The role of maternal colostrum to infant development has been extensively studied and presented. Among the main factors which contribute to breast milk composition are maternal diet, age and body mass index, parity, duration of pregnancy and stage of lactation. This study aims to investigate the potential impact of several factors including demographic (i.e. maternal age and nationality) on the colostrum fatty acid profile. Colostrum was collected the third day postpartum in a Greek maternity hospital. Certain lipid quality indices and fatty acid ratios were estimated and results were statistically processed. The main identified fatty acids were palmitic (C16:0), oleic (C18:1ω-9), and linoleic (C18:2ω-6) acids. Among fatty acids, saturated fatty acids predominated (47.61%), followed by monounsaturated fatty acids (39.26%), while polyunsaturated fatty acids had the lowest proportion (13.13%). Values of lipid quality indices were within the reported in the literature ranges. Maternal body mass index, nationality, age, mode of delivery, gender and fetal weight percentile were studied in respect to their potential influence on the fatty acid profile of colostrum fat. Results suggest that colostrum fatty acid profile was mainly dependent on maternal nationality and age rather than mode of delivery and maternal BMI. Regarding the effect of maternal nationality, significant differences were found for saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Of the most interesting findings is that colostrum fat from older (≥35 years) mothers had less saturated fat and more appropriate LQIs values. Finally, a reversed correlation was observed between the customized centile of the infants and the colostrum fat content.

Pomegranate juices from the fruits of the two relatively new Greek cultivars “Persephone” and “Porphiroyeneti” were studied compared to the “Wonderful” cultivar.

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The antiradical and antioxidant properties of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) extracts from the arils, juice, and seeds were examined and compared for classical and ultrasound-assisted Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:14 16 May 20152 extraction. The total phenolic concentration, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl, 2, 2-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging, and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays were compared. High correlations were found between total phenolic concentration and antiradical activities. Juice extracts exhibited the highest total phenolic concentrations and antiradical activity compared to seed and aril extracts. However, juice extracts provided the lowest antioxidant capacities because phenolics present in juice may scavenge free radicals rather than reduce Fe(III). Arils were similar due to their high juice content. Only seed extracts exhibited statistically significant higher scavenging and antioxidant activities with the use of ultrasound-assisted extraction that may be attributed to the antioxidant character of the phenolics to scavenge free radicals. The total phenolic concentrations in aril and juice extracts by ultrasound-assisted extraction were similar to results obtained by classical extraction. The resultsshow that pomegranate juice and seeds have high nutritional value.

The object of this study was to determine the phenolic profile, the total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of pomegranate wine and compare to multi-varietalVitisspp. red wine using different spectrophotometric and spectrometric techniques.

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The profiles of Vitis vinifera L. and Salvia triloba L. leaf extracts have been studied via photometric assays on the basis of their total phenolic and flavonoid content as well as of their radical scavenging and antioxidant activities. Ultrasound-assisted (UAE) and pressurized liquid extractions (PLE) were implemented for producing polar fractions from the plants, using different methanol–water and glycerol–water mixtures for UAE and PLE, respectively. Aqueous methanol was proved an effective solvent for the UAE of total phenolics and flavonoids as well as for increased radical scavenging and antioxidant activities. As for PLE, plain water was proved a more efficient solvent than hydroglycerolic mixtures. Overall, irrespective of the solvent(s) used, UAE extracts showed higher values compared with the PLE extracts for all the photometric determinations and for both plant species. Moreover, Salvia UAE and PLE extracts presented higher total phenolic and flavonoid contents, accompanied by higher radical scavenging and antioxidant activities, compared with Vitis extracts. The correlations among photometric results were also studied, indicating the categories of compounds that relate to the antioxidant and/or radical scavenging activities of the extracts. Mixtures of the examined extracts could be exploited as the basis of novel phytotherapeutic products in the cosmetic sector.

Wine lees, a sub-exploited byproduct of vinification, is considered a rich source of bioactive compounds, such as (poly)phenols, anthocyanins and tannins. Thus, the effective and rapid recovery of these biomolecules and the assessment of the bioactive properties of wine lees extracts is of utmost importance. Towards this direction, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) factors (i.e., extraction time, microwave power and solvent/material ratio) were optimized using experimental design models in order to maximize the (poly)phenolic yield of the extracts. After optimizing the MAE process, the total phenolic content (TPC) as well as the antiradical, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the extracts were evaluated. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was employed to investigate the chemical profile of wine lees extracts. Red varieties exhibited higher biological activity than white varieties. The geographical origin and fermentation stage were also considered as critical factors. The white variety Moschofilero presented the highest antioxidant, antiradical and antimicrobial activity, while Merlot and Agiorgitiko samples showed noteworthy activities among red varieties. Moreover, IR spectra confirmed the presence of sugars, amino acids, organic acids and aromatic compounds. Thus, an efficient, rapid and eco-friendly process was proposed for further valorization of wine lees extracts.