Understanding the Seasonal Effect of Metabolite Production in Terminalia catappa L. Leaves through a Concatenated MS- and NMR-Based Metabolomics Approach.

Terminalia catappa L. (Combretaceae) is a medicinal plant that is part of the Brazilian biodiversity; this plant is popularly used for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. To better understand the chemical composition of T. catappa in different seasons, we conducted a thorough study using LC-MS and NMR data analysis techniques. The study helped obtain a chemical profile of the plant ethanolic extracts in different seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter). The dereplication of LC-HRMS data allowed the annotation of 90 compounds in the extracts of T. catappa (hydrolyzable tannins, ellagic acid derivatives, and glycosylated flavonoids). Triterpenes and C-glycosyl flavones were the compounds that significantly contributed to differences observed between T. catappa plant samples harvested in autumn/winter and spring, respectively. The variations observed in the compound composition of the plant leaves may be related to processes induced by environmental stress and leaf development. Data fusion applied in the metabolomic profiling study allowed us to identify metabolites with greater confidence, and provided a better understanding regarding the production of specialized metabolites in T. catappa leaves under different environmental conditions, which may be useful to establish appropriate quality criteria for the standardization of this medicinal plant.

Characteristics of vacuum-packed sheep meat stored under fluorescent light / Características da carne ovina embalada a vácuo e armazenada sob luz fluorescente

This study aimed to evaluate the possible variations of physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of frozen sheep meat, vacuum-packed under fluorescent light exposure at different storage times. Sixteen Longissimus lumborum muscles from male Ile de France lambs were collected for meat quality analyses of pH, color, shear force, weight loss due to cooking, water holding capacity, lipid oxidation, mesophilic and psychrotrophic microorganisms, and enterobacteria. The samples were randomly identified and stored in a horizontal freezer under the incidence of fluorescent light (IL) and no incidence of light (NL) for 30 and 60 days plus the control treatment (day 0). An interaction was observed between treatments for pH and water holding capacity (p<0.05), with superior results for IL-30 and NL-60, respectively. However, the other variables showed differences only regarding the main effects, mainly in terms of time (p<0.05). The contents of L*, a* and b*, C*, O/M, weight loss due to cooking, and lipid oxidation increased as the meat was stored longer (p<0.05). The shear force did not differ between treatments (p>0.05). Meat microbiological quality was not affected by the lightness factor, except for enterobacteria (p<0.05), in which the IL treatment had lower counts of these microorganisms. Therefore, the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics were not affected by the incidence of light. However, the meat undergoes changes as the storage time under freezing increases.(AU)

O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar as possíveis variações das características físico-químicas e microbiológicas da carne ovina congelada, embalada a vácuo sob exposição de luz fluorescente em diferentes tempos de armazenamento. Dezesseis músculos Longissimus lumborum de cordeiros machos da raça Ile de France foram coletados para as análises de qualidade da carne de pH, cor, força de cisalhamento, perdas de peso por cocção, capacidade de retenção de água, oxidação lipídica, microrganismos mesófilos, psicrotróficos e enterobactérias. As amostras foram identificadas e armazenadas aleatoriamente em freezer horizontal sob a Incidência de luz fluorescente (CL) e sem Incidência de luz (SL) por 30 e 60 dias mais o tratamento controle (dia 0). Houve interação entre os tratamentos para pH e capacidade de retenção de água (p<0,05), observando resultados superiores para CL-30 e SL-60 respectivamente. Entretanto, para as demais variáveis foram encontradas diferenças apenas nos efeitos principais, principalmente de tempo (p<0,05). O teor de L*, a* e b*, C*, O/M, perdas de peso por cocção e a oxidação lipídica aumentaram à medida que a carne ficou mais tempo armazenada (p<0,05). A força de cisalhamento não diferiu entre os tratamentos (p>0,05). A qualidade microbiológica da carne não foi afetada pelo fator luminosidade, exceto para enterobactérias (p<0,05) em que o tratamento CL apresentou menor contagem desses microrganismos. Dessa forma conclui-se que as características físico-químicas e microbiológicas não foram afetadas pela Incidência de luz. No entanto, a carne sofre alterações à medida que aumenta o tempo de estocagem sob congelamento.(AU)

Rapid qualitative profiling of metabolites present in Fusarium solani, a rhizospheric fungus derived from Senna spectabilis, using GC/MS and UPLC-QTOF/MSE techniques assisted by UNIFI information system.

Fungi are an important source of natural products found in a variety of plant species. A wide range of methods for the detection of metabolites present in fungi have been reported in the literature. The search for methodologies that allow the rapid detection of compounds present in crude extracts is crucial to enable the metabolite annotation doing a qualitative analysis of the complex matrix. Mass spectrometry is an important ally when it comes to in silico detection of previously reported metabolites. In this work, the ethyl acetate extract of Fusarium solani was analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS) after derivatization process. The ethyl acetate extract was also investigated by liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry assisted by the UNIFI software system. A library containing previously reported metabolites from the Fusarium genus was added to the UNIFI platform. Simultaneously, the extract was analyzed through anticholinesterase and antifungal assays. The analysis of the derivatized extract by GC/MS led to the putative identification of five metabolites, and the investigation using Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography - Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF) analysis in data-independent acquisition mode (mass spectrometry) led to the annotation of 15 compounds present in the built-in Fusarium library added to the UNIFI system. The Fusarium solani extract showed potential anticholinesterase and in vitro antifungal activity supported by the detection of bioactive metabolites.