Obesity is becoming increasingly common all over the world and global strategies are accordingly being developed to prevent it. In order to support the strategies, the effects of green apple (Golden ...Delicious) and the consumption of its three major flavonols (quercetin-3-glucoside, quercetin-3-D-galactoside, and quercetin-3-rhamnoside) on body weight; the weight of liver, kidney, and spleen; some lipid parameters in serum; and total lipid ratios of liver and kidney and oxidative stress parameters of obese rats were studied. This study was conducted on two experimental groups: one of which was given an apple, and the other was given flavonols, in addition to their high-energy diet; along with a sham and a control rat group, for 4 weeks. According to results, there was no difference in body and organ weights between groups. The liver and kidney weights increased in obese rats, but there was no difference between the total lipid ratios in these organs. The addition of green apple and selected flavonols to the high-energy diet of rats was not sufficient to prevent the increase in body and organ weights, but it supported the reduction in some lipid fractions and in oxidative stress parameters of obese rats. Moreover, this study supported the argument that obesity causes most of the lipid fractions increase in serum and induces oxidative stress.
Summary
Apple (Malus sp.) and other genera belonging to the sub‐tribe Malinae of the Rosaceae family produce unique benzoic acid‐derived biphenyl phytoalexins. Cell cultures of Malus domestica cv. ...‘Golden Delicious’ accumulate two biphenyl phytoalexins, aucuparin and noraucuparin, in response to the addition of a Venturia inaequalis elicitor (VIE). In this study, we isolated and expressed a cinnamate‐CoA ligase (CNL)‐encoding sequence from VIE‐treated cell cultures of cv. ‘Golden Delicious’ (M. domestica CNL; MdCNL). MdCNL catalyses the conversion of cinnamic acid into cinnamoyl‐CoA, which is subsequently converted to biphenyls. MdCNL failed to accept benzoic acid as a substrate. When scab‐resistant (cv. ‘Shireen’) and moderately scab‐susceptible (cv. ‘Golden Delicious’) apple cultivars were challenged with the V. inaequalis scab fungus, an increase in MdCNL transcript levels was observed in internodal regions. The increase in MdCNL transcript levels could conceivably correlate with the pattern of accumulation of biphenyls. The C‐terminal signal in the MdCNL protein directed its N‐terminal reporter fusion to peroxisomes in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Thus, this report records the cloning and characterisation of a cinnamoyl‐CoA‐forming enzyme from apple via a series of in vivo and in vitro studies. Defining the key step of phytoalexin formation in apple provides a biotechnological tool for engineering elite cultivars with improved resistance.
Significance Statement
Apple scab is a serious apple disease. The scab resistance mechanism in apple is poorly understood. This report records the cloning and characterisation of a cinnamoyl‐CoA‐forming enzyme from apple via a series of in vivo and in vitro studies. Defining the key step of phytoalexin formation in apple provides a biotechnological tool for engineering elite cultivars with improved scab resistance.
In Arteaga, Coahuila, Mexico, different apple mutants derived from the Golden Delicious cultivar have been identified. They are characterized by their low chilling requirements (350–650 Chilling ...units (CU)) for breaking dormancy, and high flower production. The aim of this study was to determine the bromatological, genetic, and DNA methylation differences among ten apple mutants, and the wild-type Golden Delicious cultivar. The bromatological analyses showed that there are slight differences between some apple mutants with respect to control (Golden Delicious); in most cases, mutants were similar to each other. On the other hand, the genetic diversity among apple genotypes accessed by ISSR markers showed 57.12% of polymorphism among the 11 apple genotypes. The methylation assay showed that the Verde mutant from the Huachichil location had the highest values of DNA methylation (87.49%), even higher than the control (Golden Delicious). Furthermore, in the San Antonio of Alazanas location, the Tunal and Vigas II mutants showed the highest values of DNA methylation (62.85 and 87.61, respectively), however, the chilling requirements between these two cultivars are very different (340 and 750 CU, respectively), so it was concluded that a higher chilling requirement, is not always caused by a higher percentage of methylation. The study of these mutants may allow development of apple tree cultivars with desirable characteristics under warm winter conditions.
•Characterization of apple trees with a low requirement for cold hours.
