Effect of withering process on the evolution of phenolic acids in winegrapes: A systematic review

On-vine drying (passérillage) improves the quality of "Hutai No. 8" table grape wine: Focusing on phenolics, aromas, color and sensory attributes

On-vine drying (passérillage) was employed for Hutai No.8 table grapes with different water loss rates and that are used for winemaking to alter the qualities of wine. Results showed that on-vine drying increased sugar content, thereby elevating alcohol and glycerol contents in the resulting wine. A moderate drying treatment (D2, 18 % water loss) produced wine with optimal red color characteristics. The D2 wine contained abundant individual phenolics such as caffeic acid, salicylic acid, resveratrol, p-coumaric acid, and proanthocyanidin B1, which exhibited strong positive correlations with color parameters (a⁎, C*ab and △E*ab). Similar trends were observed in aroma compounds, with ethyl acetate, ethyl caproate, diethyl succinate, geraniol, linalool, 4-terpinenol, α-terpineol, and β-ionone contents showing significant increment in D2, aligning with enhanced sensory evaluations of wines. Thus, improvement of wine quality can be achieved through moderate on-vine drying (18 % water loss)，serving as a valuable reference for table grape winemaking.

Integration of LC-HRMS and 1H NMR metabolomics data fusion approaches for classification of Amarone wine based on withering time and yeast strain

Two untargeted metabolomics approaches (LC-HRMS and 1H NMR) were combined to classify Amarone wines based on grape withering time and yeast strain. The study employed a multi-omics data integration approach, combining unsupervised data exploration (MCIA) and supervised statistical analysis (sPLS-DA). The results revealed that the multi-omics pseudo-eigenvalue space highlighted a limited correlation between the datasets (RV-score = 16.4%), suggesting the complementarity of the assays. Furthermore, the sPLS-DA models correctly classified wine samples according to both withering time and yeast strains, providing a much broader characterization of wine metabolome with respect to what was obtained from the individual techniques. Significant variations were notably observed in the accumulation of amino acids, monosaccharides, and polyphenolic compounds throughout the withering process, with a lower error rate in sample classification (7.52%). In conclusion, this strategy demonstrated a high capability to integrate large omics datasets and identify key metabolites able to discriminate wine samples based on their characteristics.

Polyphenols and polyphenols-based biopolymer materials: Regulating iron absorption and availability from spontaneous to controllable

Iron is an important trace element in the body, and it will seriously affect the body's normal operation if it is taken too much or too little. A large number of patients around the world are suffering from iron disorders. However, there are many problems using drugs to treat iron overload and causing prolonged and unbearable suffering for patients. Controlling iron absorption and utilization through diet is becoming the acceptable, safe and healthy method. At present, many literatures have reported that polyphenols can interact with iron ions and can be expected to chelate iron ions, depending on their types and structures. Besides, polyphenols often interact with other macromolecules in the diet, which may complicate this phenols-Fe behavior and give rise to the necessity of building phenolic based biopolymer materials. The biopolymer materials, constructed by self-assembly (non-covalent) or chemical modification (covalent), show excellent properties such as good permeability, targeting, biocompatibility, and high chelation ability. It is believed that this review can greatly facilitate the development of polyphenols-based biopolymer materials construction for regulating iron and improving the well-being of patients.

Mouthfeel subqualities in wines: A current insight on sensory descriptors and physical-chemical markers

