Spices Volatilomic Fingerprinting—A Comprehensive Approach to Explore Its Authentication and Bioactive Properties

Volatile organic metabolites (VOMs) present in different spices can provide distinct analytical biosignatures related to organoleptic properties and health benefits. This study aimed to establish the volatilomic fingerprint of six of the most consumed spices all over the world (saffron (Crocus sativus L.), cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.), black pepper, (Piper nigrum L.), sweet paprika (Capsicum annuum L.), and curry (a mix of different herbs and spices)). Based on headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, this is a powerful strategy to explore and establish the spice’s volatile pattern and unravel the potential health benefits related to the most important VOMs identified in each spice. This comprehensive knowledge will help in the definition of their authenticity, while simultaneously protecting against potential frauds and adulterations. A total of 162 VOMs were identified. Semi-quantitative assessments revealed that terpenoids and sesquiterpenoids amounted to the major volatile class in the investigated spices, except for cinnamon, where carbonyl compounds are the major group. Most of the studied spices comprised key characteristics of aroma and health bioactive compounds, e.g., dihydrojuneol in saffron, cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon, cuminaldehyde in cumin and curry, and caryophyllene in black pepper. The principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) successfully discriminated the investigated spices, being α-cubebene, 3-methyl butanal, β-patchoulene and β-selinene, the most important VOMs (highest VIP’s) that contributed to its discrimination. Moreover, some VOMs have a high influence on the spice’s bioactive potential, helping to prevent certain diseases including cancer, inflammatory-related diseases, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.     

Chemometrics: An Excavator in Temperature-Dependent Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Temperature-dependent near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has been developed and taken as a powerful technique for analyzing the structure of water and the interactions in aqueous systems. Due to the overlapping of the peaks in NIR spectra, it is difficult to obtain the spectral features showing the structures and interactions. Chemometrics, therefore, is adopted to improve the spectral resolution and extract spectral information from the temperature-dependent NIR spectra for structural and quantitative analysis. In this review, works on chemometric studies for analyzing temperature-dependent NIR spectra were summarized. The temperature-induced spectral features of water structures can be extracted from the spectra with the help of chemometrics. Using the spectral variation of water with the temperature, the structural changes of small molecules, proteins, thermo-responsive polymers, and their interactions with water in aqueous solutions can be demonstrated. Furthermore, quantitative models between the spectra and the temperature or concentration can be established using the spectral variations of water and applied to determine the compositions in aqueous mixtures.     

核磁共振技术结合化学计量学方法用于蜂蜜的掺假鉴别

采用核磁共振技术(NMR)结合化学计量学分析手段研究了真蜂蜜和掺假蜂蜜的指纹图谱变化情况。采用无监督的主成分分析(PCA)和有监督的偏最小二乘判别分析(PLS-DA)、正交偏最小二乘判别分析(OPLS-DA)等多元统计分析方法从核磁信号中提取各组的分类信息。结果表明:建立的OPLS-DA模型能够区分真假蜂蜜,所建模型对蜂蜜真假判别的解释能力为90.5%,对未知样本的预测能力为75.5%、识别率为89.7%。置换测试验证表明,化学计量学模型具有很好的稳定性和预测性,可信赖性强,且模型稳健。通过OPLS-DA模型的载荷图和相关系数分析找到了对区分掺假蜂蜜有显著作用的标志物。结合相关系数分析,建立了辨别真假蜂蜜的多元线性回归方程。该方法可简单、快速地用于未知蜂蜜的掺假鉴别,为规范蜂蜜市场提供有利的依据。     

Shift Reagents in NMR Spectroscopy

The number of possible applications of NMR spectroscopy has rapidly increased during the past few years. New fields of applications have been opened by the development of supraconducting solenoids and various spin-decoupling techniques and by the method of “pulsed Fourier transform NMR-spectroscopy”. These methods originate mainly from progress in instrumentation. Recently, another “technique” has been introduced into NMR spectroscopy, which—principally on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic experience—is much less expensive but nevertheless useful. The basic principles, background, and most important applications of this method, known as the “NMR-shift-reagent technique”, form the subject of this paper.     

NMR Spectroscopy of Paramagnetic Complexes

Serviceable NMR spectra can, with a few exceptions^[1,6], be recorded for paramagnetic complexes in solution. These spectra provide information about the structure of the complexes and the distribution of the unpaired electrons, and hence also about reactive centers in the molecule. The elucidation of intermolecular and intramolecular exchange phenomena, e.g. the determination of ligand exchange rate constants, the determination of rotation barriers, and the detection of contact complexes in solution, or even of occupation equilibria of the electrons, is possible in this way. It can be seen, therefore, that NMR studies on paramagnetic complexes can be a rich source of information.     

