Toxic, cytotoxic and genotoxic potential of synthetics food flavorings / Potencial tóxico, citotóxico y genotóxico de saborizantes sintéticos de alimentos

Food flavorings in general are few studied for the toxicological aspect. This condition justifies toxicity, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity assessments of the substances. In the present study, the toxicity of banana, cherry and hazelnut flavorings was evaluated in meristematic cells of roots of Allium cepa, in pure form (as marketed) and in the concentrations of 12.5; 25 and 50%, after 24 and 48 hours of exposure. Toxic potential of these food additives was also evaluated against Artemia salina nauplii at concentrations of 0.78; 1.56; 3.12; 6.25; 12.5; 25 and 50%, after 24 hours of exposure. The three additives, in all treatments and times of analysis considered, caused significant inhibition of cell division in A. cepa, however did not cause cellular alterations to the evaluated meristems. These food flavorings also caused significant mortality to micro crustaceans with LC50<100 μg/mL. From this, under the conditions of mentioned analyzes, cherry, banana and hazelnut flavorings induced significant toxicity and cytotoxicity to the bioassays used.

En general, los aspectos toxicológicos de los saborizantes de los alimentos son poco estudiados. Esta condición justifica las evaluaciones de toxicidad, citotoxicidad y genotoxicidad de estas sustancias. En el presente estudio, se evaluó la toxicidad de los aromas de plátano, cereza y avellana en células meristemáticas de raíces de Allium cepa, en forma pura (según comercializa) y en concentraciones de 12.5; 25 y 50%, después de 24 y 48 horas de exposición. El potencial tóxico de estos aditivos alimentarios también se evaluó frente a nauplios de Artemia salina a concentraciones de 0,78; 1,56; 3.12; 6.25; 12.5; 25 y 50%, después de 24 horas de exposición. Los tres aditivos, en todos los tratamientos y tiempos de análisis considerados, causaron inhibición significativa de la división celular en A. cepa, sin embargo, no causaron alteraciones celulares a los meristemos evaluados. Estos saborizantes alimentarios también causaron una mortalidad significativa a microcrustáceos con LC50 <100 μg/ mL. A partir de esto, bajo las condiciones de los análisis descriptos, los aromatizantes de cereza, plátano y avellana indujeron toxicidad significativa y citotoxicidad para los bioensayos utilizados.

Queso cottage elaborado con cultivo láctico Redi-Set y DVS, usando crema láctea homogeneizada y sin homogeneizar / Cottage cheese manufactured with Redi-Set and DVS, using homogenized and non-homogenized dairy cream

Se comparó Cottage, queso fresco (4g de materia grasa/100g de queso), elaborado con cultivos Redi-Set (semidirecto) y DVS (directo), con agregado de crema homogeneizada y sin homogeneizar, para verificar la factibilidad de su producción. Los tratamientos fueron: Cottage con cultivo Redi Set con crema homogeneizada (CH) y sin homogeneizar (CSH); Cottage con cultivo DVS con CH y CSH. En el proceso se encontró que el uso de Redi-Set y DVS producen distintos perfiles de acidificación hasta el segundo calentamiento, luego los pH se asemejan con diferencias de sólo 0,02 unidades en la cuajada final, aunque el DVS tomó cerca de 50 por ciento más de tiempo en alcanzar el pH final. Los contenidos de humedad (79.00-79.95g/100g), calcio (94.9-97mg/100g), materia grasa (4.13-4.37g/100g) y pH (4.71-4.73), así como los atributos sensoriales no presentaron diferencias significativas entre los cuatro tratamientos, tampoco hubo diferencias en el rendimiento práctico del Cottage natural y crema, cuyos promedios fueron de 16,62 (+/-1,14) y 19,47 (+/-1,37) kg/100 kg de leche, respectivamente.

Cottage cream, fresh cheese (4g fat matter/100g cheese) made with Redi-Set and DVS culture plus homogenized and non homogenised cream was compared to check the feasibility of its production. The treatments were: Cottage cheese made using Redi-Set culture plus homogenized cream (CH) and without homogenizing (CSH); Cottage cheese elaborated with DVS and with CH and CSH. The process showed that when using Redi-Set and DVS different acidification profiles are produced up to the second heating. Later pHs became similar with only 0.02 units difference in drained curds, despite the fact that DVS took longer (50 percent more time) to reach the final pH. The sensory attributes, contents of moisture (79.00 - 79.95g/100g), calcium (94.9 - 97mg/100g), fat (4.13 - 4.37g/100g) and pH (4.71 - 4.73), did not show significant differences neither in the four studied treatments nor in the practical yield of natural cottage and cream, whose averages were 16,62 (+/-1,14) and 19,47(+/-1,37) kg/100 kg of milk, respectively. In conclusion it is feasible to produce a typical cottage cheese using any of the 4 protocols reported in this study.

A source of almost pure methyl chavicol: volatile oil from the aerial parts of Tagetes lucida (Asteraceae) cultivated in Costa Rica

The plant Tagetes lucida Cav.(syn.T.florida Sweet,T.schiedeana Less.)is an aromatic herb distributed naturally from Mexico to Honduras,at elevations between 1 000 and 2 000 m.It is used as a spice,for medicine,as insecticide and as ornamental plant.It is cultivated commercially in Costa Rica as a spice herb;it contains an oil having an anise-like odor,and the fresh aerial parts of this plant are sold in the supermarket as a substitute of tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L.).The essential oils isolated from aerial parts bought,at May and October,in a supermarket in San José (Costa Rica).Fresh flowering aerial parts,flowers and leaves plus stems, were subjected to hydrodistillation for 3 hr using a modified Clevenger-type apparatus.The distilled oils were collected and dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and stored in a freezer (0-10 °C).The light yellow green oil yield was about 0.07%(v/w).GC/MS analyses were performed using a Shimadzu GCMS-QP5050 apparatus and CLASS 5000 software with Wiley 139 computer database.Identification of the components of the oil was performed using the retention indices,which were calculated in relation to a homologous series of hydrocarbons, and by comparison of their mass spectra with those published in the literature or those of our own database. Thirty compounds were identified,of which methyl chavicol (95-97%)was the major constituent.From flower oil,two bithienyls were detected as minor constituents

Los aceites esenciales extraídos de las partes aéreas de la planta Tagetes lucida Cav.cultivada en Costa Rica y utilizada como condimento,fue estudiado mediante la técnica de GC/MS en combinación con los índices de retención.Se identificaron treinta compuestos.El componente mayoritario resultó ser metil chavicol (estragol)en un 95-97%.En el aceite de las flores se detectaron e identificaron dos compuestos minoritarios que resultaron ser bitienilos no informados anteriormente como constituyentes de esta planta