Systems Approach to Investigate the Role of Fruit and Vegetable Types on Vascular Function in Pre-Hypertensive Participants: Protocol and Baseline Characteristics of a Randomised Crossover Dietary Intervention.

The evidence on the impact of fruits and vegetable types on cardiovascular risk factors remains limited. Specifically, the utilisation of biomarkers to objectively measure dietary compliance and metabolic responses is emerging. This protocol and baseline characteristics of a pilot randomised controlled, crossover, dietary intervention study aimed to examine the effects of citrus fruits, cruciferous vegetables, or common fruits and vegetables on cardiovascular risk factors. A total of 39 volunteers with untreated prehypertension was recruited and consumed a standardised, provided diet with eight daily portions of citrus fruits and cruciferous vegetables, common fruits and vegetables, or a low fruit and vegetable diet (two portions/d, control diet) in a random order for 2 weeks each, separated by a wash-out week. A targeted cohort-based recruitment strategy was utilised and resulted in 74% of participants recruited by re-contacting preselected individuals from two cohort studies with a 15% average enrolment rate. Participants had an average age of 54.4 years (±6.1 years), BMI of 27.9 kg/m2, and BP of 135/81 mmHg and were mainly male (67%). The primary outcome was office blood pressure; secondary outcomes included arterial stiffness, lipid profiles, inflammation, cognitive function, and subjective mood. Biofluids, i.e., 24 h urine, stool, and blood samples, were collected for biomarker measurements with multiple metabolomic platforms and the gut microbial composition, together with traditional dietary biomarkers.

Novel Essential Oil-Based Thiosemicarbazone Compounds as Potential Fungicides in Controlling Postharvest Diseases of Citrus Fruit.

To develop novel fungicides for controlling postharvest fungal diseases in citrus fruits, 12 essential oil (EO)-based thiosemicarbazones compounds, termed hydrazine-carbothioamide, were prepared according to the condensation method. In vitro assays showed that compound 13j exhibited the strongest antifungal activity (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] = minimum fungicidal concentration [MFC] = 0.0125 mg/mL) against Penicillium digitatum. An in vivo study revealed that 5 × MFC of compound 13j can effectively mitigate the green mold incidence of citrus fruit inoculated with P. digitatum, as well as fruit rot during natural storage, at a level comparable to that of the chemical fungicide prochloraz. Throughout this process, fruit quality was maintained. The hemolysis assay showed that these thiosemicarbazone compounds have good biocompatibility and that their safety is comparable to that of prochloraz. The antifungal activity of compound 13j was attributed to membrane damage, as confirmed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Calcofluor white (CFW) staining, propidium iodide (PI) staining, Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, optical density (OD)260, and relative conductivity assays. Collectively, our results indicate that compound 13j can be used as an antifungal agent to control the postharvest decay of citrus fruits.

Avoid the Peel: Citrus Fruit Bezoar Causing Intestinal Perforation.

We report a highly unusual case of small bowel obstruction in an 86-year-old man from ingestion of a citrus fruit, known as kumquats, which led to intestinal perforation and peritonitis. He initially presented with a one-day history of diffuse abdominal pain associated with nausea and feculent emesis after eating whole pieces of unpeeled kumquats. When symptoms of peritonitis evolved with a blood lactate of 5.1 mg/dL, he was urgently taken to the operating room for exploration. Multiple areas with fibrous exudates and full-thickness ulceration were encountered along the distal jejunum and proximal ileum, with a partially obstructing intraluminal mass in the distal ileum. Treatment involved resection of 70 cm of non-viable bowel, removal of the intraluminal mass, and surgical re-establishment of intestinal continuity. Unpeeled kumquats were confirmed to have caused these intestinal findings. The patient did well following the operation and has had no further problems referred to by this management.

Assessment of optical properties and Monte-Carlo based simulation of light propagation in citrus infected by Penicillium italicum.

