Fermented vegetables containing benzoic and ascorbic acids as additives: benzene formation during storage and impact of additives on quality parameters

Chemical and sensorial changes related to the use of benzoates and ascorbic acid as additives in packed fermented vegetables were investigated. For this, three selected vegetables (green olives, cucumbers, and caperberries) stored under different conditions (glass or plastic containers, ambient or refrigerated storage) were used. In all cases, benzoic acid remained unchanged (glass bottle) or decreased slightly (plastic pouch) at prolonged storage. Ascorbic acid was partially or totally degraded during storage, the degradation rate depending on the storage conditions and the vegetable matrix. Benzene levels higher than 10 μg/L were found in cucumbers and caperberries containing both additives, but only when packed in plastic pouches and after prolonged storage at room temperature. In these conditions, an appreciable browning of brine, related to AA degradation, was also found. The use of benzoate alone had a significant influence on vegetable color, but flavor was not significantly affected at the benzoate levels tested. On the basis of the present study, benzoates should be removed from fermented vegetable formulations containing ascorbic acid to eliminate possible benzene formation during long-term storage.     

Characterization and quantitation of phenolic compounds in new apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) varieties

Thirty-seven apricot varieties, including four new releases (Rojo Pasión, Murciana, Selene, and Dorada) obtained from different crosses between apricot varieties and three traditional Spanish cultivars (Currot, Mauricio, and Búlida), were separated according to flesh color into four groups: white, yellow, light orange, and orange (mean hue angles in flesh were 88.1, 85.0, 77.6, and 72.4, respectively). Four phenolic compound groups, procyanidins, hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, flavonols, and anthocyanins, were identified by HPLC-MS/MS and individually quantified using HPLC-DAD. Chlorogenic and neochlorogenic acids, procyanidins B1, B2, and B4, and some procyanidin trimers, quercetin 3-rutinoside, kaempferol 3-rhamnosyl-hexoside and quercetin 3-acetyl-hexoside, cyanidin 3-rutinoside, and 3-glucoside, were detected and quantified in the skin and flesh of the different cultivars. The total phenolics content, quantified as the addition of the individual compounds quantified by HPLC, ranged between 32.6 and 160.0 mg 100 g(-1) of edible tissue. No correlation between the flesh color and the phenolic content of the different cultivars was observed.     

Resin tapping in Pinus pinaster: effects on growth and response function to climate

Pinus pinaster is of great ecological and economic importance and has traditionally been subjected to intensive uses such as wood and resin extraction. In the last decade, dendrochronological methods are increasingly being used to analyze the effects of climatic factors on the growth of the maritime pine, although tapped trees were generally avoided because it was thought that their growth was affected by resin extraction. In Spain, however, it is hard to find a long-lived forest of P. pinaster that has not been subjected to tapping for resin. In the present paper, we performed dendrochronological analyses of this species from wood cores and cross sections taken from both resin-tapped trees and resin-untapped trees killed by a fire in 2008 in the central Iberian region. On the one hand, we reconstructed the history of forest management by means of analysis of resin scars in the cross sections of resin-tapped trees. This facet of dendrochronological dating had not heretofore been developed, and little is therefore known about it. We dated 46 scars, which indicate a history of intensive resin extraction in the 1920–1950 period. Moreover, we attempted to answer the question: Have the old resin extractions in P. pinaster precluded the use of their growth rings for dendrochronological and dendroclimatic studies? We found that resin extraction did not alter general short-wavelength variability, and we developed a local chronology with all synchronized series, and the response function with respect to climate is similar to other oldest P. pinaster forests studied in Spain. The information we have recorded can be of use for providing tools to land managers for interpreting forest dynamics in resin-tapped regions.     

