Biostimulant and Elicitor Responses to Cricket Frass (Acheta domesticus) in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under Protected Conditions

Agriculture in the current century is seeking sustainable tools in order to generate plant production systems with minimal negative environmental impact. In recent years it has been shown that the use of insect frass is an option to be used for this purpose. The present work studied the effect of low doses (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0% w/w) of cricket frass (Acheta domesticus) in the substrate during the cultivation of tomatos under greenhouse conditions. Plant performance and antioxidant enzymatic activities were measured in the study as explicative variables related to plant stress responses in order to determine possible biostimulant or elicitor effects of cricket frass treatments during tomato cultivation under greenhouse conditions. The main findings of this study indicated that tomato plants responded in a dose dependent manner to cricket frass treatments, recalling the hormesis phenomenon. On the one hand, a 0.1% (w/w) cricket frass treatment showed typical biostimulant features, while on the other hand, 0.5 and 1.0% treatments displayed elicitor effects in tomato plants under evaluated conditions in the present study. These results support the possibility that low doses of cricket frass might be used in tomato cultivation (and perhaps in other crops) for biostimulant/elicitor input into sustainable production systems

Transcriptomic Analysis in Diabetic Nephropathy of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major complication of diabetes and is caused by an imbalance in the expression of certain genes that activate or inhibit vital cellular functions of kidney. Despite several recent advances, the pathogenesis of DN remains far from clear, suggesting the need to carry out studies identifying molecular aspects, such as gene expression, that could play a key role in the development of DN. There are several techniques to analyze transcriptome in living organisms. In this study, the suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) method was used to generate up- and down-regulated subtracted cDNA libraries in the kidney of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Northern-blot analysis was used to confirm differential expression ratios from the obtained SSH clones to identify genes related to DN. 400 unique SSH clones were randomly chosen from the two subtraction libraries (200 of each) and verified as differentially expressed. According to blast screening and functional annotation, 20.2% and 20.9% of genes were related to metabolism proteins, 9% and 3.6% to transporters and channels, 16% and 6.3% to transcription factors, 19% and 17.2% to hypothetical proteins, and finally 24.1 and 17.2% to unknown genes, from the down- and up-regulated libraries, respectively. The down- and up-regulated cDNA libraries differentially expressed in the kidney of STZ diabetic rats have been successfully constructed and some identified genes could be highly important in DN

Current knowledge on Roselle polyphenols: Content, profile, and bioaccessibility

Polyphenols are plant secondary metabolites that are reported to have several biological activities. Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) exhibits a remarkable polyphenol content, with anthocyanins being the most common class of phenolic compounds, but other flavonoids and phenolic acids are also present. Moreover, polyphenols are present in roselle not only as an extractable fraction but also as nonextractable phenolic compounds, i.e., those with a high molecular weight or that are strongly associated with the cell wall. In vitro evaluation of the bioaccessibility of the phenolic compounds in roselle has shown that a significant fraction of these polyphenols would become solubilized in intestinal fluid, thereby potentially contributing to the beneficial effects observed after consuming this plant or extracts from this plant, mostly in preclinical studies. Interestingly, after decocting roselle calyces (the most common way to consume them), an important fraction of polyphenols remains in the discarded residue, which could be used in different applications. Further studies of the polyphenols in roselle are needed to understand the potential benefits of this plant, exploring the profile of polyphenols (particularly that of the nonextractable phenolic compounds), their metabolic fate after intake, and their associated health effects. These studies should include clinical trials.Peer reviewe

Efecto in vivo del orujo de uva cv. Malbec sobre el control de la obesidad y resistencia a la insulina

Trabajo presentado a las XXVI Jornadas de Nutrición Práctica, celebradas en Madrid del 29 al 31 de marzo de 2022.Peer reviewe

Efecto de la descomposición instantánea controlada en el contenido en polifenoles totales extraíbles y no extraíbles en orujo de uva de distintas variedades

Trabajo presentado a las XXV Jornadas Internacionales de Nutrición Práctica, celebrada on-line del 20 al 22 de abril de 2021.Peer reviewe

Comprehensive characterization of extractable and nonextractable phenolic compounds by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole time-of-flight of a grape/pomegranate pomace dietary supplement

Grape and pomegranate are rich sources of phenolic compounds, and their derived products could be used as ingredients for the development of functional foods and dietary supplements. However, the profile of nonextractable or macromolecular phenolic compounds in these samples has not been evaluated. Here, we show a comprehensive characterization of extractable and nonextractable phenolic compounds of a grape/pomegranate pomace dietary supplement using high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole time-of-flight (HPLC-ESI-QTOF) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-TOF techniques. The main extractable phenolic compounds were several anthocyanins (principally malvidin 3-O-glucoside) as well as gallotannins and gallagyl derivatives; some phenolic compounds were reported in grape or pomegranate for the first time. Additionally, there was a high proportion of nonextractable phenolic compounds, including vanillic acid, and dihydroxybenzoic acid. Unidentified polymeric structures were detected by MALDI-TOF MS analysis. This study shows that mixed grape and pomegranate pomaces are a source of different classes of phenolic compounds including a high proportion of nonextractable phenolic compounds.Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Grant No. AGL2014−55102-JIN). The authors are grateful for the CONACyT for the international scholarship granted to I.F.P.-R.Peer Reviewe

Caracterización completa de polifenoles (extraíbles y no extraíbles) por HPLC-ESI-QTOF MS/MS y MALDI-TOF MS en un complemento alimenticio de uva y granada

Resumen del trabajo presentado al IX Congreso CyTA-CESIA, celebrado en Madrid del 16 al 19 de mayo de 2017.La combinación de dos técnicas de espectrometría de masas, HPLC-ESI-QTOF MS/MS y MALDI-TOF MS, permitió la identificación del perfil completo de polifenoles (polifenoles extraíbles e hidrolizables y específicamente elagitaninos extraíbles y no extraíbles) de un complemento alimenticio elaborado con subproductos de uva y granada.Estudio financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (AGL-2014-55102-JIN). I.P.-R. agradece la Beca Mixta CONACyT.Peer Reviewe