Assessment of Lipid Quality in Commercial Omega-3 Supplements Sold in the French Market.

Supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids is considered a valuable strategy to supply the low intake of these fatty acids. Thus, the safety of the supplements is an important milestone. Because of that, we analyzed 20 unflavored supplements sold in the French market for fatty acid and triglyceride composition, for EPA and DHA, and for tocol content, as well as for oxidative status. This study found that only 2.5% of the supplements did not meet their label claims for omega-3 content. TAG analysis showed high variability among the triglyceride distribution, and the same trend was also noticed for the tocol content; in fact, a high variability of the distribution of the six tocols (four tocopherols and two tocotrienols) was found among the samples. Of the tested products, all of them complied with peroxide value, p-anisidine value, and Totox values established by the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED) and were not oxidized.

Co-milling process of olives and oleaginous matrices with high nutritional value: a preliminary characterisation of the obtained oils.

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), grape seeds (GS) and pomegranate seeds (PS) are very popular for human consumption because of their nutraceutical properties. A co-milling of olives with GS or PS was carried out with the aim of a preliminary study of the lipidic and phenolic characteristics of the obtained vegetable oils, also during their shelf life. Results show that the use of GS and PS in the olive co-milling enriches the oil in healthy compounds, such as punicic acid and γ-tocopherol. However, the co-milling process must be re-evaluated, since the compositional profile of the co-milled oils is just slightly different from EVOO. The oxidative state of the oils obtained suggests the use of a protective packaging combined with small containers in order to ensure a rapid consumption. With an appropriate formulation the co-milled oils could bring health-positive compounds and, simultaneously, raw materials could be valorised.

Olive oil by-product as functional ingredient in bakery products. Influence of processing and evaluation of biological effects.

Nowadays, the strong demand for adequate nutrition is accompanied by concern about environmental pollution and there is a considerable emphasis on the recovery and recycling of food by-products and wastes. In this study, we focused on the exploitation of olive pomace as functional ingredient in biscuits and bread. Standard and enriched bakery products were made using different flours and fermentation protocols. After characterization, they were in vitro digested and used for supplementation of intestinal cells (Caco-2), which underwent exogenous inflammation. The enrichment caused a significant increase in the phenolic content in all products, particularly in the sourdough fermented ones. Sourdough fermentation also increased tocol concentration. The increased concentration of bioactive molecules did not reflect the anti-inflammatory effect, which was modulated by the baking procedure. Conventionally fermented bread enriched with 4% pomace and sourdough fermented, not-enriched bread had the greatest anti-inflammatory effect, significantly reducing IL-8 secretion in Caco-2 cells. The cell metabolome was modified only after supplementation with sourdough fermented bread enriched with 4% pomace, probably due to the high concentration of tocopherol that acted synergistically with polyphenols. Our data highlight that changes in chemical composition cannot predict changes in functionality. It is conceivable that matrices (including enrichment) and processing differently modulated bioactive bioaccessibility, and consequently functionality.

Recovery of Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins and Other Phenolic Compounds with Established Bioactivity from Grape Seed By-Products.

Grape seeds are a copious part of the grape pomace produced by wine and juice industry and they represent an interesting source of phenolic compounds. Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are the main class of grape seed phenols and are important dietary supplements for their well-known beneficial properties. In this study enriched extracts obtained from Chardonnay and Pignoletto grape seeds were characterized for their proanthocyanidins and other minor phenolic compounds content and composition. Seed PAs were fractionated using Sephadex LH-20, using different ethanol aqueous solutions as mobile phase and analysed by normal phase HPLC-FLD-ESI-MS. Monomers, oligomers up to dodecamers and polymers were recorded in all samples. For both cultivars, the extracts showed a high content in PAs. The determination of other phenolic compounds was carried out using a HPLC-QqQ-ESI-MS and Chardonnay samples reported a greater content compared to Pignoletto samples. Contrary to PAs fraction, extracts obtained with ethanol/water 50/50 (v/v) presented a significant higher phenolic content than the others.

Olive oil industry by-products. Effects of a polyphenol-rich extract on the metabolome and response to inflammation in cultured intestinal cell.

