Conventional vs. Organic: Evaluation of Nutritional, Functional and Sensory Quality of Citrus limon

Organic farming is growing rapidly worldwide since it is perceived as more respectful of the environment than conventional farming. In this sense, organic agriculture is highly appreciated by consumers since consumers around the world believe that organic food has a higher content of beneficial compounds for health and consider it of higher quality. For that reason, the objective of this research was to evaluate the nutritional, sensorial, and functional quality of the ‘Fino 49’ lemon grafted on Citrus macrophylla in conventional and organic cultivation. Fatty acids, amino acids, total phenol, and polyphenols were quantified, antioxidant activity was measured, and sensory descriptive analysis was performed. Conventional farming led to an increase in amino acid content (641 mg L1) and an increase in polyunsaturated fatty acids (254 mg 100 g1) and monounsaturated fatty acids (37.61 mg 100 g1). On the other hand, organically produced lemon fruits had better sensory profile (highlighting overall aroma (6.5), lemon odor (6.8), sourness (5.8), floral (0.6), and fresh lemon flavor (9.8)), and lower thrombogenicity index (0.15). The type of cultivation (organic and conventional) had no influence on the antioxidant activity (~1.60, ~3.08, and ~4.16 mmol Trolox L1 for ABTS+, DPPH , and FRAP, respectively) and polyphenols content (85.51 and 86.69 conventional and organic, respectively). However, to establish the advantages and disadvantages of different types of cultivation on lemon quality more studies are needed

Optimization of harvest date according to the volatile composition of Mediterranean aromatic herbs at different vegetative stages

Most of the studies concerning the optimal harvest date of aromatic herbs have dealt with different parts of plant such as flowers, leaves, stems, roots and seeds, but none have evaluated the effect of different harvest date at different vegetative stages on shoots (leaves and stems). Therefore, the main objective was to investigate the effects of harvest date of two consecutive seasons on the volatile composition of shoots of 4 aromatic herbs (dill, parsley, coriander and mint) widely cultivated worldwide. The impact of harvest date during the evolution of vegetative part of four aromatic herbs (parsley, dill, coriander and mint) was investigated. Volatile compounds of shoots of the four herbs were identified by GC–MS. The main compounds were 1,3,8-p-menthatriene, betaphellandrene, myristicin and myrcene for parsley, alpha-phellandrene, dillether and beta-phellandrene for dill, decanal, E-2-dodecenal, 1-decanol and dodecanal for coriander, and carvone and limonene in case of mint. There was a significant effect of harvest date on the content of volatile compounds of the four species. The results showed that highest total concentration of volatiles and therefore the optimal harvest date of parsley was found 9 weeks after planting date with a total concentration of 2543 mg kg−1, for dill was 2619 mg kg−1 14 weeks after planting date, for coriander was 2191 mg kg−1 3 weeks after planting date, and 23329 mg kg−1 for mint 6 weeks after planting dat

Criteria for HydroSOS Quality Index. Application to Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Processed Table Olives

Water, especially in arid and semiarid regions, is increasingly a disputed commodity among different productive sectors; the pressure for a more sustainable use of water in agriculture will grow. The main strategy to cope with water scarcity is the use of improved, innovative, and precise deficit irrigation management practices which are able to minimize the impact on fruit yield and quality. The aim of this paper was to develop a certification index or hydroSOS quality index for extra virgin olive oil and processed table olives. The hydrosSOS fruits and vegetables are those cultivated under regulated deficit irrigation (RDI). Different indicators in three quality areas ((i) fatty acids, (ii) phenolic compounds, and (iii) sensory attributes) were identified as showing characteristic or typical responses under RDI conditions. Marks or scores were assigned to each one of these indicators to calculate the proposed index. It can be concluded that an extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) or processed table olives are hydroSOStainable foods, if they meet 2 conditions: (i) fulfill the conditions established in the hydroSOS “irrigation” index, and (ii) fulfill the requirements of the hydroSOS “quality” index. HydroSOS quality index will be specific to each crop and variety and will depend on functional and sensory factors

