Bioactive Compounds in Wild Asteraceae Edible Plants Consumed in the Mediterranean Diet

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Three wild edible plant species belonging to the Asteraceae family, Crepis vesicaria L. (s.l.), Sonchus asper (L.) Hill s.l., and Sonchus oleraceus L., usually...     

Evolution of Carotenoids,Sensory Profiles and Volatile Compounds in Microwave-Dried Fruits of Three Different Loquat Cultivars (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.)

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - The consumption of loquat fruits is highly appreciated for their carotenoid content and valuable sensory notes, but it is limited due to the low shelf-life. An...     

Microencapsulation of Phenolic Extracts from Cocoa Shells to Enrich Chocolate Bars

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Cocoa bean shells were subjected to green extraction technologies, based on the absence of toxic organic solvents, to recover polyphenols; the extract was then...     

Degradation of Carotenoids in Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) During Drying Process

Carotenoids are natural compounds whose nutritional importance comes from the provitamin A activity of some of them and their protection against several serious human disorders. The degradation of carotenoids was investigated during apricot drying by microwave and convective hot-air at 60 and 70 °C. Seven carotenoids were identified: antheraxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, 13-cis-β-carotene, all-trans-β-carotene and 9-cis-β-carotene; among these, all-trans-β-carotene was found to be about 50 % of total carotenoids. First-order kinetic models were found to better describe all-trans-β-carotene reduction during drying, with a degradation rate constant (k₁) that increased two folds when temperatures increased by 10 °C, in both methods. No differences were found in k₁ between apricots dried by hot air at 70 °C (k₁?=?0.0340 h^?1) and by microwave at 60 °C. The evolution of total carotenoids (117.1 mg/kg on dry basis) during drying highlighted a wider decrease (about 50 %) when microwave heating was employed, for both set temperatures. Antheraxantin was found to be the carotenoid most susceptible to heat, disappearing at 6 h during both trials with microwave as well as during convective hot-air at 70 °C. For this reason, antheraxanthin could be a useful marker for the evaluation of thermal damage due to the drying process. Also the degree of isomerization of all-trans-β-carotene could be a useful marker for the evaluation of the drying process.