Search Results (38)

Coriander leaves are widely valued in cooking due to their rich nutrition and unique volatiles, and the flowers are also beneficial for oil extraction from seeds. With the growing interest in LED lights for controlled environments, research on coriander leaves has been reported, but studies on flowers are limited. We investigated the effects of various LED lights, including white (W), red (R), blue (B), and green (G) lights, on flowering. Coriander plants under B light were twice as tall and flowered approximately 4 weeks earlier than those under other lights. However, plants under B light exhibited overgrowth, resulting in fewer flowers at a PAR of 100 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹. To reduce this shade avoidance effect, we tested various combinations of W and B light at a PAR of 120 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹. The 50:50 ratio of W and B light enhanced growth and accelerated flowering, resulting in twice as many flowers as plants under W light. Total volatile compound levels were higher under W light and highest under 50% W and 50% B lights. Key volatiles specific to coriander leaves, such as (E)-2-decenal, 2-undecenal, and 2-dodecenal, were high under G light at 100 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ of PAR. These findings provide valuable insights into the effects of light on flower development. Full article

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a widespread estrogenic mycotoxin that poses serious health risks to both humans and animals through the contamination of cereals and feeds. In this study, a novel Bacillus strain X13 was isolated from volcanic rock soil and demonstrated the unique ability to utilize ZEN as the sole carbon source for growth and metabolism. Under optimized conditions (37 °C, pH 8.0, and 5% inoculum in M9 minimal medium), strain X13 achieved a ZEN degradation efficiency of 98.57%. LC-MS analysis identified 1-(3,5-dihydroxyphenyl)-6′-hydroxy-1′-undecen-10′-one as the primary degradation product, indicating enzymatic hydrolysis of the lactone ring. Enzymatic assays revealed that the active components were extracellular, proteinaceous, and metal ion-dependent. Furthermore, the strain reduced ZEN content in mold-contaminated corn flour by 74.6%, effectively lowering toxin levels below regulatory limits. These findings suggest that Bacillus sp. X13 is a promising candidate for the bioremediation of ZEN-contaminated agricultural products, with significant potential for application in food and feed detoxification strategies. The robust degradation performance of strain X13 under simulated environmental conditions, combined with its adaptability to agricultural substrates, positions it as a viable solution for large-scale mycotoxin mitigation in the food industry chain, from pre-harvest field management to post-harvest storage processing. Full article

Root lesion nematodes (RLNs) are major plant parasites causing significant global yield losses in a wide range of crops. Current management strategies largely depend on synthetic nematicides, which raise environmental and human health concerns due to their broad-spectrum toxicity and persistence in the ecosystem. Volatile allelochemicals offer a promising, environmentally safer alternative due to their biodegradability and lower toxicity to mammals. In this study, we assessed the nematicidal activity of five allelochemical volatiles—dimethyl sulphide (DMS), dimethyl disulphide (DMDS), trans-cinnamaldehyde (TCA), trans-2-decenal (T2D), and trans-2-undecenal (T2U)—against Pratylenchus penetrans, using direct-contact bioassays, in comparison with the conventional nematicide oxamyl. Additionally, we assessed their environmental behaviour and toxicity profiles through in silico modelling. At 1 mg/mL, TCA, T2D, and T2U exhibited strong activity against P. penetrans, outperforming oxamyl by up to 1.6-fold, while DMS and DMDS showed reduced activity. The environmental risk assessment revealed that these compounds have a lower predicted persistence and bioaccumulation compared with oxamyl or fluopyram, a new generation nematicide. Though these findings boost the potential of these compounds as sustainable alternatives for RLN management, field validation and testing with non-target organisms remain necessary for the development of biopesticides. Nevertheless, this study emphasizes the need for an integrated risk-based assessment in the selection of nematicidal agents, warranting efficacy as well as environmental safety. Full article

