In many parts of the world, the agricultural sector is faced with a number of challenges including those arising from abiotic environmental stresses which are the key factors responsible for most reductions in agrifood production. Crude oil contamination, an abiotic stress factor and a common environmental contaminant, at toxic levels has negative impacts on plants. Although various attempts have been made to demonstrate the impact of abiotic stresses on crops, the underlying factors responsible for the effects of crude oil and its induced abiotic stresses on the composition of the stressed plants are poorly understood. Hence, this review provides an in-depth examination of the: (1) effect of petroleum hydrocarbons on plants; (2) impact of abiotic environmental stresses on crop quality; (3) mechanistic link between crude oil stress and its induced abiotic stresses; as well as (4) mode of action/plant response mechanism to these induced stresses. The paper clearly reveals the implications of crude oil-induced abiotic stresses arising from the soil-root-plant route and from direct application on plant leaves.

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Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) clean-up standards, intervention and/or target values, are designed to effectively manage introduction of toxic petroleum hydrocarbons into the environment. This research assessed the impact of some crude oil remediation intervention values, involving sub-lethal concentrations of crude oil, on yield and phytochemical contents of kale (Brassica oleracea L.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Crude oil contamination within the range examined did not affect emergence; yield and phytochemical distributions were affected at some levels of contamination, particularly 10,000 mg•kg-1 TPH. There is the potential of TPH to moderate effects of crude oil at 10,000 mg•kg-1 to enhance contents of some phenolics and organic

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For years, the focus on the lipid–atherosclerosis relationship has limited the consideration of the possible contribution of other key dietary components, such as amino acids (AAs), to cardiovascular disease (CVD) development. Notwithstanding, the potential of plant-based diets, some AAs and phytochemicals to reduce CVDs’ risk has been reported. Therefore, in this study, the phytochemical and AA profiles of different medicinal plants’ (MPs) parts used for CVDs’ treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa were investigated. Fourier-transform infrared analysis confirmed the presence of hydroxyl, amino and other bioactive compounds’ functional groups in the samples. In most of them, glutamic and aspartic acids were the most abundant AAs, while lysine, which was the most limiting. P. biglobosa leaf, had the richest total branched-chain AAs (BCAAs) level, followed by A. cepa bulb. However, A. cepa bulb had the highest total AAs content and an encouraging nutraceutical use for adults based on its amino acid score. Principal component analysis revealed no sharp distinction between the AAs composition of MPs that have found food applications and those only used medicinally. Overall, the presence of medicinally important phytochemicals and AAs levels in the selected MPs’ parts support their use for CVDs treatment as they might not add to the AAs (e.g., the BCAAs) burden in the human body.

Aim: Food processing is one of the post-harvest factors that affect the quality of food products. This research was aimed at evaluating the impact of two drying methods (sun-drying and freeze-drying) on the nutritional and phytochemical contents of Vernonia amygdalina Del. Study Design: Processed vegetables of V. amygdalina were subjected to the selected drying methods and the composition of the dried samples was thereafter compared. Place and Duration of Study:The eight-month study was carried out at the Food Chemistry 2 Methodology: Harvested fresh samples of V. amygdalina were first cleaned with distilled water prior to drying. The dried vegetable samples were then ground to powder and subjected to proximate analysis via the application of recommended methods of Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Other nutritional and phytochemical analyses were achieved using standard methods. Independent-samples t-test was used to compare the difference in composition. Results: The results showed that except for crude fibre content, there was a statistical significant difference (p < 0.05) in the proximate composition of the vegetable samples obtained from the two drying methods while the freeze-drying method favoured the concentration of most of the dietary minerals tested. The two drying methods were found to give a similar phytochemicals screening result with the sun-dried samples having a higher concentration of total phenols and total flavonoids. The freeze-dried samples, however, had higher vitamin A and C contents. Conclusion: The research outcome revealed the suitability of the freeze-drying method for enhanced/improved drying action on vegetables and to have the optimum level of crude protein, major dietary minerals, vitamin A and C in the dried vegetables. Further work is needed to assess the impact of the selected drying methods on antinutrients composition.

Heavy crude oil spills have been recorded to have detrimental effects on the soil properties of agricultural lands and the eventual agricultural produce. However, the influence of sub-lethal concentrations of crude oil on crop quality is not clearly understood. Hence, the present study assessed the response of Micro-Tom tomato fruits to low concentrations of crude oil. Although the range of crude oil concentrations used in this research had no significant effect on most of the nutritional and phytochemical parameters tested, the growth, yield, fruit production and ripening of the Micro-Tom tomato fruits were affected at crude oil remediation intervention value (CRIV) of 5,000 mg/kg TPH.The usual trend of organic acids' distribution in tomatoes was also altered. The experimental results re-affirmed that apart from genetics, environmental factors -such as crude oil contamination -may influence tomato fruit quality and yield. Nonetheless, the research findings suggest that crude oil-contaminated sites at ≤ 3,000 mg/kg TPH presents a similar growing environment to a clean site for the cultivation of sensitive crops with reduced negative impact on crop quality.

Changes in fish odor are attributed to volatile compounds’ generation. In this study, the effect of three processing methods (boiling, sun‐drying, and smoke‐drying) on the volatile compounds produced from Ethmalosa fimbriata was investigated using two‐dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC‐TOF‐MS). For complete cooking, appropriate fish samples were boiled slowly in water, while sun‐drying was achieved traditionally. An improved Altona‐type smoking oven was utilized for the smoke‐drying process. The experimental results revealed the production of alkene, alkyne, alcohol, ketone, acids, esters, amines, sulfur‐containing, and miscellaneous volatile compounds. Although the selected processing methods were effective for preserving E. fimbriata from the release of some volatile compounds associated with fish spoilage, they also contributed to the release of other volatile compounds and odor production. Boiling and smoke‐drying were specifically found to be efficient for the removal of the three amines detected in the fresh fish sample, including carcinogenic N‐nitrosodimethylamine. Practical applications The current research describes the potential of the studied processing methods (boiling, sun‐drying, and smoke‐drying) to preserve E. fimbriata from the production of some volatile compounds associated with fish spoilage. Boiling and smoke‐drying were specifically found promising for preserving fish against the release of carcinogenic N‐nitrosodimethylamine.