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to evaluate the mechanical properties of apple tissue (Malus domestica var. Golden Delicious) and isolated cells. Young's modulus (E) obtained for the tissue ...was 0.86±0.81MPa, while for isolated cells an average value of 0.63±0.42MPa was found. The fractal dimension of the distribution of E (FDE) was estimated to be 1.81 for tissue and 2.47 for isolated cells, which indicates more anisotropic structures in single cell topography in comparison with the tissue. Finally, an image texture analysis was performed and different values were obtained; for roughness Ra=49.70±23 and 18.00±3, entropy Ent=5.26±0.66 and 5.70±0.23 and for the fractal dimension of the texture image FDT=2.55±0.02 and 2.62±0.03, for tissue and isolated cells respectively.
AFM is rarely used to evaluate the structural and mechanical properties of food materials. AFM studies could provide insight on food properties. For example, the nanoindentation of cells by AFM could be used to follow-up changes to the mechanical properties that occur during the processing and storage of fruits with industrial relevance such as apple. Study of the nanostructure and nanomechanical properties of vegetable cells could lead to a more in-depth understanding of the relationship structure–functionality in foodstuffs. This could be applied to address several issues, such as extending the storage life of climacteric fruits, verifying the structural modifications of the tissues when they are chemically treated and having a better control of mechanical and structural properties. Currently, fractal and image analysis is gaining attention in the food science industry. Their application allows one to obtain quantitative information from nanoindentation data and AFM images which can be related to structural modifications which occur during ripening and processing of climacteric fruits. This methodology could be extended to other food materials.
•Chemical isolation procedure of apple cells caused severe microstructural changes.•Young's modulus of the tissue was higher than for isolated cells and showed a wider variability.•The variability of the Young modulus distribution was characterized by fractal analysis.•Texture parameters of the AFM images can be linked with nanomechanical properties.
The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of packaging on measurements of visible-near infrared and near infrared spectroscopy during the shelf life of fresh-cut Valerianella leaves and ...Golden Delicious apple slices. Principal component analysis and partial least square discriminant analysis were applied on spectral data to reach the objectives.
Results on Golden Delicious could be considered satisfactory even if the classification performances were lower than those obtained for Valerianella; however, overall collected positive predictive values ranged from 86.7% to 100.0%. The presence of packaging had only a slight effect on classification capability. These findings would be useful in the development of freshness decay assessment tools using these optical techniques along products' post-packaging chain.
•Vis/NIR and NIR spectroscopy were used to monitor fresh-cut salad and apple.•The aim was to investigate the packaging influence on the optical measurements.•Spectra were acquired in contact with the samples surface and through the packaging.•PLS-DA classification models were built for the two measurement conditions.•The classification performances were considered to evaluate the packaging influence.
The aim of this research is to determine the presence of chlorpyrifos in two varieties of apples: Golden Delicious and Idared in two different locations (Evla and Krveni) from the Resen region in the ...country. Chlorpyrifos is organophosphate pesticide (insecticide) used to protect apples from insects which can cause significant damage in apple production. The apples are analyzed in four development phases and in each phase the presence of chlorpyrifos is determined. Chlorpiryfos analysis of the apples is performed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) followed by an extraction/separation cleansing with acetonitrile and the dispersive SPE - QuEChERS - method. The results are compared with the maximum residue levels (MRL) prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Macedonia. The conclusion is that chlorpyrifos is variously represented in most phases, regardless of the phase and location where the apple is grown. At certain phase the concentration exceedes MRL, however during the harvest, apples are safe to be consumed. Higher presence of chlorpyrifos is found in Idared apples at Kriveni location as compared to Evla. Тhe presence of chlorpyrifos in Golden Delicious is almost equal in both locations. From the statistical analysis of the data it is noticeable that the use of chlorpyrifos does not depend on the (type) variety of apple but rather on the location where the apple is grown.
This study focuses on the deformation behaviour of organic materials under a drop case. A Golden Delicious apple was chosen as the sample organic material. A three-dimensional (3D) scanner, high ...speed camera and finite element method (FEM) simulations were utilised to investigate drop case deformation events of the organic material. In total, 22 steps after impact were set up in the simulation by comparing high speed camera screen steps. Maximum equivalent stress of 0.416
MPa and maximum contact force (resultant normal force from rigid plane at impact) of 250.980
N were obtained from simulation results. Visual investigations and simulation results relating to deformations observed under the drop case, agreed well. This study contributes to further our understanding of fruit and vegetable damage/deformation by using computer aided engineering applications.