This original work investigated the optical properties and Monte-Carlo (MC) based simulation of light propagation in the flavedo of Nanfeng tangerine (NF) and Gannan navel orange (GN) infected by Penicillium italicum. The increase of absorption coefficient (µa) at around 482 nm and the decrease at around 675 nm were both observed in infected NF and GN during storage, indicating the accumulation of carotenoids and loss of chlorophyll. Particularly, the µa in NF varied more intensively than GN, but the limited differences of reduced scattering coefficient (µs') were detected while postharvest infection. Besides, MC simulation of light propagation indicated that the photon packets weight and penetration depth at 482 nm in NF were reduced more than in GN flavedo, while there were almost no changes at the relatively low absorption wavelength of 926 nm. The simulated absorption energy at 482 nm in NF and GN presented more changes than those at 675 nm during infection, thus could provide better detection of citrus diseases. Furthermore, PLS-DA models can discriminate healthy and infected citrus, with the accuracy of 95.24 % for NF and 98.67 % for GN, respectively. Consequently, these results can provide theoretical fundamentals to improve modelling prediction robustness and accuracy.

Individual Protective Covers Improve Yield and Quality of Citrus Fruit under Endemic Huanglongbing.

The use of individual protective covers (IPCs) to protect newly planted citrus trees from Huanglongbing (HLB) infection is being widely adopted in Florida, an HLB-endemic citrus-producing area. It is known that IPCs positively influence most horticultural traits, increasing tree growth, flush expansion, and leaf size, enabling trees to sustain balanced carbohydrate metabolism by preventing Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) infection, and inducing higher leaf chlorophyll levels. This may result in more productive trees. However, as the tree grows, IPCs eventually are removed, typically between 2 and 3 years after their initial installation. Once IPCs are removed, trees become exposed to the Asian citrus psyllid (ACPs) and ultimately become infected. In this work, we covered Valencia sweet orange trees with IPCs for 30 months, until the trees entered fruit-bearing age. We investigated how the IPC protection of newly planted trees for 30 months influenced the fruit quality and yield of "Valencia" trees for three consecutive seasons after IPC removal compared to non-covered trees. The use of IPCs kick-started the newly planted citrus trees, resulting in higher yields and fruits with better internal and external quality. After 30 months of IPC protection, tree canopies were larger and denser, supporting more fruit per tree than non-protected trees for three consecutive seasons, even though by the end of the first season after IPC removal, the trees were HLB-positive. Tree height, scion diameter, canopy volume, and leaf area were significantly improved compared to non-covered trees. Additionally, fruit quality was significantly improved in the three seasons following IPC removal compared to non-covered trees. However, a decline in quality was measurable in fruit from IPC trees after the second harvesting season, with trees affected by HLB. Based on the results from this study, we conclude that the benefits from IPC protection may last for at least three consecutive seasons once trees enter the productive age, despite CLas infection within 12 months after IPC removal.

Quality Evaluation of Bergamot Juice Produced in Different Areas of Calabria Region.

Citrus fruits are extensively cultivated worldwide, with Italy and Spain being major producers. In Southern Italy, particularly in Reggio Calabria, a typical citrus fruit is produced, namely, bergamot (Citrus bergamia Risso et Poiteau), known for its mysterious origins and exceptional quality essential oil protected by the EU's PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) designation. Despite historical challenges, bergamot has regained prominence for its nutraceutical potential, especially its flavonoid-rich juice, offering significant health benefits. However, little attention has been paid to understanding the qualitative and quantitative differences of bergamot juice in Calabrian production areas. For this reason, this work aims to investigate the quality characteristics of bergamot juice produced in different areas of Calabria sites. The results showed the best quality attributes of bergamot fruits harvested in the PDO area. In particular, higher levels of total soluble solids, stable acidity, and higher juice were found. In addition, higher contents of ascorbic and citric acids, which are nutritionally valuable and tasteful, were found. The phenolic profile, characterized by the key compounds of bergamot, highlighted the better nutraceutical potential of the fruit grown in the PDO area.

Monocular Pose Estimation Method for Automatic Citrus Harvesting Using Semantic Segmentation and Rotating Target Detection.

