Evaluation of the suitability of low hazard surfactants for the separation of phenols and carotenoids from red‐flesh orange juice and olive mill wastewater using cloud point extraction

Natural antioxidants derived from plant sources attract considerable scientific interest. While classic extraction methods consume high volumes of toxic organic solvents, cloud point extraction requires surfactant not exceeding 15% of the waste volume. In preliminary tests, the suitability of various low hazard surfactants (Span 20, PEG 400, Tween 80 and 20) was explored for separation of phenols and carotenoids from olive mill wastewater and red‐flesh orange juice. Tween 80 showed the highest recovery and further applied to the next experiments. The most appropriate surfactant concentrations were 5% (for olive mill wastewater) and 7% (for orange juice) as indicated by recovery % and the rest cloud point extraction parameters (analyte concentration, concentration factor, and phase volume ratio). A double step CPE with 5% + 5% of Tween 80 recovered up to 94.4% of the total phenols from olive mill wastewater, while a 7% + 7% of Tween 80 recovered up to 72.4% of the total carotenoids from orange juice. Evaluation of the final effects and extraction efficiency of single and double step cloud point extraction shows that double step scheme seems to be preferable in both cases. Finally, phenols and carotenoids recovered by Tween 80 maintained high antiradical activity (DPPH test).     

Amperometric microsensor for direct probing of ascorbic acid in human gastric juice

This article reports on a novel microsensor for amperometric measurement of ascorbic acid (AA) under acidic conditions (pH 2) based on a carbon fiber microelectrode (CFME) modified with nickel oxide and ruthenium hexacyanoferrate (NiO-RuHCF). This sensing layer was deposited electrochemically in a two-step procedure involving an initial galvanostatic NiO deposition followed by a potentiodynamic RuHCF deposition from solutions containing the precursor salts. Several important parameters were examined to characterize and optimize the NiO-RuHCF sensing layer with respect to its current response to AA by using cyclic voltammetry, and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy methods. With the NiO-RuHCF coated CFME, the AA oxidation potential under acidic conditions was shifted to a less positive value for about 0.2 V (E_p of ca. 0.23 V vs. Ag/AgCl) as compared to a bare CFME, which greatly improves the electrochemical selectivity. Using the hydrodynamic amperometry mode, the current vs. AA concentration in 0.01 M HCl, at a selected operating potential of 0.30 V, was found to be linear over a wide range of 10-1610 μM (n = 22, r = 0.999) with a calculated limit of detection of 1.0 μM. The measurement repeatability was satisfactory with a relative standard deviation (r.s.d.) ranging from 4% to 5% (n = 6), depending on the AA concentration, and with a sensor-to-sensor reproducibility (r.s.d.) of 6.9% at 100 μM AA. The long-term reproducibility, using the same microsensor for 112 consecutive measurements of 20 μM AA over 11 h of periodic probing sets over 4 days, was 16.1% r.s.d., thus showing very good stability at low AA levels and suitability for use over a prolonged period of time. Moreover, using the proposed microsensor, additionally coated with a protective cellulose acetate membrane, the calibration plot obtained in the extremely complex matrix of real undiluted gastric juice was linear from 10 to 520 μM (n = 14, r = 0.998). These results demonstrated the unique featuring of the proposed NiO-RuHCF microsensor under acidic conditions with enhanced sensitivity and stability and proved its promising potentiality for direct amperometric probing of AA at physiological levels in real gastric juice environments.     

Determination of glutathione content in grape juice and wine by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A modified preparation of sample was developed for the determination of glutathione content in grape juice and wine by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection, using on-line pre-column derivatization. Ice-cold deoxygenated methanol was used to deactivate the oxidation enzymes in juices or wines and keep the glutathione stable. The optimum recovery of glutathione content in grape juice and wine was obtained when either the sample of grape juice or wine was mixed in ice-cold deoxygenated methanol in the ratio 10:90 (v:v) and further diluted in sodium acetate buffer in the ratio 1:1 (v:v). The optimized method was validated for linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, precision and uncertainty. According to the validation data the method is appropriate for the determination of glutathione content in grape juice and wine. Glutathione contents in grape juices made from White Muscat grapes and Sauvignon Blanc wines were analysed. The average glutathione content in 28 young Sauvignon Blanc wines was 12.5 mg L⁻¹.     

Sensitive Chemiluminescence Assay for Patulin in Apple Juice by Flow Injection

Abstract

A sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) procedure for the determination of patulin by flow injection is described. It was found that patulin inhibits the CL generated from the luminol–dissolved oxygen system significantly. The decrement of chemiluminescence intensity was linear with the patulin concentration over the range from 0.04 to 10.0 ng mL^?1 with a detection limit of 0.01 ng mL^?1 (3σ_noise). At a flow rate of 2.0 mL min^?1, a complete analytical process could be performed within 0.5 min, including sampling and washing, with a relative standard deviation of less than 3.0% (n=5). The proposed method was applied successfully in the determination of patulin in apple juice, and the recovery was between 96.9% and 103.9%.     

Use of ion chromatography for monitoring microbial spoilage in the fruit juice industry

Fruit juices and purees are defined as fermentable, but unfermented, products obtained by mechanical processing of fresh fruits. The presence of undesired metabolites derived from microbial growth can arise from the use of unsuitable fruit or from defects in the production line or subsequent contamination. This involves a loss in the overall quality that cannot be resolved by thermal treatment following the start of fermentation. With these considerations, together with microbiological control, the analysis of different metabolites, which can be considered as microbial growth markers, such as alcohols (i.e. ethanol, etc.), acids (i.e. acetic, fumaric, lactic, etc.). is fundamental in order to achieve a better evaluation of product quality. Enzymatic determination and other single-component analytical techniques are often used for the determination of these metabolites. When the microbial spoilage is not well known, this results in a long and cumbersome procedure. A versatile technique that is capable of determining many metabolites in one analysis could be helpful in improving routine quality control. For this purpose, an ion chromatographic technique, such as ion exclusion, for separation, and diode array spectrophotometry and conductivity, for detection, were evaluated. Both different industrial samples and inoculated samples were analyzed.     

杏脯、红枣、青梅、葡萄干、桃脯复合果汁饮料的研制

本文针对杏脯、红枣、青梅、葡萄干、桃脯复合果汁饮料的研制。     

Solid-phase microextraction for the investigation of sex pheromone of Eucosma notanthes Meyrick

A simple and efficient technique that does not require solvent and uses less operating time for the investigation of sex pheromones of the carambola fruit borer (Eucosma notanthes Meyrick) by utilizing headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME) followed by GC-MS analysis has been developed. Variables such as types of SPME fiber, number of pests, temperature and extraction time have been studied. Whole sex glands of Eucosma notanthes Meyrick were dissected from 5 virgin insects, placed in a 2 mL vial, equilibrated at 170 °C for 10 min, and then extracted by headspace SPME at room temperature for 5 min. The results of the GC-MS analyses of headspace SPME of these sex glandular solid samples were much better than those obtained with hexane extraction of sex glandular from 117 insects followed by either headspace SPME or direct injection due to higher absorption efficiency. The simplicity of this technique renders it a very suitable method for research on the biological control of pests.