Daily Intake of Lemna minor or Spinach as Vegetable Does Not Show Significant Difference on Health Parameters and Taste Preference.

The growing world population will increase the demand for new sustainable foods and ingredients. Here we studied the safety and tolerance of Lemna minor, a new sustainable vegetable crop from the duckweed family. Twenty-four healthy adults consumed either L. minor plant material or spinach as vegetable (170 g fresh weight) as part of a warm meal on 11 consecutively days in a randomized controlled parallel trial design. The intervention meals had a different recipe for each day of the week. All participants had to report daily if they experienced gastric complaints, feelings of hunger, fullness, desire to eat, thirst, general health, nausea, and stool consistency. Only hunger, flatulence and constipation were significantly different between both intervention groups. At the start and end of the intervention, blood and urine were sampled in order to analyze biomarkers for general health, e.g., kidney function, liver function, cardiovascular health, inflammation and iron status. Both intervention groups did not show significant differences for these biomarkers. In taste attributes the L. minor-based products showed in only a few specific cases a significant difference compared to the spinach-based products. Based on the results we conclude that 11 consecutive days intake of 170 g fresh weight L. minor plants as a cooked vegetable does not result in any adverse effect in healthy adult subjects.

Birch Pollen Related Pear Allergy: A Single-Blind Oral Challenge TRIAL with 2 Pear Cultivars.

Approximately 70% of birch pollen allergic patients in Europe experience hypersensitivity reactions to Immunoglobulin E (IgE) cross-reactive food sources. This so-called pollen-food syndrome (PFS) is defined by allergic symptoms elicited promptly by the ingestion of fruits, nuts, or vegetables in these patients. So far, in the literature, less attention has been given to Bet v 1 cross-reactive symptoms caused by pear (Pyrus communis). In the Netherlands, pears are widely consumed. The primary objective of this study was to measure the type and severity of allergic symptoms during pear challenges in birch pollen allergic patients, with a positive history of pear allergy, using two different pear varieties. Fifteen patients were included, skin prick test (SPT), prick-to-prick test (PTP), specific Immunoglobulin E (sIgE), and single-blind oral challenges were performed with two pear (Pyrus communis) varieties: the 'Cepuna' (brand name Migo®) and the 'Conference' pears. All patients were sensitized to one or both pear varieties. A total of 12 out of 15 participants developed symptoms during the 'Cepuna' food challenge and 14/15 reacted during the 'Conference' challenge. Challenges with the 'Cepuna' pears resulted in less objective symptoms (n = 2) in comparison with challenges with 'Conference' pears (n = 7). Although we did not find significance between both varieties in our study, we found a high likelihood of fewer and less severe symptoms during the 'Cepuna' challenges. Consequently selected pear sensitized patients can try to consume small doses of the 'Cepuna' pear outside the birch pollen season.

Postprandial amino acid, glucose and insulin responses among healthy adults after a single intake of Lemna minor in comparison with green peas: a randomised trial.

A high protein content combined with its enormous growth capacity make duckweed an interesting alternative protein source, but information about postprandial responses in humans is lacking. The present study aimed to assess the postprandial serum amino acid profile of Lemna minor in healthy adults in comparison with green peas. A secondary objective was to obtain insights regarding human safety. A total of twelve healthy volunteers participated in a randomised, cross-over trial. Subjects received two protein sources in randomised order with a 1-week washout period. After an overnight fast, subjects consumed L. minor or peas (equivalent to 20 g of protein). After a baseline sample, blood samples were taken 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 120, 150 and 180 min after consumption to assess amino acid, glucose and insulin levels. Heart rate, blood pressure and aural temperature were measured before and after consumption, and subjects reported on gastrointestinal discomfort for four subsequent days. Compared with green peas, significantly lower blood concentrations of amino acids from L. minor were observed, indicating lower digestibility. L. minor consumption resulted in lower plasma glucose and insulin levels compared with peas, probably due to different glucose content. There were no significant differences concerning the assessed health parameters or the number of gastrointestinal complaints, indicating that a single bolus of L. minor - grown under controlled conditions - did not induce acute adverse effects in humans. Further studies need to investigate effects of repeated L. minor intake and whether proteins purified from L. minor can be digested more easily.

Main phenolic compounds of the melanin biosynthesis pathway in bruising-tolerant and bruising-sensitive button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) strains.

Browning is one of the most common postharvest changes in button mushrooms, which often results in economic losses. Phenolic compounds, which are associated with browning, were extracted from the nonbruised and bruised skin tissue of various button mushrooms with a sulfite-containing solution and analyzed with UHPLC-PDA-MS. In total, 34 phenolic compounds were detected. Only small differences in the total phenolic content between bruising-tolerant and -sensitive strains were observed. The contents of γ-L-glutaminyl-4-hydroxybenzene (GHB) and γ-L-glutaminyl-3,4-dihydroxybenzene (GDHB) correlated with bruising sensitivity; for example, R(2) values of 0.85 and 0.98 were found for nonbruised brown strains, respectively. In nonbruised skin tissue of the strains with brown caps, the GHB and GDHB contents in sensitive strains were on average 20 and 15 times higher, respectively, than in tolerant strains. GHB and GDHB likely participate in the formation of brown GHB-melanin, which seemed to be the predominant pathway in bruising-related discoloration of button mushrooms.

An auxin-responsive 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase is responsible for differential ethylene production in gravistimulated Antirrhinum majus L. flower stems.

The regulation of gravistimulation-induced ethylene production and its role in gravitropic bending was studied in Antirrhinum majus L. cut flower stems. Gravistimulation increased ethylene production in both lower and upper halves of the stems with much higher levels observed in the lower half. Expression patterns of three different 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase (ACS) genes, an ACC oxidase (ACO) and an ethylene receptor (ETR/ERS homolog) gene were studied in the bending zone of gravistimulated stems and in excised stem sections following treatment with different chemicals. One of the ACS genes (Am-ACS3) was abundantly expressed in the bending zone cortex at the lower side of the stems within 2 h of gravistimulation. Am-ACS3 was not expressed in vertical stems or in other parts of (gravistimulated) stems, leaves or flowers. Am-ACS3 was strongly induced by indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) but not responsive to ethylene. The Am-ACS3 expression pattern strongly suggests that Am-ACS3 is responsible for the observed differential ethylene production in gravistimulated stems; its responsiveness to IAA suggests that Am-ACS3 expression reflects changes in auxin signalling. Am-ACS1 also showed increased expression in gravistimulated and IAA-treated stems although to a much lesser extent than Am-ACS3. In contrast to Am-ACS3, Am-ACS1 was also expressed in non-bending regions of vertical and gravistimulated stems and in leaves, and Am-ACS1 expression was not confined to the lower side cortex but evenly distributed over the diameter of the stem. Am-ACO and Am-ETR/ERS expression was increased in both the lower and upper halves of gravistimulated stems. Expression of both Am-ACO and Am-ETR/ERS was responsive to ethylene, suggesting regulation by IAA-dependent differential ethylene production. Am-ACO expression and in vivo ACO activity, in addition, were induced by IAA, independent of the IAA-induced ethylene. IAA-induced growth of vertical stem sections and bending of gravistimulated flowering stems were little affected by ethylene or 1-methylcyclopropene treatments, indicating that the differential ethylene production plays no pivotal role in the kinetics of gravitropic bending.