Separation and Determination of Food's Bioactive Compounds Content Changes in Different Culture Conditions and Post-harvest Practices

A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Analysis of Food and Beverages".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2022) | Viewed by 6044

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
The Italian Brewing Research Centre, University of Perugia
Interests: Quality control and assessment of food, cereal-based food and beverages, beer and its raw materials, improvement of sensory properties of food and beer, study of antioxidant compounds and antioxidant activity in food and beer, extraction of antioxidant compounds with mild technologies and valorization of brewing by-products. Food Chemistry; Food Analysis; Biotechnology; Food Processing; Food Quality; Food Science and Technology; Food & Nutrition; Antioxidant Activity; Food Safety

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food quality and safety is the major concern for modern consumer, who is increasingly focused on health and wellness. Bioactive compounds play a key role on food quality and safety. Within this context, addressing the influence that different culture conditions and post-harvest practices on bioactive compounds content of food is important. Cereals, vegetables, fruits, oilseeds, herbs, and spices, are rich sources of bioactive phytochemicals (i.e., phenolics, carotenoids, tocols, sterols.. etc.) and other interesting ingredients (i.e., protein, carbohydrate, and lipid) with health-promoting properties.

Besides cultivar type, several factors including cultural practices, soil characteristics, region of cultivation, climate conditions, environmental conditions, physiological factors, maturity stage, harvesting time and post-harvest practices can affect bioactive compounds accumulation in foods.

In this regard, Separations is pleased to contribute in highlighting the importance of culture conditions and post-harvest practices as well as to highlight the potential role of bioactive compounds  in functional food and nutraceuticals.

Dr. Elisabetta Bravi
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Bioactive compounds
  • culture conditions
  • post harvest practice
  • healty food
  • functional food
  • nutraceuticals

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2075 KiB  
Article
Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria Modulate the Concentration of Bioactive Compounds in Tomato Fruits
by Clara de la Osa, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez-Carvajal, Jacinto Gandullo, Clara Aranda, Manuel Megías, Francisco Javier Ollero, Francisco Javier López-Baena and José Antonio Monreal
Separations 2021, 8(11), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations8110223 - 18 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3046
Abstract
Background: The application of microorganisms as bioestimulants in order to increase the yield and/or quality of agricultural products is becoming a widely used practice in many countries. In this work, five plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), isolated from cultivated rice paddy soils, were [...] Read more.
Background: The application of microorganisms as bioestimulants in order to increase the yield and/or quality of agricultural products is becoming a widely used practice in many countries. In this work, five plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), isolated from cultivated rice paddy soils, were selected for their plant growth-promoting capacities (e.g., auxin synthesis, chitinase activity, phosphate solubilisation and siderophores production). Two different tomato cultivars were inoculated, Tres Cantos and cherry. Plants were grown under greenhouse conditions and different phenotypic characteristics were analysed at the time of harvesting. Results: Tres Cantos plants inoculated with PGPR produced less biomass but larger fruits. However, the photosynthetic rate was barely affected. Several antioxidant activities were upregulated in these plants, and no oxidative damage in terms of lipid peroxidation was observed. Finally, ripe fruits accumulated less sugar but, interestingly, more lycopene. By contrast, inoculation of cherry plants with PGPR had no effect on biomass, although photosynthesis was slightly affected, and the productivity was similar to the control plants. In addition, antioxidant activities were downregulated and a higher lipid peroxidation was detected. However, neither sugar nor lycopene accumulation was altered. Conclusion: These results support the use of microorganisms isolated from agricultural soils as interesting tools to manipulate the level of important bioactive molecules in plants. However, this effect seems to be very specific, even at the variety level, and deeper analyses are necessary to assess their use for specific applications. Full article
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13 pages, 634 KiB  
Article
Phytochemical Responses to Salt Stress in Red and Green Baby Leaf Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Varieties Grown in a Floating Hydroponic Module
by Giandomenico Corrado, Paola Vitaglione, Maria Giordano, Giampaolo Raimondi, Francesco Napolitano, Emilio Di Stasio, Ida Di Mola, Mauro Mori and Youssef Rouphael
Separations 2021, 8(10), 175; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations8100175 - 7 Oct 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2283
Abstract
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most popular leafy vegetables, appreciated globally as a low-calorie food with bioactive compounds. The application of a low dose of abiotic stress is considered a sustainable pre-harvest strategy to modify the nutraceutical value of [...] Read more.
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most popular leafy vegetables, appreciated globally as a low-calorie food with bioactive compounds. The application of a low dose of abiotic stress is considered a sustainable pre-harvest strategy to modify the nutraceutical value of horticultural products. In this work, we explored the response of two differently colored (red or green) baby leaf lettuce varieties to four NaCl concentrations in the nutrient solution (from 1 to 30 mM), using a full factorial design. We focused on leaf morphological parameters and possible phytochemical enhancement of the main polyphenols and anthocyanins, analyzed by LC-MS. The response to low-to-moderate salt stress exposure was affected mainly by salt concentration for leaf traits or by the cultivar for leaf color, with very limited factors’ interactions. Multivariate analysis indicated a predominant role of the genotypic factor in shaping differences in the two weeks growing cycle for baby leaf lettuce. Phytochemically, different dose–response models to sub-optimal saline conditions may be applied to the various compounds. A significant hormetic stimulation was present only for cyanidin-malonyl glucoside, the main anthocyanin present in the red cultivar. Full article
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