Effect of Blending Ratios from Pineapple Juice on Storage, Physicochemical, Antiradical Activity and Volatile Compounds of Two Cactus Pear Juices

The current study was carried out to evaluate the effect of blending ratio and storage of mixed fruit juice from pineapple and two cactus pear juices. The data for pH and titratable acidity (TA) showed a reverse relationship (while pH decreased; an increase in TA occurred in non-significant values) in both blends at all blending ratios with excellent antimicrobial activity. The studied blends had HMF concentrations ranging from 1.04 to 2.49 mg/L at T1 (at zero time) and T6 (at the end of storage), respectively. The total phenolic concentration was 28.53, 59.72, and 51.46 mg/100 mL of the initial pineapple, purple, and green CP juices, respectively. The blends of pineapple with purple CP showed a higher total antioxidant activity than pineapple with green CP juice. T6 blend amongst all blends was found to be the most preferred one. Therefore, we follow up the organoleptic evaluation and volatile compounds using GC-MS of this blend during storage. The main volatile compounds identified using GC-MS in fresh, pure pineapple juice were esters, especially ethyl acetate, methyl 2-methylbutanoate, and ethyl butanoate, representing 13.11%, 9.32%, and 8.38%, respectively. On the other hand, the major volatile compounds were alcohols followed by aldehydes. 1-Hexanol had the highest concentration (12.41%), followed by hexanal (10.86%). The stored blend of pineapple and purple CP (1:3) exhibited a remarkable increase in aldehydes, especially benzaldehyde, to be 10.93% compared to the fresh blend, which had 7.62%.

NEW COMPONENTS OF ALCEA NUDIFLORA EXTRACT AFTER MICROWAVE EXTRACTION

Alcea nudiflora (Lindl.) Boiss. (Malvaceae) has a wide area of growth in Central Asia, the Altai territory and Western Siberia and has long been used in folk and traditional medicine. Availability of the resource and long-term application practice makes Alcea nudiflora a promising source of valuable biologically active natural compounds. The chemical composition of A nudiflora has been studied after effective microwave assisted extraction (MAE) performed using solvents with different ability to convert microwave energy into heat: hexane, ethyl acetate, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and ethyl alcohol (EtOH). The selected MAE conditions enabled us to reduce significantly the extraction time and obtain extracts enriched with new compounds. The chemical composition of aboveground part extracts of Alcea nudiflora (Lindl.) Boiss was studied by applying GC/MS method. 13 acids were discovered for the first time, including 6 aromatic acids and 7 unbranched monobasic acids of unsaturated and saturated series, as well as 11 new neutral compounds, including 7 naphthalene derivatives.

Maternal Reproductive Toxicity of Some Essential Oils and Their Constituents

Even though several plants can improve the female reproductive function, the use of herbs, herbal preparations, or essential oils during pregnancy is questionable. This review is focused on the effects of some essential oils and their constituents on the female reproductive system during pregnancy and on the development of the fetus. The major concerns include causing abortion, reproductive hormone modulation, maternal toxicity, teratogenicity, and embryo-fetotoxicity. This work summarizes the important studies on the reproductive effects of essential oil constituents anethole, apiole, citral, camphor, thymoquinone, trans-sabinyl acetate, methyl salicylate, thujone, pulegone, β-elemene, β-eudesmol, and costus lactone, among others.

Reversible-deactivation radical polymerization of vinyl acetate mediated by tralen, an organomediator

An organic compound, tralen, has been developed as a mediator to control the radical polymerization of vinyl acetate, methyl acrylate, and N-vinyl pyrrolidone via the reversible termination mechanism.

Confirmation of the suitability of the method of using ethanol as a reference substance for quantitative determination of volatile compounds in alcoholic beverages

Quality and safety control of alcohol products is an integral part of the work of laboratories for the food analysis. One of the most important safety indicators regulated worldwide is the chemical composition of an alcoholic beverages, namely the presence of characteristic and impurity volatile components. The list of controlled compounds includes acetaldehyde, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, methyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl and isoamyl alcohols, etc. Analysis of alcoholic beverages is a conservative field, since its results are closely associated with economic risks for the manufacturer, and also directly with the health of the population consuming this product. For this reason, the method, used for the analysis of alcoholic beverages, should be accurate, reproducible and simple for use. The authors have developed and described a method that satisfies the above requirements, based on the use of ethanol containing in alcoholic beverages as a reference substance for gas chromatographic analysis. Confirmation of the suitability of the proposed method for the analysis of a wide range of alcoholic beverages: whiskey, brandy, grappa, vodka, scotch tape, bourbon, brandy, calvados, sake, alcohol, rum, gin and tequila, is presented. The results, obtained by the proposed method are compared with the results obtained by the generally accepted traditional method of the internal standard using 2-pentanol. The repeatability and trueness of the both methods are evaluated. The relative difference between the results, obtained by the internal standard method, and the developed method did not exceed 2%.