The development of earth-abundant nickel-based catalysts is currently one of the greatest challenges for the straightforward synthesis of functionalized polyolefins. With environmental protection concerns, controllable copolymerizations of ethylene with biosourced comonomers derived from castor oil, such as methyl 10-undecenoate (U-COOMe), 10-undecen-1-ol (U-OH), or 10-undecenyl bromide (U-Br), were realized using α-diimine nickel catalyst (Ni-DBB) with dibenzobarrelene backbone. Catalyst Ni-DBB was highly tolerant toward polar comonomers, and functional polyethylenes were successfully prepared. The influences of the polar group, temperature, and comonomer concentration were studied in detail. Catalyst Ni-DBB was able to catalyze the copolymerization of ethylene with U-OH to afford high-molecular-weight (~180 kg/mol) functional polyethylene in a controlled fashion. NMR analysis showed that the produced functional polyethylenes were highly branched and had broad melting peaks ranging from 0 to 30 °C. Water contact angle (WCA) measurements showed that the surface of the obtained hydroxyl-functionalized polyethylene changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic with the introduction of the comonomer U-OH. Full article

The red-belted clearwing moth Synanthedon myophaeformis is a deleterious pest of apple orchards, wherein the larvae bore tree bark, resulting in reduced fitness and ultimately death. The main control strategies of this pest still rely on the use of pesticides, while alternative agronomic methods for its control coexist, with the application of the main pheromone (Z,Z)-3,13-octadecadien-1-yl acetate. Until now, the molecular bases of the chemosensory systems of the red-belted clearwing moth have been less explored. With the aim to identify novel ligands that may interfere with the behaviour of S. myophaeformis, in this study, we have isolated and functionally characterised some key odorant receptors (ORs) of this moth by selecting paralogues from two main subgroups of the Lepidopteran pheromone receptor (PR) clade: the OR3 subgroup (OR3.1 to OR3.4) and the OR22 subgroup (OR22.1 to OR22.4). We generated transgenic D. melanogaster expressing SmyoORs in ab3A neurons, which we approached by single sensillum recording (SSR). Among these ORs, we deorphanized SmyoOR3.4 to ligands that we have previously identified for orthologues of the codling moth Cydia pomonella, including the pear ester ethyl-(E,Z)-2,4-decadienoate, its methyl ester analogue methyl-(E,Z)-2,4-decadienote, and the unsaturated aldehyde (Z)-6-undecenal. With this approach, we also identified a wide pattern of activation of SmyoOR22.4 to several apple-emitted ligands. Despite the fact that combining SSR with gas chromatography (GC-SSR) did not unveil the activation of the SmyoORs to compounds present in the headspace from apples, GC-SSR unveiled the enhancement of the SmyoOR3.4 spiking at nanogram doses of both pear ester, methyl ester, and (Z)-6-undecenal. For the first time, this study deorphanized ORs from the red-belted clearwing moth and identified ligands as possible semiochemicals to add to the ongoing strategies for the control of this pest. Full article

The influence of boiling time on the persistent changes in the surface color, water content and distribution, protein secondary structure, and the concentration of volatile compounds in beef were studied, in order to obtain quality short-term boiled beef slices. The results show that the water content of beef samples significantly decreased and migration occurred between the high-freedom water and the low-freedom water. On average, boiling for 1 min was a key point in the changes of color parameters (L*, a*, b*, w, ΔE, and BI) and partial protein secondary structure because of the change in the ambient temperature around beef. In six samples, 29 volatile compounds were confirmed by GC–MS, and 13 compounds were regarded as the potential key volatile compounds, including 1-heptanol, 1-octen-3-ol, octanal, hexanal, decanal, heptanal, nonanal, (E, E)-2,4-decadienal, (E, E)-2,4-nonadienal, dodecanal, (E)-2-undecenal, 2,3-octanedione, and 2-pentylfuran. The color, water, and protein secondary structure were closely correlated with some potential key volatile compounds. The results could be used to guide the consumers to better grasp the quality of hot-pot meat during gatherings and have a comfortable consumer experience. Full article

