into consideration the country of origin, the technique of isolation and analysis, the five main volatiles from each of the honeys are compared. Whereas some compounds were found in several types of monofloral honey, and thus not considered good volatile markers, some monofloral honeys revealed characteristic volatile compounds independently of their provenance.Funding: SFRH/BD/117013/2016, UID/AGR/00690/2019, UID/AMB/50017/2019, MED (UIDB/05183/2020), FEDER, PT2020 PACompete 2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

(Sobre)viver com a Varroa - tratamentos alternativos

Mais de 20 anos após a detecção em Portugal do ácaro da Varroa Jacobsoni, a sua coexistência com a abelha Apis Mellifera continua a ser um desafio constante para o apicultor provocando continuadamente baixas no efectivo apícola

Tratamentos alternativos em apicultura biológica. Aplicação em Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro

A utilização de pesticidas sintéticos no combate a Varroa apresenta alguns inconvenientes, destacando-se a acumulação de resíduos, a decréscimo na eficiência do tratamento devido a ocorrência de resistência provocada pelo uso continuado e a impossibilidade da sua utilização em apicultura no modo de produção biológica (MPB)

Tratamentos alternativos: desenvolvimento da apicultura biológica em Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro

Apicultura é uma actividade agrícola que ao longo dos últimos anos tem observado uma redução no número de operadores registados em Portugal. Contudo, este comportamento não é a consequência de um abandono da actividade mas, pelo contrário, um incremento do seu grau de profissionalização, como comprova a manutenção do número de colmeias registadas. Os números reflectem o desaparecimento efectivo de apicultores que recorriam à apicultura como passatempo ou actividade agrícola lateral (reduzida média de colmeias/apicultor) e o surgir de novos operadores onde o resultado económico da apicultura traduz a sua actividade principa

Controlo de resíduos no mel

O mel e produto alimentar que aufere da sociedade um reconhecimento como produto natural". Este e efectivamente um "rótulo” que lhe confere vantagens comerciais e que lodos as agentes do sector devem potenciar através de um trabalho rigoroso nas metodologias de produção, garantindo a qualidade do produto final

Tratamentos alternativos no combate à Varroa: aplicação na apicultura biológica em Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro

A varroose é uma doença parasitária externa das abelhas causada por um ácaro denominado por Varrôa destructor. Este parasita originalmente presente nas abelhas melíferas asiáticas Apis cerana, onde coexiste numa relação simbiótica parasita/hospedeiro, foi detectado pela primeira vez em 1963 em colónias de abelhas Appis mellifera

Diversification as a tool for sustainable beekeeping: are international standards a bottleneck?

Climate changes and global market are two major stressors on beekeeping, particularly in European countries, demanding a different approach from the beekeeper side to guarantee the sustainability of the activity. The frequent changes in weather conditions modify all the behaviours that support the bee’s actions, from deregulations in the flowering calendar arising from changes in rain frequency or average temperatures, to the disappearance of many plants due to global warming and forest fires. In addition, the easy mobility of cargo all around the world enables the spreading of pests and diseases, at the same time that allows an unpredictable fluctuation on the market value of bee products. Those threats induces an even bigger problem in apiculture since the majority of European beekeepers are focused solely on the production of honey, and so, as any farm depending on a single cultivar, there is no alternative to overcome a specific handicap in the production or in the market. The answer for a sustainable beekeeping can be found within the hive, and relies on diversification. Rather than explore just honey, beekeeper must look to the colony as a factory for many different products which can supply final consumers, but also the food industry, cosmetics, pharmaceutics and even medical care or tourism. Products such as pollen, propolis, beeswax, royal jelly, or even beebread, bee brood, bee venom or api-tourism represents a potential add value and, explored together with honey production, will enhance the resilience of beekeeping against external inputs. As for any product introduced in the market, particularly for industrial propose or for human consumption, its systematic use requires a clear knowledge of its quality and impact, and so, there is need for standardization. The quality standards for honey are accepted worldwide but that is not the case for the other bee products, where only national guidelines can be found for some countries around the globe. The inexistence of recognized standards is a handicap for international trade, and makes difficult the adoption of production practises from beekeepers behalf. It is therefore critical to link the different international organizations such as ISO, EU, APIMONDIA, IHC and others, and to promote the establishment of international reliable standards.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Screening of Synergic Interactions of Anti-Angiogenic and Anti-Tumor Compounds

Solid cancers have several common characteristics that Hanahan & Weinberg named as the hallmarks of cancer. Angiogenesis is an essential hallmark of cancer because tumor cells need oxygen and nutrients delivered by the vascular system. In fact, tumor growth and metastasis are angiogenesis dependent, and microvascular endothelial cells recruited by tumors have become an important target in cancer therapy. Combinations of drugs with different modes of action may lead to enhanced antitumor and antiangiogenic effects without injuring the host. The combined use of two drugs may sometimes produce enhanced, unchanged or diminished effects in comparison with their individual effects. These three different types of behaviour of the interacting drugs are called synergy, additive/indifferent and antagonistic effects. In the present work, we analyze 105 paired combinations of 15 compounds, some described by our research group as potent antiangiogenic compounds, and others currently used in clinical therapy. Our results show synergistic effects of several paired combinations using the MTT assay. [Our experimental work is supported by grants BIO2014-56092-R (MINECO and FEDER), P12-CTS-1507 (Andalusian Government and FEDER) and funds from group BIO-267 (Andalusian Government). The "CIBER de Enfermedades Raras" is an initiative from the ISCIII (Spain)].This communication has the support of a travel grant "Universidad de Málaga.Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech".Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Hydroxytyrosol targets extracellular matrix remodeling by endothelial cells and inhibits both ex vivo and in vivo angiogenesis

This is the preprint version of our manuscript, corresponding to the article that has been 
published in final form at FOOD CHEMISTRY with DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.10.111The health benefits of olive oil are attributed to their bioactive compounds, such as hydroxytyrosol. Previously, we demonstrated that hydroxytyrosol inhibits angiogenesis in vitro. The present study aimed to: i) get further insight into the effects of hydroxytyrosol on extracellular matrix remodeling; and ii) test whether hydroxytyrosol is able to inhibit angiogenesis ex vivo and in vivo. Hydroxytyrosol induced a shift toward inhibition of proteolysis in endothelial cells, with decreased expression of extracellular matrix remodeling-enzyme coding genes and increased levels of some of their inhibitors. Furthermore, this work demonstrated that hydroxytyrosol, at concentrations within the range of its content in virgin olive oil that can be absorbed from moderate and sustained virgin olive oil consumption, is a strong inhibitor of angiogenesis ex vivo and in vivo. These results suggest the need for translational studies to evaluate the potential use of hydroxytyrosol for angio-prevention and angiogenesis inhibition in clinical setting.This work was supported by grants BIO2014-56092-R (MINECO and FEDER) and P12-CTS-1507 (Andalusian Government and FEDER). The “CIBER de Enfermedades Raras” is an initiative from the ISCIII (Spain). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript

Immigració i Educació. Rompen el mur?

Abstract not availabl