Enhancement of the Functional Properties of Mead Aged with Oak (Quercus) Chips at Different Toasting Levels.

Consumers increasingly prefer and seek functional beverages, which, given their characteristics, provide important bioactive compounds that help prevent and treat chronic diseases. Mead is a traditional fermented alcoholic beverage made from honey solution. The aging process of mead with oak chips is innovative and bestows functional characteristics to this beverage. Thus, in this study, we sought to develop and characterize a novel functional beverage by combining the health benefits of honey with the traditional aging process of alcoholic beverages in wood. Phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity were analyzed in mead using oak chips at different toasting levels and aged for 360 days. LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS was used to analyze the chemical profile of different meads. Over time, the aging process with oak chips showed a higher total phenolic and flavonoid content and antioxidant capacity. Eighteen compounds belonging to the classes of organic acids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and tannins were identified in meads after 360 days. Our findings revealed that the addition of oak chips during aging contributed to p-coumaric, ellagic, abscisic, and chlorogenic acids, and naringenin, vanillin, and tiliroside significantly impacted the functional quality of mead.

Grape UV-C irradiation in the postharvest period as a tool to improve sensorial quality and anthocyanin profile in 'Cabernet Sauvignon' wine.

Anthocyanins are important compounds in grapes and wine and significantly influence their characteristics. Ultraviolet light-C (UV-C) can be used as a tool to induce secondary metabolism, and in this study, it was used in 'Cabernet Sauvignon' grapes in the postharvest period to improve the anthocyanin profile and sensory attributes in wine produced with irradiated grapes. Grapes in the postharvest period were exposed to 0, 2, or 3 kJ m-2 UV-C radiation. After winemaking and storage time (6 months), physicochemical and color analyses, anthocyanin quantification and identification (HPLC-PDA-MS/MS), and sensory analyses were carried out. 'Cabernet Sauvignon' wine produced with grapes irradiated with 3 kJ m-2 UV-C showed increased spectrophotometric color, which is likely due to a 22.5% increase in total anthocyanin monomers, 59.3% of pyranoanthocyanins, 92.3% of direct condensation products, and 62.8% of acetaldehyde-mediated condensation products. In addition, this irradiated dose presented higher perception scores for visual color, aroma, taste, and was preferred by the tasters over the wine produced with non-irradiated grapes. This study is the first of its kind to show that the UV-C radiation treatment of grapes in the postharvest period can be a promising tool to improve the anthocyanin profile and sensorial quality of 'Cabernet Sauvignon' wine. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-021-05191-5.

Effect of Adding Matricaria recutita L., Cymbopogon citratus, or Mentha piperita L. Extracts to Fermented Orange Beverage: Sensory Evaluation, Physicochemical Characterization, and Prediction of Toxic Risks and Biological Activity In Silico.

Fermentation is an important tool in producing functional beverages through agro-industrial wastes, and medicinal and aromatic plants due to the specific content of bioactive molecules. Therefore, this study evaluated the contribution of Matricaria recutita (chamomile), Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass), or Mentha piperita (peppermint) extracts to the phytochemical profile and potential biological effects of a functional fermented orange beverage in vitro and in silico. The concentrations of aromatic herbal extracts that yielded the best sensory performance for fermented beverages were selected for analyses that involved characterizing the fermented beverages. The beverages that received the extracts (2%) had the highest phenolic and flavonoid content and antioxidant potential compared to the control. Hesperidin (124-130 mg L-1), narirutin (66-70 mg L-1), chlorogenic (11-16 mg L-1), caffeic (5.3-5.5 mg L-1), and ferulic (1-1.7 mg L-1) acids were found in the different formulations. The in silico analysis suggested that the evaluated compounds do not present a toxicity risk (mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, hepatotoxicity, and ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier). Additionally, they can contribute to the biological effects of therapeutic importance, such as antioxidant, gastroprotective, and anti-ulcerative properties, and the Mentha piperita L. extract presented the greatest potential among the evaluated herbs for use in functional fermented beverages.

Acute Consumption of Bordo Grape Juice and Wine Improves Serum Antioxidant Status in Healthy Individuals and Inhibits Reactive Oxygen Species Production in Human Neuron-Like Cells.

Few studies investigated the biological effects of American grape cultivars. We investigated the metabolic response after acute consumption of grape juice or wine from Bordo grapes (Vitis labrusca) in a placebo-controlled crossover study with fifteen healthy volunteers. Blood samples were collected 1 hour after the intake of 100 mL of water, juice, or wine to measure TBARS, ABTS, FRAP, glucose, and uric acid levels. To evaluate differences in cellular response, intracellular reactive species production (DCFH-DA) and metabolic mitochondrial viability (MTT) were assessed after exposure of human neuron-like cells (SH-SY5Y) to juice or wine. Glycemia was reduced after juice or wine consumption, whereas blood levels of uric acid were reduced after juice consumption but increased after wine consumption. Juice and wine consumption reduced plasma lipid peroxidation and increased plasma antioxidant capacity (ABTS and FRAP assays). Furthermore, juice inhibited H2O2-induced intracellular production of reactive species (RS) and increased the viability of SH-SY5Y cells. In contrast, wine (dealcoholized) exhibited a per se effect by inducing the production of RS and reducing cell viability. These results indicate a positive impact of acute consumption of Bordo juice and wine on human oxidative status, whereas only juice had protective effects against oxidative stress-induced cytotoxicity.

Thermal Pest Control in 'Tannat' grapes: Effect on anthocyanins, sensory and color of one-year-old wines.

Thermal pest control (TPC) is a technology that applies heated air in the vineyard to reduce pests. However, it can also alter grape anthocyanin synthesis in answer to temperature stress. The aim of this work was to determine the impact of TPC in 'Tannat' grape vineyards on wine quality. The major makers of quality considered in this study were the wine anthocyanin characterization by HPLC-PDA-MSn, beverage's sensory evaluation by descriptive analysis, and color parameters by instrumental analysis. A total of three experiments were performed in different harvesting years. In 2011/12 (Experiment I), four applications were performed from the flowering to fruiting. For the second experiment (2012/13), five applications were used only during fruiting. TPC treatment performed in 2013/14 (Experiment III) had a total of 19 applications from the flowering to harvesting. In the first experiment, TPC had increased wine pigments, color, and sensorial descriptors for visual (translucence) and gustatory (woody and body) perceptions. However, in the second experiment none of the evaluated wine quality parameters was affected by TPC (p≤0.05). In the last and longest experiment (19 applications), TPC has significantly increased some wine pigments content. Nonetheless, wine sensorial parameters were not affected. Since the climate was different among the years, it seems that TPC effect does not depend on the applications number and vegetable cycle period only, but also it can be affected by the weather conditions in which the vine is being cultivated. However, when TPC treatment has resulted in the greatest anthocyanin increment (Experiment I) some wine sensory descriptors were also improved.