Efecto del riego deficitario controlado en pistachos

El riego deficitario controlado (RDC) es un sistema de gestión de suministro de agua mediante la imposición de déficit hídrico en estados fenológicos concretos, afectando mínimamente la producción y la calidad de los frutos. En este trabajo se evaluó la influencia de dos tratamientos de RDC (T1: suave y T2: moderado) sobre la calidad de los pistachos, mediante el análisis de diferentes parámetros morfológicos, físico-químicos, funcionales y sensoriales. Los resultados obtenidos han demostrado que mediante la imposición de los tratamientos de RDC estudiados, somos capaces de obtener pistachos de mayor peso, mayor contenido en polifenoles y una mayor intensidad de los descriptores básicos característicos de este producto; sin embargo, también se obtuvo un menor número de pistachos comerciales entre otros factores. Esto supone poder otorgar un valor añadido al producto final, además de conllevar un ahorro de recursos económicos (gastos de agua y energía) y ambientales (ahorro agua) durante su cultivoRegulated deficit irrigation (RDI) is a system of managing water supply by imposing water deficit in specific phenological stages, affecting minimally the yield and fruit quality. In this work, the influence of two RDI treatments (T1: soft and T2: moderate) was evaluated on the quality of pistachios by analyzing different morphological, physico-chemicals, functional, and sensory parameters. Results have demonstrated that by imposing of the studied RDI treatments, we are able to get pistachios with a higher weight, higher polyphenols content, and higher intensity of the basic characteristic descriptors of this product; however, a lower number of commercial pistachios were obtained, among other factors. This means that an extra value can be added to the final product, and besides it is possible to save economic resources (water and energy costs) and environmental (water saving) during pistachio cultivatio

Efecto del riego deficitario controlado sobre la calidad de pistachos

El riego deficitario controlado (RDC) es un sistema de gestión de suministro de agua mediante la imposición de algunos déficits hídricos en estados fenológicos concretos, afectando mínimamente al fruto. En este trabajo se evaluó la influencia de dos tratamientos de RDC (T1 y T2) sobre la calidad de los pistachos, mediante el análisis de diferentes parámetros: (i) análisis morfológico: peso y tamaño; (ii) análisis físico-químico: actividad de agua, color, textura, compuestos volátiles, ácidos grasos y composición mineral; y (iii) análisis sensorial: estudio descriptivo mediante panel entrenado, y estudio de consumidores en cuatro países (España, Francia, Polonia y República Eslovaca)Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) is a system of managing water supply by imposing some water deficits in specific phenological stages, minimally affecting the fruit. In this work, the influence of two RDI treatments (T1 and T2) on the quality of pistachios was evaluated by analyzing different parameters: (i) morphological analysis: weight and size; (ii) physico-chemical analysis: water activity, color, texture, volatile compounds, fatty acids and mineral composition; and (iii) sensory analysis: descriptive study by trained panel and consumer acceptance in four countries (Spain, France, Poland and Slovak Republic

Desarrollo de estrategias de riego deficitario controlado y selección del portainjerto para mejorar la calidad y funcionalidad de los pistachos (Pistacia vera)

