► Controlled atmosphere (CA) is an appropriate postharvest methodology to preserve broccoli outer quality. ► CA is an appropriate postharvest methodology to preserve broccoli functional quality. ► ...1-MCP is effective in maintaining greenish aspect of broccoli heads during storage.
Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) is a vegetable that requires the application of postharvest techniques to extend its marketability. Controlled atmosphere and 1-MCP treatments are most used to extend the shelf life of broccoli and reduce post-harvest deterioration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the visual, physicochemical and functional changes of broccoli head samples stored at 1–2°C and 85–90% relative humidity (RH) in air (Control samples), under controlled atmospheres (10% O2 and 5% CO2) (CA samples) and treated with 1-MCP (0.6μL/L). After storage all samples were maintained at 20°C for 2 and 4days, in order to assess their shelf life. The most suitable postharvest treatment to extend broccoli quality during storage and shelf life, in terms of maintaining the visual quality and reducing loss of health-promoting compounds, was achieved by storage under controlled atmosphere conditions. The use of 1-MCP reduced the loss of green colour and chlorophyll pigments, but only during cold storage not during shelf life at 20°C.
To describe the expression profile in endometriotic tissue of genes involved in four signaling pathways related to the development and progression of endometriosis (cell cycle, apoptosis, cell ...differentiation and lipid metabolism) and to explore its relationship with the women exposure to chemicals with hormonal activity released from cosmetics and personal care products (PCPs).
This cross-sectional study, encompassed within the EndEA study, comprised a subsample of 33 women with endometriosis. Expression levels of 13 genes (BMI1, CCNB1, CDK1, BAX, BCL2L1, FOXO3, SPP1, HOXA10, PDGFRA, SOX2, APOE, PLCG1 and PLCG2) in endometriotic tissue and urinary concentrations of 4 paraben (PB) and 3 benzophenone (BP) congeners were quantified. Bivariate linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the associations between exposure and gene expression levels.
A total of 8 out 13 genes (61.5 %) were expressed in >75 % of the samples. Exposure to congeners of PBs and/or BPs was associated with the overexpression of CDK1 gene (whose protein drives cells through G2 phase and mitosis), HOXA10 and PDGFRA genes (whose proteins favor pluripotent cell differentiation to endometrial cells), and APOE (whose protein regulates the transport and metabolism of cholesterol, triglycerides and phospholipids in multiple tissues) and PLCG2 genes (whose protein creates 1D-myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and diacylglycerol, two important second messengers).
Our findings suggest that women exposure to cosmetic and PCP-released chemicals might be associated with the promotion of cell cycle and cell differentiation as well as with lipid metabolism disruption in endometriotic tissue, three crucial signaling pathways in the development and progression of endometriosis. However, further studies should be accomplished to confirm these preliminary data.
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•Endometriotic gene expression profiles and urinary PB/BP levels were studied.•PB exposure was related to overexpression of cell cycle-related genes.•Increased expression of cell differentiation genes was related to PB exposure.•Upregulation of lipid metabolism-related genes was related to PB/BP exposure.
The aim of this research was to identify, quantify and compare the main quality parameters and functional compounds of ‘Parthenon’ broccoli florets stored at two different conditions. The first ...condition consisted in a modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) using microperforated polypropylene plastic. Then, the second one was in an unpackaged storage (Control). The main quality parameters assessed in this research were the overall appearance, odour, weight loss and colour. While, the functional compounds evaluated in this study were the chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments, vitamin C, total phenol content and intact glucosinolates, as well as the in vitro antioxidant activity. The results indicated that the loss of quality was lower in MAP than in Control samples when comparing with Fresh sample. In addition, the weight loss in MAP samples was 0.75% while in the Control samples was 3.36% at the end of storage. Besides, the losses of external attributes were also more pronounced in Control than in the MAP samples. Moreover, this degradation tendency was also observed for bioactive compounds, where their retention in the MAP was higher than in Control samples. In fact, the loss of total phenol content and intact glucosinolates content in MAP samples was about 20 and 23%, respectively, while in Control samples was about 48% and 57% correspondingly. This was also observed in the antioxidant activity (AA) values, since AA is correlated with these functional compounds.
