Bioaccessibility of micronutrients in fresh and frozen strawberry fruits grown under elevated carbon dioxide and temperature

Regulation of anthocyanin synthesis in red lettuce in plant factory conditions: A review

Anthocyanins, natural pigments known for their vibrant hues and beneficial properties, undergo intricate genetic control. However, red vegetables grown in plant factories frequently exhibit reduced anthocyanin synthesis compared to those in open fields due to factors like inadequate light, temperature, humidity, and nutrient availability. Comprehending these factors is essential for optimizing plant factory environments to enhance anthocyanin synthesis. This review insights the impact of physiological and genetic factors on the production of anthocyanins in red lettuce grown under controlled conditions. Further, we aim to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in both synthesis and degradation of anthocyanins. Moreover, this review summarizes the identified regulators of anthocyanin synthesis in lettuce, addressing the gap in knowledge on controlling anthocyanin production in plant factories, with potential implications for various crops beyond red lettuce.

High-temperature stress in strawberry: understanding physiological, biochemical and molecular responses

MAIN CONCLUSION

Heat stress reduces strawberry growth and fruit quality by impairing photosynthesis, disrupting hormone regulation, and altering mineral nutrition. Multi-omics studies show extensive transcriptional, post-transcriptional, proteomic and metabolomic under high temperatures. Garden strawberry is a globally cultivated, economically important fruit crop highly susceptible to episodic heat waves and chronically rising temperatures associated with climate change. Heat stress negatively affects the growth, development, and quality of strawberries. Elevated temperatures affect photosynthesis, respiration, water balance, hormone signaling, and carbohydrate metabolism in strawberries. Heat stress reduces the size and number of leaves, the number of crowns, the differentiation of flower buds, and the viability of pollen and fruit set, ultimately leading to a lower yield. On a physiological level, heat stress reduces membrane stability, increases the production of reactive oxygen species, and reduces the antioxidant capacity of strawberries. Heat-tolerant varieties have better physiological and biochemical adaptation mechanisms compared to heat-sensitive varieties. Breeding heat-tolerant strawberry cultivars involves selection for traits such as increased leaf temperature, membrane thermostability, and chlorophyll content. Multi-omics studies show extensive transcriptional, post-transcriptional, proteomic, metabolomic, and ionomic reprogramming at high temperatures. Integrative-omics approaches combine multiple omics datasets to obtain a systemic understanding of the responses to heat stress in strawberries. This article summarizes the deciphering of strawberry responses to heat stress using physiological, biochemical, and molecular approaches that will enable the development of resilient adaptation strategies that sustain strawberry production under global climate change.

How food matrices modulate folate bioaccessibility: A comprehensive overview of recent advances and challenges

The incomplete absorption of dietary folate makes it crucial to understand how food matrices affect folate bioaccessibility. Bioavailability encompasses bioaccessibility, which depicts the proportion that is liberated from the food matrix during digestion and becomes available for absorption. Bioavailability studies are expensive and difficult to control, whereas bioaccessibility studies utilize in vitro digestion models to parameterize the complex digestion, allowing the evaluation of the effect of food matrices on bioaccessibility. This review covers the folate contents in various food matrices, the methods used to determine and the factors affecting folate bioaccessibility, and the advances and challenges in understanding how food matrices affect folate bioaccessibility. The methods for determining bioaccessibility have been improved in the last decade. Current research shows that food matrices modulate folate bioaccessibility by affecting the liberation and stability of folate during digestion but do not provide enough information about folate and food component interactions at the molecular level. In addition, information on folate interconversion and degradation during digestion is scant, hindering our understanding of the impact of food matrices on folate stability. Moreover, the role of conjugase inhibitors should not be neglected when evaluating the nutritional value of food folates. Due to the complexity of food digestion, holistic methods should be applied to investigate bioaccessibility. By synthesizing the current state of knowledge on this topic, this review highlights the lack of in-depth understanding of the mechanisms of how food matrices modulate folate bioaccessibility and provides insights into potential strategies for accurate evaluation of the nutritional value of dietary folate.

Effect of the food matrix on the (poly)phenol stability of different plant-based meat products and their main ingredients after in vitro gastrointestinal digestion

The present study aimed to investigate the influence of the food matrix on the bioaccessibility of free and bound (poly)phenols in different plant-based foods. These plant-based matrices included two fresh raw materials (tomato and red pepper), two minimally processed intermediate ingredients (dehydrated tomato and roasted red pepper), and two final plant-based and spreadable meat products whose main ingredients were tomato and red pepper (tomato pâté and pepper pâté, respectively). All samples underwent harmonized INFOGEST in vitro gastrointestinal digestion to simulate the digestive process. In the six studied matrices, 75 (poly)phenolic compounds were detected, the free fraction, in general, being higher than the bound fraction. The bioaccessibility values fluctuated between 5.83 and 38.38%, while the colon available index ranged from 10.40-298.81%. Among phenolic acids and flavonoids, in general, flavonoids were more bioaccessible than phenolic acids. The highest bioaccessibility values were obtained for fresh raw tomato and tomato pâté, while the lowest values were obtained for roasted red pepper and pepper pâté. In conclusion, except for the tomato pâté, food processing was detrimental to polyphenol bioaccessibility.