The Application of Chemometrics in Metabolomic and Lipidomic Analysis Data Presentation for Halal Authentication of Meat Products

The halal status of meat products is an important factor being considered by many parties, especially Muslims. Analytical methods that have good specificity for the authentication of halal meat products are important as quality assurance to consumers. Metabolomic and lipidomic are two useful strategies in distinguishing halal and non-halal meat. Metabolomic and lipidomic analysis produce a large amount of data, thus chemometrics are needed to interpret and simplify the analytical data to ease understanding. This review explored the published literature indexed in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar on the application of chemometrics as a tool in handling the large amount of data generated from metabolomic and lipidomic studies specifically in the halal authentication of meat products. The type of chemometric methods used is described and the efficiency of time in distinguishing the halal and non-halal meat products using chemometrics methods such as PCA, HCA, PLS-DA, and OPLS-DA is discussed.     

Monitoring Stimulated Darkening from UV-C Light on Different Bean Genotypes by NMR Spectroscopy

The use of UV-C cool white light on bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) seeds significantly increases the biochemical seed coat post-harvest darkening process, whilst preserving seed germination. The aim of this work consists in monitoring the effect caused by the incidence of UV-C light on different bean genotypes using NMR spectroscopy. The genotype samples named IAC Alvorada; TAA Dama; BRS Estilo and BRS Pérola from the Agronomic Institute (IAC; Campinas; SP; Brazil) were evaluated. The following two methodologies were used: a prolonged darkening, in which the grain is placed in a room at a controlled temperature (298 K) and humidity for 90 days, simulating the supermarket shelf; an accelerated darkening, where the grains are exposed to UV-C light (254 nm) for 96 h. The experiments were performed using the following innovative time-domain (TD) NMR approaches: the RK-ROSE pulse sequence; one- and two-dimensional high resolution (HR) NMR experiments (¹H; ¹H-¹H COSY and ¹H-¹³C HSQC); chemometrics tools, such as PLS-DA and heat plots. The results suggest that the observed darkening occurs on the tegument after prolonged (90 days) and accelerated (96 h) conditions. In addition, the results indicate that phenylalanine is the relevant metabolite within this context, being able to participate in the chemical reactions accounted for by the darkening processes. Additionally, it is possible to confirm that a UV-C lamp accelerates oxidative enzymatic reactions and that the NMR methods used were a trustworthy approach to monitor and understand the darkening in bean seeds at metabolite level.     

Toward the Non-Targeted Detection of Adulterated Virgin Olive Oil with Edible Oils via FTIR Spectroscopy & Chemometrics: Research Methodology Trends,Gaps and Future Perspectives

Fourier-Transform mid-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy offers a strong candidate screening tool for rapid, non-destructive and early detection of unauthorized virgin olive oil blends with other edible oils. Potential applications to the official anti-fraud control are supported by dozens of research articles with a “proof-of-concept” study approach through different chemometric workflows for comprehensive spectral analysis. It may also assist non-targeted authenticity testing, an emerging goal for modern food fraud inspection systems. Hence, FTIR-based methods need to be standardized and validated to be accepted by the olive industry and official regulators. Thus far, several literature reviews evaluated the competence of FTIR standalone or compared with other vibrational techniques only in view of the chemometric methodology, regardless of the inherent characteristics of the product spectra or the application scope. Regarding authenticity testing, every step of the methodology workflow, and not only the post-acquisition steps, need thorough validation. In this context, the present review investigates the progress in the research methodology on FTIR-based detection of virgin olive oil adulteration over a period of more than 25 years with the aim to capture the trends, identify gaps or misuses in the existing literature and highlight intriguing topics for future studies. An extensive search in Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar, combined with bibliometric analysis, helped to extract qualitative and quantitative information from publication sources. Our findings verified that intercomparison of literature results is often impossible; sampling design, FTIR spectral acquisition and performance evaluation are critical methodological issues that need more specific guidance and criteria for application to product authenticity testing.     