A reduced growth model based on stand basal area. A case for hybrid poplar plantations in northeast Spain

Whole-stand models normally require data on initial stand basal area and dominant height. Dominant height measurements are time-consuming and often imprecise, compromising subsequent predictions. Poplar plantations provide a special case where basal area correlates with site index; a whole-stand model could thus be based on stand basal area. We report a static model constructed by the generalized algebraic difference approach (GADA) for poplar plantations for three different hybrid poplars (Populus × euramericana (Dode) Guinier “I-214”, “MC”, and “Luisa Avanzo”) in northeast Spain. The transition function was based on current stand basal area and was fitted with data from 158 permanent plots ranging from 1- to 17-year-old plantations. Merchantable stand volume was estimated by a volume equation where height was predicted by a height–basal area relationship based on 458 temporary plots. The model differences between clones were compared using the nonlinear extra sum of squares method. Significant differences were detected, while Luisa Avanzo presented the highest merchantable volume at the end of the rotation. Errors in basal area predictions were below 20% within 6 years in the case of Luisa Avanzo and MC clones, and within 3 years in the case of I-214. Our research showed that satisfactory predictions can be obtained using GADA with a single transition function based on an easily measurable variable such as stand basal area.     

Behavioural response of a trophic specialist, the Iberian lynx, to supplementary food: Patterns of food use and implications for conservation

Prey scarcity compromises population survival, especially for specialist predators. Supplementary feeding is a management tool that can be applied to reverse the decline of food-limited populations. We analyse how a population of Iberian lynx, a threatened food specialist, initially reacted to, and subsequently used, supplementary food. Twenty-seven feeding stations (FS) with domestic rabbits were placed in the Doñana Biological Reserve, SW Spain, between 2002 and 2005. We recorded lynx tracks inside and around stations to analyse spatio-temporal patterns of use, as well as the performance of several station designs. Iberian lynx used 62% of the FS installed, and consumed most of the supplied food. All station designs were used and food provision apparently covered the energetic needs of the lynx inhabiting the reserve. There was spatial aggregation in the use of the FS. Fourteen weeks were needed on average for lynx to become familiar with feeding stations and making a regular use of the supplementary food. Seasonal variations in consumption frequency appeared to be modulated by fluctuations of wild rabbit numbers throughout its annual cycle as well as by variation in energy demand of breeding females. The Iberian lynx responded positively to our supplementary feeding programme. We show that this technique allows the persistence of lynx populations during long periods in areas where wild rabbits are extremely scarce. Supplementary food may be used to sustain lynx whenever rabbit populations need recovery, as well as in the context of lynx restocking or reintroduction programmes.     

Enhanced Dechlorination of Carbon Tetrachloride by Immobilized Fulvic Acids on Alumina Particles

Fulvic acids (FA) were immobilized on alumina particles in order to evaluate their catalytic effect as solid-phase redox mediator (RM) during the reductive dechlorination of carbon tetrachloride (CT) by anaerobic sludge. FA were extracted from three different soil samples and two commercial composts. Electron carrying capacity (ECC) was determined in all FA samples in order to select the appropriate source of redox-mediating compounds for CT dechlorination. TiO₂, Al(OH)₃, and γ-Al₂O₃ particles were tested as immobilizing materials for the extracted FA. FA extracted from a temperate pine forest soil showed the highest ECC (291.72 μmol g⁻¹). The highest adsorption capacity of FA, measured as total organic carbon (TOC), was achieved by alumina (γ-Al₂O₃) particles (12 mg TOC-FA g⁻¹). Results suggest that the transfer of electrons rather than their microbial generation through glucose fermentation was the rate-limiting factor during dechlorination of CT. Immobilized FA increase up to 10.4-fold the rate of CT dechlorination as compared with the control lacking FA. Immobilization of FA on alumina particles was very stable, and spectrophotometric screening did not detect any detachment of FA during dechlorination of CT, thus confirming that the enhanced dechlorination achieved could exclusively be linked to the redox-mediating capacity of immobilized FA. The present study constitutes the first demonstration that immobilized FA on alumina particles could serve as a solid-phase RM in dechlorination reactions.     

Antiradical efficiency of Maillard reaction mixtures in a hydrophilic media

The Maillard reaction (MR) has a clear impact in food science, nutrition, and medical research. Free radical scavenging capacities of several MR mixtures made from single combinations of glucose or lactose and amino acids (gly, his, lys, trp, met, and cys) were evaluated by using the N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine radical cation assay. Medium-roasted coffee brew was used as reference of a thermally processed food. A novel approach has been applied in order to get more information about the kinetic behavior of the radical scavenging properties of MR mixtures in a watery environment. Antiradical efficiency (AE) concept has been applied, and it takes into consideration the reaction time, apart from the amount of antioxidant necessary to decrease by 50% the radical initial concentration (EC(50)). Cysteine and histidine reveal as powerful amino acids to exert a high AE in the MR mixtures. No relationship between AE parameter and browning was observed.     

