Effects of Avocado Oil Supplementation on Insulin Sensitivity, Cognition, and Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Markers in Different Tissues of Diet-Induced Obese Mice.

Obesity induces insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and neurocognitive impairment. Avocado oil (AO) has antioxidants and anti-inflammatory effects. This study evaluated the effect of AO supplementation on obese mice in the adipose tissue, muscle, liver, and hippocampus. Male C57BL/6J mice received a standard and high-fat diet (20 weeks) and then were supplemented with AO (4 mL/kg of body weight, 90 days) and divided into the following groups: control (control), control + avocado oil (control + AO), diet-induced obesity (DIO), and diet-induced obesity + avocado oil (DIO + AO) (n = 10/group). AO supplementation was found to improve insulin sensitivity and decrease hepatic fat accumulation and serum triglyceride levels in DIO mice. AO improved cognitive performance and did not affect mood parameters. Oxidative marker levels were decreased in DIO + AO mice in all the tissues and were concomitant with increased catalase and superoxide dismutase activities in the epididymal adipose tissue and quadriceps, as well as increased catalase activity in the liver. AO in obese animals further induced reductions in TNF-α and IL-1ß expressions in the epididymal adipose tissue and quadriceps. These results suggest that AO supplementation has the potential to be an effective strategy for combating the effects of obesity in rats, and human studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Determination of α- and ß-acids in hops by liquid chromatography or electromigration techniques: A critical review.

Hop plays an essential role in brewing beer and its study and analysis is of paramount importance. - and -acids are considered two of the most important hop components. While -acids are associated with the bitter flavor, -acids have antimicrobial effects. This work aims to critically review the published analytical methods for - and -acids determination in hops employing separation methods in liquid medium: liquid chromatography (LC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE). The types of hop samples, the optimized protocols to extract the hop acids, and the main instrumental conditions for both LC and CE techniques are highlighted and discussed. Specific and critical aspects of the - and ß-acids separation by LC and CE and some challenges in this field are raised. Several key aspects discussed in this review may be of practical importance for brewers, whether in the microbrewery or industry and for researchers in the brewing field.

A capillary electrophoresis method for free fatty acids screening and acidity determination in biodiesel.

The advent of policies that incentivize or require alternative diesel fuels has increased the demand for the development of fast analytical methods aiming for the quality control of these fuels. This study approached an alternative method for the determination of biodiesel acidity employing capillary zone electrophoresis based on free fatty acids screening and quantification. Sample preparation comprised vortex-assisted liquid-liquid extraction of free fatty acids and was a crucial step for analysis. It was studied through a 32 full factorial design considering sample mass and the stirring time. Then, solvent suitability was evaluated univariately. The free fatty acid screening was carried out employing a capillary zone electrophoresis method able to separate C16:0, C18:0, C18:1 n-9, C18:2 n-6, and C18:3 n-3, major fatty acids in a variety of vegetable oils used for biodiesel synthesis. In addition to the straightforward sample preparation protocol, the running time of the developed method was only 12 min. Moreover, ultraviolet absorption indirect detection of analytes was approached to avoid analytes derivatization, considering the lack of chromophore groups in saturated fatty acids. Statistical tests did not evidence any significant differences in the biodiesel acidity determination expressed in percentage of free fatty acids when comparing the proposed capillary zone electrophoresis method and the traditional potentiometric titration approach within the 95% confidence interval, which demonstrates the suitability of this alternative method for the biodiesel quality control in routine.

Capillary electromigration methods for fatty acids determination in vegetable and marine oils: A review.

Fatty acids determination is of paramount importance for quality control and suitable labeling of edible oils, required by regulatory agencies in several countries, and fast methods for this determination are worldly desired. This review article aimed to explore the available analytical methods for vegetable and marine oils analyses employing CE, which can be a straightforward and faster alternative than GC methods for fatty acid determination, considering some purposes. CE usually offers the possibility of a rapid analysis with a simple preparation of the sample, without requiring specific columns, which are inherent advantages of the technique. Instrumental conditions and the key points about fatty acids determination employing the technique are highlighted, and the main challenges and perspectives are also approached. Potential use of CE for edible oil analyses has been demonstrated for research and routine, which can be of interest for industries, regulatory agencies, and edible oil researchers. Therefore, we have explored the analytical approaches described in the last decades, intending to spread the interest of CE methods for fatty acid monitoring, label accuracy assessment, and food authenticity evaluation of edible oils.

Differentiation of aromatic, bittering and dual-purpose commercial hops from their terpenic profiles: An approach involving batch extraction, GC-MS and multivariate analysis.

Terpenes are one of the main classes of compounds in hops (Humulus lupulus, L). They play an important role in brewing due to their central function, which is related to beer aroma. A screening of terpenes in several commercial hop varieties was carried out by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry after employing a simple, straightforward and high throughput extraction method. A single batch extraction, using hexane as solvent, was employed to obtain the terpenic fraction of the hop samples. Nineteen terpenes were identified in analyzed samples with ß-myrcene (2.22-45.30%), α-humulene (20.20-67.64%), and ß-caryophyllene (9.97-24.62%) being the major terpenes in all samples. The studied system was multivariate modeled by principal component analysis. Based on the proposed approach, it was possible to correlate the terpenic hop profiles to their specific purpose in the brewing industry and to distinguish aromatic hops (high α-humulene content), bittering hops (high ß-myrcene content), and dual-purpose hops (more complex and intermediate terpenic profile) among the samples.