To develop and utilize Folium Artemisia argyi (FAA) tea resources, UPLC-MS/MS, HS-GC-IMS, and HS-SPME/GC×GC-TOFMS were adopted to analyze its volatile and non-volatile compounds, when harvested from March to June, in combination with its antioxidant activity. Here, 1742 volatile compounds and 8726 non-volatile compounds were identified, with 75 differential volatile metabolites and 36 key flavor compounds screened. Notably, 1-octen-3-one, (E)-2-octenal, (E)-2-undecenal, and heptanal were identified as major contributors to the sweet, fruity, green, and herbal aromas, and the concentration of them was highest in June-harvest FAA tea. Furthermore, metabolomics revealed that there were 154 non-volatile differential metabolites in FAA tea at four harvest times, which were mainly related to amino acid biosynthetic pathways. Samples harvested in June also showed the strongest antioxidant capacity, which was positively correlated with D-xylitol, L-glutamic acid, honokiol, and costunolide. These findings highlight June as the optimal harvest time, providing FAA tea with superior flavor and enhanced antioxidant properties, underscoring its potential as a valuable resource for functional food development. Full article

Aromatic rice is famous for its pleasant aroma which consists of many flavor volatiles. The present study was to explore the effects of selenium nanoparticle (SeNP) application on flavor volatiles of aromatic rice based on a worldwide database of flavor molecules accessed on November 19 2024. A field experiment was carried out with the foliar application of SeNP at early growth stage (S1), middle growth stage (S2), and late growth stage (S3) of aromatic rice plants in two cropping seasons. In the control group (CK), no selenium-based treatment was applied. There were in total 27 and 24 flavor volatiles registered in FlavorDB2 detected in aromatic rice in the early and late cropping seasons, respectively. The flavors that appear most often were fat, fresh, fruit, aldehydic, green, sweet, citrus, and waxy. Compared with CK, S3 treatment caused the absence of 5 and 4 flavor volatiles in the early and late seasons, respectively. S2 treatment caused the exclusive presence of 2-undecenal and 3-hexenal,(Z)- in the early season and the exclusive presence of 2-hexenoic acid and decanal in the late season. The results of principal components analysis (PCA) showed that S2 and S3 treatments substantially impacted the flavor volatiles of aromatic rice in the early season while S1 and S2 treatments substantially impacted the flavor volatiles of aromatic rice in the late season. There were 12 and 4 differential flavor volatiles found in the early and late cropping seasons respectively. S2 treatment significantly increased the content of 10 flavor volatiles including 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, benzaldehyde, 2-hexenoic acid, hexanoic acid, octanal, 2-octenal,(E)-, heptanal, 2,4-heptadienal,(E,E)-, 3-hexenoic acid,(E)-, and n-hexadecanoic acid. In addition, the effects of SeNP on flavor volatiles varied between different cropping seasons indicated that climate had a substantial impact on flavor volatiles in aromatic rice. Overall consideration, the heading stage, i.e., the middle growth stage, is the most suitable stage to apply SeNP to maximize the benefits on the flavor volatiles of aromatic rice. Full article

Aroma in food plays an important role in food perception and acceptance, which depends on various mixtures of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Moreover, VOCs are of great significance for aroma identification. In this study, headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technology was used to determine the VOCs in 10 pear syrups. A total of 127 VOCs were quantitatively determined, including 9 common VOCs and 46 characteristic VOCs of 10 pear syrups. The pear syrups were divided into three categories by cluster analysis, and thirty-eight differential VOCs were obtained using orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA) and fourteen key VOCs were selected by odor activity value (OAV). It was revealed that the key and common aroma components of pear syrups were butanoic acid, methyl ester, 2-methyl-, methyl ester and Hexanoic acid, and ethyl ester. The characteristic and differential VOCs were 10-Undecen-1-ol, Hexadecanal, n-Propylacetate, Cyclohexanol, 5-methyl-2-(1-methylethyl)-, (1S,2R,5S)-, Methional, Disulfide, dimethyl, 8-Nonenoic acid, ethyl ester, Naphthalene, 1,2-dihydro-1,1,6-trimethyl-, 3H-Purin-6-amine, N,N,3-trimethyl-, 2-Octanol,2,6-dimethyl-, Furyl hydroxymethyl ketone, Heptane, 2,2,4,6,6-pentamethyl-, and Butanoic acid,2-methyl-,methyl ester. The above results showed that different pear syrups had rich diversity in aroma compounds, with some components being shared among them while others are exclusive to specific syrups. Full article