► MAP extended outer quality parameters of fresh cut broccoli. ► MAP as adequate packaging condition to preserve functional compounds in broccoli. ► MAP packaging reduced glucosinolates degradation in fresh cut broccoli. ► Fresh cut broccoli as a source of functional compounds and antioxidant activity.
Parameters such as bright and dark green compact heads, firmness to hand pressure and closed florets, and the evolution of main health-promoting compounds such as carotenoid and chlorophyll pigments, ...phenolic compounds and glucosinolates, were assessed to determine the effects of the atmosphere composition during the cold storage of broccoli ‘Parthenon’.
The controlled atmosphere evaluated in this study was a gas mixture containing 10% of O2 and 5% of CO2, with 85–90% relative humidity. The storage temperature was established at 1 and 2 °C.
We found that the loss of weight and firmness was greater in the reference samples compared to samples stored under controlled atmosphere conditions (20.60% and 84.88%, for loss of weight and firmness in reference samples respectively, and 4.80% and 16.48%, for loss of weight and firmness in controlled atmosphere samples respectively) after 9 days of storage, approximately. In addition, the proposed controlled atmosphere conditions helped to maintain the concentration of the main health-promoting compounds, such as ascorbic acid, carotenoid and chlorophylls pigments, total phenolic compounds and intact glucosinolates, and the values of the antioxidant activity in vitro were also maintained.
► Less aggressive atmospheres conditions (10% O2, 5% CO2) for broccoli preservation. ► Effects of CA on the external quality of broccoli. ► Effects of CA on the health-promoting compounds. ► Correlation between physical attributes and bioactive compounds. ► Optimization of postharvest conditions to keep global quality of broccoli heads.
Aim: To explore the relationship of urinary concentrations of different congeners of benzophenones and parabens with the utilization of cosmetics and personal care products (PCPs) and their impact on ...the risk of endometriosis, and to evaluate the influence of oxidative stress on associations found. Methods: This case-control study comprised a subsample of 124 women (35 cases; 89 controls). Endometriosis was confirmed (cases) or ruled out (controls) by laparoscopy, with visual inspection of the pelvis and biopsy of suspected lesions (histological diagnosis). Urinary concentrations of benzophenone-1 (BP-1), benzophenone-3 (BP-3), 4-hydroxibenzophenone (4-OH-BP), methyl- (MeP), ethyl- (EtP), propyl- (PrP), and butyl-paraben (BuP), and biomarkers of oxidative stress lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and total antioxidant power (TAP) were quantified. Information was gathered on the frequency of use of cosmetics and PCPs. Associations between the frequency of cosmetics/PCP use, urinary concentrations of benzophenones and parabens, oxidative stress, and endometriosis risk were explored in logistic and linear multivariable regression analyses. Results: The frequency of utilization of certain cosmetics and PCPs was significantly associated with urinary concentrations of benzophenones and parabens. After adjustment for potential confounders, the risk of endometriosis was increased in women in the second versus first terciles of MeP (OR = 5.63; p-value<0.001), BP-1 (OR = 5.12; p-value = 0.011), BP-3 (OR = 4.98; p-value = 0.008), and ƩBPs (OR = 3.34; p-value = 0.032). A close-to-significant relationship was observed between TBARS concentrations and increased endometriosis risk (OR = 1.60, p-value = 0.070) and an inverse association between TAP concentrations and this risk (OR = 0.15; p-value = 0.048). Oxidative stress results did not modify associations observed between benzophenone/paraben exposure and endometriosis risk. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the frequency of cosmetics and PCP utilization is a strong predictor of exposure to certain benzophenone and paraben congeners. These compounds may increase the risk of endometriosis in an oxidative stress-independent manner. Further studies are warranted to corroborate these findings.
•Use of cosmetics/personal care products is related to urinary PB/BP concentrations.•MeP, BP-1, BP-3, and ƩBPs are associated with higher risk of endometriosis.•TAP and TBARS are related to lower and higher risk of endometriosis, respectively.•Oxidative stress did not modify the associations between exposure and the disease.