Over the past years, researchers and food manufacturers have become increasingly interested in olive polyphenols due to the recognition of their biological properties and probable role in the prevention of various diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease. Olive pomace, one of the main by-products of olive oil production, is a potential low-cost, phenol-rich ingredient for the formulation of functional food. In this study, the aqueous extract of olive pomace was characterized and used to supplement human intestinal cell in culture (Caco-2). The effect on the cell metabolome and the anti-inflammatory potential were then evaluated. Modification in the metabolome induced by supplementation clearly evidenced a metabolic shift toward a "glucose saving/accumulation" strategy that could have a role in maintaining anorexigenic hormone secretion and could explain the reported appetite-suppressing effect of the administration of polyphenol-rich food. In both basal and inflamed condition, supplementation significantly reduced the secretion of the main pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-8. Thus, our data confirm the therapeutic potential of polyphenols, and specifically of olive pomace in intestinal bowel diseases. Although intervention studies are needed to confirm the clinical significance of our findings, the herein reported results pave the road for exploitation of olive pomace in the formulation of new, value-added foods. In addition, the application of a foodomics approach allowed observing a not hypothesized modulation of glucose metabolism.

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the volatile fraction extracted from air-dried fruits of Tunisian Eryngium maritimum L. ecotypes.

BACKGROUND: Eryngium maritimum L., also known as 'sea holly', is a typical dune plant species belonging to the Apiaceae family and commonly used in Tunisia for therapeutic purposes in folk medicine. In the present study, the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the volatile fraction extracted from air-dried fruits of five Tunisian E. maritimum ecotypes were determined. RESULTS: The total volatile amount ranged from 0.31% to 0.93% (w d.w.-1 ). Sixty-six volatile components were identified by means of GC-MS and accounted for 77.05-86.65% of the total extracted volatile oil. The majority of the identified metabolites were hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes and oxygenated sesquiterpenes, amounting on average to 46.69% and 30.01% of total volatiles, respectively. The principal individual components were germacrene D (13.62-31.71%), 15-hydroxy-α-muurolene (12.04-18.58%), and germacrene B (6.77-15.04%). Significant differences were noticed among E. maritimum populations. The volatile profile of E. maritimum fruits was consistently different from those of the aerial parts and roots of plants of the same species reported in previous investigations. Average radical scavenging capacity of the volatile fraction, as determined by DPPH and ABTS tests, was twice higher than that of the Trolox control. CONCLUSION: This study characterised for the first time the fruits of E. maritimum for the composition and radical-scavenging capacity of their volatile fraction. The growth location confirmed as a pivotal factor in influencing the volatile profile of the fruits. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Monitoring of compositional changes during berry ripening in grape seed extracts of cv. Sangiovese (Vitis vinifera L.).

BACKGROUND: Seed oil and flours have been attracting the interest of researchers and industry, since they contain various bioactive components. We monitored the effects of ripening on lipids, monomeric flavan-3-ols, proanthocyanidins and tocols concentration in seed extracts from organically cultivated cv. Sangiovese vines. RESULTS: Linoleic acid was the most abundant fatty acid, followed by oleic, palmitic and stearic acids. The tocols detected were α-tocopherol, α-tocotrienol and γ-tocotrienol. The proanthocyanidins degree of polymerisation ranged from dimers to dodecamers; moreover, monomeric flavan-3-ols and polymeric proanthocyanidins were detected. Total flavan-3-ols (monomers, oligomers and polymers) concentration in grape seeds decreased during ripening. CONCLUSIONS: Fatty acids reached the highest level in post-veraison. The concentration of these compounds varied considerably during ripening. Capric acid has been found for the first time in grape seeds. α-Tocopherol and γ-tocotrienol decreased during ripening, while α-tocotrienol increased. The HPLC analysis with fluorimetric detection, conducted for the first time on cv. Sangiovese, revealed that the concentration of flavan-3-ols monomers, oligomeric proanthocyanidins and polymers greatly changed during ripening. These results suggest that the timing of bunch harvest plays a crucial role in the valorisation of grape seed flour. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Organic honey supplementation reverses pesticide-induced genotoxicity by modulating DNA damage response.

