Effects of Berry Thinning on the Physicochemical, Aromatic, and Sensory Properties of Shine Muscat Grapes

The effects of the level of berry thinning (30% and 50% berry removal) on the quality and sensory properties of Shine Muscat grapes were investigated. As berry thinning increased, the total soluble solids content increased and titratable acidity decreased. Berry thinning increased berry size and cluster weight but caused no change in individual berry weight. Phenolic concentrations as measured by total phenolic, proanthocyanidin, and polymeric tannin concentrations tended to increase with an increase in berry thinning. Gas chromatographic analysis indicated that C6-compounds were the significant constituents of volatile alcohols and aldehydes; linalool was the most abundant monoterpene. Odor activity analysis indicated that (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, (E)-2-hexenal, 1-hexanal, (Z)-3-hexenal, (E)-β-damascenone, linalool, and (E)-linalool oxide were active odorants. Berry thinning increased the accumulation of linalool contributing to high sensory flavor scores in thinned berries. Furthermore, its oxidized derivative-linalool oxide-contributed to enhancing the Muscat flavor. In conclusion, berry thinning induced compositional changes in Shine Muscat grape berries by accelerating the ripening rate, contribution to improved sensory properties.

A Practical Laboratory-Scale Synthesis of All Eight Stereoisomeric Forms of Terpene Linalool Oxide

In this work, we describe a user-friendly procedure for the preparation of all the isomeric forms of the terpene linalool oxide. The presented method is based on the transformation of the linalool enantiomers into the corresponding diastereoisomeric mixtures of the two furanoid oxides and two pyranoid oxides. Taking advantage of the different steric hindrance of the hydroxyl functional groups, the pyranoid forms were separated as a diastereoisomeric mixtures of their benzoate esters. Conversely, the cis- and trans-furanoid isomers were transformed in the corresponding acetates, which were directly separated by chromatography. The hydrolysis of the latter esters afforded cis- and trans-furanoid linalool oxides whereas the same reaction performed on the benzoates mixture afforded a separable mixture of cis- and trans-pyranoid linalool oxide. Overall, the method features, as a unique mandatory requirement, the availability of both linalool enantiomers, and can be conveniently performed from a milligram to a multigram scale.

Extraction and Identification of Chemical Compounds of Peganum harmala L. Seed Essential Oil by HS-SPME and GC-MS Methods

Peganum harmala is a plant that belongs to the family Zygophyllaceae. In traditional medicine, this plant has therapeutic effects such as repelling intestinal worms, increasing sexual potency, increasing milk secretion, anti-rheumatism, regularizing, anti-parasitic, hypnotic, diaphoretic, anti-cancer and analgesic. The aim of this study was to identify the chemical composition of P. harmala seed essential oil. P. harmala seed essential oil was extracted by Head Space-SPME [HS-SPME] method and its chemical compounds were identified by GC-MS method. Totally, 41 chemical compounds were identified in P. harmala seed essential oil. According to the results, the most compounds of P. harmala L. seed essential oil includes 2,3-dimethyl benzofuran (28.32%), cis-linalool oxide (7.46%), [2E]- decenal (6.57%), 4aα,7β,7aα-nepetalactone (6.49%), 3-oxo-p-menth-1-en-7-al (6.36%) and trans- β- terpineol (5.86%), respectively.

Screening of the Honey Aroma as a Potential Essence for the Aromachology

The aim of the study was to determine the aroma profiles of four kinds of Slovak honey (sunflower, honeydew, acacia, and linden) by a qualitative and quantitative screening of their volatile compounds and by gas chromatography for the potential use in the aromachology and the business sphere. The results showed that several unique volatiles were identified in one kind of honey, while they were not identified in the remaining ones. The acacia honey had the unique volatile linalool oxide (1.13–3.9%); linden honey had the unique volatiles nerol oxide (0.6–1.6%), ethyl esters (0.41–8.78%), lilac aldehyde D (6.6%), and acetophenone (0.37%). The honeydew honey had the unique volatiles santene (0.28%) and cyclofenchene (0.59–1.39%), whereas 2-bornene (0.43–0.81%) was typical for sunflower honey. While linden honey was characterized by fruity ethyl esters, honeydew honey had more monoterpenoid compounds. In the principal component analysis model, the four kinds of honey could not be differentiated by aroma volatiles. However, it was possible to classify the linden and sunflower honey using the LDA. In conclusion, the current study provided experimental evidence that the marker compounds from different kinds of honey might be promising candidates for production of inhaling aromas.

Protective, Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activity of Grapefruit IntegroPectin on SH-SY5Y Cells

Tested in vitro on SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, grapefruit IntegroPectin is a powerful protective, antioxidant and antiproliferative agent. The strong antioxidant properties of this new citrus pectin, and its ability to preserve mitochondrial membrane potential and morphology, severely impaired in neurodegenerative disorders, make it an attractive therapeutic and preventive agent for the treatment of oxidative stress-associated brain disorders. Similarly, the ability of this pectic polymer rich in RG-I regions, as well as in naringin, linalool, linalool oxide and limonene adsorbed at the outer surface, to inhibit cell proliferation or even kill, at high doses, neoplastic cells may have opened up new therapeutic strategies in cancer research. In order to take full advantage of its vast therapeutic and preventive potential, detailed studies of the molecular mechanism involved in the antiproliferative and neuroprotective of this IntegroPectin are urgently needed.

