Effect of long-term storage on the free and esterified carotenoids in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum conv. durum) and tritordeum (× Tritordeum Ascherson et Graebner) grains

55 Páginas; 8 Figuras; 5 TablasThe effect of long-term storage on the carotenoid composition in durum wheat and tritordeum grains was studied. Total carotenoid (mainly lutein) content decreased according to a temperature dependent first-order degradative kinetic model. The carotenoid retention was similar in both genotypes at the lower temperatures (71–73% at − 32 °C, 70% at 6 °C and 55–56% at 20 °C), whereas at the higher temperatures the pigment retention was higher in tritordeum (42% at 37 °C; 10% at 50 °C) than durum wheat (23% at 37 °C; 1% at 50 °C), probably due to the greater proportion of esterified xanthophylls. A clear difference between free and esterified pigments was observed, with smaller losses and slower degradation (higher stability) observed for the latter. The xanthophyll esterification process was highly specific and had a significant effect on the carotenoid stability according to the fatty acids involved in the esterification and their position on the lutein molecule. The results were consistent with a degradation process in which the carotenoid behavior is influenced by the chemical structure. Xanthophyll esterification can be promoted by environmental conditions, regardless of the cereal genotype, and is a powerful tool to modulate the carotenoid profile in cereals.We are grateful to Dr. Sergio G. Atienza (IAS-CSIC) for providing the plant material. This work was supported by funding from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spanish Government, Project AGL2010-14850/ALI) and the Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo (Junta de Andalucía, Project P08-AGR-03477). EMO was the recipient of a JAE-Predoctoral grant (CSIC) co-financed by the ESF. Authors are members of the IBERCAROT Network funded by CYTED (ref. 112RT0445).Peer reviewe

Identification and quantification of carotenoids from sarsaparilla (Smilax aspera L.) berries.

The sarsaparilla (Smilax aspera L.) is an evergreen perennial climbing plant of the Liliaceae family and typical of the Mediterranean basin. The plant grows and climbs from a rhizome and forms many extended branches - up to 15m in length - and numerous leaves around shrubs and trees. Stems are semi-woody and possess several prickles. The shiny leaves are generally heart-shaped with a few, tiny, translucent prickles along the margin. Flowers are associated as branched clusters. The fruits are juicy berries, which are initially green, turning red through ripening, sometimes becoming black. The berries are rather soft, having a spherical shape, 7-9mm across, and each holding a maximum of 3 seeds. The popularity of this plant is due to the ancient medicinal uses of the rhizomes, having depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic, stimulant and tonic properties (1, 2), so that they have been used as an ingredient in soft drinks. These therapeutic actions are mainly attributed to the high content in steroidal saponins (3). Most of the attention has been given to the rhizomes of the Smilax genus, and no extensive works have been carried out on the chemical characterisation of the fruits. Recently the anthocyanin composition of S. aspera berries has been described as responsible of the fruit colour (4). However some preliminary studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that carotenoid pigments are also involved in the red coloration of these berries, and to our knowledge, the carotenoid composition of S. aspera berries has never been study and described. Therefore, the present work was aimed to isolate, identify and quantify the carotenoid pigments occurring in the S. aspera berries (5).This work was supported by the Project AGL2007-60092/ALI, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spanish Government) and by the Project P08-AGR3477, Consejería de Economía, Innovación y Ciencia (Junta de Andalucía)

Carotenoid composition of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) fruits

41 páginas; 5 figuras; 1 tablaThe carotenoid composition of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) fruits has been characterised in detail and quantified for the first time. According to the total carotenoid content (over 340 μg/g dw), mature strawberry tree berries can be classified as fruits with very high carotenoid content (>20 μg/g dw). (all-E)-Violaxanthin and 9Z-violaxanthin were found to be the major carotenoid pigments, accounting for more than 60%, responsible for the bright colour of the flesh of ripe fruits. In addition other 5,6-epoxide carotenoids, such as (all-E)-neoxanthin, (9′Z)-neoxanthin (all-E)-antheraxanthin and lutein 5,6-epoxide, together with (all-E)-lutein, (all-E)-zeaxanthin and (all-E)-β-carotene were found at high levels (>5–20 μg/g dw). The LC–MS (APCI+) analysis of the xanthophyll fraction in their native state (direct extract) revealed that most of them (>90%) were totally esterified with saturated fatty acids (capric, lauric, myristic, palmitic and stearic). Monoesters, homodiesters and heterodiesters of (all-E)-violaxanthin and 9Z-violaxanthin were the major pigments.This work was supported by funding from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spanish Government, Project AGL2010-14850/ALI) and the Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo (Junta de Andalucía, Project P08-AGR-03477). Raúl Delgado Pelayo holds a predoctoral grant from Junta de Andalucía (Proyecto de Excelencia P08-AGR-3477). Authors are members of the IBERCAROT Network, funded by CYTED (ref. 112RT0445).Peer reviewe

