1,721,106 research outputs found
High performing VOC phenomics to improve the horticultural production chain
No full textThe instrumental characterization of volatile organic compounds is essential to have a precise and reproducible estimation of food aroma and, therefore, of the overall product quality. This contribution aims at supporting the development of high-performing VOC phenotyping, based on PTR-MS technology, suitable to address the aroma complexity of agro-food products in different situations
DI-MS as high performing VOC phenotyping tool to support the horticultural production chain management
No full textThis presentation aims at supporting the development of efficient fruit volatilome analytical approaches, based on PTR-MS technology, applicable on different fruit species. Several tailored pre- and post-harvest studies confirmed the potentials of PTR-ToF-MS application into the whole agro-food production chain, from breeding to consumer
Direct injection analysis of fruit VOCs by PTR-ToF-MS: the apple case study
No full textThe instrumental characterization of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is essential to have a precise, reliable, and reproducible estimation of food aroma and, therefore, of the overall product quality. In this report, we introduce four analytical approaches based on PTR-MS (proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry) technology suitable to fully investigate the complexity of apple aroma. In our opinion, these proposed methodologies can be applied, with slight modification, to every kind of fruit for destructive and nondestructive rapid VOC fingerprinting
Fenomica avanzata, breeding e postraccolta: una sinergia per migliorare la qualità dei frutti
No full textHigh performing VOC phenomics to improve fruit quality
No full textFruit quality can be defined by the achievement of four key factors: appearance, flavor, texture and nutritional properties. Among them, flavor directly impacts the consumers appreciation, therefore the fruit marketability. Although the importance of these factors can hardly be underestimated, breeding efforts have historically been oriented to improve mostly fruit appearance and storability. However, often, selection for yield, fruit size, color, and shelf life properties had unintended negative consequences on other fruit quality traits, such as taste and aroma [1]. Defining and quantifying these quality components, in relation with distinct segments of the production chain, needs comprehensive investigations and a tight synergy of analytical approaches, with a particular focus on rapid and non-invasive methods. Understanding the stability of each quality trait during different storage and growing conditions may allow a better definition of future breeding strategies aimed, for example, at the selection of accessions suitable to improve distinct markets. The monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by fruits and vegetables needs analytical techniques that are capable of dealing with challenging issues: i) the need of separating and quantifying VOCs in complex gas mixtures, ii) the need to detect concentrations that may span a large range, from trace levels to parts per million and iii) the need to track concentrations that rapidly change over time. Because of these experimental constraints, the ideal methodology for VOC monitoring should be highly selective, with high sensitivity and dynamic range, and with high time resolution [2]. Non-chromatographic techniques, based on direct injection mass spectrometric (DIMS) VOC assessment, are receiving great interest mainly i) because of their capacity to carry out rapid, high-throughput measurement of large sample sets without affecting samples and without interfering with the VOC production process and ii) because the possibility of rapid process monitoring. Besides its technological performances (e.g., sensitivity and selectivity), advanced DIMS is also increasingly being used because of its stability since the mass/charge ratio does not vary with the experimental conditions. However, the greatest difficulty arising in DIMS, due to the lack of chromatographic separation, is the need to identify hundreds of compounds produced by fruits. The fruit breeding research activity at the Foundation E. Mach, based on genomics, sensory and conventional characterization tools, has been recently complemented with advanced DIMS phenotyping tools, such as PTR-ToF-MS, and with tailored pre- and post-harvest studies aimed to simulate the entire fruit production chain. This synergism of novel analytical approaches is fully applied into the breeding activities of blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, and apple in order to develop new cultivars characterized by both prolonged storability and high perceived quality. Moreover, this research approach was valuable to deeply investigate and step forward in the comprehension of the genetic and physiological aspects controlling fruit quality. These studies, for instance, allowed to determine the possible interaction between genetic variability and fruit ripening stages on the aroma development of different fruit species during cold conservation at different atmospheric condition, to develop several genetic and molecular markers [3-6]. This knowledge would enable, in a close future, for a more precise selection of the most favorable new accessions distinguished by superior fruit quality. In this presentation we will report several experimental trials about the four analytical approaches, based on PTR-MS technology, suitable to fully investigate the complexity of fruit and vegetable aroma: i) non destructive VOC assessment; ii) automated analysis of frozen tissue; iii) dynamic destructive analysis; iv) monitoring of processes. In our opinion these proposed methodologies can be applied, with slight modification, on every kind of fruit or vegetabl
Blueberry endogenous ethylene production affects fruit quality and storability
No full textBlueberries (Vaccinium spp.) are highly perishable fruits due to several physiological, physical, and pathological processes during postharvest life. Decay, mainly due to Botrytis cinerea, and weight loss due to moisture loss induce softening and skin wrinkling and, consequently, reduce blueberry shelf-life and organoleptic quality. Therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies to increase blueberry storage life. The role of ethylene in regulating blueberry fruit ripening and storability is still unclear although an increase in ethylene production was observed in several studies during fruit ripening. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fruit ethylene production of 12 blueberry cultivars at different fruit ripening stages and after cold storage, considering also textural modifications. Results of this study revealed a high variability in ethylene production between genotypes. These differences in ethylene production are related with blueberry fruit storage performances based on flavour and textural alterations. Specifically, blueberry accessions characterized by highest ethylene production showed a more severe texture decay during storage. Our results support the possibility of tailoring ad hoc preharvest and postharvest strategies to extend blueberry shelf life and quality according with the endogenous ethylene production level of each cultiva
Potatura su misura: verso una gestione agronomica personalizzata delle nuove varietà di mirtillo
No full textProton-Transfer-Reaction–Mass Spectrometry
No full textThe mission of the agro-food industry is to guarantee food safety and, at the same time, improve perceived food quality and fulfill consumer expectations. One of the chief quality traits for the agro-food industry is the development of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), associated with the shelf life and taste quality of food products. Proton-transfer-reaction–mass spectrometry coupled with a time-of-flight mass analyzer gives the possibility of detecting and quantifying VOCs in a direct, simultaneous, and real-time approach at very low levels with both high mass and time resolution. External mass-scale calibration is performed before data acquisition for spectra alignment and for facilitating the online monitoring of ongoing experiment. Since proton-transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) belongs to the class of Direct injection mass spectrometric techniques, its main capability is to sample and analyze gas samples continuously. For this reason, PTR-MS, from the very beginning, was mostly applied in the ambient and environmental studies of air pollutant
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