Comparative study on nutraceutical and sensorial characteristics of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) cultivated in Iran, Spain, and Türkiye.

BACKGROUND: Quality properties of 14 saffron samples from Iran, Spain, and Türkiye were compared. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed between anthocyanins, volatile compounds, fatty acids, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity of saffron samples (P < 0.05). Besides, significant differences in color parameters were observed. Moreover, a total of 13 volatile compounds were identified in the saffron samples using. headspace-solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, safranal and α-isophorone being the two predominant aroma compounds. Regarding fatty acids, significant differences were seen in the fatty acid profiles of saffron samples (P < 0.05), while linoleic acid was the most concentrated fatty acid. In terms of sensory properties, different concentrations of safranal, α-isophorone and 4-ketoisophorone may lead to significant differences in the odor and taste attributes of saffron samples (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Changes in corm origin along with climate and agricultural conditions may affect the quality characteristics of saffron cultivated in different geographical areas to a significant degree. © 2024 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Elucidation of heavy metal content, phenolic profiles, and antioxidant activities of kale (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala) and arugula (Brassica eruca L.) grown in urban gardens in Istanbul.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of two distances: close (0-10 m) and far (60 m) from the heavy traffic roadside, at three different cultivation sites (MS: Mevlanakapi-Silivrikapi, SB: Silivrikapi-Belgradkapi, and BY: Belgradkapi-Yedikule kapi) along the road line. First, the phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, and physicochemical properties in kale and arugula vegetables were examined. Second, heavy metal concentrations in vegetables, soil, and irrigated water were investigated. In both vegetables, the highest total phenolic content was detected in samples obtained from far distance in SB site (3880.3 mg/kg) for kale and in BY site (1459.9 mg/kg) for arugula, whereas the lowest content was found at the close distance in MS site for both kale (448.5 mg/kg) and arugula (586.4 mg/kg). The antioxidant activity values [mg Trolox/kg (dw)] ranged from 366.74 to 586.10 and 2349.00 to 3757.4 for kale and from 520.00 to 945.60 and 3323.00 to 5814.70 for arugula in 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl methods, respectively. The levels of Cd and Hg in kale and arugula and Fe content in arugula exceeded FAO/WHO permissible limits, making them unsafe for human consumption. Meanwhile, the Pb content in kale and arugula and Fe content in kale were observed to be within acceptable limits set by FAO/WHO. In the irrigated water, the Pb value was below the permissible limit, whereas the Cd value was above it and no Hg and Fe were detected. In the soil samples, the Pb and Fe values were below the limit, whereas the Cd and Hg values were higher.

Key odorants of a Moroccan fermented milk product "Lben" using aroma extract dilution analysis.

Lben is one of the main dairy products in Morocco, which broadly plays a significant role in food industry due to its nutritional, taste, aroma and health features. Aroma is a main quality factor for this kind of fermented dairy products. In this study, aroma compounds were extracted by four different methods. According to the sensory analysis, solvent-assisted flavor evaporation exhibited the most representative and reproducible method of Lben matrices. In general, a total of 24 volatile compounds were found for the first time in Lben, including aldehyde, alcohols, acids, esters, and ketones. The Lben characteristic aroma was characterized by 15 odour-active compounds using the application of the aroma extract dilution analysis. On the basis of flavor dilution (FD) results, butanoic acid (FD = 1024, ripened cheese), acetoin (FD = 512, buttery-creamy), 2-heptanol (FD = 512, fatty) and hexanoic acid (FD = 512, cheesy-goat) were the most powerful key odorants in Lben.

Feeding lambs with silage mixtures of grass, sainfoin and red clover improves meat oxidative stability under high oxidative challenge.

This study investigated the oxidative stability of meat from lambs fed silages in which timothy grass was totally or partially replaced by sainfoin and/or red clover. Five groups of 8 lambs were fed the following silages: timothy grass (T), mixture (50:50) of timothy with either sainfoin (T-SF) or red clover (T-RC), mixture of timothy, sainfoin and red clover (50:25:25; T-SF-RC), or mixture (50:50) of sainfoin and red clover (SF-RC). Feeding the silages containing red clover (T-RC, T-SF-RC and SF-RC) decreased the deposition of vitamin E in muscle relative to the highly unsaturated fatty acids (P < .001), did not affect the oxidative stability of fresh meat, but reduced oxidative deterioration in cooked meat and in meat homogenates incubated with pro-oxidant catalysts (P < .001). The results of this study demonstrated that feeding lambs with silages containing sainfoin and red clover improve the oxidative stability of meat subjected to strong pro-oxidant conditions and suggest that these effects should be further clarified.

Elucidation of Infusion-Induced Changes in the Key Odorants and Aroma Profile of Iranian Endemic Borage ( Echium amoenum) Herbal Tea.

