Exploratory analysis in the evaluation of stress due to aluminum presence in Physalis angulata L. and multielement determination by microwave-induced plasma optical emission spectrometry (MIP OES)

Inorganic Element Identification and In Vitro Preliminary Evaluation of Three Types of Standardized Black Chokeberry Extracts Against Human Pulmonary Artery Endothelial Cells (HPAECs)

Black chokeberry (BCK), known as Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliott, has been employed for various purposes throughout history, being exploited both for its nutritional properties (functional foods, beverages, food preservatives, and natural food colorants) and for its therapeutic benefits (including cardiovascular and metabolic settings). This paper presents the first report on the identification of inorganic elements in three standardized BCK extracts: frozen berries (FrozArs), dried berries (DryArs), and evaporated juice (EvArJ). Additionally, the antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of these extracts on human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAECs) were evaluated. Concentrations ranging from 1 μg/mL to 10 μg/mL were tested. Inorganic element analysis revealed detectable levels of metals, including aluminum (Al), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn). Notably, cadmium was found in very low amounts (0.026 μg/g in the FrozArs), while iron was the most abundant element in the juice (597.665 μg/g). MTT assays demonstrated that all three extracts exhibited antiproliferative activity against HPAECs. Cell cycle analysis revealed a decrease in the G2/M phase for all extracts, along with an appearance of the sub-G0 phase at the highest concentration tested. The DryAr extract also slightly reduced the number of cells in the G0-G1 phase. Annexin V/PI staining indicated a mild increase in the percentage of necrotic cells associated with the DryAr extract. The potential implications of these findings are significant, particularly for those interested in the health effects of dietary supplements.

Aerosol dilution and formic acid for the direct analysis of bovine liquid milk by microwave-induced plasma optical emission spectrometry (MIP OES) as a faster and environmentally friendly analytical method

For the first time, the analysis of milk solutions without previous acid decomposition is presented using microwave-induced plasma optical emission spectrometry (MIP OES) with aerosol dilution (AD) as a sample introduction strategy. The milk samples were previously diluted using formic acid (concentration 2 % v v-1) and directly introduced in the MIP OES instrument equipped with an AD system of laminar flux. The system introduced a controlled nitrogen gas stream (dilution gas, DG) between the spray chamber and the plasma torch. The milk and formic acid proportions, the samples' dilution, and the DG and the nebulizer gas (NG) flow rates were evaluated, considering plasma robustness (N2+/OH ratio) and the intensity of the emission lines. A 50-fold dilution of milk and flow rates of 0.6 L min-1 for DG and 0.4 L min-1 for NG were chosen as a compromise condition. This simple strategy allowed the determination of Ca, K, Na, Mg, and P by MIP OES, with recoveries of 96-109 % obtained in addition and recovery assays and RSD lower than 6 %. The developed methodology used minimal reactants, and the aerosol dilution was performed online with the plasma gas, generating less waste. Besides, the sample treatment was fast, and the multi-elemental determination was performed using the cost-effective multi-elemental spectrometric technique of MIP OES.

Application of two- and multiway chemometric strategies for describing elementomic changes in pepper plants exposed to cadmium stress by multielement determination

The objective of this work was to evaluate elemental changes in pepper exposed to Cd stress through different chemometric tools. For this purpose, pepper plants were grown under five different treatments with different Cd concentrations in the nutrient solution. Considering the hypothesis that pepper plants exposed to Cd stress during growth undergo changes in the macro- and microelemental distribution in leaves, stems, and roots, principal component analysis (PCA) and parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis were applied to compare bidirectional and multivariate chemometric strategies to assess elemental changes in pepper plants. Since the number of variables and the data generated were large and complex, the application of chemometric tools was justified to facilitate the visualization and interpretation of results. The mineral composition, namely the Ca, Cd, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, N, and P contents, was assessed in 180 samples of leaves, stems, and roots of the cultivated peppers. Then, PCA and PARAFAC analysis were applied to compare bidirectional and multivariate chemometric strategies to assess elemental changes throughout pepper plants. The visualization of the trend on each sample and their intrinsic relationship with the variables were possible with the application of PCA. The use of PARAFAC analysis permitted the simultaneous study of all samples in a straightforward representation of the information that facilitated a quick and comprehensive understanding of the spatial distribution of elements in plants. Thus, macroelements (Ca, K, Mg, N, and P) that were found in higher concentrations in leaves did not present significant differences in the distribution along the plants under different treatment conditions. In contrast, a significant impact on the microelement (Cu, Fe, and Mn) distribution was produced between uncontaminated and contaminated samples. This analysis revealed a significant accumulation of Cd in roots and adverse effects on normal plant growth, demonstrating their level of phytotoxicity to pepper.

Support vector machine and PCA for the exploratory analysis of Salvia officinalis samples treated with growth regulators based in the agronomic parameters and multielement composition

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of different growth regulators on the mineral and total phenolic contents of Salvia officinalis. The samples received the applications of salicylic acid (AS); gibberellic acid (GA₃); abscisic acid (ABA) and solution without regulators (control). The exploratory evaluation of the samples was carried out through the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). In addition, has been used supervised learning methods with support vector machine (SVM) algorithms to classify the samples. The phenolic and total flavonoid contents were higher in the plants treated with the regulators. The element found in the highest concentration in Salvia officinalis was N. Plants sprayed with ABA showed higher concentrations of N, K, and Mn; Fe and Al were higher with ABA and gibberellin application, while the application of AS provided the highest accumulation of P. The application of plant regulators improves the nutraceutical properties of Salvia officinalis.