Cannabis Extraction Technologies: Impact of Research and Value Addition in Latin America.

The Cannabis genus of plants has been widely used in different cultures for various purposes. It is separated into three main species: sativa, indica, and ruderalis. In ancient practices, the plant was used as a multipurpose crop and valued for its fiber, food, and medicinal uses. Since methodologies for the extraction, processing, and identification of components have become available, medical, and food applications have been increasing, allowing potential development in the pharmaceutical and healthy functional food industries. Although the growing legalization and adoption of cannabis for the treatment of diseases are key factors pushing the growth of its market, the biggest challenge is to obtain higher-quality products in a time- and cost-effective fashion, making the process of extraction and separation an essential step. Latin American countries exhibit great knowledge of extraction technologies; nevertheless, it is still necessary to verify whether production costs are economically profitable. In addition, there has been an increase in commercial cannabis products that may or may not be allowed, with or without quality fact sheets, which can pose health risks. Hence, legalization is mandatory and urgent for the rest of Latin American countries. In this article, the phytochemical compounds (cannabinoids, terpenes, and phenolic compounds), the current status of legalization, extraction techniques, and research advances in cannabis in Latin America are reviewed.

Identification and Quantification of Phenolic Compounds from Mexican Oregano (Lippia graveolens HBK) Hydroethanolic Extracts and Evaluation of Its Antioxidant Capacity.

Plants have been used for thousands of years for various purposes because they have a wide variety of activities with biological significance. Mexican oregano is an aromatic plant of great importance to Mexico and north of Jalisco state as a spice with important economic value. Chromatographic identification and quantification of phenolic compounds and evaluation of their antioxidant activity were important tools to obtain a better characterization of this spice. Phytochemical analysis indicated the presence of flavonoids, triterpenes, saponins, quinones and tannins, the latter at high concentrations. Through chromatographic assays of Mexican oregano extracts, 62 compounds were identified, the major ones being quantified as: taxifolin, apigenin 7-O-glucoside, phlorizin, eriodictyol, quercetin, naringenin, hispidulin, pinocembrin, galangin and genkwanin (compound for the first time reported for this species). The results can be useful as a precedent to establish the bases of new quality characterization parameters and they have also suggested that Mexican oregano contains a wide variety of compounds with untapped importance for the development of new high value-added products.

Effect of Ultrasound on In Vitro Bioaccessibility of Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity of Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) Residues cv. Tupy.

Agro-industries residues of fruit are a source of antioxidant compounds with a possible health impact. The aim of this study was to evaluate the total phenolic content (TPC), total monomeric anthocyanins (TMA), individual phenolic compounds (IPC), antioxidant capacity and in vitro intestinal bioaccessibility from blackberry residues (BR), and ultrasonicated blackberry residues (US-BR). The results showed that BR had higher TPC (4,016.43 mg GAE/100 g DM), TMA (364.53 mg Cy-3-Gl/100 g) antioxidant capacity by ABTS (5,422.38 mg AAE/100 g DM) and FRAP (12511.44 µmol Fe(II)/100 g DM) than US-BR. TPC and TMA obtained by US-BR were more bioaccessible (70 and 51%, respectively) compared to BR (37 and 34%, respectively). The use of ultrasound can aid the extraction of total phenolic compounds and improve their bioaccessibility. After acid hydrolysis, a high amount of individual phenolic compounds (IPC) in US-BR (chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, apigenin, luteolin and kaempferol) was obtained compared with BR. Before in vitro digestion, total individual compounds (TIC) content was lower in the BR (29.49 mg/100 g DM) than US-BR (92.36 mg/100 g DM) and there was 5 and < 1%, respectively. Therefore, the food industry would use residues of blackberry fruits as a source of antioxidant compounds with possible health benefits.

Pesticide residues in orange fruit from citrus orchards in Nuevo Leon State, Mexico.

Some international organisations established maximum residue limits (MRLs) in food to protect human health. Mexico lacks regulations in this matter, affecting national and international trade from agroindustry. The aim of this study was to diagnose pesticide residues in oranges from Nuevo Leon, México, in citrus orchards. In May 2014, 100 orange fruit samples were taken randomly from orchards and subjected to analysis for 93 pesticides at residual level by GC/QQQ-MS and LCQ-TOF-MS. Results showed the presence of 15 pesticide residues in the samples. The comparison of the residual levels of pesticides found in orange samples among the MRLs allowed by USA, EU and Japanese regulations demonstrated that all samples were below MRLs issued by USA and Japan. Some orange samples were above MRLs issued by the EU. This provides a basis to establish strategies in order to satisfy International Standards to protect human health and encourage Food Safety in Mexico.

Influence of ultra-high pressure homogenisation on antioxidant capacity, polyphenol and vitamin content of clear apple juice.

Ultra-high pressure homogenisation (UHPH) is a recently developed technology and is still under study to evaluate its effect on different aspects of its application to food products. The aim of this research work was to evaluate the effect of UHPH treatments on quality characteristics of apple juice such as antioxidant capacity, polyphenol composition, vitamin C and provitamin A contents, in comparison with raw (R) and pasteurised (PA) apple juice. Several UHPH treatments that include combinations of pressure (100, 200 and 300MPa) and inlet temperatures (4 and 20°C) were assayed. Apple juice was pasteurised at 90°C for 4min. Antioxidant capacity was analysed using the oxygen radical antioxidant capacity (ORAC), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay while total phenolic content was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteau assay. According to the FRAP and DPPH assays, UHPH processing did not change apple juice antioxidant capacity. However, significant differences were detected between samples analysed by TEAC and ORAC assays. In spite of these differences, high correlation values were found between the four antioxidant capacity assays, and also with total polyphenol content. The analysis and quantification of individual phenols by HPLC/DAD analytical technique reflects that UHPH-treatment prevented degradation of these compounds. Vitamin C concentrations did not change in UHPH treated samples, retaining the same value as in raw juice. However, significant losses were observed for provitamin A content, but lower than in PA samples. UHPH-treatments at 300MPa can be an alternative to thermal treatment in order to preserve apple juice quality.