Antioxidant Activity and Characterization of Phenolic Compounds from Bacaba ( Oenocarpus bacaba Mart.) Fruit by HPLC-DAD-MS(n)

The phytochemicals in fruits have been shown to be major bioactive compounds with regard to health benefits. Bacaba ( Oenocarpus bacaba Mart.) is a native palm fruit from the Brazilian savannah and Amazon rainforest that plays an important role in the diet of rural communities and is also a source of income for poor people. This paper reports the characterization and analyses of phenolics from bacaba fruit extract. The total phenolic content of bacaba fruit amounted to 1759.27 ± 1.01 mg GAE/100 g, the flavonoid content was 1134.32 ± 0.03 mg CTE/100 g, and the anthocyanin content was 34.69 ± 0.00 mg cyn-3-glc/100 g. The antioxidant activity was evaluated through different assays [ORAC, FRAP, DPPH, TEAC, and cellular antioxidant assay (CAA) assays] and revealed a significant antioxidant capacity for bacaba in comparison to the data available in the literature. The assignment of the phenolic compounds using HPLC-DAD-MS(n) was based on the evaluation of their UV-vis absorption maxima (λ(max)) and mass spectral analyses, and 14 compounds were tentatively identified. The results suggest that bacaba fruits are a promising source of phenolics.     

NEPTUN,PAPA, Vergleichs- und Demonstrationsbetriebe oder Wer hat da noch den Durchblick?

The Institute for Strategies and Technology Assessment of the Julius Kühn-Institute operates four different networks: demonstration farms on IPM, reference farms for plant protection, panel pesticide applications and NEPTUN farms. All networks deal with the use of plant protection products in agricultural practice. The latter three also have very similar tasks and are closely interlinked. As a result, outsiders have significant problems distinguishing between those four farm networks and assigning the respective activities to the “right” corresponding network.Therefore, the publication aims at presenting comparatively the tasks and objectives of the various networks and to explain to the reader what are they doing, what are the differences, as well as why and how the establishment of these four different farm networks has come about.     

Erhebungen zur Anwendung von chemischen Pflanzenschutzmitteln in Zuckerrüben

Freely available information on the actual use of chemical plant protection products (PPPs) in agriculture is highly necessary for a number of scientific questions and political discussions. Therefore, since 2000, regular surveys on the use of PPPs have been carried out for the most important agricultural and horticultural crops in Germany (NEPTUN projects). In 2011, they were adjusted to legal framework changes. Since then they are known as PAPA surveys with “PAPA” being an abbreviation for Panel Pesticide Applications. For each crop a network of farms was built up. In each network, the PPP application data are collected annually, anonymized and forwarded to the Julius Kühn-Institute (JKI).All surveys and analyses based on the panel refer to the Federal Republic of Germany. The participating farms are distributed throughout Germany proportionally to the production area per crop.In sugar beet cultivation the results of PAPA surveys show that the plant protection intensity has increased slightly in recent years comparing the PAPA results with the years 2005 to 2010. There are diverse reasons for this development. Difficult-to-control weeds occurred on an increasing acreage in recent years. At the same time, an early appearance of foliar diseases (approximately beginning of July) combined with warm and humid weather during the following weeks leads to the development of the main pathogen causing leaf spot diseases in sugar beet (Cercospora beticola) in many regions. A continuing development of leaf spots increases the need for repeated fungicide applications. A high infestation with aphids was the dominating reason for increased insecticide applications in some years. Additional influences on the treatment index are due to changes in the authorization of PPPs.     

Heat stability of strawberry anthocyanins in model solutions containing natural copigments extracted from rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) petals

Thermal degradation and color changes of purified strawberry anthocyanins in model solutions were studied upon heating at 85 degrees C by HPLC-DAD analyses and CIELCh measurements, respectively. The anthocyanin half-life values increased significantly due to the addition of rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) petal extracts enriched in natural copigments. Correspondingly, the color stability increased as the total color difference values were smaller for anthocyanins upon copigment addition, especially after extended heating. Furthermore, the stabilizing effect of rose petal polyphenols was compared with that of well-known copigments such as isolated kaempferol, quercetin, and sinapic acid. The purified rose petal extract was found to be a most effective anthocyanin-stabilizing agent at a molar pigment/copigment ratio of 1:2. The results obtained demonstrate that the addition of rose petal polyphenols slows the thermal degradation of strawberry anthocyanins, thus resulting in improved color retention without affecting the gustatory quality of the product.     

Effect of nitrogen species supply and mycorrhizal colonization on organosulfur and phenolic compounds in onions

The aim of the present study was to test whether variations in the root environment affect the content of health-related organosulfur compounds, total phenolic compounds, and flavonol glycoside concentrations in onions. For this purpose, greenhouse-grown onions ( Allium cepa L.) were either inoculated with a commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculum or a sterile inoculum and were provided with two NH(4)(+):NO(3)(-) ratios as a nitrogen source. Onion growth, arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization rate, sugars, and nutrient element concentrations were also quantified. The plant antioxidant activity and quercetin monoglucoside and organosulfur compound concentrations increased with dominant nitrate supply. Furthermore, mycorrhizal colonization increased the antioxidant activity and also concentrations of the major quercetin glucosides. The present study provides clear evidence that antioxidant activity, quercetin glycosides, and organosulfur compounds can be increased in sufficiently supplied onion plants by dominant nitrate supply or application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. This was probably due to increased precursor production and induced defense mechanisms.     