Astringency and more generally mouthfeel perception are relevant to the overall quality of the wine. However, their origin and description are still uncertain and are constantly updating. Additionally, the terminology related to mouthfeel properties is expansive and extremely diversified, characterized by common traditional terms as well as novel recently adopted descriptors. In this context, this review evaluated the mention frequency of astringent subqualities and other mouthfeel attributes in the scientific literature of the last decades (2000-August 17, 2022). One hundred and twenty-five scientific publications have been selected and classified based on wine typology, aim, and instrumental-sensorial methods adopted. Dry resulted as the most frequent astringent subquality (10% for red wines, 8.6% for white wines), while body-and related terms-is a common mouthfeel sensation for different wine types, although its concept is still vague. Alongside, promising analytical and instrumental techniques investigating and simulating the in-mouth properties are discussed in detail, such as rheology for the viscosity and tribology for the lubrication loss, as well as the different approaches for the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the interaction between salivary proteins and astringency markers. A focus on the phenolic compounds involved in the tactile perception was conducted, with tannins being the compounds conventionally found responsible for astringency. Nevertheless, other non-tannic polyphenolic classes (i.e., flavonols, phenolic acids, anthocyanins, anthocyanin-derivative pigments) as well as chemical-physical factors and the wine matrix (i.e., polysaccharides, mannoproteins, ethanol, glycerol, and pH) can also contribute to the wine in-mouth sensory profile. An overview of mouthfeel perception, factors involved, and its vocabulary is useful for enologists and consumers.

Improvement in color expression and antioxidant activity of strawberry juice fermented with lactic acid bacteria: A phenolic-based research

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of lactic acid bacteria fermentation on color expression and antioxidant activity of strawberry juice from the perspective of phenolic components. The results showed that both Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus acidophilus were able to grow in strawberry juice, promote the consumption of rutin, (+)-catechin and pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside, and increase the content of gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, caffeic acid and p-coumaric acid compared to group control. Lower pH environment in fermented juice was likely to enhance the color performance of anthocyanins and increase its parameters a* and b*, making the juice appear orange color. In addition, the scavenging capacity of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and ferric reducing antioxidant capacity (FRAP) were improved and closely related to polyphenolic substances and strain's metabolites in fermented juice.

Adaptation of Ancient Techniques to Recreate ‘Wines’ and ‘Beverages’ Using Withered Grapes of Muscat of Alexandria

The production of wines using ancient techniques is a present trend with commercial interest among consumers valorising their historical background. Therefore, the objective of the present work was to recreate wines and piquettes produced from dehydrated grapes, vinified according to the techniques described in classical Roman agricultural manuals. Muscat of Alexandria grapes were harvested and subjected to greenhouse drying under ambient temperature for 7 days, during the 2020 and 2021 harvests. When weight loss was approximately 30%, grapes were processed according to different protocols, including a rehydration step using saltwater or white wine (2020 harvest). Fermentation was conducted with the addition of commercial yeast without sulphur dioxide supplementation. The piquettes were obtained from the pressed pomaces diluted with water solution (5 g/L tartaric acid). The 2020 wines showed alcoholic content and residual sugar ranging from 14.8 to 17.0% (v/v), and 0.8 g/L to 18 g/L, respectively. Volatile acidity was less than 1 g/L (as acetic acid) in all wines, except for the fermentation of crushed grapes alone, which yielded 2.3 g/L volatile acidity. The fermentation of dehydrated crushed grapes in the semi-industrial trial run in the harvest of 2021 yielded 1.1 g/L volatile acidity. The piquettes analysis showed ethanol ranging from 10.2% (v/v) to 16.0% (v/v), reducing substances less than 2 g/L and volatile acidity less than 0.8 g/L. Overall, the physicochemical analysis showed that it was possible to recreate ancient winemaking techniques that may be further improved to produce commercially and legally acceptable wines.

The Compositional Aspects of Edible Flowers as an Emerging Horticultural Product

Edible flowers are becoming very popular, as consumers are seeking healthier and more attractive food products that can improve their diet aesthetics and diversify their dietary sources of micronutrients. The great variety of flowers that can be eaten is also associated with high variability in chemical composition, especially in bioactive compounds content that may significantly contribute to human health. The advanced analytical techniques allowed us to reveal the chemical composition of edible flowers and identify new compounds and effects that were not known until recently. Considering the numerous species of edible flowers, the present review aims to categorize the various species depending on their chemical composition and also to present the main groups of compounds that are usually present in the species that are most commonly used for culinary purposes. Moreover, special attention is given to those species that contain potentially toxic or poisonous compounds as their integration in human diets should be carefully considered. In conclusion, the present review provides useful information regarding the chemical composition and the main groups of chemical compounds that are present in the flowers of the most common species.