Age-Related Relationships between Innate Immunity and Plasma Carotenoids in an Obligate Avian Scavenger

14 páginas, 2 figuras, 2 tablasVariation in immunity is influenced by allocation trade-offs that are expected to change between age-classes as a result of the different environmental and physiological conditions that individuals encounter over their lifetime. One such trade-off occurs with carotenoids, which must be acquired with food and are involved in a variety of physiological functions. Nonetheless, relationships between immunity and carotenoids in species where these micronutrients are scarce due to diet are poorly studied. Among birds, vultures show the lowest concentrations of plasma carotenoids due to a diet based on carrion. Here, we investigated variations in the relationships between innate immunity (hemagglutination by natural antibodies and hemolysis by complement proteins), pathogen infection and plasma carotenoids in nestling and adult griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) in the wild. Nestlings showed lower hemolysis, higher total carotenoid concentration and higher pathogen infection than adults. Hemolysis was negatively related to carotenoid concentration only in nestlings. A differential carotenoid allocation to immunity due to the incomplete development of the immune system of nestlings compared with adults is suggested linked to, or regardless of, potential differences in parasite infection, which requires experimental testing. We also found that individuals with more severe pathogen infections showed lower hemagglutination than those with a lower intensity infection irrespective of their age and carotenoid level. These results are consistent with the idea that intraspecific relationships between innate immunity and carotenoids may change across ontogeny, even in species lacking carotenoid-based coloration. Thus, even low concentrations of plasma carotenoids due to a scavenger diet can be essential to the development and activation of the immune system in growing birds.Funds were provided by the projects CGL2009-12753-C02-01/BOS and CGL2010-15726 of Spanish Ministerio of Economía y Competitividad. DHM is member of the IBERCAROT Network, funded by CYTED (ref. 112RT0445).Peer reviewe

A rapid spectrophotometric method for the determination of peroxide value in food lipids with high carotenoid content

ABSTRACT: A rapid and sensitive ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometric method for determination of peroxide value (PV) in foods with high carotenoid content (e.g., paprika oleoresin, paprika powder, red palm oil) has been developed. The proposed protocol [modified International Dairy Federation (IDF) method] was established from the IDF Fe(II)-oxidation-based spectrophotometric method, and the main one of the introduced modifications consisted of a clean-up extraction step of pigments before determining the PV by complexing Fe(III) ions with thiocyanate. Fe(II) oxidation time, reaction medium, and Fe(III)-thiocyanate complex formation time were optimized. The modified IDF method was compared with and was validated by iodometric AOAC official method with a good correlation (R 2 = 0.957) between data obtained by both analytical methods. The high sensitivity of the method allows the use of only about 0.010-0.015 g of sample, with a detection limit of 0.044 mequiv peroxide/kg of sample. Therefore, an improved spectrophotometric method for assessing PV in food lipids with high carotenoid content is now available and can be applied to any kind of sample, independent of oil and pigment content

Carotenoid Biosynthesis in Fusarium

Many fungi of the genus Fusarium stand out for the complexity of their secondary metabolism. Individual species may differ in their metabolic capacities, but they usually share the ability to synthesize carotenoids, a family of hydrophobic terpenoid pigments widely distributed in nature. Early studies on carotenoid biosynthesis in Fusarium aquaeductuum have been recently extended in Fusarium fujikuroi and Fusarium oxysporum, well-known biotechnological and phytopathogenic models, respectively. The major Fusarium carotenoid is neurosporaxanthin, a carboxylic xanthophyll synthesized from geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate through the activity of four enzymes, encoded by the genes carRA, carB, carT and carD. These fungi produce also minor amounts of β-carotene, which may be cleaved by the CarX oxygenase to produce retinal, the rhodopsin’s chromophore. The genes needed to produce retinal are organized in a gene cluster with a rhodopsin gene, while other carotenoid genes are not linked. In the investigated Fusarium species, the synthesis of carotenoids is induced by light through the transcriptional induction of the structural genes. In some species, deep-pigmented mutants with up-regulated expression of these genes are affected in the regulatory gene carS. The molecular mechanisms underlying the control by light and by the CarS protein are currently under investigation.Junta de Andalucía project CTS-6638España, Gobierno BIO2012-39716, BIO2015-69613-R, AGL2014-53195R BIO2015-71703-RED

A global perspective on carotenoids: metabolism, biotechnology, and benefits for nutrition and health.