Special Issue of Molecules entitled “Food Processing and Its Impact on Phenolic and Other Bioactive Constituents in Food—Second Edition”. Bioactive compounds, including phenolic ingredients, have ...long been used as important constituents of a healthy diet. As a result, consumer awareness about the important role of high-quality products rich in bioactive compounds—especially phenolic compounds—in human nutrition, health, and prevention against diseases has increased. Additionally, methods for food processing, regardless of the technology used, have a huge impact on the quality of the final products. Therefore, the big challenges for scientists lie in the monitoring of changes during food processing and the optimization of technology to achieve minimal degradation of nutrients (including phenolic compounds). Thus, for this Special Issue, we published the latest scientific news, insights, and advances in the field of food processing and its impact on bioactive constituents in food, especially phenolic compounds. The information presented will certainly attract considerable interest among a large group of our readers from different disciplines and research fields.
Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) is a critical molecule because of its participation in enzymatic browning in fruits and vegetables during ripening, handling, storage, and processing. In this contribution, ...PPO was extracted, purified, and characterized from Golden Delicious apples, PPO activity was increased 319‐fold with a yield of 1.6%. A monomer of 58 kDa was obtained by gel filtration and SDS‐PAGE; the optimum temperature and pH were 35°C and 6.0, respectively; the best catalytic efficiencies (Vmax/Km ratios U/(mg·mM)) were 15,402 for 4‐methylcatechol and 5,941 for pyrogallol. The most efficient inhibitors were sodium metabisulfite (≥1 mM) and tropolone (≥10 mM). PPO activity decreased as the temperature increased and thermal inactivation was achieved at 80°C in 5 min. An Ea of 69.2 kJ/mol was estimated from the kinetic inactivation at different temperatures. Microwave irradiation inactivates PPO after 120 s in crude extract and after 60 s in fresh apple juice.
Practical applications
According to FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) data, Mexico produced about 858,608 tons of apple in 2013, Mexico is in 30th place in the world overall apple production. It is important to characterize the Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO) from Golden Delicious apple and provide data on its inactivation. PPO has been considered a crucial molecule because of its participation in enzymatic browning in several fruit and vegetables during ripening, handling, storage, and processing, being responsible for economical loses for producers and industry. In this contribution PPO was extracted, purified, and partially characterized from Mexican Golden Delicious apples by fast protein liquid chromatography. Also some inactivation methods like the use of several inhibitors and antibrowning agents, thermal and microwave inactivation where tested. The information obtained in this research is important for better understanding of PPO from Golden Delicious apple and gives information on ways to optimize inactivation process of the purified enzyme or in apple juice.
▶ Biocontrol agents and chemical inducers control apple blue mold. ▶ They act directly against
Penicillium expansum, exterting an antimicrobial activity. ▶ Moreover, they induce pathogenesis-related ...proteins accumulation in apple fruits. ▶ Induced resistance responses appear ineffective against the pathogen. ▶ The reduction of infection seems attributable only to the antimicrobial activity.
Penicillium expansum Link. is the causal agent of apple blue mold, and it can cause severe loss of stored fruit. The use of fungicides is still the major means for postharvest control of this disease. In the present study, we investigated the effectiveness of biological control agents (BCAs) and/or induction of resistance for postharvest control of blue mold on apple (
Malus domestica L. cv Golden Delicious). The BCAs and chemical inducers of resistance tested had direct effects against
P. expansum, significantly reducing the percentages of infection and/or lesion sizes when applied directly against this pathogen. The antifungal activities of acibenzolar-S-methyl, β-aminobutyric acid and methyl jasmonate were also confirmed
in vitro against
P. expansum and
Trichoderma atroviride P1. Treatments with BCAs and chemical inducers of resistance did not control infection on the untreated wounds that were made 1
cm from the original treated wounds. However, reverse-transcription PCR showed that treatments with
Pseudomonas syringae pv.
syringae 1,3S and acibenzolar-S-methyl induced significant increases in the levels of gene transcripts of the pathogenesis-related proteins PR-1a, PR-2, PR-5 and PR-8 in apple peel, as compared to controls. Moreover, immunoblotting showed an accumulation of PR-2 and PR-5 proteins in treated samples. These data indicate that these treatments trigger resistance responses in the apple fruit, although these responses do not limit the infection. Thus, biological control is confirmed as one of the most promising alternatives for postharvest control of blue mold on apple, while the induction of resistance does not appear to be a useful approach here.
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