First-generation biofuel biorefineries may be a starting point for the development of new value chains, as their by-products and side streams retain nutrients and valuable molecules that may be ...recovered and valorized for high-value applications. This study provides a chemical characterization of post-fermentation corn oil and thin stillage, side streams of dry-grind corn bioethanol production, in view of their valorization. An overall long-term study was conducted on the two co-products collected over 1 year from a bioethanol plant. Water content, acid value, sedimentation, mineral composition, and fatty acid profiles were analyzed on post-fermentation corn oil. Results highlighted that its acid value was high (19.72-24.29 mg KOH/g), indicating high levels of free fatty acids, but stable over the year due to standardized operating conditions. The fatty acid profile was that typical of corn oil, with a prevalence of linoleic (54-59% of total fatty acids) over oleic (23-27%) and palmitic (12-17%) acids. Macronutrients, fatty acid, and mineral profiles were investigated in thin stillage. Results revealed the acidic pH (4.05-4.68) and high dilution (90-93% water) of this side stream. The dry mass was composed of fats (19-30%), proteins (8.8-12.8%), ash (8.7-9.5%), and fiber (7.3-9.8%). The concomitant presence of a variegate complex of molecules of nutritional interest in corn bioethanol co-products, with several potential high-value market applications, make the perspective of their recovery a promising strategy to create new cross-sector interconnections according to circular economy principles.
Biomass from five microalgal species,
Porphyridium cruentum, Isochrysis galbana
,
Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Tetraselmis suecica
and
Nannochloropsis gaditana,
produced at an industrial plant in ...outdoor photobioreactors, was studied with the aim to evaluate their suitability to the food and nutraceutical sectors. Microalgal biomass was analyzed for proximates, nonprotein nitrogen, energy, fatty acids, minerals, trace elements and mercury contents. Proximate analyses showed wide differences among microalgal species, in accordance with their different taxonomic position, especially as regards protein (19.6–33.2% dry mass), carbohydrate (15.9–42.2% dry mass) and lipid (5.7–31.1% dry mass) contents. All species proved to be a good source of minerals and trace elements and of polyunsaturated fatty acids (47.4–59.1% of total fatty acids) with varying profiles. N-3 fatty acids were prevalent in
P. tricornutum
,
N. gaditana
,
I. galbana
and
T. suecica
(32.6–36.4% of total fatty acids), whereas n-6 fatty acids, mainly arachidonic (C20:4) and linoleic (C18:2) acids, were prevalent in
P. cruentum
(43.3% of total fatty acids).
N. gaditana
,
P. tricornutum
, and
P. cruentum
were rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (36.0, 29.3%, and 15.9% of total fatty acids, respectively), while
I. galbana
was a good source of stearidonic (C18:4, 12.2% of total fatty acids) and docosahexaenoic (9.0% of total fatty acids) acids, undetectable or present at low levels in the other species.
I galbana
and
T. suecica
showed also high percentages of α-linolenic acid (C18:3, 12.2%–15.7% of total fatty acids). All microalgae were characterized by good nutrient contents and confirmed to be potentially valuable ingredients for nutritional or nutraceutical purposes.
Host plant quality can influence insect larval performance and subsequent adult fitness. Advanced hybrid potato clones (donor species:
Solanum berthaultii
Hawkes) and their parents were evaluated for ...resistance to the potato tuber moth (PTM) and examined for several biochemical, molecular and physical traits in order to investigate the mechanisms which underlie PTM-resistance. Resistant parent recorded 57% of mortality of pupae in comparison to the 23% observed in the susceptible parent. Expression patterns of specific genes involved in the phenolic biosynthetic pathway show that hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA quinate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (HQT) and cinnamate-4-hydroxylase (C4H) reflect chlorogenic and caffeic acid levels in the skin of all the genotypes (0.7 ≤ r ≤ 1.0). Skin α-chaconine and skin caffeic acid strongly and significantly related with PTM larval mortality (r
2
= 0.99 and r = 0.90, respectively). This study suggests that skin α-chaconine and skin caffeic acid could play a defensive role against PTM and proposes a PTM resistant clone with high level of these bio-compounds, useful in breeding projects for plant defense and nutritional value purposes.
This paper describes the influence of different factors on sous-vide cooked pork. Pork cheeks were cooked at different combinations of temperature (60°C or 80°C), time (5 or 12h) and vacuum (vacuum ...or air packaged). Weight losses were lower and moisture content higher in samples cooked for a shorter time (P=0.054) and at a lower temperature (P<0.001). Samples cooked at 60°C showed more lightness (L*) and redness (a*) (P<0.001). Lipid oxidation showed an interaction between cooking time and temperature (P=0.007), with higher TBARs values for samples cooked for 12h at 60°C and lower for those cooked for 12h at 80°C. Samples cooked at 80°C for 12h showed lower (P<0.05) values for most textural parameters than all the other types of samples. Vacuum packaging showed no influence on any of the studied variables. For the treatments evaluated, cooking temperature×time combination seems to be more important than vacuum packaging in the textural and colour parameters of pork cheeks.
