An untargeted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) approach combined with sensory analysis was used to present the effects of different extraction methods (i.e., Pure Brew, V60, AeroPress, ...and French Press) on specialty graded Coffea arabica from Kenya. Partial Least Square Discriminant analysis and hierarchical clustering were applied as multivariate statistical tools in data analysis. The results showed good discrimination and a clear clustering of the groups of samples based on their volatile profiles. Similarities were found related to the filter material and shape used for the extraction. Samples extracted with paper filters (V60 and AeroPress) resulted in higher percentages of caramel-, and flowery-related compounds, while from metal filter samples (Pure Brew and French Press), more fruity and roasted coffees were obtained. Discriminant analysis allowed the identification of eight compounds with a high VIP (variable important in projection) discriminant value (i.e., >1), with 2-furanmethanol being the main feature in discrimination. Sensorial analyses were carried out through an expert panel test. The main evaluations revealed the French Press system as the lowest-scored sample in all the evaluated parameters, except for acidity, where its score was similar to V60. In conclusion, the data obtained from GC-MS analyses were in line with the sensorial results, confirming that the extraction process plays a fundamental role in the flavor profile of filter coffee beverages.
Plasma activated water (PAW) has proven to be a promising alternative for the decontamination of rocket leaves. The impact of PAW on the volatile profile, phytosterols, and pigment content of rocket ...leaves was studied. Leaves were treated by PAW at different times (2, 5, 10, and 20 min). Compounds of the headspace were detected and quantified using GC-MS analysis. A total of 52 volatile organic compounds of different chemical classes were identified. Glucosinolate hydrolysis products are the major chemical class. PAW application induced some chemical modifications in the volatile compounds. Changes in the content of the major compounds varied with the increase or decrease in the treatment time. However, PAW-10 and -2 were grouped closely to the control. A significant decrease in the content of β-sitosterol and campesterol was observed after PAW treatment, except for PAW-10, which showed a non-significant reduction in both compounds. A significant increase in β carotene, luteolin, and chlorophyll b was observed after the shortest treatment time of PAW-2. A reduction in chlorophyll content was also observed, which is significant only at longer treatment, or PAW-20. Overall, PAW has proven to be a safe alternative for rocket decontamination.
•Determination of taurine, glucurolactone and glucuronic acid in energy drinks by UHPLC–MS/MS.•Good analytical performance due to the use of a Kinetex Hilic column and a triple quadrupole as mass ...analyzer.•The level of taurine in the analyzed samples matched with that reported in the labels.
In this work, we present for the first time a rapid and robust UHPLC–MS/MS method for analyzing taurine, GlcLA and GlcA in energy drinks simultaneously and without derivatization. The separation of three analytes was achieved using a Kinetex Hilic analytical column (100mm×4.6mm i.d.) and a mobile phase formed by water (A) and acetonitrile (B) both with formic acid 0.1% at a flow rate of 0.8mlmin−1 with isocratic elution in 3.5min. Calibration curves were calculated using the method of standard addition in a concentration range from 2 to 6mg/100ml for taurine (R2>0.987), from 0.4 to 1.2mg/100ml for GlcLa (R2>0.997), and from 0.2 to 0.6mg/100ml for GlcA acid (R2>0.998). The validated method was applied to the analysis of nine commercial energy drinks. The level of taurine found ranged from 0.01 to 0.45g/100ml, and it matched with that reported in the labels of the analyzed energy drink samples.
The aim of this study was to investigate the parameters affecting the extraction of positive molecules such as chlorogenic acids and antioxidants, as well as potentially carcinogenic substances such ...as acrylamide, in different coffee brewing methods. Three coffee varieties, each assigned a different roasting degree, were used to prepare coffee brews following eight different preparation methods. Acrylamide was quantified using the HPLC-MS/MS instrument, while chlorogenic acids and caffeine were quantified using the HPLC-DAD system. Three spectrophotometric analyses were also performed (DPPH, TFC and TPC) to evaluate antioxidant activity. The results showed that the main brewing parameters, which have the greatest influence on the final content of these compounds, were the volume of water used, more specifically the brewing ratio (coffee to water ratio), the extraction time and the particle size of the coffee powder. In addition, the variables that have the greatest impact on the discrimination of the preparation methods studied are total chlorogenic acid content, TFC, TPC, caffeine and the DPPH assay. For this reason, the recipe and infusion parameters used for each of the extraction systems are the key factors that determine the extraction of coffee components and, consequently, the quality of the cup.
