Identification of a caleosin associated with hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) oil bodies.

Caleosins are involved in several cellular and biological processes that are closely associated with the synthesis, degradation and stability of oil bodies (OB). Because of the importance and the multiple roles of these OB-associated proteins, in silico identification of sequences corresponding to putative caleosins in the hazelnut genome has been performed, and the association with seed OB was verified using a proteomic approach. Five full-length sequences (CavCLO-H1, CavCLO-H2, CavCLO-H3, CavCLO-L1, CavCLO-L2), belonging to the two groups of caleosins (H and L), have been identified in the hazelnut genome. The number of identified caleosins is in agreement with that previously observed in other plant species, confirming that caleosins comprise small gene families in plants. A proteomic approach allowed us to verify only the presence of CavCLO-H1 in hazelnut OB, suggesting that several members inside this family could have different roles during plant growth and development. In silico analysis also suggests that CavCLO-H1 may act as a peroxygenase.

Changes in Antioxidant Activity, Profile, and Content of Polyphenols and Tocopherols in Common Hazel Seed (Corylus avellana L.) Depending on Variety and Harvest Date.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of variety and the date of harvest of hazelnut seeds on their antioxidant potential and the profile and content of polyphenols and tocopherols. The research material included the hazelnut seeds of six varieties, harvested from July to September at equal 30-day intervals. Hazelnuts were analyzed for total fat content and antioxidant properties, whereby UPLC-PDA-ESI-MS analysis was used to determine the profile and content of polyphenols, and the HPLC method to determine the content of tocopherols. It was found that the content of fat and tocopherols in nuts increased with the ripening of the nuts. The highest fat content was found in walnut seeds of the Katalonski variety (September) and tocopherols in walnut seeds of the Olbrzym z Halle variety (177.67 mg/kg d.m.). In turn, antioxidant properties and total polyphenols content decreased with the later harvest date. The strongest antioxidant potential was found in the case of Cosford nuts harvested in July (66.93 mmol TE/100 g d.m.). These nuts were also characterized by the highest total polyphenol content (1704.9 mg/100 g d.m.). UPLC-MS analysis allowed the identification of 15 polyphenolic compounds such as phenolic acids, catechins and ellagic acid hexoside in nut seeds.

A Novel Medium for Enhancing Callus Growth of Hazel (Corylus avellana L.).

Paclitaxel is a powerful antimitotic agent with excellent activity against a range of cancers. Hazel has been described as a paclitaxel-producing species among angiosperms. Fast-growing callus is a prerequisite for the success of callus production and then paclitaxel production. Therefore, optimizing the medium culture for enhancing callus growth is a crucial step for paclitaxel production. In this research, Murashige and Skoog (1962) (MS) medium was optimized for improving callus growth of hazel (Corylus avellana L.). The M10 medium (MS medium with pH 6.0 and supplemented with 1000 mg l-1 spirulina powder, 1000 mg l-1 casein hydrolysate and 3 g l-1 gelrite) significantly improved hazel callus growth. This modified MS medium increased callus fresh weight (55.8%) as compared to the control. M10 medium increased fatty acids yield of callus (66.7%) as compared to the control. Liquid M10 medium maintained growth over a longer period of time and also increased slightly, the paclitaxel production as compared to the control. This novel medium is promising for facilitating the mass production of hazel callus as a source of valuable metabolites including paclitaxel, linoleic and oleic acids.

Hazelnut and neuroprotection: Improved memory and hindered anxiety in response to intra-hippocampal Aß injection.

OBJECTIVES: Corylus avellana L. (hazelnut) is known to be a delicious and nutritious food. This study was carried out to evaluate the use of hazelnut as a therapy for memory impairment because in Iranian traditional medicine, it is recommended for those suffering from a particular type of dementia, with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: In this study, rats were fed with hazelnut kernel [(without skin) 800 mg/kg/day] during 1 week before stereotaxic surgery to 24 hours before behavioral testing (in general, for 16 consecutive days) and the effect of hazelnut eating on memory, anxiety, neuroinflammation and apoptosis was assessed in the amyloid beta-injected rat. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that feeding with hazelnut improved memory, (which was examined by using Y-maze test and shuttle box apparatus), and reduced anxiety-related behavior, that was evaluated using elevated plus maze. Also, western blotting analysis of cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin-1ß, tumor necrosis factor-α, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein, and caspase-3 showed that hazelnut has an ameliorating effect on the neuroinflammation and apoptosis caused by Aß. DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that hazelnut, as a dietary supplement, improves healthy aging and could be a beneficial diet for the treatment of AD.

Analysis of different European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cultivars: authentication, phenotypic features, and phenolic profiles.

Hazelnuts exhibit functional properties due to their content in fatty acids and phenolic compounds that could positively affect human health. The food industry requires precise traits for morphological, chemical, and physical kernel features so that some cultivars could be more suitable for specific industrial processing. In this study, agronomical and morphological features of 29 hazelnut cultivars were evaluated and a detailed structural characterization of kernel polyphenols was performed, confirming the presence of protocatechuic acid, flavan-3-ols such as catechin, procyanidin B2, six procyanidin oligomers, flavonols, and one dihydrochalcone in all the analyzed cultivars. In addition, an innovative methodology based on the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometric analysis of peptide/protein components extracted from kernels was developed for the authentication of the most valuable cultivars. The proposed method is rapid, simple, and reliable and holds the potential to be applied in quality control processes. These results could be useful in hazelnut cultivar evaluation and choice for growers, breeders, and food industry.

Sensomics analysis of key hazelnut odorants (Corylus avellana L. 'Tonda Gentile') using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography in combination with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-TOF-MS).

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC×GC-MS) has been used a few times to identify and quantitate single aroma-active compounds, but the capability of this technique to monitor a complete set of key odorants evoking the aroma of a given food in one run has not been exploited so far. A fast, multiodorant analysis using GC×GC-TOF-MS in combination with stable isotope dilution assays (SIDA) was developed to quantitate the entire set of aroma compounds, the sensometabolome, of raw and roasted hazelnuts ( Corylus avellana L. 'Tonda Gentile') previously established by GC-olfactometry. The capability of the method to evaluate the aroma contribution of each sensometabolite was evaluated by introducing a new term, the limit of odor activity value (LOAV), indicating whether a given aroma compound can be determined down to an odor activity value (OAV) of 1 (odor activity value = ratio of concentration to odor threshold). The advantage of the new method was proven by comparing the performance parameters with a traditional one-dimensional approach using GC-ion trap mass-spectrometry (GC-IT-MS). The results showed that the detector linearity and sensitivity of GC×GC-TOF-MS was on average higher by a factor of 10 compared to GC-IT-MS, thus enabling the quantitation of the aroma relevant amounts of 22 key odorants of hazelnuts in one run of the 30 aroma-active compounds. Seven novel isotopically labeled internal standards were synthesized to meet the analytical requirements defined by electron impact ionization in TOF-MS, that is, to keep the label. On the basis of the quantitative results obtained, it was possible to closely mimic the aroma of raw and roasted 'Tonda Gentile' hazelnuts by preparing an aroma recombinate containing the key odorants at their natural concentrations occurring in the nuts.