SCOPE: Glyphosate (GLY) and organophosphorus insecticides such as chlorpyrifos (CPF) may cause DNA damage and cancer in exposed individuals through mitochondrial dysfunction. Polyphenols ubiquitously present in fruits and vegetables, have been viewed as antioxidant molecules, but also influence mitochondrial homeostasis. Here, honey containing polyphenol compounds was evaluated for its potential protective effect on pesticide-induced genotoxicity. METHODS AND RESULTS: Honey extracts from four floral organic sources were evaluated for their polyphenol content, antioxidant activity, and potential protective effects on pesticide-related mitochondrial destabilization, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species formation, and DNA damage response in human bronchial epithelial and neuronal cells. The protective effect of honey was, then evaluated in a residential population chronically exposed to pesticides. The four honey types showed a different polyphenol profile associated with a different antioxidant power. The pesticide-induced mitochondrial dysfunction parallels ROS formation from mitochondria (mtROS) and consequent DNA damage. Honey extracts efficiently inhibited pesticide-induced mtROS formation, and reduced DNA damage by upregulation of DNA repair through NFR2. Honey supplementation enhanced DNA repair activity in a residential population chronically exposed to pesticides, which resulted in a marked reduction of pesticide-induced DNA lesions. CONCLUSION: These results provide new insight regarding the effect of honey containing polyphenols on pesticide-induced DNA damage response.

Analysis of oligomer proanthocyanidins in different barley genotypes using high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection-mass spectrometry and near-infrared methodologies.

Proanthocyanidins are a class of polyphenols present in many foodstuffs (i.e., tea, cocoa, berries, etc.) that may reduce the risk of several chronic diseases. Barley, with sorghum, rice, and wheat, are the only cereals that contain these compounds. Because of that, two barley genotypes, named waxy and non-waxy, were analyzed by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection-mass spectrometry (NP-HPLC-FLD-MS). Total proanthocyanidin content ranged between 293.2 and 652.6 µg/g of flour. Waxy samples reported the highest content (p < 0.05) of proanthocyanidins. Dimer compounds were the principal proanthocyanidin constituents of barley samples. Moreover, the possibility to use near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as a rapid method to discriminate between waxy and non-waxy samples and to predict quantitatively proanthocyanidins in barley samples was evaluated. Partial least squares (PLS) models were built to predict the proanthocyanidin constituent, obtaining determination coefficients (R(2)) ranging from 0.92 to 0.97, in test set validation. Because of that, this study highlights that NIR spectroscopy technology with multivariate calibration analysis could be successfully applied as a rapid method to determine proanthocyanidin content in barley.

Determination of lipid and phenolic fraction in two hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cultivars grown in Poland.

The fatty acid, tocopherol, sterol, phospholipid and phenolic compositions of Polish hazelnuts (Katalonski and Webba Cenny) were examined. Particularly, free+esterified and bound tocopherol, sterol and phenolic compounds were determined. The major fatty acids found in hazelnuts were oleic and linoleic acids. α-Tocopherol was the most abundant tocopherol accounting for 90-92% of the total content. Bound tocopherols represented 45.5% and 21.7% of total tocopherols in Katalonski and Webba Cenny cultivar, respectively. Total free+esterified sterols were between 62.0% and 75.7% of total sterols and ß-sitosterol was the first sterol in the two samples. Phosphatidylcholine was the most common phospholipid, accounting for 72.2% for Katalonski and 67.5% Webba Cenny, respectively. The most abundant fatty acids in the phospholipid fraction were oleic equally with palmitic acids. Twelve free and six bound phenolic compounds were identified and quantified in hazelnut kernel, instead nine free and six bound phenolic compounds were determined in hard shell.

Buckwheat honeys: screening of composition and properties.

The quality of 10 buckwheat honeys, collected from Italian and est European beekeepers declaring to produce monofloral honey, were evaluated by means of their pollen, physicochemical, phenolic and volatile composition data. The results of the traditional analyses and in particular electrical conductivity, optical rotation, pH and sugar composition revealed some poorly pure samples that could not fit in the buckwheat tipology. Honey volatiles, analysed by solid phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass-spectrometry (GC/MS), showed more than 100 volatile compounds, most of them present in all honey samples but with quantitative variation. Besides many furfural derivates, 3-methylbutanoic acid was the main volatile compound found in most of honeys. Also the presence of 2- and 3-methylbutanal and pheynalcetaldehyde confirmed the typical buckwheat aroma of some studied samples, corroborating physicochemical data. The HPLC phenolic profile was similar across the samples and p-hydroxybenzoic and p-coumaric acids proved to be the main components.