scholarly journals New Non-Invasive Method for the Authentication of Apple Cultivars

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Elettra Barberis ◽  
Elia Amede ◽  
Francesco Dondero ◽  
Emilio Marengo ◽  
Marcello Manfredi

Food authentication is very important to protect consumers, sellers, and producers from fraud. Although several methods have been developed using a wide range of analytical techniques, most of them require sample destruction and do not allow in situ sampling or analysis, nor reliable quantification of hundreds of molecules at the same time. To overcome these limitations, we have developed and validated a new noninvasive analytical workflow for food authentication. The method uses a functionalized strip to adsorb small molecules from the surface of the food product, followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of the desorbed analytes. We validated the method and applied it to the classification of five different apple varieties. Molecular concentrations obtained from the analysis of 44 apples were used to identify markers for apple cultivars or, in combination with machine learning techniques, to perform cultivar classification. The overall reproducibility of the method was very good, showing a good coefficient of variation for both targeted and untargeted analysis. The approach was able to correctly classify all samples. In addition, the method was also used to detect pesticides and the following molecules were found in almost all samples: chlorpyrifos-methyl, deltamethrin, and malathion. The proposed approach not only showed very good analytical performance, but also proved to be suitable for noninvasive food authentication and pesticide residue analysis.

2006 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. SANTOYO ◽  
S. CAVERO ◽  
L. JAIME ◽  
E. IBAÑEZ ◽  
F. J. SEÑORÁNS ◽  
...  

Oregano leaves were extracted using a pilot-scale supercritical fluid extraction plant under a wide range of extraction conditions, with the goal of determining the extraction and fractionation conditions to obtain extracts with optimal antimicrobial activity. In this investigation, the essential oil–rich fractions were selectively precipitated in the second separator, and their chemical composition and antimicrobial activity were investigated. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of the various fractions resulted in the identification of 27 compounds of the essential oil. The main components of these fractions were carvacrol, trans-sabinene hydrate, cis-piperitol, borneol, terpinen-4-ol, and linalool. Antimicrobial activity was investigated by the disk diffusion and broth dilution methods against six different microbial species, including two gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis), two gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), a yeast (Candida albicans), and a fungus (Aspergillus niger). All of the supercritical fluid extraction fractions obtained showed antimicrobial activity against all of the microorganisms tested, although the most active fraction was the one obtained in experiment 5 (fraction was obtained with 7% ethanol at 150 bar and 40°C). C. albicans was the most sensitive microorganism to the oregano extracts, whereas the least susceptible was A. niger. Carvacrol, sabinene hydrate, borneol, and linalool standards also showed antimicrobial activity against all of the microorganisms tested, with carvacrol being the most effective. Consequently, it was confirmed that essential oil from experiment 5, with the best antimicrobial activity, also presented the highest quantity of carvacrol.


2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vipul R. Patel ◽  
Nikhil Bhatt

The objective of this study was development and characterization of a halophilic bacterial consortium for rapid decolorization and degradation of a wide range of dyes and their mixtures. The 16S rRNA gene analysis of developed halophilic consortium VN.1 showed that the bacterial consortium contained six bacterial strains, which were identified as Pseudomonas fluorescens HM480360, Enterobacter aerogenes HM480361, Shewanella sp. HM589853, Arthrobacter nicotianae HM480363, Bacillus beijingensis HM480362 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa JQ659549. Halophilic consortium VN.1 was able to decolorize up to 2,500 mg/L RB220 with >85% chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction under static condition at 30 °C and pH 8.0 in the presence of 7% NaCl. VN.1 also exhibited more than 85% COD reduction with >25 mg/(L h) rate of decolorization in the case of different reactive dye mixtures. We propose the symmetric cleavage of RB220 using Fourier transform infrared, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), nuclear magnetic resonance and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, and confirmed the formation of sodium-4-aminobenzenesulfonate, sodium-6-aminonepthalenesulfonate, and sodiumbenzene/nepthalenesulfonate. Toxicity studies confirm that the biodegraded products of RB220 effluent stimulate the growth of plants as well as the bacterial community responsible for soil fertility.