Prediction of Fatty Acids in Chocolates with an Emphasis on C18:1 trans Fatty Acid Positional Isomers Using ATR-FTIR Associated with Multivariate Calibration.

This work aimed to predict C18:1 TFA isomers as well as other groups of fatty acids (saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and total TFA) in chocolates by ATR-FTIR and partial least square regression. The quantification of fatty acids in representative samples (white, dark, and milk chocolates) was rapid (<30 s) and did not require derivatization. The optimized models showed satisfactory linear correlations compared to a reference gas chromatographic method. Coefficients of correlation for prediction considering C18:1 positional isomers were 0.973 (trans 6-8), 0.991 (trans 9), 0.991 (trans 10), 0.988 (trans 11), and 0.998 (trans 12). When considering fatty acids groups, these coefficients ranged from 0.965 to 0.999. The obtained results indicate that this straightforward procedure is suitable for chocolate analysis, for determining its general lipid composition and TFA isomeric profile, which would be of great interest for quality control programs in the face of the new TFA regulations.

Fast capillary electrophoresis method for determination of docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids in marine oils omega-3 supplements.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are essential omega-3 fatty acids (FA) in human nutrition. Dietary supplements containing these FA are available in the market and there is a need to assess their quality to prevent frauds. The purpose of this work was to optimize and validate a fast capillary electrophoresis (CE) method to determine EPA and DHA content in marine oils omega-3 supplements. Sample preparation comprised only a saponification step and analysis time was 8 min. Validation was performed according to limits of detection and quantification, linearity, accuracy and repeatability. Ten real samples of marine oil supplements were analyzed by CE and compared to conventional gas chromatography method. No significant differences between both methods were found within 95% confidence interval. Overall, CE method was successful to FA quantification and it could be used for fast FA monitoring during omega-3 supplement manufacture, final product quality assurance and labelling.

Lipid Composition of Brazilian Chocolates and Chocolate Products with Special Emphasis on Their Fat Origin and Trans C18:1 Isomeric Profile.

The aim of this work was to provide recent fatty acid (FA) profiling of chocolates and chocolate products, principally C18:1 trans FAs (TFAs). Thirty-two samples were analyzed by gas chromatography and FAs were quantified. The total TFA content declared in chocolate labeling and the real TFA content were compared. The TFA content ranged from 0.04 to 2.51 g/100 g of sample, and it was noticed that several manufacturers were underestimating the total TFA content in their labeling. The main TFA isomers quantified were C18:1 trans-9 (0.006-0.244%), C18:1 trans-10 (0.009-0.392%), and C18:1 trans-11 (0.013-0.464%), expressed in g/100 g of sample. Principal component analysis was used to discriminate industrial fats from natural trans fats based on the isomeric TFA profile and dairy fat (DF) biomarkers allowing to group samples in four clusters: high TFA content and high DF content, high TFA content and low DF content, low TFA content and high DF content, and low TFA content and low DF content.

Screening method for simultaneous detection of elaidic and vaccenic trans fatty acid isomers by capillary zone electrophoresis.

A novel screening method for the simultaneous detection of elaidic and vaccenic trans fatty acid isomers by CZE-UV was proposed and applied to brazilian spreadable cheese analysis. Optimized background electrolyte was composed by 10 mmol L-1 heptakis (2, 3, 6-tri-o-methyl)-beta cyclodextrin, 24 mmol L-1 sodium tetraborate buffer solution, 45% methanol and 15% acetonitrile. Sample preparation comprised only a saponification reaction and dilution of sample solution before analysis. The method proved to be simple, environmental friendly and sensitive (LOD calculated for elaidic and vaccenic acid were 0.0163 mmol L-1 and 0.0169 mmol L-1, respectively) and may be used to detect adulteration in dairy products, where the addition of hydrogenated vegetable fat to food is prohibited.

Sub-minute determination of rifampicin and isoniazid in fixed dose combination tablets by capillary zone electrophoresis with ultraviolet absorption detection.

A validated sub minute capillary zone electrophoresis method with direct ultraviolet absorption detection for simultaneous determination of isoniazid and rifampicin in fixed-dose combination tablets was developed. Background electrolyte was defined based on the analytes effective mobility curve and it was composed by 20 mmol/L of sodium carbonate/sodium bicarbonate at pH 10.2. A careful validation procedure considering the main figures of merit was performed. Regression models were satisfactory for isoniazid and rifampicin, showing no lack of fit within 95% significance interval. Interday and intraday precision were evaluated in standard and sample and slight relative standard deviations were achieved for concentration, area, and migration time. Recovery values for accuracy in two levels were 99.97 and 90.08% for isoniazid and 95.45 and 95.12% for rifampicin. The limits of detection for isoniazid and rifampicin were 0.22 and 0.34 mg/L, respectively, and the limits of quantification were 0.74 and 1.13 mg/L, respectively. Method selectivity was verified by injecting diluent, background electrolyte, a standard mixture, and a sample, confirming no interferent peaks. The method proved to be simple, environmentally friendly, sensitive, and was successfully applied for simultaneous quantification of isoniazid and rifampicin in fixed-dose combination tablets.