Autoregulatory properties of (+)-thujopsene and influence of environmental conditions on its production by Penicillium decumbens.

A Penicillium decumbens strain was collected from a water-damaged building, and the production of microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) was investigated by means of headspace solid-phase microextraction, followed by GC-MS analysis. The strain was characterized by a high production of (+)-thujopsene. The influence of various temperatures, relative humidity (RH) values, substrates, and inoculum concentrations on fungal growth and (+)-thujopsene production was studied. The optimal temperature and relative humidity for P. decumbens growth were 30°C and 100% RH, respectively. In general, the more favourable the incubation parameters were for growth, the faster maximum (+)-thujopsene production was reached. Moreover, the antifungal activity of thujopsene was tested against 16 fungal strains. The growth of five of these fungal strains was negatively affected both by thujopsene alone and when grown in contact with the MVOCs produced by P. decumbens. Following these results and since growth of P. decumbens itself was also inhibited by thujopsene, an autoregulatory function for this compound was proposed. Few data are present in the literature about chemical communication between fungi. The present research could, therefore, contribute to understanding fungal metabolism and behaviour in indoor environments.

JEM Spotlight: Fungi, mycotoxins and microbial volatile organic compounds in mouldy interiors from water-damaged buildings.

Concerns have been raised about exposure to mycotoxin producing fungi and the microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) they produce in indoor environments. Therefore, the presence of fungi and mycotoxins was investigated in 99 samples (air, dust, wallpaper, mycelium or silicone) collected in the mouldy interiors of seven water-damaged buildings. In addition, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were sampled. The mycotoxins were analysed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) (20 target mycotoxins) and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TOF-MS). Morphological and molecular identifications of fungi were performed. Of the 99 samples analysed, the presence of one or more mycotoxins was shown in 62 samples by means of LC-MS/MS analysis. The mycotoxins found were mainly roquefortine C, chaetoglobosin A and sterigmatocystin but also roridin E, ochratoxin A, aflatoxin B(1) and aflatoxin B(2) were detected. Q-TOF-MS analysis elucidated the possible occurrence of another 42 different fungal metabolites. In general, the fungi identified matched well with the mycotoxins detected. The most common fungal species found were Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus versicolor (group), Chaetomium spp. and Cladosporium spp. In addition, one hundred and seventeen (M)VOCs were identified, especially linear alkanes (C(9)-C(17)), aldehydes, aromatic compounds and monoterpenes.

Modification of casein by the lipid oxidation product malondialdehyde.

The reaction of malondialdehyde with casein was studied in aqueous solution to evaluate the impact of this lipid oxidation product on food protein modification. By using multiresponse modeling, a kinetic model was developed for this reaction. The influence of temperature and pH on protein browning and malondialdehyde degradation was evaluated. The hypothesis that one malondialdehyde unit leads to the cross-linking of two casein-bound lysine residues was in accordance with the data. At higher malondialdehyde concentrations, a different reaction mechanism was operative, probably involving a dihydropyridine cross-link. The results obtained were compared with the reaction of casein with 2-oxopropanal, a well-studied alpha-dicarbonyl compound. The reaction of casein with 2-oxopropanal followed a different reaction pathway. Comparison of the degree of browning of casein by reaction with malondialdehyde and 2-oxopropanal showed a considerably higher degree of browning induced by malondialdehyde. This research has shown that kinetic modeling is a useful tool to unravel reaction mechanisms. Clearly, the contribution of lipid oxidation products, such as malondialdehyde, to protein modification (both in food and in vivo) can be substantial and needs to be taken into account in future studies.

Formation of pyrazines and a novel pyrrole in Maillard model systems of 1,3-dihydroxyacetone and 2-oxopropanal.

Alkylpyrazines are a very important class of Maillard flavor compounds, but their mechanism of formation is complex and consists of different pathways. The model reaction of 20 different amino acids with 1,3-dihydroxyacetone, as a precursor of 2-oxopropanal, was studied by means of SPME-GC-MS to investigate the involvement of the amino acid side chain in the substitution pattern of the resulting pyrazines. 2,5-Dimethylpyrazine was quantitatively the most important pyrazine formed from all of the amino acids. The amino acid side chain is not involved in its formation. The substituents of other less abundant pyrazines resulted mainly from the incorporation of the Strecker aldehyde or aldol condensation products in the intermediate dihydropyrazine. The importance of different reaction mechanisms was evaluated, taking into account the pattern of pyrazines identified. In the solvent extracts of aqueous model reactions of 2-oxopropanal with amino acids, the main reaction product was not a pyrazine but a novel pyrrole. This pyrrole was identified as 2,5-diacetyl-3-methyl-1 H-pyrrole by means of spectral analysis, secured by chemical synthesis. A reaction mechanism for its formation was proposed and evaluated. The influence of various reaction conditions on the formation of 2,5-diacetyl-3-methyl-1 H-pyrrole and 2,5-dimethylpyrazine in the model reaction of alanine with 2-oxopropanal was studied. These results underscore the importance of the ratio of the different reagents and the presence of water in the resulting flavor formation in the Maillard reaction.