The lack of spatial pose information and the low positioning accuracy of the picking target are the key factors affecting the picking function of citrus-picking robots. In this paper, a new method for automatic citrus fruit harvest is proposed, which uses semantic segmentation and rotating target detection to estimate the pose of a single culture. First, Faster R-CNN is used for grab detection to identify candidate grab frames. At the same time, the semantic segmentation network extracts the contour information of the citrus fruit to be harvested. Then, the capture frame with the highest confidence is selected for each target fruit using the semantic segmentation results, and the rough angle is estimated. The network uses image-processing technology and a camera-imaging model to further segment the mask image of the fruit and its epiphyllous branches and realize the fitting of contour, fruit centroid, and fruit minimum outer rectangular frame and three-dimensional boundary frame. The positional relationship of the citrus fruit to its epiphytic branches was used to estimate the three-dimensional pose of the citrus fruit. The effectiveness of the method was verified through citrus-planting experiments, and then field picking experiments were carried out in the natural environment of orchards. The results showed that the success rate of citrus fruit recognition and positioning was 93.6%, the average attitude estimation angle error was 7.9°, and the success rate of picking was 85.1%. The average picking time is 5.6 s, indicating that the robot can effectively perform intelligent picking operations.

Digital replica to unveil the impact of growing conditions on orange postharvest quality.

The postharvest end-quality of citrus is significantly impacted by pre-harvest factors such as weather, which varies among growing regions. Despite the importance of these factors, the influence of regional weather variations, such as variations in temperature, humidity, wind, vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and solar radiation on postharvest citrus quality, is largely unknown. This study aims to quantify this impact through a physics-driven digital replica of the entire value chain of Valencia oranges, from orchards in South Africa to retail in Europe. Predicted fruit properties data at harvest and hygrothermal sensor data from orchard to retail for different production regions are coupled to a physics-based fruit model to simulate key postharvest fruit quality metrics. These metrics include mass loss, chilling injury, fruit quality index (FQI), remaining shelf life (RSL), total soluble solids (TSS), and titratable acidity (TA). Our digital fruit model reveals that regional weather variability significantly affects fruit quality evolution when comparing data from Nelspruit, Letsitele, and Sunday's River Valley (SRV). The impact of weather variations is most pronounced in the temperate oceanic climate of SRV compared to the hotter climates of Letsitele and Nelspruit. Our findings indicate that differences in weather conditions between these growing regions impact postharvest mass loss, FQI, RSL, TSS, and TA of Valencia oranges at retail. The impact is up to 10% variation in mass loss and RSL, 4% in TSS, and 1% in TA among oranges grown in different regions. We show that temperature and humidity variations in the postharvest local transport of oranges between different regions largely increase mass loss by up to twofold, FQI by up to ~ 12%, and RSL by up to ~ 15% at retail. Our research also shows that weather temperature is the most important metric during fruit growth affecting various aspects of postharvest orange quality. This study offers valuable insights into the impact of regional weather variations on the quality of oranges available to consumers. These findings could help the citrus industry enhance growing practices, postharvest logistics, retail marketing, and cold chain strategies, thereby improving product quality and consumer satisfaction.

Forecasting the Expansion of Bactrocera tsuneonis (Miyake) (Diptera: Tephritidae) in China Using the MaxEnt Model.

The invasive pest, Bactrocera tsuneonis (Miyake), has become a significant threat to China's citrus industry. Predicting the area of potentially suitable habitats for B. tsuneonis is essential for optimizing pest control strategies that mitigate its impact on the citrus industry. Here, existing distribution data for B. tsuneonis, as well as current climate data and projections for four future periods (2021-2040, 2041-2060, 2061-2080, and 2081-2100) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) were obtained. The distribution of B. tsuneonis under current and different climate change scenarios in China was predicted using the optimized MaxEnt model, ArcGIS, and the ENMeval data package. Model accuracy was assessed using ROC curves, and the primary environmental factors influencing the distribution of the pest were identified based on the percent contribution. When the regularization multiplier (RM) was set to 1.5 and the feature combination (FC) was set to LQH, a model with lower complexity was obtained. Under these parameter settings, the mean training AUC was 0.9916, and the mean testing AUC was 0.9854, indicating high predictive performance. The most influential environmental variables limiting the distribution of B. tsuneonis were the Precipitation of Warmest Quarter (Bio18) and Temperature Seasonality (standard deviation ×100) (Bio4). Under current climatic conditions, potentially suitable habitat for B. tsuneonis in China covered an area of 215.9 × 104 km2, accounting for 22.49% of the country's land area. Potentially suitable habitat was primarily concentrated in Central China, South China, and East China. However, under future climatic projections, the area of suitable habitat for B. tsuneonis exhibited varying degrees of expansion. Furthermore, the centroid of the total suitable habitat for this pest gradually shifted westward and northward. These findings suggest that B. tsuneonis will spread to northern and western regions of China under future climate changes. The results of our study indicate that climate change will have a major effect on the invasion of B. tsuneonis and have implications for the development of strategies to control the spread of B. tsuneonis in China.

