Cancer sniffer dogs: how can we translate this peculiarity in laboratory medicine? Results of a pilot study on gastrointestinal cancers.

BACKGROUND: Identification of cancer biomarkers to allow early diagnosis is an urgent need for many types of tumors, whose prognosis strongly depends on the stage of the disease. Canine olfactory testing for detecting cancer is an emerging field of investigation. As an alternative, here we propose to use GC-Olfactometry (GC/O), which enables the speeding up of targeted biomarker identification and analysis. A pilot study was conducted in order to determine odor-active compounds in urine that discriminate patients with gastrointestinal cancers from control samples (healthy people). METHODS: Headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME)-GC/MS and GC-olfactometry (GC/O) analysis were performed on urine samples obtained from gastrointestinal cancer patients and healthy controls. RESULTS: In total, 91 key odor-active compounds were found in the urine samples. Although no odor-active biomarkers present were found in cancer carrier's urine, significant differences were discovered in the odor activities of 11 compounds in the urine of healthy and diseased people. Seven of above mentioned compounds were identified: thiophene, 2-methoxythiophene, dimethyl disulphide, 3-methyl-2-pentanone, 4-(or 5-)methyl-3-hexanone, 4-ethyl guaiacol and phenylacetic acid. The other four compounds remained unknown. CONCLUSIONS: GC/O has a big potential to identify compounds not detectable using untargeted GC/MS approach. This paves the way for further research aimed at improving and validating the performance of this technique so that the identified cancer-associated compounds may be introduced as biomarkers in clinical practice to support early cancer diagnosis.

Valorization of Baltic Sea farmed blue mussels: Chemical profiling and prebiotic potential for nutraceutical and functional food development.

The severe eutrophication of the Baltic Sea requires mussel (Mytilus spp.) farming to remove nutrients, but farming in a low salinity environment results in smaller mussels that require value enhancement to be economically viable. This study evaluates the biomass valorisation of smaller Baltic mussels, focusing on the extraction of oil, protein and glycogen. It analyses the amino acid profiles, oil and fatty acid contents and glycogen levels of the mussels, as well as their prebiotic properties on beneficial gut bacteria. In addition, the study improves the extraction of bioactive compounds through enzymatic hydrolysis. Results indicate significant seasonal differences, with summer mussels having higher meat and lower ash content, and a rich content of essential fatty acids, particularly omega-3, and amino acids, underscoring the mussels' sustainability as a food source. The enzymatically treated biomass exhibited notable prebiotic activity, proposing health-promoting benefits. The study underscores the valorization of Baltic mussel biomass, highlighting its role in health, nutrition, and environmental sustainability.

Sensory and chemical profiles of Finnish honeys of different botanical origins and consumer preferences.

The sensory-chemical profiles of Finnish honeys (labeled as buckwheat, cloudberry-bog, lingonberry, sweet clover, willowherb and multifloral honeys) were investigated using a multi-analytical approach. The sensory test (untrained panel, n = 62) was based on scaling and check-all-that-apply (CATA) methods accompanied with questions on preference and usage of honey. The results were correlated with corresponding profiles of odor-active compounds, determined using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry/olfactometry (GC-MS/O). Botanical origins and chemical compositions including sugars were evaluated using NMR spectroscopy. A total of 73 odor-active compounds were listed based on GC-O. Sweet and mild honeys with familiar sensory properties were preferred by the panelists (PCA, R2X(1) = 0.7) while buckwheat and cloudberry-bog honeys with strong odor, flavor and color were regarded as unfamiliar and unpleasant. The data will give the honey industry novel information on honey properties in relation to the botanical origin, and consumer preference.

The current practice in the application of chemometrics for correlation of sensory and gas chromatographic data.

A lot of research has been conducted in correlating the sensory properties of food with different analytical measurements in recent years. Various statistical methods have been used in order to get the most reliable results and to create prediction models with high statistical performance. The current review summarises the latest practices in the field of correlating attributes from sensory analysis with volatile data obtained by gas chromatographic analysis. The review includes the origin of the data, different pre-processing and variable selection methods and finally statistical methods of analysis and validation. Partial least squares regression analysis appears as the most commonly used statistical method in the area. The main shortcomings were identified in the steps of pre-processing, variable selection and also validation of models that have not gained enough attention. As the association between volatiles and sensory perception is often nonlinear, future studies should test the application of different nonlinear techniques.

Characterisation of the aroma profiles of different honeys and corresponding flowers using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry.

The aroma profiles of thirteen different honey samples from four botanical origins: heather (Calluna vulgaris), raspberry (Rubus idaeus), rape (Brassica napus), alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus) and the blossoms of the four corresponding flowers were investigated to find odour-active compounds exclusively representing specific honeys based on odour-active compounds from the blossoms. Gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas-chromatography-olfactometry were used to determine and identify the odour-active compounds. Data was analysed using agglomerative hierarchical clustering and correspondence analysis. Honeys from the same botanical origin clustered together; however, none of the identified compounds were exclusive to a particular honey/blossom combination. Heather honey had the flavour profile most different to the others. Isophorone and 2-methylbutyric acid were found only in heather honeys. Heather honey was characterised by having more "sweet" and "candy-like" notes, raspberry honeys had more "green" notes, while alder buckthorn had more "honey" and "floral" notes.