Modern Pulse Methods in High-Resolution NMR Spectroscopy

The introduction of Fourier transform methods has not only remarkably enhanced the sensitivity of high-resolution NMR spectroscopy, thus allowing measurements to be made on less sensitive nuclei of the Periodic Table, but also has paved the way for the development of a large number of new experimental techniques. On the one hand, procedures already known have been improved and can now be performed more rapidly, and, on the other, completely new experimental approaches have become available. This situation resulted mainly from the introduction of programmable pulse transmitters and the separation of the experiment into preparation, evolution, and detection. In particular, the concept of two-dimensional spectroscopy has opened up new possibilities important for the analysis of complicated spectra and is able to provide information previously not accessible. As elsewhere, optimum application of the techniques and correct interpretation of the results require sound understanding of the underlying physical principles. Since a rigorous mathematical treatment is complicated and does not necessarily improve the comprehensibility, this article attempts to give an illustrative presentation of the new pulse techniques within the framework of the Bloch vector model. After a short introduction covering the basic principles, one-dimensional pulse techniques that can be applied using standard experimental equipment are dealt with. The main areas of application are signal assignment, sensitivity enhancement for measurements on less abundant nuclei, and selective excitation of individual resonances. Subsequently, the various techniques of two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy are treated: these enable shift correlations for different types of nuclei to be made, the presentation of spin multiplets without overlap, and the analysis of geometrical relations as well as of chemical exchange phenomena.     

Modern NMR Spectroscopy of Organolithium Compounds

Modern methods of NMR spectroscopy, in particular the two-dimensional techniques, offer new chances for structure determinations in the field of organolithium compounds, where the combination of ¹H-, ¹³C-, and ⁶⁽⁷⁾Li-NMR spectroscopy is an especially useful feature. Chemical shift correlations which also include the lithium nuclei allow a complete assignment of the ¹H-, ¹³C-, and ⁶Li-NMR spectra and thereby a better characterization of the various aggregates and complexes present in solution. Spatial proximities of ⁶Li and ¹H can be detected by nuclear Overhauser experiments, and ⁶⁽⁷⁾Li-NMR exchange spectroscopy can provide new information with regard to the mechanisms and energetics of dynamic processes like aggregate interchange and complexation. After a short resumé of the experimental aspects of the NMR spectroscopy of organolithium compounds and a discussion of the NMR parameters of these systems, new experimental techniques are presented. Areas of application of these newly conceived one- and two-dimensional NMR experiments are illustrated with selected examples. The results show that even more detailed information about the structure and reactivity of organolithium compounds, which are so important for organic synthesis, can be expected in the future.     

Sensitivity Enhancement in Transverse Relaxation Optimized NMR Spectroscopy

Dramatically shortened transverse relaxation times in transverse relaxation optimized spectroscopy (TROSY) result from interference between dipole–dipole interactions and the anisotropy of the chemical shift. Thus NMR spectroscopy becomes a suitable method for studying large biomolecules, with optimal performance when 1-GHz spectrometers become available. By using new phase cycles and data-processing methods, the sensitivity of the TROSY experiment was increased by a factor of √2, which is of considerable importance for applications in high-field NMR studies on large proteins.     

Progress in Hyperpolarized Ultrafast 2D NMR Spectroscopy

An important development in the field of NMR spectroscopy has been the advent of hyperpolarization approaches, capable of yielding nuclear spin states whose value exceeds by orders‐of‐magnitude what even the highest‐field spectrometers can afford under Boltzmann equilibrium. Included among these methods is an ex situ dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) approach, which yields liquid‐phase samples possessing spin polarizations of up to 50 %. Although capable of providing an NMR sensitivity equivalent to the averaging of about 1 000 000 scans, this methodology is constrained to extract its “superspectrum” within a single—or at most a few—transients. This makes it a poor starting point for conventional 2D NMR acquisition experiments, which require a large number of scans that are identical to one another except for the increment of a certain t₁ delay. It has been recently suggested that by merging this ex situ DNP approach with spatially encoded “ultrafast” methods, a suitable starting point could arise for the acquisition of 2D spectra on hyperpolarized liquids. Herein, we describe the experimental principles, potential features, and current limitations of such integration between the two methodologies. For a variety of small molecules, these new hyperpolarized ultrafast experiments can, for equivalent overall durations, provide heteronuclear correlation spectra at significantly lower concentrations than those currently achievable by conventional 2D NMR acquisitions. A variety of challenges still remain to be solved before bringing the full potential of this new integrated 2D NMR approach to fruition; these outstanding issues are discussed.     

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.     