Influence of thermal treatment on color, enzyme activities, and antioxidant capacity of innovative pastelike parsley products

Conventional spice powders are often characterized by low sensory quality and high microbial loads. Furthermore, genuine enzymes are only inhibited but not entirely inactivated upon drying, so that they may regain their activity upon rehydration of dried foods. To overcome these problems, initial heating was applied in the present study as the first process step for the production of innovative pastelike parsley products. For this purpose, fresh parsley was blanched (80, 90, and 100 °C for 1-10 min) and subsequently comminuted to form a paste. Alternatively, mincing was carried out prior to heat treatment. Regardless of temperature, the color of the latter product did not show any change after heating for 1 min. With progressing exposure time the green color turned to olive hues due to marked pheophytin formation. Inactivation of genuine peroxidase (POD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was achieved at all temperature-time regimes applied. In contrast, the parsley products obtained after immediate water-blanching were characterized by brighter green colors and enhanced pigment retention. With the exception of the variants water-blanched at 80 °C, POD and PPO were completely inactivated at any of the thermal treatments. Furthermore, in water-blanched samples, antioxidant capacities as determined by the TEAC and FRAP assays were even enhanced compared to unheated parsley, whereas a decrease of phenolic contents could not be prevented. Consequently, the innovative process presented in this study allows the production of novel herb and spice products characterized by improved sensory quality as compared to conventional spice products.     

Evidence of Si–O–C bonds in cellulosic materials modified by sol–gel-derived silica

The present study contributes to the controversial discussion in the literature whether Si–O–C bonds in wood–silica–gel composites exist. ¹³C NMR is a suitable method to proof such bonds. Because of the low concentration of ¹³C isotopes in natural wood, ¹³C cellulose was used as ¹³C-enriched substitute. A tailored sol for the impregnation of that cellulose was chosen by liquid ²⁹Si NMR pre-investigations of various sols whose reactivity and stability were time-dependently analysed. It is based on a sub-stoichiometric hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) with 1 mol water per mol TEOS. Thermal analyses were performed to show a comparability of the thermal behaviour of wood–silica–gel and cellulose–silica–gel composites. There are two strong hints of the existence of stable Si–O–C bonds: (1) by thermal analysis, a shift in the fire behaviour of 100 K can be observed with a change in pyrolysis behaviour of the composite and (2) the proof by REDOR NMR that a dipolar coupling between ²⁹Si and ¹³C nuclei exists.     

Pre-breeding blood urea nitrogen concentration and reproductive performance of Bonsmara heifers within different management systems

This study investigated the association between pre-breeding blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration and reproductive performance of beef heifers within different management systems in South Africa. Bonsmara heifers (n?=?369) from five herds with different estimated levels of nitrogen intake during the month prior to the commencement of the breeding season were sampled in November and December 2010 to determine BUN concentrations. Body mass, age, body condition score (BCS) and reproductive tract score (RTS) were recorded at study enrolment. Trans-rectal ultrasound and/or palpation was performed 4–8 weeks after a 3-month breeding season to estimate the stage of pregnancy. Days to pregnancy (DTP) was defined as the number of days from the start of the breeding season until the estimated conception date. Logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards survival analysis were performed to estimate the association of pre-breeding BUN concentration with subsequent pregnancy and DTP, respectively. After stratifying for herd and adjusting for age, heifers with relatively higher pre-breeding BUN concentration took longer to become pregnant when compared to those with relatively lower BUN concentration (P?=?0.011). In the herd with the highest estimated nitrogen intake (n?=?143), heifers with relatively higher BUN were less likely to become pregnant (P?=?0.013) and if they did, it was only later during the breeding season (P?=?0.017), after adjusting for body mass. These associations were not present in the herd (n?=?106) with the lowest estimated nitrogen intake (P?>?0.500). It is concluded that Bonsmara heifers with relatively higher pre-breeding BUN concentration, might be at a disadvantage because of this negative impact on reproductive performance, particularly when the production system includes high levels of nitrogen intake.     

Characterization of equid herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) related viruses from captive Grevy's zebra and blackbuck

Equid herpes virus 1 (EHV-1) related isolates from a captive blackbuck (strain Ro-1) and Grevy's zebra (strain T965) behaved similarly to EHV-1 and EHV-9 in respect to their host cell range. Restriction enzyme analysis and a phylogenetic tree confirmed that Ro-1 and T965 were identical and more closely related to EHV-1 than to EHV-9. Differences from EHV-1 became obvious firstly, by amino acid alignments revealing two unique substitutions in the gB protein of Ro-1 and T965. Secondly, an EHV-1 type-specific monoclonal antibody did not detect its antigen on Ro-1, T965 or EHV-9 infected cells by immunohistochemistry. The results support the view that Ro-1 and T965 isolates represent a distinct, previously unrecognized species of equid herpesviruses.