Phytochemical screening and GC MS analysis of methanolic extract of Abelmoschus moschatus

The study was designed to evaluate the phytoconstituents present in the methanolic extract of aerial parts of Abelmoschus moschatus. The qualitative phytochemical screening of different extracts of aerial parts revealed the presence of some bioactive compounds. GC – MS analysis was performed using Shimadzu Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (Model Number: QP2010S) instrument. GC-MS detection of phytoconstituents was done by computer evaluation of mass spectra of samples through National Institute Standard and Technology (NIST II) and WILEY 8 library. GC – MS analysis detected the presence of 14 compounds. GC – MS profile of the methanolic extract revealed the presence of megastigmatrienone, phytol, loliolide, farnesyl acetate, methyl linoleates, gamma-sitosterol, cis, cis, cis-7,10,13-Hexadecatrienal, thymine, pyranone, coumarin, 2 – methoxy 4 – vinyl phenol, guanosine, chinasaure and 3- cyclopentyl propionic acid 2 dimethyl aminoethyl ester. The current study suggests that methanolic extracts of aerial parts of Abelmoschus moschatus contain phytoconstituents with antioxidant and cytoprotective activity. The study results will pave a way for the production of therapeutic agents which can be used for the treatment of various diseases.

Functional Analysis of Odorant-Binding Proteins 12 and 17 from Wheat Blossom Midge Sitodiplosis mosellana Géhin (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)

The wheat blossom midge Sitodiplosis mosellana, one of the most disastrous wheat pests, depends highly on olfactory cues to track suitable plants. To better understand the olfactory recognition mechanisms involved in host selection, in the present study we cloned two S. mosellana adult antenna-specific odorant binding protein (OBP) genes, SmosOBP12 and SmosOBP17, and evaluated bacterially expressed recombinant proteins for their selectivity and sensitivity for host wheat volatiles using the fluorescence-based ligand binding assay. The results showed that both SmosOBPs effectively bound alcohol, ester, ketone, and terpenoid compounds. Particularly, SmosOBP12 had significantly higher affinities (Ki < 10.5 μM) than SmosOBP17 (Ki2 > 0.1 μM) to 3-hexanol, 1-octen-3-ol, D-panthenol, 3-carene, (Z)-3-hexenylacetate, hexyl acetate, methyl salicylate, heptyl acetate, and ethyl heptanoate. Consistently, S. mosellana females were attracted to all these chemicals in a behavioral assay using Y-tube olfactometer. SmosOBP12 also bound aldehyde, but neither bound alkanes. Notably, SmosOBP12 exhibited strong affinity to ocimene (Ki = 8.2 μM) that repelled S. mosellana. SmosOBP17, however, was insensitive to this compound. Taken together, our results indicate that SmosOBP12 may play a greater role than SmosOBP17 in perceiving these biologically active plant volatiles.

Profile of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from Cold-Processed and Heat-Treated Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) Samples

Virgin coconut oil (VCO) can be prepared with or without heat. Fermentation and centrifuge processes can be done without the use of heat (cold process), while expelling involves heat due to friction. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from VCO samples prepared using these three methods were collected using solid phase microextraction (SPME) and analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Twenty-seven VCO samples from nine VCO producers were analyzed. The VOCs from refined, bleached, and deodorized coconut oil (RBDCO) were also obtained for comparison. Fourteen compounds were found to be common in more than 80% of the VCO samples analyzed. These included: Acetic acid; C6, C8, C10, C12, and C14 fatty acids, and their corresponding delta-lactones; and C8, C10 and C12 ethyl carboxylates. Fourteen minor VOCs were likewise detected which can be grouped into five types: Carboxylic acids (formic acid, butanoic acid, benzoic acid, and pentadecanoic acid), ketones (acetoin, 2-heptanone), an alcohol (ethanol), aldehydes (acetaldehyde, hexanal, benzaldehyde), esters (ethyl acetate, methyl tetradecanoate), and hydrocarbons (n-hexane and toluene). Five pyrazines were detected in expeller VCO. Various hydrocarbons from C5 to C14 were noted to be higher in old RBDCO and VCO samples. There were variations in the VOCs within each VCO process as each producer used different processing times, temperatures, and drying procedures. Principal components analysis (PCA) was able to group the samples according to the process used, but there were overlaps which may be due to variations in the specific procedures used by the manufacturers. These results may help VCO manufacturers control their production processes.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) of Endophytic Fungi Growing on Extracts of the Host, Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)

The interaction between plant defensive metabolites and different plant-associated fungal species is of high interest to many disciplines. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are natural products that are easily evaporated under ambient conditions. They play a very important role in inter-species communication of microbes and their hosts. In this study, the VOCs produced by 43 different fungal isolates of endophytic and soil fungi during growth on horseradish root (Armoracia rusticana) extract or malt extract agar were examined, by using headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (headspace-GC-MS) and a high relative surface agar film as a medium. The proposed technique enabled sensitive detection of several typical VOCs (acetone, methyl acetate, methyl formate, ethyl acetate, methyl butanol isomers, styrene, beta-phellandrene), along with glucosinolate decomposition products, including allyl cyanide and allyl isothiocyanate and other sulfur-containing compounds—carbon disulfide, dimethyl sulfide. The VOC patterns of fungi belonging to Setophoma, Paraphoma, Plectosphaerella, Pyrenochaeta, Volutella, Cadophora, Notophoma, and Curvularia genera were described for the first time. The VOC pattern was significantly different among the isolates. The pattern was indicative of putative myrosinase activity for many tested isolates. On the other hand, endophytes and soil fungi as groups could not be separated by VOC pattern or intensity.