Black mulberry,
L. (family: Moraceae), is a healthy food and medicinal plant. Microwave hydrodiffusion and gravity (MHG) is one of the most innovative applications of solvent-free microwave ...extraction. The aim of this study was to optimize for the first time the MHG solvent-free extraction of polyphenols and sugars from
fruits. Optimization was carried out using a central composite design (CCD) with selected responses such as extraction yield, total polyphenol (TPC), flavonoid (TFC), anthocyanin (TAC), and sugar (TSC) contents, in addition to DPPH radical scavenging, and α-glucosidase (AGHi), lipase (Li), and xanthine oxidase (XOi) inhibition as tools to evaluate the best parameters for efficient and rapid extraction of black mulberry. The optimized extract was characterized in terms of the aforementioned parameters to validate the models, and was further analyzed for 36 individual polyphenols using HPLC-MS/MS. The optimized MHG extract was finally compared with traditional extracts, and demonstrated much better performance in terms of TPC, TAC, and Li, while the traditional extracts showed better XOi and AGHi. In conclusion, MHG is a valuable green technique for the production of non-degraded black mulberry polyphenol-rich extract and we suggest its larger use in the pharmaceutical and food industries.
Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages in the world. This has two main consequences: a high level of competitiveness among the players operating in the sector and an increasing pressure from ...the supply chain on the environment. These two aspects have to be supported by scientific research to foster innovation and reduce the negative impact of the coffee market on the environment. In this paper, we describe a mathematical model for espresso coffee extraction that is able to predict the chemical characterisation of the coffee in the cup. Such a model has been tested through a wide campaign of chemical laboratory analyses on espresso coffee samples extracted under different conditions. The results of such laboratory analyses are compared with the simulation results obtained using the aforementioned model. The comparison shows a close agreement between the real and in silico extractions, revealing that the model is a very promising scientific tool to take on the challenges of the coffee market.
Ghee is a dairy product widely consumed in India, north-Africa, and Middle East countries, having beneficial pharmacological effects. This study aims to characterize the effects of aromatic plants ...addition (rosemary and clove) on the nutritional, volatile and oxidative profile of cow ghee and to evaluate the effect of flavored ghee on the fibroblasts migration during wound healing in vitro assay. Two flavored ghee products were obtained by adding clove (CG) and rosemary (RG) as aromatic plants through maceration in cattle traditional ghee (BT). It was revealed that enriched ghee samples had significantly lower peroxide values (6.76 and 6.80 meqO2 /kg) compared to control samples (8.20 meqO2 /kg). Moreover, the addition of rosemary and clove change the volatile profile, and increased the retinol levels of ghee (BT: 1.3 mg/kg; CG: 1.9 mg/kg; and RG: 3.05 mg/kg). Liquid-chromatography analyses revealed the presence of targeted phenolic compounds such as carnosic acid, rutin and gallic acid in CG and RG, showing thus, the transfer of polyphenols from aromatic plants into the ghee matrix. On the other hand, the fatty acid composition of ghee remained unchanged. The major components of the prepared ghee samples contributed to rising significantly the human fibroblast migration in wound healing in vitro assay. The results obtained underline that the flavored ghee samples could improve skin regeneration, making them potentials therapeutic ingredients in skincare formulations.