In samples of Artemisia campestris (AC), Artemisia herba-alba (AHA) and Salvia jordanii (SJ) essential oils, up to 200 distinct volatile compounds were identified. Using headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography–olfactometry–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-O-MS), different panelists detected 52 of these compounds. This study offers the most detailed analysis of bioactive compound profiles conducted so far. The most abundant compounds identified were curcumene, making up 12.96% of AC, and camphor, constituting 21.67% of AHA and 19.15% of SJ. The compounds with the highest odor activity value (OAV) were (E,Z)-2,4-nonadienal (geranium, pungent), 3-nonenal (cucumber) and 2-undecenal (sweet) in AC, AHA and SJ, respectively. AHA essential oil showed significant antioxidant activity (IC₅₀ = 41.73 ± 4.14 mg/g) and hydroxyl radical generation (hydroxylation percentage = 29.62 ± 3.14), as assessed by the diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. In terms of oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), the strongest antioxidant activity was obtained for SJ essential oil (antioxidant activity of the essential oils, AOX = 337.49 ± 9.87). Full article

Energy cane is a genotype derived from species of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum and Saccharum spontaneum) with a lower sucrose content and higher fiber content for bioenergy purposes. It is a rustic plant that demands less fertile soils that do not compete with food crops. In this work, an analysis of energy cane bagasse pyrolysis products was performed, assessing the effect of reaction temperature and kinetic and thermodynamic parameters. Anhydrosugars, such as D-allose, were the primary compounds derived from the decomposition of energy cane at 500 °C. Methyl vinyl ketone and acetic acid were favored at 550 and 600 °C. At 650 °C, methyl glyoxal, acetaldehyde and hydrocarbons were favored. Among the hydrocarbons observed, butane, toluene and olefins such as 1-decene, 1-undecene, 1-tridecene and 1-tetradecene were the most produced. The Friedman isoconversional method was able to determine the average activation energies in the ranges 113.7−149.4, 119.9−168.0, 149.3−196.4 and 170.1−2913.9 kJ mol⁻¹ for the decomposition of, respectively, pseudo-extractives, pseudo-hemicellulose, pseudo-cellulose and pseudo-lignin. The thermodynamic parameters of activation were determined within the ranges of 131.0 to 507.6 kJ mol⁻¹ for ΔH, 153.7 to 215.2 kJ mol⁻¹ for ΔG and −35.5 to 508.8 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ for ΔS. This study is very encouraging for the cultivation and use of high-fiber-content energy cane bagasse, after sucrose extraction, to produce biofuels as an alternative to the current method of conversion into electricity by low-efficiency burning. Full article

