Phytochemicals, Bioactive Properties and Commercial Potential of Calamondin (Citrofortunella microcarpa) Fruits: A Review.

The calamondin (Citrofortunella microcarpa) is a hybrid citrus fruit resulting from the crossing of a mandarin orange with a kumquat. It is a small, round-shaped fruit with thin, smooth skin ranging from orange to dark red. The aroma of the fruit is distinctive and unique. Calamondin is an excellent source of Vitamin C, D-Limonene, and essential oils, providing benefits to the immune system, as well as anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-angiogenic, and anti-cancer properties, and it exhibits various therapeutic effects. It also contains a good amount of dietary fiber from pectin. Its distinctive flavor and high juice content make calamondin juice a popular ingredient in many international cuisines. The juice also contains bioactive compounds, such as phenolics and flavonoids, which are a potential source of antioxidant properties. All parts of the calamondin fruit, including the juice, pulp, seeds, and peel, can be used in various applications, from food products like juices, powders, and candies to non-food uses in herbal medicine and cosmetics, showcasing their versatility and unique properties. This review will examine various bioactive components of calamondin and their related medicinal effects, and provide guidelines for their utilization, processing, and value addition on a commercial scale.

Rh blood phenotyping (D, E, e, C, c) microarrays using multichannel surface plasmon resonance imaging.

The application of Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging (SPRi) for the detection of transmembrane antigen of the Rhesus (Rh) blood group system is demonstrated. Clinically significant Rh blood group system antigens, including D, C, E, c, and e, can be simultaneously identified via solid phase immobilization assay, which offers significant time savings and assay simplification. Red blood cells (RBCs) flowed through the micro-channel, where a suitable condition for Rh blood group detection was an RBC dilution of 1:10 with a stop-flow condition. Stop flow showed an improvement in specific binding compared to continuous flow. Rh antigens required a longer incubation time to react with the immobilized antibody than A and B antigens due to the difference in antigen type and their location on the RBC. The interaction between the immobilized antibodies and their specific antigenic counterpart on the RBC showed a significant difference in RBC removal behavior using shear flow, measured from the decay of the SPR signal. The strength of the interaction between the immobilized antibody and RBC antigen was determined from the minimum wall shear stress required to start the decay process in the SPR signal. For a given range of immobilized antibody surface densities, the Rh antigen possesses a stronger interaction than A, B, and AB antigens. Identification of 82 samples of ABO and Rh blood groups using SPRi showed good agreement with the standard micro-column agglutination technique. A wider coverage of antigenic recognition for RBC when using the solid phase immobilization assay was demonstrated for the RBC with the antigenic site located on the transmembrane protein of the clinically significant Rh antigen. Given the level of accuracy and precision, the technique showed potential for the detection of the Rh minor blood group system.

Colorimetric Detection by Gold Nanoparticle DNA Probes for Miltenberger Series (GP.Mur, GP.Hop, and GP.Bun) Identification.

BACKGROUND: Miltenberger (Mi) series are the collective glycophorin hybrids in the MNS blood group system. Mi series are composed of several subtypes, for examples, GP.Mur, GP.Hop, and GP.Bun. The incompatibility of Mi series blood transfusion poses the risk of hemolysis. Due to the lack of standard antibodies for Mi series blood typing, colorimetric gold nanoparticle (AuNP) DNA probes were therefore explored for Mi series identification. METHODS: AuNPs were synthesized and conjugated to an RvB (test) probe and an RvA2 (control) probe. Each of the AuNP DNA probes was tested against the amplified products of Mi(+) (GP.Mur/Hop/Bun), Mi(-), and the blank (no amplified product). The change in color was observed by visual inspection and UV-Vis spectroscopy. RESULTS: The amplified product of the Mi(+) sample retained the color on both probes (test+/control+). The amplified product of the Mi(-) sample retained the color only on the control probe (test-/control+) and the amplified product of the blank turned clear on both probes (test-/control-). The results by optical density absorbance measurement were concordant with the results by visual inspection. Both probes were validated with the amplified products of the ten Mi(+) and ten Mi(-) samples. All of the samples were correctly identified. CONCLUSION: AuNP DNA probes (RvB and RvA2) could be applied to distinguish the amplified products of Mi(+), Mi(-), and the blank by visual inspection and/or OD absorbance measurement.