Thermal degradation studies of food melanoidins.

Food melanoidins were isolated from bread crust, coffee, and tomato sauce and their composition was investigated by thermal degradation. Among the generated volatiles, important food flavor compounds were detected: in particular furans, carbonyl compounds, 1,3-dioxolanes, pyrroles, pyrazines, pyridines, thiophenes, and phenols. The results indicated that the isolated melanoidin fractions mainly consisted of compounds formed from carbohydrates and their degradation products. Besides proteins, other food constituents were incorporated in the melanoidin structure as well, such as lipid oxidation products in tomato melanoidins and phenolic compounds in coffee melanoidins. A comparison of the thermal generation of volatiles between these food-derived melanoidins and model melanoidins prepared from a single carbonyl compound and an amino acid showed that the degradation pattern of food melanoidins is quite different from that obtained from a glucose-glycine model system.

New short and general synthesis of three key Maillard flavour compounds: 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline, 6-acetyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridine and 5-acetyl-2,3-dihydro-4H-1,4-thiazine.

A new general synthetic route towards three key Maillard flavour compounds, namely 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, 6-acetyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridine and 5-acetyl-2,3-dihydro-4H-1,4-thiazine, was developed. The key step in the process is the methylenation reaction of azaheterocyclic carboxylic esters by means of dimethyltitanocene, giving rise to intermediate vinyl ethers which can be considered as excellent and stable precursors for the title compounds, as a simple acidic treatment of these precursors suffices to release the characteristic Maillard flavours.

Natural flavonoids as potential herbal medication for the treatment of diabetes mellitus and its complications.

Diabetes mellitus, together with its various complications, is becoming a serious threat to human health. Natural products are secondary metabolites widely distributed in plants, having a broad range of biological activities. The development of antidiabetic medication from natural products, especially those originating from plants with a traceable folk-usage history in treating diabetes, is receiving more attention. Many studies highlighted not only the benefits of natural flavonoids with hypoglycemic effects, but also their importance in the management of diabetic complications. This review describes selected natural flavonoids that have been validated for their hypoglycemic properties, together with their mechanisms of action. Also discussed are their activities in the treatment of diabetic complications demonstrated via laboratory diabetic animal models, in vitro and clinical trials using human subjects. Published papers from 2000 to date on flavonoids and diabetes were covered through accessing Web of Science and multiple databases for biomedical sciences. The major potential benefits of natural flavonoids discussed in this review clearly suggest that these substances are lead compounds with sufficient structural diversity of great importance in the antidiabetic drug developing process.

De novo production of (+)-aristolochene by sporulated surface cultures of Penicillium roqueforti.

The de novo production of the fungal metabolite, (+)-aristolochene by sporulated surface cultures of Penicillium roqueforti is reported for the first time. The biosynthesis of fungal volatiles by various sporulated surface cultures was monitored by solid phase micro-extraction (SPME). When comparing malt extract agar with sabouraud dextrose agar, the highest yield of the fungal metabolite (0.04 mg/ml of culture) was obtained with the latter medium. The biosynthesis of (+)-aristolochene showed a maximum during the fourth day after inoculation.

Detailed investigation of the production of the bread flavor component 6-acetyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridine in proline/1,3-dihydroxyacetone model systems.

The production of 6-acetyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridine (ATHP), an important Maillard flavor component, in the reaction of L-(-)-proline and 1,3-dihydroxyacetone was investigated as a function of different reaction conditions. The two major side products from the reaction were identified as 5-acetyl-6-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolizine and 5-acetyl-6-hydroxymethyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolizine, the last one being a new compound described here for the first time. A maximum yield of ATHP of 2.7 mol % from L-(-)-proline and 1,3-dihydroxyacetone was noted at 130 degrees C in the presence of 2 equiv of sodium bisulfite. The role of sodium bisulfite as a reducing species, and as a stabilizing agent for 6-acetyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridine, was clarified. In view of the new data obtained, the hypothesized mechanism of formation of 6-acetyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridine was confirmed, and the reaction mechanisms leading to 2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolizines were reconsidered.

Characterization of model melanoidins by the thermal degradation profile.