Fragrant rice has various flavor types, mainly the popcorn flavor, corn flavor and lotus root flavor. Chinese fragrant rice from China and Thai fragrant rice from Thailand were analyzed. GC-MS was used to determine the volatile compounds of fragrant rice. It was found that there were 28 identical volatile compounds between Chinese and Thai fragrant rice. The key compounds of different flavor types of fragrant rice were obtained by comparing the common volatile compounds. The key compounds of the popcorn flavor were 2-butyl-2-octenal, 4-methylbenzaldehyde, ethyl 4-(ethyloxy)-2-oxobut-3-enoate and methoxy-phenyl-oxime. The key compounds of the corn flavor were 2,2′,5,5′-tetramethyl-1,1′-biphenyl, 1-hexadecanol, 5-ethylcyclopent-1-enecarboxaldehyde and cis-muurola-4(14), 5-diene. By using a combination of GC-MS and GC-O, the flavor spectrogram of fragrant rice was constructed, and the characteristic flavor compounds of each flavor type were identified. It was found that the characteristic flavor compounds of the popcorn flavor were 2-butyl-2-octenal, 2-pentadecanone, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, 4-methylbenzaldehyde, 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone, phenol and methoxy-phenyl-oxime. The characteristic flavor compounds of the corn flavor were 1-octen-3-ol, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, 3-methylbutyl 2-ethylhexanoate, methylcarbamate, phenol, nonanal and cis-muurola-4(14), 5-diene. The characteristic flavor compounds of the lotus root flavor were 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, 10-undecenal, 1-nonanol, 1-undecanol, phytol and 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone. The resistant starch content of lotus root flavor rice was relatively high (0.8%). The correlation between flavor volatiles and functional components was analyzed. It was found that the fat acidity of fragrant rice was highly correlated (R = 0.86) with the characteristic flavor compounds, such as 1-octen-3-ol, 2-butyl-2-octenal and 3-methylbutyl-2-ethylhexanoate. The characteristic flavor compounds had an interactive contribution to the production of the different flavor types of fragrant rice. Full article

Potatoes inoculated with Pectobacterium carotovorum spp., Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger, along with healthy (control) samples, were stored at different storage temperatures (4 ± 1 °C, 8 ± 1 °C, 25 ± 1 °C) for three weeks. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were mapped using the headspace gas analysis through solid phase micro extraction–gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy every week. The VOC data were arranged into different groups and classified using principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models. Based on a variable importance in projection (VIP) score > 2 and the heat map, prominent VOCs were identified as 1-butanol and 1-hexanol, which can act as biomarkers for Pectobacter related bacterial spoilage during storage of potatoes in different conditions. Meanwhile, hexadecanoic acid and acetic acid were signature VOCs for A. flavus, and hexadecane, undecane, tetracosane, octadecanoic acid, tridecene and undecene were associated with A. niger. The PLS-DA model performed better at classifying the VOCs of the three different species of infection and the control sample compared to PCA, with high values of R² (96–99%) and Q² (0.18–0.65). The model was also found to be reliable for predictability during random permutation test-based validation. This approach can be adopted for fast and accurate diagnosis of pathogenic invasion of potatoes during storage. Full article

In this study, the flavor compounds of Camellia seed oils obtained by four processes were characterized by headspace solid phase microextraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC/MS). A variety of about 76 volatile flavor compounds were identified from all the oil samples. Of the four processing processes, the pressing process can retain a lot of volatile components. Among these, compounds nonanal and 2-undecenal were predominantly in the majority of the samples. Meanwhile, other compounds such as octyl ester formic acid, octanal and 2-nonenal (E), 3-acetyldihydro 2(3H)-furanone, (E)-2-decenal, dihydro-5-penty 2(3H)-furanone, nonanoic acid, and dodecane were also among the most consistently found compounds among the oil samples analyzed. The principal component analysis carried out to categorize the data produced seven clusters of the total oil samples based on the number of flavor compounds obtained in each sample. This categorization would lead to understanding the components which highly contributed to the characteristic volatile flavor and build up the flavor profile of Camellia seed oil. Full article

With the aim to study the flavor characteristics of Ningxiang pigs (NX), Duroc (DC) pigs, and their crosses (Duroc × Ningxiang, DN), electronic nose and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis were used to detect the volatile flavor substances in NX, DC, and DN (n = 34 pigs per population). A total of 120 volatile substances were detected in the three populations, of which 18 substances were common. Aldehydes were the main volatile substances in the three populations. Further analysis revealed that tetradecanal, 2-undecenal, and nonanal were the main aldehyde substances in the three kinds of pork, and the relative content of benzaldehyde in the three populations had significant differences. The flavor substances of DN were similar to that of NX and showed certain heterosis in flavor substances. These results provide a theoretical basis for the study of flavor substances of China local pig breeds and new ideas for pig breeding. Full article