a b s t r a c tIn vitro culture emerges as a sustainable way to produce bioactives for further applicability in the food industry. Herein, vegetative parts of Fragaria vesca L. (wild strawberry) obtained by in vitro culture were analyzed regarding nutritional and phytochemical compounds, as well as antioxidant activity. These samples proved to have higher content of protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, soluble sugars, organic acids (including ascorbic acid) and tocopherols (mainly a-tocopherol) than wild grown F. vesca, as well as containing additional phenolic compounds. The antioxidant activity of hydromethanolic extracts could be correlated with the content of different phenolic groups and other compounds (sugars and organic acids). It was demonstrated that in vitro culture could enhance nutritional and bioactive compounds of Fragaria vesca L. plants, providing a very interesting biotechnological tool for potential food applications.

A B S T R A C TThe extraction of phenolic compounds from walnut leaves (Juglans regia L.) was optimized using heat-assisted extraction and deep eutectic solvents based on choline chloride and carboxylic acids. A preliminary solvent screening was performed using a selected group of carboxylic acids as hydrogen bond donors, showing that the highest extraction yield of phenolic compounds was obtained using choline chloride mixtures with butyric or phenylpropionic acid at a mole ratio 1:2, with 20% of water (w/w). The extraction conditions (time, temperature and water proportion) were then optimized by an experimental design, assisted by response surface methodology. To evaluate the response, the three most abundant compounds identified by HPLC (neochlorogenic acid, quercetin 3-O-glucoside and quercetin O-pentoside) were quantified. Additionally, the solid/liquid ratio effect at the optimal conditions, in dose-response format, was studied in view of its upscale, not showing any significant decrease until 140 g/L. The results here presented provide valuable information towards the design of a process in a pre-industrial form for the extraction of phenolic compounds from J. regia leaves using deep eutectic solvents.

Juglans regia L. (walnut tree) is a recognized source of bioactive compounds with potential health benefits. In this work, hydroethanolic extracts of J. regia leaves were obtained by heat assisted extraction from different Portuguese samples in two phenological stages (green and yellow leaves) aiming to assess the impact of seasonal variations. The samples were compared regarding their phenolic composition and bioactivity. Seventeen phenolic compounds were identified by liquid chromatography combined with a diode array detector and electrospray ionization mass spectrometer (LC-DAD-ESI/MS n ): six phenolic acids, ten flavonoids and one tetralone derivative. The green leaves extracts presented a higher amount of total phenolic compounds (29.70 ± 0.03 mg/g extract) compared with the yellow leaves (23.26 ± 0.06 mg/g extract). In particular, yellow samples were richer in flavonoids (17.4 ± 0.2 mg/g extract; mainly quercetin-3-O-glucoside: 3.64 ± 0.01 mg/g extract), while the green ones presented higher phenolic acids content (16.7 ± 0.2 mg/g extract; mainly trans 3-p-coumaroylquinic acid: 6.9 ± 0.5 mg/g extract). Green leaves extract also presented higher antioxidant potential, achieving IC 50 values around 32 ± 2 μg/mL and 26.8 ± 0.2 μg/mL for the oxidative haemolysis inhibition and the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances assays, respectively. Furthermore, only green leaves samples showed anti-inflammatory potential. The cytotoxic evaluations revealed similar antiproliferative action of both extracts against the tumor cell lines tested. Also, an analogous anti-bacterial potential of the extracts was observed, with preferential action against Gram-positive clinical isolated bacteria, with lower minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for Enterococcus faecalis and Listeria monocytogenes (MIC = 2.5 mg/mL). Therefore, the present study suggests the use of walnut leaves as a source of active ingredients without hepatotoxic effects to be used in different applications in the food or pharmaceutical areas.

The solubility of syringic acid, vanillic acid and veratric acid was measured in pure water and eleven organic solvents (methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 2-butanone, ethyl acetate, acetonitrile, dimethylformamide, 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol and 1,3-butanediol), at 298.2 K and 313.2 K. Besides the solubility data, the melting temperatures and enthalpies of the solutes were determined by differential scanning calorimetry, while powder and single X-ray diffraction were used to resolve the solute solid structure, before and after the solubility studies. For modeling purposes, the NRTL-SAC model, also combined with the Reference Solvent Approach (RSA), and the Abraham solvation model were applied to describe the solid-liquid equilibria of the binary systems. A set of solvents was used to estimate the model parameters and afterwards, solubility predictions were carried out for binary systems not included in the correlation step. Better results were obtained using the Abraham solvation model with average relative deviations (ARD) of 15% for the correlation set and 26% for the predictions, which are more satisfactory than the results found with the NRTL-SAC model (33% for the correlation and 59% for the predictions) or the NRTL-SAC model combined with RSA (30% for the correlation and 59% for the predictions).

Background: Morchella conica Pers. is a species of fungus that belongs to the

Juglans regia L. (walnut) green husks are an important fraction of waste resulting from the walnut production, thus representing an interesting natural matrix to explore as a source of bioactive compounds. In this work, the hydroethanolic extract of walnut green husks was studied considering the phytochemical composition and the biological activity using different cell model assays, most of them evaluated for the first time for this matrix. From the HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS n analysis, sixteen compounds were identified, being the extract mostly composed of naphthalene derivatives (including tetralone derivatives) and less abundant in phenolic compounds (hydroxycinnamic acids and flavonols). The cytotoxic potential of the extract was assessed against tumour (MCF-7, NCI-H460, HeLa and HepG2) and non-tumour (PLP2) cell lines. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of the extract was evaluated by inhibition of the oxidative haemolysis (OxHLIA) and the formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and the anti-inflammatory potential by the inhibition of the NO production by the RAW264.7 cell culture. The antibacterial effects of the extract were also evaluated against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The results obtained represent a stepping stone for the development of future applications using walnut green husks as a source of added value compounds with bioactive potential.

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Protein and lipid content as well as the fatty acid (FA) composition of storage tissues were analysed in two varieties of Oreochromis niloticus (Red-Stirling and Chitralada) and their hybrid. The animals were maintained in cages for 11 months. The samples were taken when the animals weighed 10, 50, 100, 250 and 500 g. The results showed that changes in the metabolic processes occur during an increase in body mass in both varieties of tilapia and also their hybrid, but that these di¡erences are not found in animals collected at the commercial weight. The protein content of the ¢llet and liver decreased with growth and the same protein content associated with growth was found for ¢llet lipid content. The genetic variety did not in£uence the FA pro¢le of the ¢llet, but di¡erent genotypes had di¡erent hepatic FA compositions. Even with the same lipid content, the hepatocytes of Chitralada accumulated higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) n6 in triglycerides and increased C22:6n3 in the hepatocyte membranes. The higher n6PUFA content was compensated by a lower fraction of saturated FA in the hepatocyte triglycerides. The skin of Chitralada also had higher n6PUFA and C22:6n3 contents, suggesting a higher ability to deposit PUFA in the skin due to alterations in the liver synthetic pathway.