Perceptions of U.S. and Canadian maple syrup producers toward climate change, its impacts, and potential adaptation measures

Extraction, physicochemical properties, bioactivities and application of natural sweeteners: A review

Natural sweeteners generally refer to a sweet chemical component directly extracted from nature or obtained through appropriate modifications, mainly secondary metabolites of plants. Compared to the first-generation sweeteners represented by sucrose and the second-generation sweeteners represented by sodium cyclamate, natural sweeteners usually have high sweetness, low-calorie content, good solubility, high stability, and rarely toxic side effects. Historically, researchers mainly focus on the function of natural sweeteners as substitutes for sugars in the food industry. This paper reviews the bioactivities of several typical natural sweeteners, including anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-hyperglycemic activities. In addition, we have summarized the extraction, physicochemical properties, and application of natural sweeteners. The article aimed to comprehensively collate vital information about natural sweeteners and review the potentiality of tapping bioactive compounds from natural products. Hopefully, this review provides insights into the further development of natural sweeteners as therapeutic agents and functional foods.

Maple Syrup: Chemical Analysis and Nutritional Profile, Health Impacts, Safety and Quality Control, and Food Industry Applications

Maple syrup is a delicacy prepared by boiling the sap taken from numerous Acer species, primarily sugar maple trees. Compared to other natural sweeteners, maple syrup is believed to be preferable to refined sugar for its high concentration of phenolic compounds and mineral content. The presence of organic acids (malic acid), amino acids and relevant amounts of minerals, such as potassium, calcium, zinc and manganese, make maple syrup unique. Given the growing demand for naturally derived sweeteners over the past decade, this review paper deals with and discusses in detail the most important aspects of chemical maple syrup analyses, with a particular emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of the different analytical approaches. A successful utilization on the application of maple syrup in the food industry, will rely on a better understanding of its safety, quality control, nutritional profile, and health impacts, including its sustainability issues.

Chemistry, processing, and functionality of maple food products: An updated comprehensive review

Maple sap is a rich nutrient matrix collected from Acer trees to produce several food products (i.e., sap, water, extract, syrup, and sugar), of which syrup is the most famous in the food industry for its distinct taste and flavor. Maple syrup is produced from the sap of several species (Acer saccharum, Acer nigrum, and Acer rubrum) of maple. Maple syrup is chiefly produced through the concentration of sap via thermal evaporation (pan evaporation) or membrane separation. Each processing technique affects the quality and characteristics of processed maple products. The chemistry of maple products is dominated by a myriad of other phytoconstituents other than sugar, that is, phenolics, to mediate for its many health benefits. The health-promoting effects of maple products included antioxidant, antimicrobial, antimutagenic, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative activities. This review capitalizes on maple food products focusing on their chemistry, processing, and health benefits compared with other sugar sweeteners. The impact of processing on maple syrup composition and biological effects in relation to original maple sap are further presented. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Maple food products are natural sweeteners of significant importance due to their economic, nutritional, and health benefits. Apart from the predominant ingredient sucrose, the chemical composition of maple products comprises phenolics, pyrazines, vitamins, minerals, organic acids, and phytohormones. These bioactive compounds are of potential value owing to their health-promoting benefits, including antioxidant, antiproliferative, and antimutagenic effects. Quebecol, lariciresinol, and secoisolariciresinol are suggested as distinct markers for maple products and not common in other plant-derived syrups. Several factors, including the processing parameters and the phytochemical profile, affect maple products' flavor and color. In addition, microbial contamination of maple sap can also affect maple product quality. Further research on the effect of processing techniques and environmental conditions on the phytochemicals profile and biological effects of maple food products should now follow. Application of other omics tools, that is, genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, to understand maple syrup effects on the human body can help reveal its exact action mechanisms or points for any potential health hazards for certain ailments.

Monitoring social–ecological networks for biodiversity and ecosystem services in human-dominated landscapes

The demand the human population is placing on the environment has triggered accelerated rates of biodiversity change and created trade-offs among the ecosystem services we depend upon. Decisions designed to reverse these trends require the best possible information obtained by monitoring ecological and social dimensions of change. Here, we conceptualize a network framework to monitor change in social–ecological systems. We contextualize our framework within Ostrom’s social–ecological system framework and use it to discuss the challenges of monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem services across spatial and temporal scales. We propose that spatially explicit multilayer and multiscale monitoring can help estimate the range of variability seen in social–ecological systems with varying levels of human modification across the landscape. We illustrate our framework using a conceptual case study on the ecosystem service of maple syrup production. We argue for the use of analytical tools capable of integrating qualitative and quantitative knowledge of social–ecological systems to provide a causal understanding of change across a network. Altogether, our conceptual framework provides a foundation for establishing monitoring systems. Operationalizing our framework will allow for the detection of ecosystem service change and assessment of its drivers across several scales, informing the long-term sustainability of biodiversity and ecosystem services.