Seed Shattering of Cañahua (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen)

Cañahua (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen) is a semi‐domesticated relative of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) with high nutritious quality. It is tolerant to frost, drought, saline soils and pests. One seed yield limitation is seed loss during the maturity stages. Two greenhouse experiments in Denmark and field experiments in Bolivia were carried out to determine seed shattering in landraces and cultivars with different growth habits. 15–21 % of the seed shattering in the fields took place whilst the plants still were flowering and 25–35 % during physiological maturity. Seed shattering varied between locations on the Bolivian Altiplano. Cañahua types with the semi‐prostrate growth (‘lasta’) had the highest seed shattering rate in the greenhouse experiments. The Umacutama landrace had lower seed shattering (1 %) than the cultivar Kullaca (7.2 %) both of the ‘lasta’ type. Under field conditions, the cultivar Illimani with the erect growth (‘saihua’) had the highest seed shattering rate (6.4–33.7 %) at both locations and at four different sowing dates. The Umacutama had the lowest rate (0.5–1.5 %). There were no significant differences between plants of the ‘lasta’ and the ‘saihua’ types. The landrace had significantly less seed loss than the cultivars. However, in the greenhouse, the landrace yield was approximately 25 % lower than the yields of the cultivars. In general, cañahua cultivars had higher yield compared to landraces, but also a higher seed shattering rate. Landraces may be used in breeding programmes to develop high‐yielding cultivars with reduced seed shattering.     

Fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins in salted herring (Clupea harengus) products

The fatty acid composition and contents of fat and fat-soluble vitamins of three salted products prepared from Icelandic herring were analyzed. The effects of storage on the products over their shelf life, 6 or 12 months, were investigated. The average oil content of salted, gutted herring and salted fillets in vacuum remained constant, 17 and 12% of wet weight, respectively. In the pickled product the oil content decreased during the 12 months of storage from 13 to 12%. The composition of the products was typical for herring, the most abundant fatty acids being oleic (18:1n-9), palmitic (16:0), cetoleic (22:1n-11), and gadoleic (20:1n-9) acids. Monounsaturated acids constituted clearly the main group with a proportion of >50% of all fatty acids. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) comprised together >12% of all fatty acids. During storage, some hydrolysis of triacylglycerol (TAG) occurred, causing a slight reduction in practically all esterified fatty acids. In none of the three products was the loss of polyunsaturated fatty acids from TAG greater than the loss of saturated ones, indicating that the loss of EPA and DHA was not due to oxidation. After packing, the average content of vitamins A, D, and E in the products varied between 27 and 87 microg/100 g (wet weight), between 17-28 microg/100 g (wet weight), and between 77-120 microg/100 g (wet weight), respectively. During storage, the level of vitamin A decreased significantly, whereas no loss of vitamin D was observed. The content of vitamin E was low in all products and showed wide variation. When compared to the recommended daily intake, it could be concluded that the products investigated were good and stable sources of long-chain n-3 fatty acids (EPA, DHA) and vitamin D.     

Determination of semivolatile compounds in Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras) by supercritical fluid extraction-supercritical fluid chromatography-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

The on-line supercritical fluid extraction-supercritical fluid chromatography-gas chromatography method was applied to the determination of volatile compounds of raw and baked Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras). The analytes were extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide at 45 degrees C and 10 MPa pressure. After extraction, the volatiles and coeluted lipids were separated on-line using supercritical fluid chromatography and the volatile fraction was introduced directly into a gas chromatograph. In all, 30 compounds were identified from fish samples with mass spectrometry. The most abundant compounds in the fresh Baltic herrings were heptadecane and 1-heptadecene. When the fish were stored for 3-6 days at 6 degrees C, the total peak area of the volatiles began to increase and the proportions of short chain acids (acetic, propanoic, 2-methylpropanoic, and 3-methylbutanoic) also increased. After 8-9 days of storage, 3-methylbutanoic acid comprised about 36 and 40% of all volatiles in raw and baked herring, respectively.     

