Comprehensive Review on Application of FTIR Spectroscopy Coupled with Chemometrics for Authentication Analysis of Fats and Oils in the Food Products

Currently, the authentication analysis of edible fats and oils is an emerging issue not only by producers but also by food industries, regulators, and consumers. The adulteration of high quality and expensive edible fats and oils as well as food products containing fats and oils with lower ones are typically motivated by economic reasons. Some analytical methods have been used for authentication analysis of food products, but some of them are complex in sampling preparation and involving sophisticated instruments. Therefore, simple and reliable methods are proposed and developed for these authentication purposes. This review highlighted the comprehensive reports on the application of infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics for authentication of fats and oils. New findings of this review included (1) FTIR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics, which has been used to authenticate fats and oils; (2) due to as fingerprint analytical tools, FTIR spectra have emerged as the most reported analytical techniques applied for authentication analysis of fats and oils; (3) the use of chemometrics as analytical data treatment is a must to extract the information from FTIR spectra to be understandable data. Next, the combination of FTIR spectroscopy with chemometrics must be proposed, developed, and standardized for authentication and assuring the quality of fats and oils.     

Optimization of yield in kinetically controlled synthesis of ampicillin with immobilized penicillin acylase in organic media

Immobilized penicillin acylase is a moderately priced versatile enzyme, that is able to catalyze the synthesis of derived penicillins and cephalosporins from the corresponding β-lactam nuclei and proper side-chain precursors. Kinetically controlled synthesis is a better strategy when product yield is a key issue. Yield should increase at reduced water activity by depressing the competing hydrolytic reactions in favor of synthesis; therefore, organic cosolvents can be a suitable reaction media for synthesis. Using response surface methodology and product yield as objective function, temperature and pH were optimized in the kinetically controlled synthesis of ampicillin using previously screened cosolvents and reaction conditions. Optimum pH was 6.0 for ethylene glycol (EG) and glycerol (GL) and 6.6 for 1–2 propanediol (PD); optimum temperature was 30°C for GL and for EG and PD was in the lower extreme of the range studied, optimum lying below 26°C. Maximum molar yields predicted by the model were 58,51, and 46% for EG, GL, and PD, respectively, which were experimentally validated. Highest yield in aqueous buffer was always <40%. Molar yields about 60% compare favorably with values reported for the kinetically and thermodynamically controlled synthesis of ampicillin and other derived penicillins.     

Metabolite Fingerprinting Using 1H-NMR Spectroscopy and Chemometrics for Classification of Three Curcuma Species from Different Origins

Curcuma longa, Curcuma xanthorrhiza, and Curcuma manga have been widely used for herbal or traditional medicine purposes. It was reported that turmeric plants provided several biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotector, cardioprotector, and anticancer activities. Authentication of the Curcuma species is important to ensure its authenticity and to avoid adulteration practices. Plants from different origins will have different metabolite compositions because metabolites are affected by soil nutrition, climate, temperature, and humidity. ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, principal component analysis (PCA), and orthogonal projections to latent structures-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were used for authentication of C. longa, C. xanthorrhiza, and C. manga from seven different origins in Indonesia. From the ¹H-NMR analysis it was obtained that 14 metabolites were responsible for generating classification model such as curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, alanine, methionine, threonine, lysine, alpha-glucose, beta-glucose, sucrose, alpha-fructose, beta-fructose, fumaric acid, tyrosine, and formate. Both PCA and OPLS-DA model demonstrated goodness of fit (R² value more than 0.8) and good predictivity (Q² value more than 0.45). All OPLS-DA models were validated by assessing the permutation test results with high value of original R² and Q². It can be concluded that metabolite fingerprinting using ¹H-NMR spectroscopy and chemometrics provide a powerful tool for authentication of herbal and medicinal plants.     

Fermentation of Jamaican Cherries Juice Using Lactobacillus plantarum Elevates Antioxidant Potential and Inhibitory Activity against Type II Diabetes-Related Enzymes

Jamaican cherry (Muntinga calabura Linn.) is tropical tree that is known to produce edible fruit with high nutritional and antioxidant properties. However, its use as functional food is still limited. Previous studies suggest that fermentation with probiotic bacteria could enhance the functional properties of non-dairy products, such as juices. In this study, we analyze the metabolite composition and activity of Jamaican cherry juice following fermentation with Lactobacillus plantarum FNCC 0027 in various substrate compositions. The metabolite profile after fermentation was analyzed using UPLC-HRMS-MS and several bioactive compounds were detected in the substrate following fermentation, including gallic acid, dihydrokaempferol, and 5,7-dihydroxyflavone. We also found that total phenolic content, antioxidant activities, and inhibition of diabetic-related enzymes were enhanced after fermentation using L. plantarum. The significance of its elevation depends on the substrate composition. Overall, our findings suggest that fermentation with L. plantarum FNCC 0027 can improve the functional activities of Jamaican cherry juice.