Comprehensive analysis of floral scent and fatty acids in nectar of Silene nutans through modern analytical gas chromatography techniques.

The aim of this work was to show the potential of multidimensional gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry and suitable chemometrics means based on untargeted and profiling data analysis to strengthen the information provided by floral scent and nectar fatty acids of four genetically differentiated lineages (E1, W1, W2, and W3) of the nocturnal moth-pollinated herb Silene nutans. Volatile organic compounds emitted by flowers were trapped for a total of 42 samples by in-vivo sampling dynamic head space for analysing floral scent by untargeted approach, while 37 samples of nectar were collected for analysing fatty acids through profiling analysis. The resulting data from floral scent analysis were aligned and compared using a tile-based methodology followed by data mining to access high-level information. Based on floral scent and nectar fatty acid results, it was possible to distinguish E1 from the W lineages, and W3 from W1 and W2. This work puts the bases for a larger study aiming to clarify the existence of prezygotic barriers involved in speciation among lineages of S. nutans, and thus the possible implication of different flower scents and nectar compositions in this phenomenon.

Production of Bovine Equol-Enriched Milk: A Review.

Milk and dairy products are important sources of nutrients in the human diet because they contain a number of essential substances and other biologically active components. Many of these substances can be modified, and thus offer opportunities to use milk and dairy products as functional food. Isoflavones are particularly important in human nutrition due to their diverse pharmacological and antioxidant properties. The clinical effectiveness of isoflavone-rich products is believed to be dependent on their ability to metabolize daidzein to equol, which may directly exert cancer preventive effects. However, only approximately 30-40% of humans are able to produce equol, while animals, in general, produce equol. Equol is the predominant product of bacterial metabolism of isoflavones and can be found in various amounts in some food of animal origin, especially in milk. Therefore, milk and dairy products can be considered to be sources of equol for humans who are not able to produce this metabolite. When the content of isoflavones in milk is to be modified, two groups of factors should be considered, i.e., dietary factors that include the source of isoflavones and the processing effects on feedstuffs and animal factors that include the intake of isoflavones, ruminal and postruminal changes, and the health and physiological status of animals. The approximate content of isoflavones in milk can be predicted using carry-over rates for different dietary sources or using a formula that describes the relationship between equol concentration in milk and formononetin intake. Processing and storage can affect the content and profile of isoflavones in milk and dairy products.