Clarification of the infection pattern of Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri on citrus fruit by artificial inoculation.

BACKGROUND: Citrus canker is a significant bacterial disease caused by Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc) that severely impedes the healthy development of the citrus industry. Especially when citrus fruit is infected by Xcc, it will reduce or even lost its commercial value. However, due to the prolonged fruiting cycle and intricate structure, much less research progress had been made in canker disease on fruit than on leaf. In fact, limited understanding has been achieved on canker development and the response to Xcc infection in fruit. RESULTS: Herein, the progression of canker disease on sweet orange fruit was tracked in the field. Results indicated that typical lesions initially appear on the sepal, style residue, nectary disk, epicarp, and peduncle of young fruits after petal fall. The susceptibility of fruits to Xcc infection diminished as the fruit developed, with no new lesions forming at the ripening stage. The establishment of an efficient method for inoculating Xcc on fruit as well as the artificial inoculation throughout the fruit's developmental cycle clarified this infection pattern. Additionally, microscopic observations during the infection process revealed that Xcc invasion caused structural changes on the surface and cross-section of the fruit. CONCLUSIONS: An efficient system for inoculation on citrus fruit with Xcc was established, by which it can serve for the evaluation of citrus germplasm for canker disease resistance and systematic research on the interactions between Xcc and citrus fruits.

Modification, biological activity, applications, and future trends of citrus fiber as a functional component: A comprehensive review.

Citrus fiber, a by-product of citrus processing that has significant nutritional and bioactive properties, has gained attention as a promising raw material with extensive developmental potential in the food, pharmaceutical, and feed industries. However, the lack of in-depth understanding regarding citrus fiber, including its structure, modification, mechanism of action, and potential applications is holding back its development and utilization in functional foods and drugs. This review explores the status of extraction methods and modifications applied to citrus fiber to augment its health benefits. With the aim of introducing readers to the potential health benefits of citrus fibers, we have placed special emphasis on their regulatory mechanisms in the context of various conditions, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and cancer. Furthermore, this review highlights the applications and prospects of citrus fiber, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the utilization and exploration of this valuable resource.

Quality and antioxidant potential of goat's milk paneer prepared from different citrus juices and its whey.

The experiments reported in this research paper aimed to evaluate the physico-chemical and sensory characteristics, microbial quality and antioxidant potential of goat's milk paneer during storage (0-12 d, 4 ± 1°C). The juices from five different citrus fruits were used as coagulant (treatments) to make goat's milk paneer. The pH of all paneer samples decreased during storage whereas titratable acidity increased. Ash (%) fat (%) and protein (%) of paneer increased slightly during storage, whereas sensory perception decreased. The juices from all the citrus fruit varieties showed high contents of total phenolics and total flavonoids which ultimately influenced ferric reducing antioxidant power, total antioxidant capacity and radical scavenging activities. As the contents of different juices were also retained in the paneer matrix, so paneer coagulated with citrus juices also showed encouraging results in terms of total phenolic and flavonoid contents, ferric reducing antioxidant power and radical scavenging activities. Amongst all the paneers, the most promising was that coagulated by kinnow juice. In addition, the whey obtained from paneer coagulated by citrus juices also showed appreciable quantities of total phenolic and flavonoid contents, thereby beneficially influencing ferric reducing antioxidant power andradical scavenging activities. It is concluded that citrus juices improve the sensorial quality and antioxidant potential of goat's milk paneer and its whey.

The Anti-ulcer Potential of Weissella cibaria Assisted Bio-fermented Product of Citrus limetta Waste Peel in Wistar Albino Rats.

