Chemical characterization of four Brazilian brown propolis: An insight in tracking of its geographical location of production and quality control.

The aim of this work was to undertake a detailed analysis on chemical constituents of brown propolis, originating from four different states (Bahia, Minas Gerais, Paraná and Sergipe) of Brazil. The volatile profile was determined by using HS-SPME-GC-MS along with the determination of total phenolic compounds content, flavonoids and antioxidant activity. A total of 315 volatile compounds were identified, however, several of them have not been reported so far in the Brazilian brown propolis. The terpenes represented the major class with 40.92-84.66% of the total area in the chromatograms. PCA analysis of the majority of compounds successfully indicated the volatile profile of each propolis sample according to their geographical origin. The analysis of volatile compounds and its characterization also varied significantly and confirmed that these depended on the geographical area of collection of propolis. The data generated in this work may help in establishing criteria for quality control and tracking the specific region of propolis production in different states of Brazil.

Sensory and volatile profiles of monofloral honeys produced by native stingless bees of the brazilian semiarid region.

Monofloral honeys produced by stingless bees M. subnitida Ducke and M. scutellaris Latrelle in typical flowering of the Brazilian semi-arid Ziziphus juazeiro Mart (juazeiro), Croton heliotropiifolius Kunth (velame branco) and Mimosa arenosa willd Poir (jurema branca) were characterized in relation to volatile and sensorial profile. It identified 11 sensory descriptors and 96 volatile compounds. It was noticed a strong effect of flowering in sensorial profile and volatile of honeys. Juazeiro honey stood out with a higher characteristic aroma, taste sweet, caramel flavor and levels of aromatic aldehydes; jurema honey has been described with herb and beeswax aroma and the presence of sulfur compounds and ketones; volatile acids associated with acid taste, medicinal taste and clove aroma characterized the velame branco honey. These results demonstrate that the knowledge of the sensory and aroma profile of these honeys can contribute to characterization of its floral and geographical identity.

The impact of hybridization on the volatile and sensorial profile of Ocimum basilicum L.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the volatile and sensorial profile of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) by quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) of the essential oil of three hybrids ("Cinnamon" × "Maria Bonita," "Sweet Dani" × "Cinnamon," and "Sweet Dani" × "Maria Bonita"). Twelve descriptive terms were developed by a selected panel that also generated the definition of each term and the reference samples. The data were subjected to ANOVA, Tukey's test, and principal component analysis. The hybrid "Cinnamon" × "Maria Bonita" exhibited a stronger global aroma that was less citric than the other samples. Hybridization favored the generation of novel compounds in the essential oil of the hybrid "Sweet Dani" × "Maria Bonita," such as canfora and (E)-caryophyllene; (E)-caryophyllene also was a novel compound in the hybrid "Sweet Dani" × "Cinnamon"; this compound was not present in the essential oils of the parents.

Thermal degradation kinetics of carotenoids in a cashew apple juice model and its impact on the system color.

The thermal degradation kinetics of the main carotenoids of cashew apple in a juice model system was studied by HPLC and related to the changes of its CIELAB color parameters. Similar isomerization equilibrium constants and activation energies were observed for both all-trans-beta-carotene and all-trans-beta-cryptoxanthin. The curves for the decay of the main carotenoids and color changes showed a biphasic behavior that was best fitted by a biexponential equation. For the same heating conditions (60 or 90 degrees C), similar rate constants for the fast (gamma(1)) and slow (gamma(2)) decays were obtained for both the chemical (carotenoids) and physical (color) parameters monitored in the present research. This fact indicates that color parameters, such as DeltaE*, are good predictors of both all-trans-beta-cryptoxanthin and all-trans-beta-carotene thermal degradation. A mechanism for thermal carotenoid degradation was proposed, involving parallel irreversible and reversible coupled reactions of both the initial all-trans-beta-cryptoxanthin and all-trans-beta-carotene to yield, respectively, degradation compounds and mono-cis isomers.