No abstract

European sugar beet was mostly grown from seeds treated by neonicotinoids which provided efficient control of some important sugar beet pests (aphids and flea beetles). The EU commission regulation from 2018 to ultimately restrict the outdoor application of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin could significantly affect European sugar beet production. Although alternative insecticides (spinosad, chlorantraniliprole, neem) are shown to have certain effects on particular pests when applied as seed treatment, it is not likely that in near future any insecticide will be identified as a good candidate for neonicotinoids’ substitution. The aim of this research is to evaluate residue levels (LC-MS/MS method) of imidacloprid and thiamethoxam applied as seed dressing in sugar beet plants during two growing seasons in fields located in different agro-climatic regions and in greenhouse trials. In 2015, 25 to 27 days post planting (PP) maximum of 0.028% of imidacloprid and 0.077% of thiamethoxam were recovered from the emerged plants, respectively. In 2016, the recovery rate from the emerged plants 40 days PP was 0.003% for imidacloprid and 50 days PP was up to 0.022% for thiamethoxam. There were no neonicotinoid residues above the maximum residue level in roots at the time of harvesting, except in case of samples from thiamethoxam variant collected from greenhouse trials in 2016 (0.053 mg/kg). The results of this research lead to the conclusion that the seed treatment of sugar beet leaves minimal trace in plants because of the complete degradation while different behavior has been observed in the two fields and a glasshouse trial regarding the residues in soil. Dry conditions, leaching incapacity, or irregular flushing can result in higher concentrations in soil which can present potential risk for the succeeding crops. The results of our study could provide additional arguments about possible risk assessment for seed treatment in sugar beet.

This study focused to establish the optimal conditions of accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), i.e., temperature, static extraction time and number of extraction cycles, for the isolation of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) seeds phenols and pigments using 96% ethanol as an extraction solvent. Hence, extraction conditions of temperature (80 and 110 °C), static extraction time (5 and 10 min) and number of extraction cycle (1, 2, 3 and 4) were varied. Obtained extracts were spectrophotometrically analyzed for the content of total phenols (TP), total chlorophylls (TCHL) and total carotenoids (TCAR). Applied extraction conditions had a significant (p<0.01) influence on the yields of analyzed compounds, except for static extraction time on TCAR (p=0.11). Based on the results of statistical analysis, the highest levels of TP and TCHL were achieved at the most invasive conditions (110 °C/10 min/4 cycles), while shorter period was sufficient to reach the highest TCAR yield (110 °C/5 min/3 cycles). In summary, ASE demonstrated to be effective extraction technique for the isolation of fennel seeds hydrophilic and lipophilic bioactive compounds.

No abstract

No abstract

1, 2, 3 cycles 5, 10 min Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) is common Mediterranean plant that has been widely used as medicinal and aromatic herb. Numerous studies reported the use of fennel extracts (plant or seed) due to its diversity of phenolic compounds to whom inhibitory effects against several diseases are prescribed. Hence, phenolic compounds isolated from fennel are of the great interest for the use in food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Nowadays, innovative extraction techniques have been introduced for isolation of bioactive compounds from plant material, among which pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) was reported as automated extraction procedure that combines effects of elevated temperature and pressure to increase the efficiency of the extraction process. Improved efficiency is also achieved by selecting the right solvent and by optimizing processing conditions (temperature, static time, cycle number).

The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of abrasive pre-treatments on plum drying time compared to the conventional ones. The mechanical pre-treatment examined included the abrasion at three different cylinder rotation times: 5, 10 and 15 min. The chemical pre-treatment under consideration included the immersion of plums in alkaline solution (KOH) of different concentrations (0.5, 1 and 1.5 % (v / v)) at 60 °C for one minute. The thermal treatment performed included the immersion of fruits in distilled water at 60 °C for one minute. As a control (untreated) sample, fruits with waxy lawyers were used. According to the results obtained, the drying time of plums was significantly reduced compared to the control sample (97 h): in the samples treated with distilled water (thermal treatment) drying time was reduced by 21 h, whereas the drying time reduction of up to 68 h was reorded using a KOH solution of 1.5 % . In the samples pre-treated by abrasion for 15 min, the drying time recorded was also reduced by 68 h compared to the control samples, thus proving the exceptional efficiency of abrasive pre-treatment in plum drying.

AbstractPotato (Solanum tuberosum spp.) is worldwide consumed mostly as table potato, but due to lifestyle changes, production of minimally processed potato (MPP) became an important sector of the food industry. From the health point of view, phenolic compounds as potatoes constituents are desirable, but also responsible for undesirable browning of peeled and sliced potato. The most abundant are phenolic acids such as chlorogenic acid, which is a substrate for enzymatic oxidation in the presence of phenolase and is responsible for browning processes. Its concentration in tubers depends on cultivar type as well as storage, and thereby can influence on shelf life of MPP. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of two potato cultivars of different tuber age on the phenolic content of MPP during 8 days of storage followed by thermal treatment. Cultivars Birgit and Lady Claire were selected and stored for 1 and 4 months in warehouse (8 °C/RH 95 %). Potatoes were washed, peeled, sliced and treated with 2 % sodium ascorbate solution for 3 minutes. After draining, MPP samples were vacuum packed in PE/PA bags and stored for 1, 5 and 8 days at 10 °C. After storage, samples of raw, boiled and fried MPP were freeze dried and phenolic content was determined by UPLC MS/MS. In all potato samples chlorogenic acid, catechin and epicatechin were determined, where chlorogenic acid predominated (almost 97 %).Generally, lower phenolic content was determined in cv. Birgit samples. Comparing cultivars upon tubers age, total phenolic content (as sum of all determined polyphenols) was lower after 4 months storage and ranged from 3.33 mg/100 g freeze dried sample (raw cv. Birgit/1st day) to 7.27 mg/100 g (raw cv. Lady Claire/8th day). MPP's phenolic content in raw potatoes increased over the storage time, except in cv. Lady Claire potatoes stored for 1 month. Influence of thermal treatments on the MPP phenolic content showed decrease in boiled and fried MPP prepared from 1 month stored potato, while in MPP samples prepared from 4 months stored potato did not follow a clear trend. Phenolic content was lower in boiled potatoes compared to fried potatoes, regardless cultivar type, probably because phenolics are lost by cooking in water. The current study demonstrates that cv. Birgit is more suitable in minimal processing than cv. Lady Claire according to lower phenolic content.