Different types of model melanoidins were thermally degraded, with subsequent identification of the volatiles produced, to obtain and compare the thermal degradation profile of various melanoidins. At first, the volatiles produced from heated glucose/glycine standard melanoidins were compared with glucose/glutamic acid and L-(+)-ascorbic acid/glycine standard melanoidins. In the headspace of heated glucose/glycine melanoidins, mainly furans, were detected, accompanied by carbonyl compounds, pyrroles, pyrazines, pyridines, and some oxazoles. Heating of L-(+)-ascorbic acid/glycine melanoidins resulted in relatively more N-heterocycles, while from glucose/glutamic acid melanoidins no N-heterocycles were formed. In a second part, a chemical treatment was applied to glucose/glycine melanoidins prior to the thermal degradation. Acid hydrolysis was performed to cleave glycosidically linked sugar moieties from the melanoidin skeleton. Nonsoluble glucose/glycine melanoidins were also subjected to an oxidation. The results indicate that the thermal degradation profile is a useful tool in the characterization of different types of melanoidins.

Thermal degradation studies of glucose/glycine melanoidins.

Nondialyzable and water-insoluble melanoidins, isolated from a glucose/glycine model reaction mixture, which was prepared in a standardized way according to the guidelines of the COST Action 919, were heated at different temperatures ranging from 100 to 300 degrees C. Among the volatile compounds, which were analyzed by SPME and GC-MS, pyrazines, pyridines, pyrroles, and furans were detected. In general, total amounts of volatile compounds increased with the temperature. When water-insoluble melanoidins were heated, especially at higher temperatures, this resulted in a higher diversity of isolated compounds. For furans, pyrroles, pyrazines, and carbonyl compounds a maximum was observed in the case of high molecular weight melanoidins around 200-220 degrees C. Pyridines and total oxazoles, however, were generated in higher yields with increasing temperatures. These results demonstrate the possibility of producing some flavor-significant volatiles from heated standard melanoidins at temperatures relevant to food preparation and contribute to the flavor aspects originating from melanoidins.

Flavor release in the presence of melanoidins prepared from L-(+)-ascorbic acid and amino acids.

High-molecular-weight (HMW) water-soluble melanoidins were prepared from model systems of L-(+)-ascorbic acid-glycine, L-(+)-ascorbic acid-lysine, L-(+)-ascorbic acid-glutamic acid, and glucose-glycine using a very recently approved standard protocol. The amount of HMW water-soluble melanoidins prepared from L-(+)-ascorbic acid was over 5-15 times higher than the amount obtained from glucose. The study of the release of a model flavor compound, namely isoamyl acetate, from melanoidins by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) showed that SPME is a suitable technique for the analysis of flavor release from melanoidin-containing solutions. From the studies on the retention capacity of the melanoidins toward isoamyl acetate, an increased release of the flavor compound was observed from the melanoidins prepared from the L-(+)-ascorbic acid-glycine model system, whereas the opposite effect was observed from the melanoidins prepared from the L-(+)-ascorbic acid-lysine/glutamic acid model systems. The melanoidins prepared from the glucose-glycine model system had the same effect as the melanoidins prepared from the L-(+)-ascorbic acid-glycine model system.

Impact of lipid oxidation-derived aldehydes and ascorbic acid on the antioxidant activity of model melanoidins.

As the heat-induced formation of antioxidants throughout the Maillard reaction is known, this study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of lipid oxidation-derived aldehydes and ascorbic acid in Maillard model systems on the resulting antioxidant activity. For this purpose, various fractions of melanoidin-like polycondensation products were obtained from mixtures of amino acids (glycine, lysine, arginine) and lipid oxidation-derived aldehydes (hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal), in the presence or absence of glucose or ascorbic acid. All fractions showed a significant radical scavenging capacity (DPPH assay) and ferric reducing power (FRAP assay). The activity varied according to the composition of the model system tested, although some similar trends were discovered in both assays applied. The presence of lipid oxidation products in the browning products augmented the antioxidant activity in specific cases. For instance, the combined presence of arginine, hexanal and glucose in heated model systems resulted in a significantly higher antioxidant capacity. With an exception of ascorbic acid-containing model systems, melanoidin-like polycondensation products possessed significantly stronger antioxidant activities than the corresponding unheated initial reactant mixtures. Water-soluble high molecular weight (>12kDa) and nonsoluble fractions comprised the major part of the antioxidants derived from amino acid/lipid oxidation product model systems, with or without glucose or ascorbic acid.

Impact of the N-terminal amino acid on the formation of pyrazines from peptides in Maillard model systems.

Only a minor part of Maillard reaction studies in the literature focused on the reaction between carbohydrates and peptides. Therefore, in continuation of a previous study in which the influence of the peptide C-terminal amino acid was investigated, this study focused on the influence of the peptide N-terminal amino acid on the production of pyrazines in model reactions of glucose, methylglyoxal, or glyoxal. Nine different dipeptides and three tripeptides were selected. It was shown that the structure of the N-terminal amino acid is determinative for the overall pyrazine production. Especially, the production of 2,5(6)-dimethylpyrazine and trimethylpyrazine was low in the case of proline, valine, or leucine at the N-terminus, whereas it was very high for glycine, alanine, or serine. In contrast to the alkyl-substituted pyrazines, unsubstituted pyrazine was always produced more in the case of experiments with free amino acids. It is clear that different mechanisms must be responsible for this observation. This study clearly illustrates the capability of peptides to produce flavor compounds such as pyrazines.