The aim was to evaluate the associations of environmental phenol and paraben concentrations with the oxidative microenvironment in adipose tissue. This study was conducted in a subsample (n = 144) of ...the GraMo cohort (Southern Spain). Concentrations of 9 phenols and 7 parabens, and levels of oxidative stress biomarkers were quantified in adipose tissue. Associations were estimated using multivariable linear regression analyses adjusted for potential confounders.
Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) concentration was borderline associated with enhanced glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity exp(β) = 1.20, p = 0.060 and decreased levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) exp(β) = 0.55, p = 0.070. Concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA) and methylparaben (MeP) were associated to lower glutathione reductase (GRd) activity exp(β) = 0.83, exp(β) = 0.72, respectively, and BPA was borderline associated to increased levels of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) exp(β) = 1.73, p-value = 0.062. MeP was inversely associated to both hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1) and superoxide dismustase (SOD) activity, as well as to the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) 0.75 < exp(β) < 0.79.
Our results suggest that some specific non-persistent pollutants may be associated with a disruption of the activity of relevant antioxidant enzymes, in addition to the depletion of the glutathione stock. They might act as a tissue-specific source of free radicals, contributing to the oxidative microenvironment in the adipose tissue.
•We analyzed phenols, parabens and oxidative stress in adipose tissue.•BP-3 was associated with enhanced GPx activity and decreased GSH levels.•BPA was associated with lower GRd activity and increased GSSG.•MeP was associated with lower GRd, HO-1, SOD, and TBARS.•These pollutants might act as a tissue-specific source of free radicals.
Melatonin functions as a free radical scavenger and controls the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle in mammals, while serotonin is the main intermediate in melatonin biosynthesis. In this paper, ...melatonin and serotonin have been detected and quantified for the first time in eight different sweet cherry cultivars using high performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry detection. The limits of detection of the proposed analytical method were 4.3 ng/mL for melatonin and 3.0 ng/mL for serotonin. An inverse relation between the contents of melatonin and serotonin was observed in the studied sweet cherry cultivars. The highest melatonin amounts were found in 'Burlat' sweet cherries (22.4 ± 1.3 ng/100 g of fresh fruit), while the highest serotonin contents were found in the cultivar 'Ambrunés' (37.6 ± 1.4 ng/100 g of fresh fruit). The results presented in this research allow us to know the amount of melatonin and serotonin bring to the diet.
In this research work, we aim to identify, quantify and compare the phytochemical such as vitamin C, carotenoid and chlorophyll pigments, phenolic compounds and intact glucosinolates, as well as the ...in vitro antioxidant activity and physical quality parameters (colour, firmness, moisture contents, weight/broccoli head and soluble solid contents) of Monaco and Parthenon broccoli cultivars. We found that the bioactive compounds were more abundant in Parthenon compared with Monaco. In fact, higher amount of chlorophylls (12.62 mg/100 g fresh weight), total phenolic compounds (147.15 mg chlorogenic acid equivalent/100 g fresh weight), and total intact glucosinolates (203.85 μmol of sinigrin equivalent/100 g fresh weight) were found in Parthenon. On the other hand, no significant differences were observed in terms of external quality parameters among the studied cultivars except in the colour and moisture contents.
The aim of this work was to establish a multivariate method for the rapid quantification of chlorophyll A and B in broccoli and cabbage plants using photometric signals. A partial least squares (PLS) ...model was optimized using the UV spectra of a set of calibration samples. Limit of detection (0.174 and 0.304
μg
mL
−1 for chlorophyll A and B respectively), selectivity (0.946 and 0.942 respectively) and sensitivity (0.0324 and 0.0183
absorbance
mL
μg
−1 respectively) were calculated in order to establish the robustness of the proposed methodology. After method validation, the PLS model was applied to determine the concentration of both pigments in different broccoli and cabbage plants. The concentrations of these pigments, calculated by the optimized chemometric method, were compared with those obtained by a chromatographic and photometric method based on the absorbance of sample at two different wavelengths. The accuracy of our results was comparable with that of results obtained by a chromatographic method improving significantly the accuracy compared with that of previously reported photometric approaches.
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