Accurate determination of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole in wines at low parts per trillion by solid-phase microextraction followed by GC-ECD

A headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) procedure at 30 degrees C with a 100 microm PDMS fiber of a saturated NaCl solution stirred at 1100 rpm combined to GC-ECD for the 2,4,6-trichloroanisol (TCA) determination in wines has been developed. Due to the matrix complexity and ethanol absorption into the fiber, the internal standard selection was crucial to obtain unbiased results. Thus, matrix effects were observed when analyzing different types of Spanish wines (white, early, and vintage red wines) spiked with TCA at low concentration levels (i.e., <40 ng L(-)(1)). In contrast, the use of 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA) as internal standard overcame these matrix effects, whereas the use of 2,4,6-trichlorophenyl ethyl ether led to inconsistent results. The developed HS-SPME-GC-ECD methodology reaches a limit of quantitation for TCA in wine within 2.9-18 ng L(-)(1), with a relative standard deviation of 2.5-13.4%, depending on the TCA concentration level and wine characteristics. This analytical method is comparable to the existing methodologies based on HS-SPME followed by GC-MS in terms of accuracy, precision, length of determination, and length of quantification; however, analysis cost is reduced.     

Coniferous afforestation increases soil carbon in maritime sand dunes

Afforestation of grasslands can increase C sequestration and provide additional economic and environmental benefits. Pine plantations, however, have often been found to deplete soil organic C and trigger detrimental effects on soils. We examined soil characteristics under a 45-year-old Pinus radiata stand and under adjacent grassland on maritime dunes in temperate Argentina. Soil under the pine plantation had greater soil organic C (+93%), total N (+55%) and available P (+100%) concentrations than under grassland. Carbon was stored under the pinestand at an estimated mean accretion rate of 0.64 Mg ha^?1 y^?1. At 0- to 25-cm depth, soil C amounted to 61 Mg ha^?1 under pine and 27 Mg ha^?1 under grassland. Soil C accumulated more on dune slopes (35 Mg ha^?1 y^?1) than on ridges(29 Mg ha^?1 y^?1) and bottoms (12 Mg ha^?1 y^?1). Compared with the grassland, soil acidity, cation-exchange capacity, base losses (K > Ca = Mg) and C/N ratio increased under pine. Spatial heterogeneity in soil characteristics was greater under pine than under grassland. Such variability was non-systematic and did not support the ‘single-tree influence circle’ concept. Afforestation increased C in soil, forest floor and tree biomass in dunes with ustic climate regime.     

Carotenoid profile modification during refrigerated storage in untreated and pasteurized orange juice and orange juice treated with high-intensity pulsed electric fields

A comparative study was made of the evolution and modification of various carotenoids and vitamin A in untreated orange juice, pasteurized orange juice (90 degrees C, 20 s), and orange juice processed with high-intensity pulsed electric fields (HIPEF) (30 kV/cm, 100 micros), during 7 weeks of storage at 2 and 10 degrees C. The concentration of total carotenoids in the untreated juice decreased by 12.6% when the juice was pasteurized, whereas the decrease was only 6.7% when the juice was treated with HIPEF. Vitamin A was greatest in the untreated orange juice, followed by orange juice treated with HIPEF (decrease of 7.52%) and, last, pasteurized orange juice (decrease of 15.62%). The decrease in the concentrations of total carotenoids and vitamin A during storage in refrigeration was greater in the untreated orange juice and the pasteurized juice than in the juice treated with HIPEF. During storage at 10 degrees C, auroxanthin formed in the untreated juice and in the juice treated with HIPEF. This carotenoid is a degradation product of violaxanthin. The concentration of antheraxanthin decreased during storage, and it was converted into mutatoxanthin, except in the untreated and pasteurized orange juices stored at 2 degrees C.