Fast quality assessment of German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) by headspace solid-phase microextraction: influence of flower development stage.

For an adequate quality evaluation of aromatic plants grown under different conditions, a rapid, simple and sensitive method for the analysis of volatile constituents is indispensable. The main objective of the present study was to compare fast screening of German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) by means of headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) with conventional isolation of the essential oil (steam distillation-solvent extraction (SDSE)) for the differentiation of chamomile essential oil constituents. Flowers were harvested at two distinct development stages: stage I, when ligulate flowers start to develop and tubular flowers are still closed, and stage II, when tubular flowers are partially to completely opened. Dried chamomile flowers at two development stages were extracted by means of both SDSE and HS-SPME, followed by GC-MS analysis. Among 30 compounds detected, (E)-beta-farnesene (49%), artemisia ketone (10%) and germacrene D (9%) were the predominant volatile components in the HS-SPME-extract, while alpha-bisabolol oxide A (42%), chamazulene (21%) and (Z)-spiroether (8%) were the main essential oil constituents among the 13 compounds obtained by SDSE. After statistical analysis of the data, both techniques enabled the same conclusion: (E)-beta-farnesene was the only compound which showed significant differences between the two flower development stages. These results suggest that HS-SPME-GC-MS can be used as a sensitive technique for the rapid screening and quality assessment of M. chamomilla.

On-fiber furan formation from volatile precursors: a critical example of artefact formation during Solid-Phase Microextraction.

For the analysis of furan, a possible carcinogen formed during thermal treatment of food, Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME) is a preferred and validated sampling method. However, when volatile furan precursors are adsorbed on the carboxen/PDMS fiber, additional amounts of furan can be formed on the fiber during thermal desorption, as shown here for 2-butenal and furfural. No significant increase in furan amounts was found upon heating the furan precursor 2-butenal, indicating that the furan amounts formed during precursor heating experiments are negligible as compared to the additional amounts of furan formed during fiber desorption. This artefactual furan formation increased with increasing desorption time, but especially with increasing desorption temperature. Although this effect was most pronounced on the Carboxen/PDMS SPME-fiber, it was also noted on two other SPME-fibers tested (PDMS and DVB/Carboxen/PDMS). The general impact on furan data from food and model systems in literature will depend on the amounts of volatile precursors present, but will probably remain limited. However, considering the importance of this worldwide food contaminant, special care has to be taken during SPME-analysis of furan. Especially when performing precursor studies, static headspace sampling should preferably be applied for furan analysis.

Chemical constituents from the aerial parts of Gynura bicolor.

Gynura bicolor (Willd.) DC., is used in folk recipes for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Sichuan province in the south of China. A previous pharmacological study proved that the plant showed significant hypoglycemic activity on normal and alloxan-diabetic mice. In this study, two terpenes, four megastigmane-type norisoprenoids and two glycosides were isolated from the aqueous ethanolic extract of the aerial parts of Gynura bicolor and characterized mainly by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Thes e compounds were isolated for the first time from this plant, and no evidence could be found for the previous reported presence of megastigmane-type norisoprenoids in the genus Gynura.

Influence of various growth parameters on fungal growth and volatile metabolite production by indoor molds.

A Penicillium polonicum, an Aspergillus ustus and a Periconia britannica strain were isolated from water-damaged environments and the production of microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) was investigated by means of headspace solid-phase microextraction followed by GC-MS analysis. The most important MVOCs produced were 2-methylisoborneol, geosmin and daucane-type sesquiterpenes for P. polonicum, 1-octen-3-ol, 3-octanone, germacrene D, δ-cadinene and other sesquiterpenes for A. ustus and the volatile mycotoxin precursor aristolochene together with valencene, α-selinene and ß-selinene for P. britannica. Different growth conditions (substrate, temperature, relative humidity) were selected, resembling indoor parameters, to investigate their influence on fungal metabolism in relation with the sick building syndrome and the results were compared with two other fungal strains previously analyzed under the same conditions. In general, the range of MVOCs and the emitted quantities were larger on malt extract agar than on wallpaper and plasterboard, but, overall, the main MVOC profile was conserved also on the two building materials tested. The influence of temperature and relative humidity on growth and metabolism is different for different fungal species, and two main patterns of behavior could be distinguished. Results show that, even at suboptimal conditions for growth, production of fungal volatiles can be significant.