Optimizing Procedures for Antioxidant Phenolics Extraction from Skin and Kernel of Peanuts with Contrasting Levels of Drought Tolerance.

Peanut is an affordable legume known for its nutritional value and phenolic content. The kernel and skin of 14 peanut genotypes contrasting in drought tolerance had their phenolic profiles determined and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activity evaluated. Firstly, temperature and % EtOH to extract antioxidant phenolic compounds were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). The optimized extraction conditions, 60 °C and 35% EtOH for kernels and 40 °C and 60% EtOH for skins, were further adopted, and phenolic compounds were identified and quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detector (HPLC-PDA). As a result, phenolic acids and glycosidic/non-glycosidic flavonoids were found. Principal component analysis was conducted, and the pairwise score plot of the skin extracts based on individual phenolic compounds showed a trend of genotype clustering based not only on drought tolerance but also on botanical type of germplasm. Therefore, our results demonstrate the status quo for antioxidant phenolic compounds of peanut genotypes contrasting in drought tolerance grown under natural field conditions.

Antioxidant activity and development of one chromatographic method to determine the phenolic compounds from Agroindustrial Pomace.

A chromatographic method consisting of multi wavelength detection for identification of six phenolic acids, one stilbene and five flavonoids in grape and apple pomaces was proposed. Scavenging of DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid), reactive oxygen species and reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+ using in vitro and HPLC-UV-ABTS on-line methods are herein presented. A reversed phase C18 coupled with an absorption detector operating at 280, 300, 320 and 360 nm for the benzoic acid derivatives and flavanols; stilbenes; cinnamic acid derivatives and flavonols, were respecctively used. The solvents water, methanol and acetonitrile acidified with acetic acid were evaluated as mobile phase. The optimized chromatographic method presented recoveries ranged from 68 to 130% and from 66 to 130% for grape and apple pomaces respectively. The determination coefficients (R2) of the 12 compounds were > 0.98. The extracts showed high total phenolic content and exhibits strong capacities to scavenge free radicals and reactive oxygen species. The results obtained by HPLC-ABTS on-line method suggest that pomaces of grape and apple are rich in bioactive compounds and that catechin and epicatechin contribute in a significantly way to the antioxidant activity in both agroindustrial pomaces.

Polyphenol analysis using high-resolution mass spectrometry allows differentiation of drought tolerant peanut genotypes.

BACKGROUND: Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important economic food crop highly appreciated worldwide. Although peanut cultivation has been expanding to dry regions, with water stress during growth stages, current genotypes are not adapted to drought. This study aimed to identify and quantify the full range of polyphenols in five peanut genotypes with different degrees of drought tolerance developed by Embrapa (Brazil) using ultra-high-definition accurate-mass liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-LTQ-Orbitrap-mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Fifty-eight polyphenols of the classes hydroxybenzoic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, flavanols, flavonols and flavanones were identified and quantified using high mass accuracy data and confirmed by tandem mass spectrometric experiments. High-definition mass spectrometric analyses revealed nine phenolic compounds that have never been reported in peanuts before. Polyphenol assessment using multivariate analysis allowed identification of the level of similarities among the five peanut genotypes studied. CONCLUSION: Higher drought-tolerant genotypes exhibited higher content of flavonoids, which suggests a relationship between these compounds and drought tolerance traits. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Can we conserve trans-resveratrol content and antioxidant activity during industrial production of chocolate?

BACKGROUND: Cocoa exhibits high content of phenolic compounds, among which trans-resveratrol stands out, associated with several bioactive activities such as antioxidant properties. Chocolate contains reduced amounts of these bioactive compounds due to losses during the production process. Therefore, this study aimed to assess changes in total phenolic content, and specifically trans-resveratrol, as well as changes in the antioxidant activity of cocoa and its products during industrial production of chocolate. RESULTS: A total of ten different cocoa products were analyzed. The processes of fermentation and roasting caused significant loss of total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. The high temperature of roasting had a major influence on this loss (71% for total phenolic compounds and 53-77% for antioxidant activity), except for trans-resveratrol. The trans-resveratrol content formed after fermentation (9.8 µg kg-1 ) showed little variation during the processes, and it was detected in higher concentrations both in natural (11.4 µg kg-1 ) and in alkalized cocoa powder (13.5 µg kg-1 ). Alkalization of cocoa products led to loss of capacity of deactivating superoxide radical. CONCLUSION: These findings contribute to the optimization of the production process of chocolate and other food products containing cocoa and its derivatives, aiming to better preserve their bioactive compounds. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Volatile compounds profile of Bromeliaceae flowers / Perfil de compuestos volátiles de las flores en las Bromeliaceae