La necesidad de optimizar el uso del agua en los agrosistemas es un hecho asumido por agricultores y organismos reguladores. Esta situación irreversible nos obliga a convivir con la escasez de recursos hídricos y a desarrollar herramientas capaces de asegurar la competitividad de la fruticultura. Sin embargo, la mayoría de las estrategias de riego deficitario no están basadas en niveles de déficit hídrico concretos en las plantas, ni está claro que conlleven una mejora de las características funcionales y sensoriales de los frutos. En este sentido, la bibliografía existente es escasa y contradictoria, debido fundamentalmente a que: (i) en ciertas publicaciones falta precisión a la hora de definir el estado hídrico del cultivo estudiado (duración del estrés, velocidad de imposición de este, etc.) y (ii) se presupone la existencia de una relación lineal entre déficit hídrico y acumulación de compuestos bioactivos. La hipótesis principal de esta Tesis Doctoral radica en que, no hay relación lineal entre el nivel de compuestos bioactivos de los frutos y el nivel de estrés hídrico (controlado). Mientras que bajo un estrés hídrico elevado se produce una importante regulación estomática y el CO2 se destina al mantenimiento del metabolismo primario, bajo un déficit moderado/suave se redistribuye el CO2 hacia la formación de metabolitos secundarios, en detrimento del crecimiento. Esto da lugar a frutos con mayor contenido en compuestos bioactivos en aquellos frutos en los que el déficit hídrico ha sido controlado. Además, las situaciones de estrés hídrico provocan una acumulación de sustancias antioxidantes, como respuesta fisiológica a la eliminación de radicales libres formados. Por ello, pensamos que mediante el manejo preciso de niveles de déficit hídrico “suave” es factible conseguir mínimas mermas en la producción y generar a su vez productos de máxima calidad. Estos productos, por ser el resultado de una optimización del uso del agua y tener una calidad elevada, tendrán una identidad marcada que los diferenciará del resto de su categoría, facilitando su inclusión en mercados internacionales más exigentes. Bajo estas premisas, se desarrolló el concepto “hidroSOStenible” y se aplicó al cultivo del pistacho, demostrando que los consumidores valoran positivamente los productos saludables, los que respetan el medio ambiente y los que tienen buenas propiedades funcionales, estando dispuestos a pagar hasta un 10 % más por este tipo de productos. Una vez desarrollado el concepto y puesto en práctica se realizó un estudio de la calidad de pistachos procedentes de ocho cultivares, para realizar una caracterización completa de los frutos obtenidos. Una vez elegido aquél que, bajo los criterios estudiados, consideramos como el de mejor calidad, cultivar Kerman, se realizó un estudio combinado de diferentes tratamientos de riego deficitario controlado y portainjertos para estudiar su influencia sobre la calidad física, química, funcional y sensorial de los pistachos obtenidos. Se demostró que un tratamiento de riego deficitario controlado leve aplicado durante la fase fenológica II del cultivo del pistacho es capaz de provocar una mejora en la calidad física, funcional, química y sensorial de los frutos obtenidos, manteniendo inalteradas las propiedades antimutagénicas y citotóxicas que los compuestos presentes en este fruto tienen frente a células cancerígenas El empleo del portainjerto P. terebinthus durante el cultivo del pistacho condujo a frutos de mayor calidad (morfológica, textura, ácidos grasos, capacidad antioxidante y contenido de polifenoles) que los obtenidos mediante los portainjertos P. atlantica y P. integerrima. Este hecho supone un incuestionable avance para la fruticultura, ya que se pueden obtener productos de mayor calidad y con un claro valor añadido al percibirse como productos sostenibles y respetuosos con el medioambiente.The need to accelerate the use of water in agrosystems is a fact assumed by farmers and regulatory councils. This irreversible situation forces us to live with the scarcity of water resources and develop reliable tools to guarantee the competitiveness of fruticulture. However, most of the deficit irrigation strategies are not based on concrete water deficit levels in the plants, nor it is clear whether it implies an improvement of the functional and sensory characteristics of the fruits. In this sense, the existing literature is scarce and contradictory, mainly due to the fact that: (i) in certain publications there is a lack of precision in defining the hydric state of the crop studied (duration of stress, speed of imposition of the same, etc.) and (ii) the existence of a linear relationship between the water deficit and the accumulation of bioactive compounds is assumed. The main hypothesis of this Thesis is that there is no linear relationship between the level of bioactive compounds of the fruits and level of water stress (controlled); while under high water stress there is an important stomatal regulation and CO2 is used to maintain the primary metabolism, under a moderate deficit, CO2 is redistributed to the formation of secondary metabolites to the detriment of growth. This situation results in products with a higher content of bioactive compounds in those fruits in which the water deficit has been controlled. In addition, situations of water stress cause an accumulation of antioxidant substances, as a physiological response to the elimination of free radicals formed. Therefore, it is believed that through the precise management of water deficit levels it is feasible to achieve minimal production losses and in turn generate top quality products. These products, as a result of an optimization of water use and having a high quality, will have a marked identity that will differentiate them from the rest of their category, facilitating their inclusion in more demanding international markets. Under these premises, the concept of “hydroSOStainable products” was developed and applied to pistachio farming and commercialization, demonstrating that consumers positively value healthy products, those that respect the environment and those that have good functional properties, even willing to pay up to 10 % more for this type of products. Once the concept was developed and put into practice, a study of the quality of pistachios from eight cultivars was carried out, to perform a complete characterization of the obtained nuts. Once the one that, under the studied criteria, was considered as that having the best quality (cultivar Kerman), was chosen, a combined study of different treatments of controlled deficit irrigation and rootstocks was carried out to study their influence on the physical, chemical, functional and sensory quality of the pistachios obtained. It was shown that a soft regulated deficit irrigation treatment, applied during the phenological phase II of pistachio cultivation, is capable of causing an improvement in the physical, functional, chemical and sensory quality of the affected fruits, unaltered the antimutagenic and cytotoxic properties that their compounds have against cancer cells. The use of the P. terebinthus rootstock during pistachio cultivation led to fruits of higher quality (morphological, texture, fatty acids, antioxidant capacity and polyphenol content) than those produced using P. atlantica and P. integerrima rootstocks. This fact represents an unquestionable advance for fruticulture, because it allows farmers to obtain products of higher quality and with a clear added value when perceived as sustainable and environmentally friendly products

Antioxidant, Antimutagenic and Cytoprotective Properties of Hydrosos Pistachio Nuts

