Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq. ex Fr.) P. Kumm. is the third most produced edible mushroom worldwide, due to its ability to colonise and degrade a large variety of lignocellulosic substrates. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the chemical composition of fruiting bodies of P. ostreatus grown on blank and printed paper substrates, in comparison with samples grown on oat straw (control). The nutritional properties of the control sample were similar to values reported in the literature, while the chemical composition of the samples obtained using paper scraps, either blank or printed, was highly satisfactory. The results obtained validated the nutritional characteristics of the samples, highlighting a profitable means to recycle paper.

A new methodology to the quantification of ethyl carbamate (EC) has been developed. This method allows the analysis by HPLC of ethyl carbamate in samples of wine, fortified wine, and wine brandy, by a precolumn derivatization with 9-xanthydrol, and fluorescence detection. This does not require previous sample extraction or concentration. The method presents an average recovery of 96% among samples studied, a detection limit of 4.2 µg/L, and an average intermediate precision of 6.3%. The comparison of the results obtained for EC analysis on the same wine brandy samples by GC/MS and HPLC are statistically indistinguishable with 97.5% probability. The results of the analysis of 42 samples are presented.

Boal, Malvasia, Sercial and Verdelho are the main white grape varieties used in Madeira wine production. To estimate the free fraction of varietal aroma compounds of these varieties, 39 samples of musts were analysed to determine their content of monoterpenols and C 13 norisoprenoids (terpenoids), using dynamic headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The r-values for linearity studies of the analytical method used, varied between 0.977 (nerolidol) and 0.999 (linalool). The repeatability for each compound varied between 2.5% (citronellol) and 11.8% (␤-ionone).The mean values from three vintages (1998, 1999 and 2000) confirmed that these musts have differentiated contents of terpenoids. In opposition to Verdelho musts, Malvasia showed the highest free terpenoids content. In order to establish relations between the compounds and the varieties under investigation, principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis were applied to the data, revealing a good separation and classification power between the four groups as a function of varietal origin.

Free amino acids and biogenic amines occur in musts and wines and affect the course of fermentation in musts and the quality of wines. Each sample was analyzed in 138 min and each analysis involved quantification of 23 amino acids and 10 amines. The detection limit for proline was 27.3 mg/L. The mean detection limit for amino acids was 0.58 mg/L and for amines 0.28 mg/L. Precision was 0.5 to 19.2% for wine samples and accuracy by the standard addition method was 99.8% (recovery value). In all, 33 wines and 39 must samples were analyzed. In wines, ethanolamine, histamine, ethylamine, and putrescine amounted to 93% of the amine content.

Musts and port wines pose specific problems for amino acid analysis because of high sugar content. An HPLC technique was applied to the simultaneous quantification of primary and secondary amino acids in these matrices as their OPA-FMOC derivatives. This method enabled the fully automated analysis of 21 amino acids in 20 minutes. The average detection limit was 1.3 mmole/L, precision was 5%-12% for wine samples and accuracy by the standard addition method was 108.3 % (recovery value). Ten port wine and 43 must samples were analyzed for free amino acid contents. Proline represented 73% of the total for wine samples.

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The present work was focused on the development of a simple method aimed at the determination of 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 15 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in landfill leachates and sediments by adapting a domestic microwave oven to perform microwave-assisted headspace solid-phase microextraction (MA-HS-SPME) followed by gas chromatographic separation and tandem mass spectrometric detection. Good linearity was observed within the concentration range studied; detection limits ranged from 0.1 ng/l to 7 ng/l for PCBs and from 5 ng/l to 926 ng/l for PAHs. Concerning precision, the relative standard deviations obtained were, on average for the leachate and sediment samples analysed, 18% for PCBs and 20% for PAHs. Average recovery values were 37% and 76% for PCBs, and 58% and 48% for PAHs, respectively, for the leachate and reference sediment studied. The method allows the determination of PAHs and PCBs in landfill leachates and sediments, avoiding clean-up steps and the consumption of organic solvents.

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