Volatile Profile of Portuguese Monofloral Honeys: Significance in Botanical Origin Determination

The volatile profiles of 51 samples from 12 monofloral-labelled Portuguese honey types were assessed. Honeys of bell heather, carob tree, chestnut, eucalyptus, incense, lavender, orange, rape, raspberry, rosemary, sunflower and strawberry tree were collected from several regions from mainland Portugal and from the Azores Islands. When available, the corresponding flower volatiles were comparatively evaluated. Honey volatiles were isolated using two different extraction methods, solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and hydrodistillation (HD), with HD proving to be more effective in the number of volatiles extracted. Agglomerative cluster analysis of honey HD volatiles evidenced two main clusters, one of which had nine sub-clusters. Components grouped by biosynthetic pathway defined alkanes and fatty acids as dominant, namely n-nonadecane, n-heneicosane, n-tricosane and n-pentacosane and palmitic, linoleic and oleic acids. Oxygen-containing monoterpenes, such as cis- and trans-linalool oxide (furanoid), hotrienol and the apocarotenoid α-isophorone, were also present in lower amounts. Aromatic amino acid derivatives were also identified, namely benzene acetaldehyde and 3,4,5-trimethylphenol. Fully grown classification tree analysis allowed the identification of the most relevant volatiles for discriminating the different honey types. Twelve volatile compounds were enough to fully discriminate eleven honey types (92%) according to the botanical origin.

Fly Pollination of Kettle Trap Flowers of Riocreuxia torulosa (Ceropegieae-Anisotominae): A Generalized System of Floral Deception

Elaborated kettle trap flowers to temporarily detain pollinators evolved independently in several angiosperm lineages. Intensive research on species of Aristolochia and Ceropegia recently illuminated how these specialized trap flowers attract particular pollinators through chemical deception. Morphologically similar trap flowers evolved in Riocreuxia; however, no data about floral rewards, pollinators, and chemical ecology were available for this plant group. Here we provide data on pollination ecology and floral chemistry of R. torulosa. Specifically, we determined flower visitors and pollinators, assessed pollen transfer efficiency, and analysed floral scent chemistry. R. torulosa flowers are myiophilous and predominantly pollinated by Nematocera. Pollinating Diptera included, in order of decreasing abundance, male and female Sciaridae, Ceratopogonidae, Scatopsidae, Chloropidae, and Phoridae. Approximately 16% of pollen removed from flowers was successfully exported to conspecific stigmas. The flowers emitted mainly ubiquitous terpenoids, most abundantly linalool, furanoid (Z)-linalool oxide, and (E)-β-ocimene—compounds typical of rewarding flowers and fruits. R. torulosa can be considered to use generalized food (and possibly also brood-site) deception to lure small nematocerous Diptera into their flowers. These results suggest that R. torulosa has a less specific pollination system than previously reported for other kettle trap flowers but is nevertheless specialized at the level of Diptera suborder Nematocera.

Neuroprotective, antioxidant and antiproliferative activity of grapefruit IntegroPectin on SH-SY5Y cells

Tested in vitro on SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, grapefruit IntegroPectin is a powerful neuro-protective, antioxidant and antiproliferative agent. The strong antioxidant properties of grape-fruit IntegroPectin, and its ability to preserve mitochondrial membrane potential and mor-phology, severely impaired in neurodegenerative disorders, make this new biopolymer highly soluble in water an attractive therapeutic agent for oxidative stress-associated brain disorders. Similarly, the ability of this new citrus pectin rich in naringin, linalool, linalool oxide and lim-onene adsorbed at the outer surface to inhibit cell proliferation or even kill, at high doses, neo-plastic cells, coupled to its excellent health and safety profile, opens up new therapeutic strate-gies in cancer research. In order to take full advantage of its vast therapeutic and preventive po-tential, detailed studies of molecular mechanism involved in the antiproliferative and neuro-protective of IntegroPectin are urgently needed.

Effects of Storage Conditions on the Flavor Stability of Fried Pepper (Zanthoxylum bungeanum) Oil

Flavor stability of fried pepper oil was investigated during 30 days of storage. Variation trends of key volatile flavor compounds in fried pepper oil induced by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and oxygen (O2) exposure were compared using GC-MS and chiral GC-MS analysis. Chirality analysis showed that conversion of (S)-(-)-limonene to (R)-(+)-limonene form was observed during storage. The storage conditions did not change the configuration of linalool, linalool oxide, or carvone. Quantitative analysis showed that the concentrations of linalool, limonene, 1,8-cineole, β-myrcene, and β-ocimene decreased dramatically during storage, whereas carvone, (E)-2-heptenal, and linalool oxide showed an increasing trend during storage. The loss rate of limonene and linalool exhibited the highest under combined UV and O2 condition, which played an important role for the aroma attenuation of pepper oil. This result will benefit the storage of pepper oil and based on pepper oil aromatic products.