BACKGROUND: There are patents available related to fermented food and beverages which enhance to human health. Citrus limetta (Mosambi) has a high content of flavonoids and exhibits antioxidant activity, which could stimulate the digestive system and be useful for gastroprotective activity. It supports digestion by neutralizing the acidic digestive juices and reducing gastric acidity. OBJECTIVE: This study explored the potential of using waste peel extract from Citrus limetta to prevent ulcers. The study specifically sought to assess the anti-ulcer properties of fermented and non-fermented extracts and compare them. Further, the study looked at the potential benefits of treating or preventing ulcers with Citrus limetta waste peels and whether fermentation affected the efficacy of the treatment. METHODS: Thirty female Wistar albino rats were equally distributed into five different groups. Group 1 received distilled water (20 ml/kg/b.w); Group 2 received indomethacin (mg/kg/b.w); Group 3 received omeprazole (20 mg/kg/b.w); Group 4 received aqueous extract of Mosambi peel (400 mg/kg/b.w) and Group 5 received fermented product of extract of Mosambi peel (400 mg/kg/b.w). RESULTS: Findings explored that, compared to non-fermented citrus fruit juice, biofermented exhibited less gastric volume (1.58 ± 0.10 ml vs. 1.8 ± 0.14 ml), reduced MDA levels (355.23 ± 100.70 µmol/mg protein vs. 454.49 ± 155.88 µmol/mg protein), and low ulcer index (0.49 ± 0.07 vs. 0.72 ± 0.14). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the bio-fermented product of Citrus limetta peel has better anti-ulcer potential against peptic ulcer induced by indomethacin in Wistar albino rats compared to non-fermented.

Fruits hidden by green: an improved YOLOV8n for detection of young citrus in lush citrus trees.

In order to address the challenges of inefficiency and insufficient accuracy in the manual identification of young citrus fruits during thinning processes, this study proposes a detection methodology using the you only look once for complex backgrounds of young citrus fruits (YCCB-YOLO) approach. The method first constructs a dataset containing images of young citrus fruits in a real orchard environment. To improve the detection accuracy while maintaining the computational efficiency, the study reconstructs the detection head and backbone network using pointwise convolution (PWonv) lightweight network, which reduces the complexity of the model without affecting the performance. In addition, the ability of the model to accurately detect young citrus fruits in complex backgrounds is enhanced by integrating the fusion attention mechanism. Meanwhile, the simplified spatial pyramid pooling fast-large kernel separated attention (SimSPPF-LSKA) feature pyramid was introduced to further enhance the multi-feature extraction capability of the model. Finally, the Adam optimization function was used to strengthen the nonlinear representation and feature extraction ability of the model. The experimental results show that the model achieves 91.79% precision (P), 92.75% recall (R), and 97.32% mean average precision (mAP)on the test set, which were improved by 1.33%, 2.24%, and 1.73%, respectively, compared with the original model, and the size of the model is only 5.4 MB. This study could meet the performance requirements for citrus fruit identification, which provides technical support for fruit thinning.

Vitamin C variation in citrus in response to genotypes, storage temperatures, and storage times: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Numerous published studies have highlighted discrepancies in the duration and storage temperature used for preserving vitamin C content on various citrus genotypes worldwide. The present study aimed to analyze the variation in vitamin C content as influenced by citrus genotype, duration, and storage temperature using meta-analysis approaches. Data searching, selection, and tabulation resulted in a comprehensive database constructed from 1412 data points gathered from 54 individual studies, following PRISMA-P guidelines. The vitamin C content varied widely, ranging from 0 to 76.2 mg/100 mL in whole data of citrus fruit. Meta-analysis findings revealed that the duration of storage significantly impacted the vitamin C content in citrus fruits. Specifically, for grapefruit, mandarin, and orange, the length of storage significantly influenced their vitamin C levels (P < 0.01), with a consistent decrease observed over time. The correlation coefficients (R2) were 0.63 for grapefruit, 0.9 for mandarin, and 0.69 for orange. In contrast, no significant difference was found in terms of vitamin C levels between hybrid and lime citrus concerning the impact of storage time. However, other results indicated a significant influence of storage temperature on the variation in vitamin C levels for both citrus and hybrid varieties (P < 0.001). Depending on the genotype, tangerine had significantly lower vitamin C content compared to other varieties, at 16.9 mg/100 mL, with vitamin C ranging from 13.2 to 20.9 mg/100 mL (P < 0.001). The highest vitamin C content was found in lemon and hybrid varieties, around 65.5 (range 59.3-76.2) and 48.3 (range 29.6-75.5), respectively, all in mg/100 mL (P < 0.001). Furthermore, there was a tendency for decreasing vitamin C concentration due to temperature (P = 0.078), while citrus variety experienced a decrease, although not significant. The ideal temperature (15 °C) and duration of storage (56 days) to minimize vitamin C loss in citrus fruits are at their optimum point. In conclusion, the deterioration of vitamin C in citrus fruits is influenced by both temperature and storage duration, and its content is also impacted by the variety of citrus.