Basic composition and amino acid contents of mushrooms cultivated in Finland

The basic composition (moisture, total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, crude fat, ash, nitrogen, and protein) and amino acid contents were determined in the cultivated mushrooms Agaricus bisporus/white, Agaricus bisporus/brown, Lentinula edodes, and Pleurotus ostreatus. In addition, nitrogen-to-protein conversion factors were calculated for each species by dividing the sums of amino acid residues with total (Kjeldahl) nitrogen contents. The dry matter contents of mushrooms varied from 7.7% to 8.4%. The dry matter of mushrooms contained large amounts of carbohydrates, from 4.5 (A. bisporus/white) to 5.8 g/100 g fresh weight (L. edodes). L. edodes proved to be an especially good source of dietary fiber (3.3 g/100 g fresh weight); the other mushrooms contained 1.5-2.4 g/100 g fresh weight. Crude fat, ash, and protein (based on amino acid analysis) contents of the mushrooms varied 0.31-0.35, 0.49-0.78, and 1.8-2.09 g/100 g fresh weight, respectively. Mushrooms proved to be good sources of almost all essential amino acids when compared with common vegetables. The mean nitrogen-to-protein conversion factor analyzed in the present study was 4.7 +/- 0.21. When using this factor, a very good estimation of protein contents could be obtained for the main species of mushrooms cultivated in Finland.     

Qualitative and quantitative liquid chromatographic analysis methods for the determination of the effects of feed supplements on hen egg yolk phospholipids

Quantitative and qualitative high-performance liquid chromatographic methods were utilized to separate phospholipid classes. After qualitative separation, the fatty acid moieties of each separated phospholipid class were determined using a gas chromatographic method. On the basis of these analyses, the effect of supplemented feeds on hen egg yolk lipids can be evaluated. The supplemented feeds contained 1-5% of vegetable-based or fish oils. The phospholipid content and composition were the same in all feeding groups, the proportions of phosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylethanolamines, and sphingomyelins being 70, 28, and 3%, respectively. In each feeding group, the fatty acid profiles of phosphatidylcholines and sphingomyelins were similar to each other and different from that of phosphatidylethanolamines. The supplemented feeds had a statistically significant (p < 0.05) effect on the fatty acid composition of phosphatidylcholines. The supplements decreased the proportion of saturated fatty acids in total fat, but this effect was not found in phospholipids.     

Separation of ovomucin subunits by gel filtration: enhanced resolution of subunits by using a dual-column system.

An improved procedure involving a dual-column gel-filtration system for the separation of ovomucin subunits is described. Ovomucin, prepared from thick egg albumin by precipitation, was separated in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and beta-mercaptoethanol by using two Sephacryl S-400 HR gel-filtration columns connected in series. The separation resulted in the isolation of eight peaks. The amino acid compositions and SDS-polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoretic pattern of each peak were determined.     

Effects of season and processing on oil content and fatty acids of baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras)

Fatty acid composition, oil content, free fatty acid content, and peroxide value of Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras) and two processed products (fried fillets and fish burgers) were investigated. The highest oil content of the fillets was found in autumn (10%), at the time when the free fatty acids had their minimum (1.4%). The main fatty acids were oleic (18-23%), palmitic (17%), palmitoleic (8-12%), and docosahexaeneoic (8-10%) acids. The proportion of saturated fatty acids was a constant 23% all year around, whereas mono- and polyunsaturated acids varied from 34 to 39% and 33 to 37%, respectively. During processing the oil content doubled and the fatty acid composition changed to the pattern of the rapeseed oil used for frying. Oleic acid was a major fatty acid in the products comprising over 40% of the total fatty acids. The proportion of n-3 acids decreased during processing but the total amount of polyunsaturated acids remained fairly constant.     

Automatic Plant Identification with Chlorophyll Fluorescence Fingerprinting

The development of precision farming needs methods for automatic identification of individual plant species. We have earlier shown that chlorophyll fluorescence induction curves can be reliably used for automatical identification of plants (Tyystjärvi et al., 1999). In the present study we show that a high accuracy of recognition can be obtained even if the teaching set for pattern recognition is collected several weeks before identifying a test batch of plants. It is also shown that very simple fluorescence traces can be used for the identification, and that dark pre-incubation of the plants can be shortened to a few seconds without seriously compromising the power of the method. The method is even more powerful if the aim is only to distinguish one crop species from weeds. The data shown here suggest that the fluorescence fingerprint can be developed to a method of practical importance for precision farming.     

Quality of lemons sealed in high-density polyethylene film during long-term storage at different temperatures with intermittent warming

Storage of lemons is designed to extend the marketing of fruit throughout the year, from the main harvest season in the winter until late summer, which is a period of short supply in the market. This work was concerned with physiological and chemical attributes of stored lemons either seal-packaged in high-density polyethylene plastic film (HDPE), or left unwrapped, during storage at 13, 8 and 2°C. Intermittent warming (IW) was used to prevent chilling injury at the lower temperatures. Differences between fruit subjected to the two treatments which produced longest storage (sealed at 13°C and non-sealed at 2°C with IW) are discussed. Both treatments are recommended for adoption in commercial practice.