1991 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.P. Murphy ◽  
H. Brouwer ◽  
M.E. Fox ◽  
E. Nagy

Abstract Eighty-one sediment cores were collected to determine the extent of coal tar contamination in a toxic area of Hamilton Harbour. Over 800 samples were analyzed by a UV spectrophotometric technique that was standardized with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis. The coal tar distribution was variable. The highest concentrations were near the Stelco outfalls and the Hamilton-Wentworth combined sewer outfalls. The total concentration of the 16 polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 48,300 m3 of near-surface sediments exceeded 200 µg/g.


AMB Express ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Tang ◽  
Dan Lei ◽  
Min Wu ◽  
Qiong Hu ◽  
Qing Zhang

Abstract Fenvalerate is a pyrethroid insecticide with rapid action, strong targeting, broad spectrum, and high efficiency. However, continued use of fenvalerate has resulted in its widespread presence as a pollutant in surface streams and soils, causing serious environmental pollution. Pesticide residues in the soil are closely related to food safety, yet little is known regarding the kinetics and metabolic behaviors of fenvalerate. In this study, a fenvalerate-degrading microbial strain, CD-9, isolated from factory sludge, was identified as Citrobacter freundii based on morphological, physio-biochemical, and 16S rRNA sequence analysis. Response surface methodology analysis showed that the optimum conditions for fenvalerate degradation by CD-9 were pH 6.3, substrate concentration 77 mg/L, and inoculum amount 6% (v/v). Under these conditions, approximately 88% of fenvalerate present was degraded within 72 h of culture. Based on high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, ten metabolites were confirmed after the degradation of fenvalerate by strain CD-9. Among them, o-phthalaldehyde is a new metabolite for fenvalerate degradation. Based on the identified metabolites, a possible degradation pathway of fenvalerate by C. freundii CD-9 was proposed. Furthermore, the enzyme localization method was used to study CD-9 bacteria and determine that its degrading enzyme is an intracellular enzyme. The degradation rate of fenvalerate by a crude enzyme solution for over 30 min was 73.87%. These results showed that strain CD-9 may be a suitable organism to eliminate environmental pollution by pyrethroid insecticides and provide a future reference for the preparation of microbial degradation agents and environmental remediation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 030098582110021
Author(s):  
Yuta Takaichi ◽  
James K. Chambers ◽  
Moeko Shiroma-Kohyama ◽  
Makoto Haritani ◽  
Yumi Une ◽  
...  

Canavan disease is an autosomal recessive leukodystrophy caused by mutations in the gene encoding aspartoacylase (ASPA), which hydrolyses N-acetylaspartate (NAA) to acetate and aspartate. A similar feline neurodegenerative disease associated with a mutation in the ASPA gene is reported herein. Comprehensive clinical, genetic, and pathological analyses were performed on 4 affected cats. Gait disturbance and head tremors initially appeared at 1 to 19 months of age. These cats eventually exhibited dysstasia and seizures and died at 7 to 53 months of age. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed diffuse symmetrical intensity change of the cerebral cortex, brainstem, and cerebellum. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of urine showed significant excretion of NAA. Genetic analysis of the 4 affected cats identified a missense mutation (c.859G>C) in exon 6 of the ASPA gene, which was not detected in 4 neurologically intact cats examined as controls. Postmortem analysis revealed vacuolar changes predominantly distributed in the gray matter of the cerebrum and brain stem as well as in the cerebellar Purkinje cell layer. Immunohistochemically, these vacuoles were surrounded by neurofilaments and sometimes contained MBP- and Olig2-positive cells. Ultrastructurally, a large number of intracytoplasmic vacuoles containing mitochondria and electron-dense granules were detected in the cerebral cortex. All 4 cats were diagnosed as spongy encephalopathy with a mutation in the ASPA gene, a syndrome analogous to human Canavan disease. The histopathological findings suggest that feline ASPA deficiency induces intracytoplasmic edema in neurons and oligodendrocytes, resulting in spongy degeneration of the central nervous system.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document