Inhibitory Properties of Cinnamon Bark Oil against Postharvest Pathogen Penicillium digitatum In Vitro.

Penicillium digitatum is a major postharvest pathogen that threatens the global citrus fruit industry and causes great economic losses annually. In the present study, inhibitory properties of cinnamon bark oil (CBO) against P. digitatum in vitro were investigated. Results indicated that 0.03% CBO could efficiently inhibit the spore germination, germ tube elongation, mycelial growth, colonial expansion and conidial accumulation of P. digitatum. The results of fluorescein diacetate (FDA) and MitoTraker Orange (MTO) staining also proved the suppression effects of CBO against P. digitatum. Meanwhile, CBO could inhibit green mold rots induced by P. digitatum in citrus fruit when the working concentration of CBO exceeded 0.06%. In addition, the expressions of 12 genes critical for the growth and virulence of P. digitatum were also significantly regulated under CBO stress. Through a transcriptomic analysis, a total of 1802 common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in P. digitatum after 4 h and 8 h of CBO treatment. Most of the DEG products were associated with carbohydrate, amino acid and lipid metabolism. They directly or indirectly led to the disturbance of the membrane and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Our results may deepen the understanding of antifungal properties of CBO against P. digitatum and provide the theoretical foundation to uncover the antifungal mechanism of CBO at the molecular level.

Eugenol and Aloe vera blended natural wax-based coating for preserving postharvest quality of Kaji lemon (Citrus jambhiri).

Edible coatings on fruits and vegetables preserve postharvest quality by reducing water loss and lowering respiration, and metabolic activities. The primary objectives of this study were to develop composite coating formulations using natural waxes (carnauba and shellac wax), eugenol nanoemulsion, and Aloe vera gel, and assess the potential impacts of the coating formulations on the postharvest quality and shelf-life of the Kaji lemon. The results show that eugenol nanoemulsion and Aloe vera gel enhanced the physico-chemical, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the developed coating. Notably, the fruits coated with optimized nanocomposite of wax with eugenol and aloe vera gel inclusion (SW + CW/EuNE-20/AVG-2) showed the lowest weight loss (16.56%), while the coatings of wax with only aloe vera gel (SW + CW/AVG-2) exhibited the highest firmness (48 N), in contrast to the control fruit, which had 27.33% weight loss and 9.6 N firmness after 28 days of storage, respectively.

Octanal enhances disease resistance in postharvest citrus fruit by the biosynthesis and metabolism of aromatic amino acids.