Magic-Angle-Spinning NMR (MAS-NMR) Spectroscopy and the Structure of Zeolites

After outlining the chemical features and properties which make zeolites such an important group of catalysts and sorbents, the article explains how high-resolution solid-state NMR with magic-angle spinning reveals numerous new insights into their structure. ²⁹Si-MAS-NMR readily and quantitatively identifies five distinct Si(OAl)_n(OSi)_4-n structural groups in zeolitic frameworks (n = 0, 1,….4), corresponding to the first tetrahedral coordination shell of a silicon atom. Many catalytic and other chemical properties of zeolites are governed by the short-range Si, Al order, the nature of which is greatly clarified by ²⁹Si-MAS-NMR. It is shown that, as expected from Pauling's electroneutrality principle and Loewenstein's rule, both in zeolite X and in zeolite A (with Si/Al = 1.00) there are no ? Al? O? Al? linkages. In zeolite A and zeolite X with Si/Al = 1.00 there is strict alternation of Si and Al on the tetrahedral sites. Ordering models for Si/Al ratios up to 5.00 (in zeolite Y) may also be evaluated by a combination of MAS-NMR experiments and computational procedures. ²⁹Si-MAS-NMR spectra reveal the presence of numerous crystallographically distinct Si(OSi)₄ sites in silicalite/ZSM-5, suggesting that the correct space group for these related porosilicates is not Pnma. ²⁷Al-MAS-NMR clearly distinguishes tetrahedrally and octahedrally coordinated aluminum, proving that, contrary to earlier claims, Al in silicalite is tetrahedrally substituted within the framework. In combination, ²⁹Si- and ²⁷Al-MAS-NMR is a powerful tool for monitoring the course of solid-state processes (such as ultrastabilization of synthetic faujasites) and of gas-solid reactions (dealumination of zeolites with silicon tetrachloride vapor at elevated temperatures). They also permit the quantitative determination of framework Si/Al ratios in the region 1.00 < Si/Al < 10 000. Since most elements in the periodic table may be accommodated within zeolite structures, either as part of the exchangeable cations or as building units of the anionic framework, there is immense scope for investigation by MAS-NMR and its variants (cross-polarization, multiple pulse and variable-angle spinning) of bulk, surface and chemical properties. Some of the directions in which future research in zeolite science may proceed are adumbrated.     

High-Resolution 14N Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy

Even without expensive isotope enrichment, it is possible to obtain nitrogen NMR parameters in the solid state. The isotropic chemical shifts in hexagonal and cubic boron nitride, and for the hexagonal modification also the quadrupole coupling, can thus be obtained for the first time. The recorded ¹⁴N MAS NMR spectrum (28.809 MHz) of hexagonal boron nitride is shown on the right.     

Strategies for 1H-Detected Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Magic-Angle Spinning NMR Spectroscopy

Combining dynamic nuclear polarization with proton detection significantly enhances the sensitivity of magic-angle spinning NMR spectroscopy. Herein, the feasibility of proton-detected experiments with slow (10 kHz) magic angle spinning was demonstrated. The improvement in sensitivity permits the acquisition of indirectly detected ¹⁴N NMR spectra allowing biomolecular structures to be characterized without recourse to isotope labelling. This provides a new tool for the structural characterization of environmental and medical samples, in which isotope labelling is frequently intractable.     

Labeling Strategy and Signal Broadening Mechanism of Protein NMR Spectroscopy in Xenopus laevis Oocytes

We used Xenopus laevis oocytes, a paradigm for a variety of biological studies, as a eukaryotic model system for in‐cell protein NMR spectroscopy. The small globular protein GB1 was one of the first studied in Xenopus oocytes, but there have been few reports since then of high‐resolution spectra in oocytes. The scarcity of data is at least partly due to the lack of good labeling strategies and the paucity of information on resonance broadening mechanisms. Here, we systematically evaluate isotope enrichment and labeling methods in oocytes injected with five different proteins with molecular masses of 6 to 54 kDa. ¹⁹F labeling is more promising than ¹⁵N, ¹³C, and ²H enrichment. We also used ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy to quantify the contribution of viscosity, weak interactions, and sample inhomogeneity to resonance broadening in cells. We found that the viscosity in oocytes is only about 1.2 times that of water, and that inhomogeneous broadening is a major factor in determining line width in these cells.     

Detection of Hindered Rotation and Inversion by NMR Spectroscopy

Rotations and inversions in organic molecules are readily recognizable from the temperature dependence of the NMR spectra. The study of the effects of substituents on the activation barriers of such processes permits the elucidation of reaction mechanisms, and the stability limits of isomers can also be determined. The knowledge of the stability limits is necessary for the specific synthesis of stable rotamers and invertomers.     

Protein Structure Determination with Three- and Four-Dimensional NMR Spectroscopy

Structural biology has made important contributions to the understanding of biological processes. In recent years an increasing amount of structural information has also been derived from NMR spectroscopic studies, often with special emphasis on dynamic aspects. The introduction of three- and four-dimensional techniques has greatly simplified protein structure determination by NMR Spectroscopy, which has in fact become routine. In the past it was more of an art to interpret the complicated NOESY spectra of proteins, but the application of three-dimensional techniques now makes the interpretation of protein spectra straightforward. In this review we discuss the most important multidimensional NMR techniques along with suitable applications. The emphasis is put less on the discussion of individual pulse sequences than on their application to the structure determination of proteins.