Abstract:Volatile compounds play a vital role in the life cycle of plants, possessing antimicrobial and anti-herbivore activities, and with a significant importance in the food, cosmetic, chemical, and pharmaceutical industry. This study aimed to identify the volatile compounds emitted by flowers of thirteen species belonging to four genera of Bromeliaceae, using headspace solid-phase micro-extraction and detection by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 71 volatile compounds belonging to nine chemical groups were identified. The compounds identified represented more than 97 % of the major components in Aechmea bicolor, Ae. bromeliifolia, Ae. distichantha, Ae. fasciata, and Vriesea friburgensis. In the Ananas varieties, over 99 % of the components were identified, and around 90 % in V. simplex. V. friburgensis presented the largest diversity of volatiles with 31 compounds, while Alcantarea nahoumii presented only 14. All three Ananas varieties presented the same 28 compounds in relatively similar abundance, which has been confirmed by principal component analysis. Current taxonomy and pollination syndrome studies available can adequately explain the variation in volatile compounds among species. Rev. Biol. Trop. 64 (3): 1101-1116. Epub 2016 September 01.

ResumenLos compuestos volátiles tienen un papel vital en el ciclo de vida de las plantas. Poseen actividad antimicrobiana y anti-herbivoría biológica y una gran importancia en la industria de alimentos, cosméticos, perfumes, productos químicos y farmacéuticos. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo identificar los compuestos volátiles de trece flores de especies, pertenecientes a cuatro géneros de Bromeliaceae utilizando microextracción en fase sólida mediante cromatografía de gases hifenada con espacio de cabeza acoplada a espectrometría de masas. Se han identificado setenta y un diferentes compuestos volátiles pertenecientes a nueve grupos. Los compuestos identificados representaron más del 97 % de los componentes principales en Aechmea bicolor, Ae. bromeliifolia, Ae. distichantha, Ae. fasciata, Vriesea friburgensis, 99 % en las variedades de Ananas y 90 % en V. Simplex. V. friburgensis mostró la mayor diversidad de compuestos volátiles con 31, mientras que en Al. nahoumii se han encontrado sólo 14 compuestos. Las tres variedades de Ananas presentan los mismos 28 compuestos en cantidades relativamente similares, lo que se confirmó por el análisis de componentes principales. Estudios taxonómicos y síndromes de polinización disponibles podrían explicar la variación de los compuestos volátiles entre especies.

Volatile compounds profile of Bromeliaceae flowers.

Volatile compounds play a vital role in the life cycle of plants, possessing antimicrobial and anti-herbivore activities, and with a significant importance in the food, cosmetic, chemical, and pharmaceutical industry. This study aimed to identify the volatile compounds emitted by flowers of thirteen species belonging to four genera of Bromeliaceae, using headspace solid-phase micro-extraction and detection by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 71 volatile compounds belonging to nine chemical groups were identified. The compounds identified represented more than 97 % of the major components in Aechmea bicolor, Ae. bromeliifolia, Ae. distichantha, Ae. fasciata, and Vriesea friburgensis. In the Ananas varieties, over 99 % of the components were identified, and around 90 % in V. simplex. V. friburgensis presented the largest diversity of volatiles with 31 compounds, while Alcantarea nahoumii presented only 14. All three Ananas varieties presented the same 28 compounds in relatively similar abundance, which has been confirmed by principal component analysis. Current taxonomy and pollination syndrome studies available can adequately explain the variation in volatile compounds among species.

Guava pomace: a new source of anti-inflammatory and analgesic bioactives.

BACKGROUND: Guava pomace is an example of the processing waste generated after the manufacturing process from the juice industry that could be a source of bioactives. Thus, the present investigation was carried out in order to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive potential and determinate the main phenolic compounds of a guava pomace extract (GPE). METHODS: The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by carrageenan, dextran, serotonin, histamine-induced paw edema and neutrophils migration in the peritoneal cavity models. Acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing and formalin test were performed to investigate the antinociceptive effects. In addition, the content of total phenolic and of individual phenolic compounds was determined by GC/MS. RESULTS: GPE showed anti-inflammatory activity by carrageenan, dextran, serotonin, histamine-induced paw edema and neutrophils migration in the peritoneal cavity models (p < 0.05). GPE also demonstrated antinociceptive activity by acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing and formalin test (p < 0.05). The total phenolic value was 3.40 ± 0.09 mg GAE/g and epicatechin, quercetin, myricetin, isovanilic and gallic acids were identified by GC/MS analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of bioactive phenolic compounds as well as important effects demonstrated in animal models suggest that guava pomace could be an interesting source of anti-inflammatory and analgesic substances.