Green coffee (Coffee arabica and Coffee robusta) is one of the most commonly traded goods globally. Their beans are enriched with polyphenols and numerous health benefits are associated with their ...consumption. The main aim of this work was to develop a new and fast analytical HPLC-MS/MS method to simultaneously determine six flavonoid polyphenolic compounds (quercetin, rutin, isorhamnetin, quercetin-3-glucouronide, hyperoside, and quercitrin) in 22 green coffee samples from six different geographical origins (Ethiopia, Brazil, Guatemala, Nicaragua, India and Colombia). In addition, by adjusting pH, temperature, solvent type, and extraction duration, several extraction methods such as acidic and alkaline hydrolysis, and extraction without hydrolysis were evaluated. The optimal extraction procedure in terms of recovery percentages (78.67–94.09%)was acidic hydrolysis at pH 2, extraction temperature of 60 °C, extraction solvent of 70% ethanol, and extraction duration of 1.5 h. Hyperoside (878–75 μg/kg) was the most abundant compound followed by quercitrin (408–38 μg/kg), quercetin (300–36 μg/kg), rutin (238–21 μg/kg), and quercetin-3-glucouronide (225–7 μg/kg), while isorhamnetin (34–3 μg/kg) showed the lowest amount. Overall, green coffee beans are rich in flavonoid polyphenolic compounds and could be used as part of a healthy diet.
As part of our research on local plants, including neglected horticultural crops to be rediscovered as culinary vegetables, we focused on Smyrnium olusatrum, a biennal herb used in cuisine for many ...centuries by Romans that has now been replaced by celery. We investigated the essential oil compositions of different plant organs collected in 18 populations of central Italy (Marche, Umbria, Abruzzo, Tuscany and Latium) by gas chromatography (GC) with a flame ionization detector and GC with mass spectrometry (MS) to identify the main chemotypes that occur. Owing to the presence of thermosensitive molecules such as isofuranodiene, curzerene and germacrone undergoing Cope‐rearrangement during the GC run, a truthful quantitative determination of these constituents was accomplished by high‐performance liquid chromatography with a diode‐array detector (HPLC‐DAD). Chemical data were supported by a chemometric technique in the form of principal component analysis, which allowed identification of chemical differences among organs. Furanosesquiterpenoids were the main fraction of the oils, with isofuranodiene as the most abundant in flowers and roots, furanoeremophil‐1‐one in leaves and roots and 1‐β‐acetoxyfuranoeudesm‐4(15)‐ene in fruits. To complete the phytochemical analysis, polar compounds such as chlorogenic acid, isoquercitin, 3‐indoleacetic acid and saccharose were isolated from the ethanolic extracts of the plant by column chromatography and structurally elucidated by nuclear magnetic resonance. Moreover, a morphological and histochemical survey on the secretory structures was performed, with the special aim to localize the sites of terpenes biosynthesis in both above‐ and belowground organs. Overall, the results can be considered important in the light of the recent interest in neglected edible plants for botanical food supplements and functional foods market.
Plasma activated water (PAW) recently received much attention as an alternative food preservation method. However, its effects on food quality are still scarce. This study evaluates the effect of PAW ...processing time on bioactive compounds of rocket-salad leaves including: 18 phenolic compounds, vitamin C, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, and nicotinamide. Moreover, the impact of PAW on both antioxidant (DPPH) and peroxidase (POD) activities was also investigated. This was performed using HPLC-DAD, HPLC-MS/MS, and spectrophotometric analysis. All treatments induced non-significant increases in total phenolic contents. However, depending on processing time, significant increases or decreases of individual phenolic compounds were observed. PAW-10 and -20 increased the ascorbic acid content to 382.76 and 363.14 mg/100 g, respectively, compared to control (337.73 mg/100 g). Riboflavin and nicotinic acid contents were increased significantly in PAW-20 (0.53 and 1.26 mg/100), compared to control (0.32 and 0.61 mg/100 g, respectively). However, nicotinamide showed non-significant increase in all treatments. Antioxidant activity improved significantly only in PAW-20, while peroxidase activity was reduced up to 36% in the longest treatment. In conclusion, PAW treatment could be an effective technique for rocket decontamination since it positively influenced the quality of rocket, improving the retention of polyphenols and vitamins.
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