In the present study, we report the attempt to characterize the chemical composition of fruit kernel of Lodoicea maldivica coco nucifera palm (commonly named as 'Coco de mer') by gas chromatographic method. The analysis was performed by HS-SPME and GC/MS techniques to determine volatile aroma, sterol, and fatty acid composition profiles in the internal and external pulp of two distinct coconuts. Although no qualitative differences in flavour composition were observed between the two analysed coconuts and the relative two pulp parts, variations in the abundance levels of the prominent compounds have been recorded. The averaged quantity of total phytosterols, resulting from the two analysed 'Coco de mer' samples, was almost constant in both kernels coconut, being 24.5 μg/g (of dry net matter) for the external, and 26.9 μg/g (of dry net matter) for the internal portion. In both coconuts, the fatty acid pattern composition was characterized by seven saturated acids ranged from C14:0 (myristic) to C20:0 (arachidic) and two monounsaturated acids, the palmitoleic (C16:1, ω7) and the oleic (C18:1, ω9). Palmitic acid (C16:0) was the predominant one with an average contribution of about 49.0%, followed by pentadecanoic 16.5%, stearic (C18:0) 11.6%, and myristic (C14:0) 9.9% acids in all two examined kernel portions.
We report on the results of an analytical investigation about the contamination on three officinal plants of Amazonian rain forest due to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), like organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The analyzed plants "balsamina" (Impatiens Balsamina), "mullaca" (Physalis Angulata) and "graviola" (Annona Muricata) come from the Amazonian forest of the Peru where they grow spontaneously. All the three plants are well known for their numerous therapeutic properties and commonly they are used in the traditional medicine against several diseases like cancer, fever, diabetes, etc. A portion of about l0 g for each vegetable sample was submitted to extraction procedure with hexaneacetone (1:1, v/v) solution by using soxhlet technique for 24h, following procedures by ISTISAN 99/28. The three extracts were analyzed by Gas ChromatographyTandem Mass Spectrometry (GCMS/MS) and Multi Reaction Monitoring (MRM) techniques (by using ion trap detector Varian Saturn 2200 system) after their purification by chromatography on celite column eluted with nhexane (ISTISAN 99/25). The obtained results show the presence of DDT and its metabolites, like DDD e DDE in the three analyzed samples and of hexachlorobenzene only in the "graviola" (0.041 μg/kg). The total POPs quantities are in the concentration range of ppb, varying from 0.349 and 0.614 μg/kg respectively for "mullaca" and "graviola", up to 2.328 μg/kg in the case of "balsamina". These concentration values are an indication of a plants contamination in trace due to the organochlorinated pesticides coming from an ubiqitary pollution and not from a direct use of these substances in the place of origin of the samples. Finally, concerning the PCBs determination, the analysis GCMS/MS excludes their presence in all the three plants investigated: the concentration values are in this case lower than the detection limit of the method (0.0030.013 μg/kg).
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