Infusion-induced changes in the aroma and key odorants and their odor activity values of Iranian endemic herbal (Gol-Gavzaban) tea obtained from shade-dried violet-blue petals of borage ( Echium amoenum) were studied for the first time. Two hot teas and one cold tea were investigated and coded as 4MN (4 min/98 °C), 16MN (16 min/98 °C), and 24HR (24 h/ambient temperature), respectively. Aromatic extracts of the tea samples were isolated by the liquid-liquid extraction method and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (GC-MS-O) for the first time. According to the results of the aroma profiling, a total of 35 common aroma compounds comprising alcohols, acids, volatile phenols, lactones, aldehydes, ketone, pyrroles, and furans were identified and quantified in the tea samples. Indeed, it is worth noting that the aroma profiles of the borage teas were similar. However, the effects of the infusion techniques were clearly different as observed on the content of each individual and total compounds in the samples. The highest mean total concentration was detected in 24HR (266.0 mg/kg), followed by 16MN (247.1 mg/kg) and 4MN (216.1 mg/kg). 1-Penten-3-ol was the principal volatile component in all borage teas. On the basis of the result of the flavor dilution (FD) factors, a combined total of 22 different key odorants was detected. The potential key odorants with regard to FD factors in all samples were prevailingly alcohols, acids, and terpenes. The highest FD factors were observed in 2-hexanol (2048 in 4MN and 24HR; 1024 in 16MN) and 1-penten-3-ol (2048 in 24HR; 1024 in 4MN and 16MN) in samples providing herbal and green notes. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the tea samples could clearly be discriminated in terms of their aroma profiles and key odorants. The findings of the current study demonstrate that the tea preparation conditions have a significant impact on the organoleptic quality of borage tea.

Characterization of Aroma-Active Compounds in Seed Extract of Black Cumin (Nigella sativa L.) by Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis.

Turkish Nigella sativa L. seed extracts were used to detect the aroma and key odorant compounds of the spice using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (GC-MS-O). Volatile compounds were extracted by the purge and trap extraction (PTE) method. A total of 32 volatile compounds consisting of different chemical classes acids (13), alcohols (7), phenols (3), terpene (1), esters (2), ketones (2), aldehyde (1), lactone (1) and hydrocarbons (2) were determined. The amounts of volatile compounds were found to be 21,544 µg kg−1. The application of aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) revealed the presence of 13 odor-active compounds alcohols (2), carboxylic acids (4), phenols (2), terpene (1), ketone (1), hydrocarbon (1) and unknown compounds (2) in Nigella sativa L. extract. Flavor dilution (FD) factors of key odorants ranged between 4 and 1024, while odor activity values (OAV) were in the range of 1.0 to 170.8. Acetoin was the only aroma-active ketone detected in Nigella sativa L. seed extracts. It had the strongest aroma (FD = 1024) and provided a buttery odor. This compound represented the most abundant compound of overall aroma profile with a concentration of 9394 µg kg−1, followed by isobutanoic acid (FD = 512 with a concentration of 218 µg kg−1) and contributed a powerful aroma and a cheesy characteristic odor.

Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry-Olfactometry To Control the Aroma Fingerprint of Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Three Tunisian Cultivars at Three Harvest Times.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry was used for the analysis of volatile compounds and key odorants of three less studied Tunisian olive oil cultivars for the first time. A total of 42 aroma compounds were identified and quantified in extra virgin olive oils. The present study revealed that the most dominant volatiles in olive oil samples qualitatively and quantitatively were aldehydes and alcohols, followed by terpenes and esters. Indeed, chemometric analysis has shown a correlation between chemical compounds and sensory properties. The determination of aroma-active compounds of olive oil samples was carried out using aroma extract dilution analysis. A total of 15 aroma-active compounds were detected in the aromatic extract of extra virgin olive oil, of which 14 were identified. On the basis of the flavor dilution (FD) factor, the most potent aromatic active compound was hexanal (FD = 512) in Fakhari olive oil, (FD = 256) in Touffehi oils, and (FD = 128) in Jemri olive oil.

GC-MS-olfactometric characterization of the most aroma-active components in a representative aromatic extract from Iranian saffron (Crocus sativus L.).

Aroma and aroma-active compounds of Iranian saffron (Crocus sativus L.) were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry. The saffron aromatic extracts were obtained by four different extraction techniques including solvent-assisted flavour evaporation (SAFE), liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), solid phase extraction (SPE), and simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE) and compared to achieve a representative aromatic extract from saffron. According to sensory analysis, the aromatic extract obtained by SAFE was the most representative of saffron odour. A total of 28 aroma compounds were identified in saffron. Ketones were quantitatively the most dominant volatiles in saffron, followed by aldehydes and acids. Aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) was used for the determination of aroma-active compounds of saffron. A total of nine aroma-active compounds were detected in the aromatic extract. On the basis of the flavour dilution (FD) factor, the most powerful aroma active compounds were safranal (FD = 512), 4-ketoisophorone (FD = 256) and dihydrooxophorone (FD = 128).