Carotenoids are lipophilic isoprenoid compounds synthesized by all photosynthetic organisms and some non-photosynthetic bacteria and fungi. With some notable exceptions, animals (including humans) do not produce carotenoids de novo but take them in their diets. In photosynthetic systems carotenoids are essential for photoprotection against excess light and contribute to light harvesting, but perhaps they are best known for their properties as natural pigments in the yellow to red range. Carotenoids can be associated to fatty acids, sugars, proteins, or other compounds that can change their physical and chemical properties and influence their biological roles. Furthermore, oxidative cleavage of carotenoids produces smaller molecules such as apocarotenoids, some of which are important pigments and volatile (aroma) compounds. Enzymatic breakage of carotenoids can also produce biologically active molecules in both plants (hormones, retrograde signals) and animals (retinoids). Both carotenoids and their enzymatic cleavage products are associated with other processes positively impacting human health. Carotenoids are widely used in the industry as food ingredients, feed additives, and supplements. This review, contributed by scientists of complementary disciplines related to carotenoid research, covers recent advances and provides a perspective on future directions on the subjects of carotenoid metabolism, biotechnology, and nutritional and health benefits

Effect of thermal processing on the profile of bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of fermented orange juice

Previously, we reported that alcoholic fermentation enhanced flavanones and carotenoids content of orange juice. The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of pasteurization on the qualitative and quantitative profile of bioactive compounds and the antioxidant capacity of fermented orange juice. Ascorbic acid (203 mg/L), total flavanones (647 mg/L), total carotenoids (7.07 mg/L) and provitamin A (90.06 RAEs/L) values of pasteurized orange beverage were lower than those of fermented juice. Total phenolic remained unchanged (585 mg/L) and was similar to that of original juice. The flavanones naringenin-7-O-glucoside, naringenin-7-O-rutinoside, hesperetin-7-O-rutinoside, hesperetin-7-O-glucoside and isosakuranetin-7-O-rutinoside, and the carotenoids karpoxanthin and isomer, neochrome, lutein, ζ-carotene, zeaxanthin, mutatoxanthin epimers, β-cryptoxanthin and auroxanthin epimers were the major compounds. Pasteurization produced a decrease in antioxidant capacity of fermented juice. However, TEAC (5.45 mM) and ORAC (6353 μM) values of orange beverage were similar to those of original orange juice. The novel orange beverage could be a valuable source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant capacity and exert potential beneficial effects.We are grateful for the support of Junta de Andalucía (Projects P09-AGR4814M, P08-AGR-03477 and Grupo PAI BIO311), and of National Funding Agencies (Projects AGL2010-14850/ALI, AGL2011-23690, CSD007-0063 and CSIC 201170E041). We are also grateful to Fundación Séneca - CARM “Group of Excellence in Research” 04486/GERM/06. The research project grant of B.E.-L. is supported by Junta de Andalucía. A.G.-I., F.F. and S.M. are members of the CORNUCOPIA Network 112RT0460 and D.H.-M. of the IBERCAROT Network 112RT0445 financed by CYTED. We are also grateful to Grupo Hespérides Biotech S.L. for providing the samples.Peer Reviewe

Occurrence of Carotenoid Esters in Foods.

Carotenoid pigments are responsible for the yellow, orange and red colours of most fruits and vegetables, and also of some animal food sources, including fish, crustaceans and birds. In fruits, the most common native state for the majority of hydroxy-xanthophylls (i.e. carotenoids containing hydroxyl functional groups) is as xanthophyll esters. The in vivo esterification process of xanthophylls is an important part of post-carotenogenesis metabolism and mediates the accumulation of these molecules in plants. Although our understanding of the esterification of xanthophylls with fatty acids is increasing, it is still relatively scarce when compared to the free counterparts. In addition, the biochemical and genetic characterisation of the xanthophyll esterification process is still an open question in the carotenoid field. This chapter presents a compilation of relevant data on the occurrence of xanthophyll esters in foods from plant and animal origins with the aim of contributing to our understanding of this important natural process.This work was supported by funding from the ‘Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades’ (Spanish Government, Projects AGL2014-53195R and AGL2017-85368-P)

Cambios en la composición de pigmentos en frutos de Capsium annuum durante la maduración y procesado para pimentón: variedades Bola y Agridulce

La legislación más reciente tiende a restringir el uso de colorantes alimenticios de origen sintético, potenciándose cada vez más el uso de materias colorantes de origen natural. En este sentido los productos derivados del pimiento rojo, concretamente pi