1,720,992 research outputs found
Engagement of light stress and osmotic stress o steviol glycosides biosynthesis and accumulation in hairy roots from Stevia reabudiana Bertoni. Michalec-Warzecha Zaneta, Zastawny Olga Pistelli Laura, Ruffoni Barbara, Dziurka Michal, Libik-Konieczny Marta,
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Phytonutritional Content and Aroma Profile Changes During Postharvest Storage of Edible Flowers
Edible flowers are niche horticultural products, routinely used as cooking ingredients
in the food industry. Currently, new species are required with the aim of enlarging
the number of species with a long shelf-life, healthy nutraceutical compounds, and
new fragrance and tastes. Ageratum houstonianum Mill, Tagetes lemmonii A. Gray,
Salvia dorisiana Standl, and Pelargonium odoratissimum (L.) L’Hér “Lemon” were
selected for their different morphological characteristics and color. Fresh flowers were
analyzed to characterize their phytonutritional content and aroma profile. Postharvest
was determined up to 6 days of cold storage at 4C in transparent polypropylene
boxes. Visual quality and cellular membrane damage were observed. The relative
content of different antioxidant constituents (e.g., polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins,
ascorbic acid), nutritional compounds (soluble sugars, crude proteins), the antioxidant
scavenging activity, and the volatile profile were determined and correlated to the quality
of shelf-life of the different species. The yellow T. lemmonii freshly picked flowers showed
the highest ascorbic acid and flavonoids content, which was maintained during the
cold storage, as well as the best visual quality. Limited changes in metabolites were
detected in the light blue A. houstonianum during postharvest, although the visual
quality is severely compromised. Magenta S. dorisiana and light pink P. odoratissimum
showed similar changes in antioxidant constituents during cold storage. For the first
time, the volatile compounds have been identified in the four species. Sesquiterpene
hydrocarbons are the main class in fresh flowers of A. houstonianum, S. dorisiana,
and P. odoratissimum, while monoterpene hydrocarbons are abundant in T. lemmonii.
The cold storage influenced mainly P. odoratissimum and S. dorisiana flavor initially
dominated by the increase in total monoterpenes at 6 days, reaching a relative content
of 90%. Both A. houstonianum and T. lemmonii conserved the prevalence of the same
class of constituents in all the analyzed conditions, even though the cold storage
influenced the major compound abundance. On the basis of the results, T. lemmonii
was the most interesting species with the longest shelf-life due to its phytonutritional
and aromatic constituents. Results indicated the peculiar metabolic and physiological
attitude of flowers species to cold storage
In vitro cultures of Bituminaria bituminosa: pterocarpan, furanocoumarin and isoflavone production and cytotoxic activity evaluation
Bituminaria bituminosa L. is known for producing several compounds with considerable pharmaceutical interest, such as phenylpropanoids, furanocoumarins and pterocarpans. In vitro cultures of seedlings, shoots, and callus have been produced to obtain plant materials useful for the production of these metabolites. The secondary metabolite profile was evaluated by HPLC-DAD. The extracts of all the in vitro material contained the flavonoid daidzein, while plicatin B, erybraedin C and bitucarpin A were found only in the extracts of the in vitro shoots and in wild shoots. The furanocoumarins angelicin and psoralen were found in in vivo and in vitro plants, but in the callus were not detectable. The extracts were also tested for cytotoxic activity in HeLa cell culture; the highest level of cytotoxicity was found in in vitro shoot extracts
Trace Elements in Edible Flowers from Italy: Further Insights into Health Benefits and Risks to Consumers
The use of edible flowers in cooking dates back to ancient times, but recently it is gaining success among the consumers, increasingly attentive to healthy and sustainable foods of high quality, without neglecting taste, flavour, and visual appeal. The present study aims to deepen the knowledge regarding the mineral composition of edible flowers, an aspect not widely investigated in scientific literature. The concentrations of Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, V, and Zn have been determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP OES) in flowers belonging to a wide variety of species. The study highlights that some floral species are characterized by significantly higher concentrations of certain trace elements, e.g., the flowers of Acmella oleracea for Mn, those of basil (Ocimum basilicum) and of pumpkins (Cucurbita moschata and C. pepo) for Cu and Sr, and those of orange daylily Hemerocallis fulva) for Ni. Potentially toxic elements are present at low concentrations, often below the limit of the detection for Cd, Co, Ni, V. In all samples, Cd and Pb are well below the maximum permitted levels in foodstuffs. It can be concluded that the edible flowers analyzed can be considered a good source of essential elements and do not present risks for the consumer health as for the mineral composition
Evaluation And Comparison Of HPPR gene identification in Salvia officinalis cell cultures for the production of rosmarinic acid
Evaluation And Comparison Of The Essential Oil Composition In Several Salvia Species Grown In Vitro And In Vivo
Analytical methods for the extraction and identification of secondary metabolite production in 'in vitro' plant cell cultures
The production of plant secondary metabolites by in vitro culture is one of the most challenging
and thrilling field of recent scientific researches. In the few last years, pharmaceutical and food
industry demand in phytochemicals has increased steadily. Therefore, the establishment of in
vitro plant protocols has to be monitored by phytochemical investigation of their selected extracts in
order to supply standardized raw material. In this chapter, the advantages and disadvantages of some
modern techniques have been described for the sampling, extraction and analysis of the in vitro plants
and derivatives. Depending on the volatile or nonvolatile substances produced by in vitro plant raw
material, different kinds of laboratory facilities are needed for the extraction and quali‐quantitative
analysis. Recent extraction technology such as Accelerated Solvent Extraction or Microwave Assisted
Extraction in combination with hyphenated techniques such as Gas Chromathography‐Mass
Spectrometry (GC‐MS) and Liquid Chromatography‐Mass Spectrometry (LC‐MS) represent a
modern approach to perform fast and reproducible analytical methods for the quality control of
secondary metabolite production in ‘in vitro’ plant materia
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