Pistachio nuts are included among the foods with the highest antioxidant capacity. Stressed cultivating conditions, such as the use of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI), are expected to create a plant response that might increase the production of secondary metabolites. Fruits that are obtained under RDI treatments are commonly called hydroSOS products. The aim of this work was to study the influence of using different rootstocks (P. atlantica, P. integerrima, and P. terebinthus) and two RDI treatments on the antioxidant (ABTS, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and DPPH), antimutagenic (Ames test), and cytotoxicity (MTT assay in five human cell lines) activities of pistachios. P. terebinthus showed the best antioxidant activity, and the RDI treatments maintained and improved the antioxidant properties of pistachios. Neither the rootstock nor the RDI had significant impact on the antimutagenic potential of pistachios. The nut extracts had no toxic effect on non-cancerous cells and the application of RDI did not reduce their cytoprotective capacity. Furthermore, neither rootstock nor RDI treatments affected the ability of the pistachio extracts of preventing the oxidative damage by H2O2. The application of RDI strategies, in addition to allowing irrigation water saving, led to obtaining pistachios with the same or even better biofunctional characteristics as compared to fully irrigated pistachios

Tea pairings: Impact of aromatic congruence on acceptance and sweetness perception

Food pairing is a relevant tool for the food industry and for culinary professionals to develop successful flavor combinations and memorable experiences, but it could also be useful for encouraging consumers to adhere to a healthier diet. The general purpose of this study was to further investigate the perception of teas and butter cookies with and without aromatic congruence, deepening in sweetness perception. The experimental included: 1) a projective mapping test (30 semi-trained panelists) to group tea samples and choose representatives of each aromatic group; 2) the determination of the main volatile organic compounds using Solid Phase Micro Extraction-Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) to prove the aromatic congruence of the designed tea-cookie pairings; 3) a consumer study (n = 89) to assess liking, sweetness perception, of the single samples and pairings, and the pairing principles of the congruent and non-congruent parings. Results of the projective mapping showed that the tea samples could be grouped into 3 main categories by their herbal, fruity-sweet, and brown-sweet notes, results also supported by the GCMS data. Harmony was positively correlated to liking, and Balance and Similarity seemed to be related to aromatic “congruence”, although all pairings were similarly liked. Sugar content was similar in all the cookie samples and pairings, but sweetness perception was significantly influenced by the aroma of the samples, being the samples and pairings made with spearmint the least sweet ones. Pairing a tea with sweet aromas with the spearmint cookie, independently of the kind of sweet aromatics (e.g.: coconut, almond, vanilla, fruity, tropical), seemed to slightly increase sweetness perception, although significant differences were not detected with other spearmint cookie pairings. Findings of the present research sum knowledge to the food pairing area, but further research is needed in recommending appropriate methodologies for pairing assessment, as well as the potential uses of driven pairings in specific food cultures

Effect of Organic and Conventional Production on the Quality of Lemon “Fino 49”

Since the end of the 20th century, organic foods have gained interest within the world population. The lemon is a fruit that is acquiring great prominence in the markets. Its use is based on its appreciated aroma and its content of bioactive compounds, but these attributes are greatly influenced by agronomic practices. To study the influence that organic farming has on the quality of “Fino 49” lemon variety in Spain, this citrus fruit has been characterized based on its morphological, functional, aromatic, and sensory properties. The results showed that conventional farming led to larger and elongated fruits (121.75 g of fruit weight and 58.35 and 79.66 mm of equatorial and polar diameter, respectively), with a higher lightness (L*) in lemon skin (73.38) and higher content of organic acids (malic, citric, and succinic) and sugars (glucose and fructose). On the other hand, organic farming had a higher content of volatile compounds in lemon juice (2537 mg L−1), especially limonene (increase of ~20%), which is related to the greater odor and flavor found in the organic samples by consumers (4.8 and 5.2, respectively). Furthermore, organic lemons had a better acceptance rate by consumers

Effect of Organic and Conventional Production on the Quality of Lemon “Fino 49”

Since the end of the 20th century, organic foods have gained interest within the world population. The lemon is a fruit that is acquiring great prominence in the markets. Its use is based on its appreciated aroma and its content of bioactive compounds, but these attributes are greatly influenced by agronomic practices. To study the influence that organic farming has on the quality of “Fino 49” lemon variety in Spain, this citrus fruit has been characterized based on its morphological, functional, aromatic, and sensory properties. The results showed that conventional farming led to larger and elongated fruits (121.75 g of fruit weight and 58.35 and 79.66 mm of equatorial and polar diameter, respectively), with a higher lightness (L*) in lemon skin (73.38) and higher content of organic acids (malic, citric, and succinic) and sugars (glucose and fructose). On the other hand, organic farming had a higher content of volatile compounds in lemon juice (2537 mg L−1), especially limonene (increase of ~20%), which is related to the greater odor and flavor found in the organic samples by consumers (4.8 and 5.2, respectively). Furthermore, organic lemons had a better acceptance rate by consumers