Xanthophyll Esters in Fruits and Vegetables

Carotenoids possessing hydroxyl groups (xanthophylls) are often found as fatty acid esters in many fruits and vegetables. The developments in high resolution chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques have led to a detailed characterization of xanthophyll esters in commonly consumed fruits and vegetables, such as apples, apricots, mandarins, mangoes, papayas, red and chili peppers, potatoes or squash. Some more rich sources have been identified, like wolfberry (goji), sea buckthorn, persimmon, whose popularity is increasing due to the high content of bioactive compounds. Esterification increases the lipophilicity of xanthophylls and contributes to the sequestration of carotenoids, to the formation of specialized structures in the chromoplasts and to an increased photoprotection. The process occurs during ripening in fruits and it is associated with a significant change in colour. Even if the specific enzymes which catalyze the esterification process were not characterized yet in fruits, detailed analytical data regarding the carotenoid composition suggested a selectivity of these enzymes for certain fatty acids and selectivity for the ring in the case of non-symmetric xantophylls. Xanthophyll esters seem to be efficiently hydrolyzed and absorbed in humans leading to a comparable bioavailability to the unesterified compounds. In addition, the xanthophyll esters preserve the antioxidant capacity of the parent compounds while having a better stability in fruits during storage and processing. All these properties are important from the perspective of the use of fruits rich in xanthophyll esters as valuable components of the human diet and as sources of bioactive compounds in the prevention of severe degenerative diseases

Elemental Profile and 207Pb/206Pb, 208Pb/206Pb, 204Pb/206Pb, 87Sr/86Sr Isotope Ratio as Fingerprints for Geographical Traceability of Romanian Wines

Geographical wine traceability is an important topic in the context of wine authentification. Therefore, many researchers have addressed this subject by developing different methodologies based on multivariate analysis of organic and inorganic parameters and also by isotopic signature. The goal of this research was to assess the potential of elemental composition and isotopic signature of lead (207Pb/206Pb, 208Pb/206Pb and 204Pb/206Pb) and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) of wines from three Romanian vineyards, in order to highlight reliable markers for wine geographical origin. The ICP-MS method was used for the concentration determination for 30 elements (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Be, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, In, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Rb, Se, Sr, Tl, V, U, Zn, Hg). In this study 10 wines (2 red and 8 white) obtained from ‘Merlot’, ‘Fetească neagră’, ‘Fetească albă’, ‘Fetească regală’, ‘Băbească gri’, ‘Șarba’, ‘Aligoté’, ‘Sauvignon blanc’, ‘Muscat Ottonel’, ‘Italian Riesling’ cultivars were investigated. The wine samples were obtained from micro-wine production under conditions of 2014, 2015, 2016 from Dealu Bujorului, Murfatlar and Ștefănești-Argeș vineyards. The high level of K (148.66±5.41-633.74±4.13 mg/L), Mg (88.23±0.84-131.66±3.42 mg/L), Ca (49.84±1.22-89.18±2.34) and Fe were observed in the wine samples analysed. Heavy metals like Hg, Pb, As and Cd (10.2-315 µg/L) were found below acceptable limits. Concentration of Na (1 mg/L), Cu (1 mg/L), As (0.2 mg/L), Cd (0.01 mg/L), Zn (5 mg/L) and Pb (0.15 mg/L) metals in analysed wine samples were under Maximum Permissible Limits (MPL), respectively as published by the Organization of Vine and Wine. The variation of the 207Pb/206Pb, 208Pb/206Pb, 204Pb/206Pb and 87Sr/86Sr ratio and K/Rb, Ca/Sr of the investigated wine clearly demonstrated that these variables are suitable traces for wine geographical origin determination. The proposed methodology allowed a 100% successful classification of wines according to the region of provenance