•Different volatiles show different dynamics of formation when leaves are crushed.•(Z)- and (E)-3-hexenal, (Z)-1,5-octadien-3-one, contribute to green aroma notes.•4-Mercaptobutyl isothiocyanate ...(ITC) contributes to typical rocket aroma.•4-Methylthiobutyl ITC, 1-octen-3-one, 1-penten-3-one are other key odorants.•4-methylsulfinylbutyl ITC was detected in the headspace of crushed leaves.
The volatile profile of crushed rocket leaves (Eruca sativa and Diplotaxis tenuifolia) was investigated by applying Headspace Solid-Phase MicroExtraction (HS-SPME), combined with GC–MS, to an aqueous extract obtained by homogenization of rocket leaves, and stabilized by addition of CaCl2. A detailed picture of volatile products of the lipoxygenase pathway (mainly C6-aldehydes) and of glucosinolate hydrolysis (mainly isothiocyanates), and their dynamics of formation after tissue disruption was given. Odor-active compounds of leaves were characterized by GC-Olfactometry (GC-O) and Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis (AEDA): volatile isolates obtained by HS-SPME from an aqueous extract and by Stir-Bar Sorptive Extraction (SBSE) from an ethanolic extract were analyzed. The most potent odor-active compounds fully or tentatively identified were (Z)- and (E)-3-hexenal, (Z)-1,5-octadien-3-one, responsible for green olfactory notes, along with 4-mercaptobutyl and 4-(methylthio)butyl isothiocyanate, associated with typical rocket and radish aroma. Relatively high odor potency was observed for 1-octen-3-one, (E)-2-octenal and 1-penten-3-one.
The volatile organic compound (VOC) profile of pork cheeks as affected by the cooking conditions was investigated. Pork cheeks were cooked under different combinations of temperature (60 °C or 80 ...°C), time (5 or 12 h) and vacuum (vacuum or air-packaged). As a general rule, the VOCs originating from lipid degradation were positively affected by the cooking temperature and negatively by the cooking time, reaching the highest amounts in pork cheeks cooked at 80 °C during 5 h and the lowest in samples cooked at 80 °C during 12 h. On the contrary, VOCs originated from amino acids and Maillard reactions were positively affected by both factors. The proportion between lipid degradation and amino acids reactions was estimated by the hexanal/3-methylbutanal ratio, which reached its highest values in samples cooked at 60 °C during 5 h in the presence of air and the lowest values in samples cooked at 80 °C during 12 h, regardless of the vacuum status.
•Rodenticides are used worldwide producing numerous cases of animal intoxications.•Blood rodenticide quantification is important both for diagnostic and monitoring.•The developed method was fast and ...sensitive, with high accuracy and precision.•The method was successfully applied to real cases of animal intoxication.•The reported cases demonstrated the need for high sensitivity.
Rodent control strategies are primarily based on the use of anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs), making them widely used worldwide. However, due to their high toxicity and availability, ARs are among the leading causes of animal poisoning in Europe. They are the primary agents involved in intoxication in cats and the second in dogs. Additionally, their long persistence in the body can lead to secondary exposure, particularly in wild predators. The laboratory findings and clinical signs of intoxication can range from increased clotting time (prolonged prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time) to severe bleeding and death.
Despite the prevalence and severity of this intoxication, only a few methods are available for the identification and quantification of ARs in animals, and most of them are suitable only for post-mortem diagnosis. In this study, we present the validation of a rapid and sensitive method for the identification and quantification of ARs in animal whole blood, using a small sample volume. The developed LC-MS/MS method demonstrated high accuracy and precision at the limit of quantification (LOQ), as well as at low, medium, and high concentrations. It exhibited higher sensitivity (LOQ 0.1 – 0.3 ng/mL) compared to previously published methods. After validation, the method was successfully applied to real cases of suspected poisoning events, resulting in the identification of several positive samples.
The examples presented in this study highlight the utility of this method for diagnosis and follow-up, emphasizing the importance of method sensitivity in order to avoid misclassifying truly positive samples as negative.
Abstract
Metaldehyde, a widely used molluscicide, is the third cause of intoxication by pesticides in domestic animals in Europe. Most mammalian species are susceptible, and its exposure may lead to ...death within a few hours. While metaldehyde intoxication diagnosis is in most cases presumptive, based on the symptomatology or from “postmortem” analysis, few analytical methods are currently available for live animals. The aim of this work was to describe a fast analytical method for the specific and quantitative determination of metaldehyde in animal whole blood and serum at concentrations of toxicological significance. A liquid–liquid extraction with chloroform and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry quantification are proposed. The method limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.04 µg/mL in serum and whole blood. The method was linear in the range from 0.04 to 200 µg/mL. The recovery was between 93% and 102% for LOQ, low, medium and high spike concentrations. Intra- and inter-assay relative standard deviation was <12% in all spike concentrations in both serum and whole blood, apart from one of the experiments at LOQ in whole blood, which accounted for 17.7%. The method was applied to real intoxication cases, and the concentration found in positive samples was between 29 and 69 µg/mL. The proposed method provides high sensitivity, accuracy and precision and can be used to assist in the diagnosis of metaldehyde poisoning.
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