Octanal was found to be able to reduce green mold incidence in citrus fruit by a defense response mechanism. However, the underlying mechanism remains largely unclear. Herein, the metabolomics, RNA-seq and biochemical analyses were integrated to explore the effect of octanal on disease resistance in harvested citrus fruit. Results showed that octanal fumigation at 40 µL L-1 was effective in controlling citrus green mold. Metabolomics analysis showed that octanal mainly led to the accumulation of some plant hormones including methyl jasmonate, abscisic acid, indole-3-butyric acid, indoleacetic acid (IAA), salicylic acid, and gibberellic acid and many phenylpropanoid metabolites including cinnamyl alcohol, hesperidin, dihydrokaempferol, vanillin, quercetin-3-O-malonylglucoside, curcumin, naringin, chrysin, coniferin, calycosin-7-O-ß-D-glucoside, trans-cinnamaldehyde, and 4',5,7-trihydroxy-3,6-dimethoxyflavone. Particularly, IAA and hesperidin were dramatically accumulated in the peel, which might be the contributors to the resistance response. Additionally, transcriptome analysis showed that octanal greatly activated the biosynthesis and metabolism of aromatic amino acids. This was further verified by the accumulation of some metabolites (shikimic acid, tryptophan, tyrosine, phenylalanine, IAA, total phenolics, flavonoids and lignin), increase in some enzyme activities (phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, tyrosine ammonia-lyase, 4-coumarate CoA ligase, cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase, polyphenol oxidase, and peroxidase), up-regulation of some genes (tryptophan pyruvate aminotransferase, aldehyde dehydrogenase, shikimate kinase and shikimate dehydrogenase) expressions and molecular docking results. Thus, these results indicate that octanal is an efficient strategy for the control of postharvest green mold by triggering the defense response in citrus fruit.

Recent advances in the therapeutic potential of nobiletin against respiratory diseases.

BACKGROUND: Nobiletin is a natural polymethoxylated flavonoid widely present in citrus fruit peels. It has been demonstrated to exert the effects of anti-tumor, anti-inflammation, anti-oxidative, anti-apoptotic and improve cardiovascular function. Increasing evidences suggest that nobiletin plays an important role in respiratory diseases (RDs) treatment. OBJECTIVE: This review aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of nobiletin against RDs, such as lung cancer, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, pulmonary infection, acute lung injury, coronavirus disease 2019, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. METHODS: We retrieved extensive literature of relevant literatures in English until June 26, 2023 from the database of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. The keywords of "nobiletin and lung", "nobiletin and respiratory disease", "nobiletin and chronic respiratory diseases", "nobiletin and metabolites", "nobiletin and pharmacokinetics", "nobiletin and toxicity" were searched in pairs. A total of 298 literatures were retrieved from the above database. After excluding the duplicates and reviews, 53 were included in the current review. RESULTS: We found that the therapeutic mechanisms are based on different signaling pathways. Firstly, nobiletin inhibited the proliferation and suppressed the invasion and migration of cancer cells by regulating the related pathway or key target, like Bcl-2, PD-L1, PARP, and Akt/GSK3ß/ß-catenin in lung cancer treatment. Secondly, nobiletin treats COPD and ALI by targeting classical signaling pathway mediating inflammation. Besides, the available findings show that nobiletin exerts the effect of PF treatment via regulating mTOR pathway. CONCLUSIONS: With the wide range of pharmacological activities, high efficiency and low toxicity, nobiletin can be used as a potential agent for preventing and treating RDs. These findings will contribute to further research on the molecular mechanisms of nobiletin and facilitate in-depth studies on nobiletin at both preclinical and clinical levels for the treatment of RDs.

Prediction of Soluble-Solid Content in Citrus Fruit Using Visible-Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging Based on Effective-Wavelength Selection Algorithm.

Citrus fruits were sorted based on external qualities, such as size, weight, and color, and internal qualities, such as soluble solid content (SSC), acidity, and firmness. Visible and near-infrared (VNIR) hyperspectral imaging techniques were used as rapid and nondestructive techniques for determining the internal quality of fruits. The applicability of the VNIR hyperspectral imaging technique for predicting the SSC in citrus fruits was evaluated in this study. A VNIR hyperspectral imaging system with a wavelength range of 400-1000 nm and 100 W light source was used to acquire hyperspectral images from citrus fruits in two orientations (i.e., stem and calyx ends). The SSC prediction model was developed using partial least-squares regression (PLSR). Spectrum preprocessing, effective wavelength selection through competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS), and outlier detection were used to improve the model performance. The performance of each model was evaluated using the coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE). In the present study, the PLSR model was developed using only a citrus cultivar. The SSC prediction CARS-PLSR model with outliers removed exhibited R2 and RMSE values of approximatively 0.75 and 0.56 °Brix, respectively. The results of this study are expected to be useful in similar fields such as agricultural and food post-harvest management, as well as in the development of an online system for determining the SSC of citrus fruits.