Folate vitamers in the Australian green plum: Through growth and ripening and across locations

The green plum is a native fruit of Australia that grows on the tree Buchanania obovata. This study aimed to confirm the high level of folate in green plums by analyzing a large number of ripe samples from multiple locations and to understand how folate vitamers change as the fruit grows through maturity stages. This study analyzed green plums for five vitamers of folate, H4folate, 5-CH3-H4folate, 5-CHO-H4folate, 10-CHO-PteGlu, and PteGlu (folic acid) using a stable isotope dilution assay on a liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer (LC-MS). Green plums were tested from four locations, two harvests and five maturity stages. Another 11 ripe samples, each from different tree clumps from one location, were also tested as were ripe red-colored green plums. The results show the 5-CH3-H4folate in green plum increases and accumulates in the fruit through development, ripening and senescence. The ripe green plums contain between 82.4 ± 5.5 and 149.4 ± 10.7 μg/100 g Fresh Weight (FW). The red-colored green plums are even higher in folate, with total folate measured as 192.5 ± 7.0 and 293.7 ± 27.4 μg/100 g FW, and further analysis of them is suggested. There is some variation in amounts of folate between fruit from different locations and sets of trees, but all ripe green plums tested are considered good dietary sources of folate.

Simulated global climate change benefits the nutritive value of oat grass

Numerous data demonstrate that global climate change affects crop yield and quality. However, the effect of climate change on the nutritive value of forage crops remains unclear. Oat grass (Avena sativa L.) was used as a representative forage crop to understand changes in yield and chemical composition. The growth of oat grass under elevated temperature and CO₂ conditions was simulated in a 51-day growth experiment inside OTCs. The oat grass was harvested during the heading period and yield, nutrient content, macro- and micro-mineral content and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) determined. The fresh and dry yield, mineral P and Fe content and IVDMD of oat grass increased under increased CO₂ concentrations (P < 0.05). As temperature increased, dry matter yield and soluble sugar content decreased and the content of Na, Mg, P, S, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn increased (P < 0.05), while IVDMD was not significantly affected. Under the interaction of increasing CO₂ and temperature, the content of Mg, P, S, Ca, Mn and IVDMD of oat grass increased (P < 0.05); however, there was no significant effect on yield. Climate change may result in oat grass containing more digestible nutrients and minerals for ruminants.

New frozen product development from strawberries (Fragaria Ananassa Duch.)

Strawberry fruit has a short shelf life. If stored at ambient temperature only lasts 1 day, so it needs to be dried into a frozen product so that its shelf life is longer. Frozen products are favored by consumers because they still have properties like fresh fruit. This study was aimed at examining the physical and sensory characteristics of new frozen products from strawberries. The research sample was freeze-dried at 3 variations of the heating plate temperature were 40, 50, and 60 °C and 3 variations of the drying time were 24, 36, and 48 h. The research parameters observed were weight loss, water content, texture, color, aroma, and taste. The results showed that the freeze-vacuum drying process has a significant influence on the parameters of weight loss, moisture content, texture, and color of frozen strawberries, but does not influence significantly to aroma and taste. The highest weight loss and evaporation were obtained at 60 °C and 48 h of drying time. Frozen strawberries most preferred by panelists are those that are freeze-dried at 50 °C and a drying time of 36 h because they have aroma and flavor that seem fresh strawberries.

The Effect of Cultivation Method of Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) cv. Honeoye on Structure and Degradation Dynamics of Pectin during Cold Storage

The high quality and long shelf life of strawberry fruit are largely dependent on the cultivation method. The goal of this experiment was to study the effect of different cultivation methods on molecular structure and rheological properties of pectin extracted from strawberry quality parameters during cold storage. Three methods of cultivation of strawberry cv. Honeoye were tested: organic cultivation on raised beds, organic cultivation with the flat-planted method and conventional cultivation with the flat-planted method. The nanostructure of pectin (AFM), its chemical structure (FT-IR) and rheological properties were studied. The fruits were also tested by size, dry matter, firmness, acidity and the content of soluble solids, anthocyanin, phenolics, vitamin C and galacturonic acid. Pectin isolated from organic strawberries was more rapidly degraded than conventional strawberry pectin, which limits the possibilities for their processing and use as gelling or stabilizing agents at 20 °C. The differences in fruit quality were particularly noticeable with respect to the anthocyanin content, which was significantly higher for organic strawberry. The organic fruit also had better sensory properties because of its lower acidity and higher soluble solid content (SSC). These and other results from this experiment showed that strawberries produced by organic farming methods had better biochemical properties compared to conventional fruit; however, pectin transformation undergone faster limits their further technological applications.