Eight different cultivars of apricots (Prunus armeniaca L) have been studied regarding the amygdalin content of their seeds to correlate amygdalin content with known phenotypes to determine if the inheritance of this trait is controlled in a discrete or quantitative manner. HPLC determination of amygdalin showed large differences between cultivars with sweet and bitter kernels. Also, some significant differences within groups of bitter and sweet kerneled cultivars were found but they did not correlate with the phenotypical expression of kernel flavour. From the results it is concluded that bitterness seems to be controlled in a discrete manner and that organoleptic evaluation that classifies cultivars or seedlings as bitter or sweet would be enough with no need for chemical analysis. © 1998 SCI.

Based on World Health Organization criteria, anemia was found in 25.4% of elderly subjects studied. Iron deficiency seems to be the main cause of anemia, and chronic disease the second cause of anemia. Dietary intake is not one of the principal causes of anemia in the study population, except for folate intake.

No abstract

Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) with a triple quadrupole (QqQ) is proposed for determining the vitamin K homologues, phylloquinone (PK), menaquinone-4 (MK) and menadione (MD), in vegetables. The analytes were isolated from the samples (1−1.5 g) by ultrasound assisted extraction using acetonitrile (2 mL), and the liquids were submitted to microwave assisted cloud point extraction with Triton X-45. The enrichment factors were between 20 and 50, depending on the vitamin homologue in question. The analytes were determined by LC-ESI-QqQ-MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, providing unequivocal identification and quantification, with limits of detection of 0.8, 1.0, and 16 ng/g for MK, PK, and MD, respectively. Recovery assays for samples spiked at two concentration levels, between 40 and 600 ng/g depending on the compound, provided recoveries in the 90−114% range. Only PK was detected in the samples analyzed, at concentrations in the 90−2350 ng/g range.

The method can be applied to analyze glyoxal and methylglyoxal in urine with LOD of 13 and 16 ng/l, respectively, and recoveries in the 88-103% range.