Analysis of Intact Glycosidic Aroma Precursors in Grapes by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with a Diode Array Detector

Research of saccharides and related biocomplexes: A review with recent techniques and applications

Saccharides and biocompounds as saccharide (sugar) complexes have various roles and biological functions in living organisms due to modifications via nucleophilic substitution, polymerization, and complex formation reactions. Mostly, mono-, di-, oligo-, and polysaccharides are stabilized to inactive glycosides, which are formed in metabolic pathways. Natural saccharides are important in food and environmental monitoring. Glycosides with various functionalities are significant in clinical and medical research. Saccharides are often studied with the chromatographic methods of hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography and anion exchange chromatograpy, but also with capillary electrophoresis and mass spectrometry with their on-line coupling systems. Sample preparation is important in the identification of saccharide compounds. The cases discussed here focus on bioscience, clinical, and food applications.

Evolution in the Bottling of Cabernet Sauvignon Wines Macerated with Their Own Toasted Vine-Shoots

This work studies, for the first time, the effect of the use of Cabernet Sauvignon vine-shoots as an enological additive (called "Shoot Enological Granule", SEG) in wines of the same variety. SEGs were added in two doses (12 and 24 g/L) at the end of malolactic fermentation, and after that, wines were bottled for six months. The phenolic and volatile composition and sensory profiles of wines were analyzed at bottling and after six months. The results showed a decrease in the total content of phenolic compounds with bottle time; however, stilbenes─specifically trans-resveratrol─were maintained at significant levels in SEG wines. In contrast, the total content of volatile compounds, mainly esters, increased with bottle aging. Finally, in terms of sensory profile, SEG wines showed a clear differentiation between the descriptors and the control, with more-integrated aromas after bottle time with more toasted, nutty vanilla notes, as well as silkier and less bitter tannins, compared to the control.

High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolomics for Increased Grape Juice Metabolite Coverage

The composition of the juice from grape berries is at the basis of the definition of technological ripeness before harvest, historically evaluated from global sugar and acid contents. If many studies have contributed to the identification of other primary and secondary metabolites in whole berries, deepening knowledge about the chemical composition of the sole flesh of grape berries (i.e., without considering skins and seeds) at harvest is of primary interest when studying the enological potential of widespread grape varieties producing high-added-value wines. Here, we used non-targeted DI-FT-ICR-MS and RP-UHPLC-Q-ToF-MS analyses to explore the extent of metabolite coverage of up to 290 grape juices from four Vitis vinifera grape varieties, namely Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Meunier, and Aligoté, sampled at harvest from 91 vineyards in Europe and Argentina, over three successive vintages. SPE pretreatment of samples led to the identification of more than 4500 detected C,H,O,N,S-containing elemental compositions, likely associated with tens of thousands of distinct metabolites. We further revealed that a major part of this chemical diversity appears to be common to the different juices, as exemplified by Pinot noir and Chardonnay samples. However, it was possible to build significant models for the discrimination of Chardonnay from Pinot noir grape juices, and of Chardonnay from Aligoté grape juices, regardless of the geographical origin or the vintage. Therefore, this metabolomic approach opens access to a remarkable holistic molecular description of the instantaneous composition of such a biological matrix, which is the result of complex interplays among environmental, biochemical, and vine growing practices.

A Prospective of Multiple Biopharmaceutical Activities of Procyanidins-Rich Uapaca togoensis Pax Extracts: HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS Coupled with Bioinformatics Analysis

The article reports the chemical composition, antioxidant, six key enzymes inhibitory and antimicrobial activities of two solvent extracts (water and methanol) of leaves and stem bark of Uapaca togoensis. For chemical composition, methanol extract of stem bark exhibited significant higher total phenolic (129.86 mg GAE/g) and flavanol (10.44 mg CE/g) contents. Methanol extract of leaves and water extract of stem bark showed high flavonoids (20.94 mg RE/g) and phenolic acid (90.40 mg CAE/g) content, respectively. In addition, HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS analysis revealed that U. togoensis was rich in procyanidins. The methanol and water extracts of stem bark had overall superior antioxidant activity; however, only methanol extract of stem bark showed higher inhibition of cholinesterase (AChE: 2.57 mg GALAE/g; BChE: 4.69 mg GALAE/g), tyrosinase (69.53 mg KAE/g) and elastase (2.73 mmol CE/g). Potent metal chelating ability was showed by water extract of leaves (18.94 mg EDTAE/g), higher inhibition of amylase was detected for water extracts of leaves (0.94 mmol ACAE/g) and stem bark (0.92 mmol ACAE/g). The tested extracts have shown wide-spectrum antibacterial properties and these effects have shown to be more effective against Aspergillus ochraceus, Penicillium funiculosum, Trichoderma viride, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The results revealed that the antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory and antimicrobial activities depended on the extraction solvents and the parts of plant. Bioinformatics analysis on the 17 major compounds showed modulation of pathway associated with cancer. In brief, U. togoensis might be valuable as potential source of natural agents for therapeutic application.

Comparative Analysis of Glycosidic Aroma Compound Profiling in Three Vitis vinifera Varieties by Using Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

Glycosidic aroma compounds are the important precursors of volatile aroma in grapes, and they can be added with odorous aglycones via enzyme- or acid-catalyzed hydrolysis during wine fermentation and storage. Developing an analytical method for intact glycosides can provide the possibility to study the accumulation of these aroma precursors in grape berries. For this purpose, a Tandem Mass Spectrometry (MS/MS). database based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry was built, covering multiple aglycone classes. Subsequently, the profiles of glycosidic aroma compounds in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Muscat Blanc, Riesling, and Chardonnay berries during maturation were investigated. Pentosyl-hexosides were the most abundant glycosides in all three varieties. Both composition and concentration of glycosidic aroma compounds varied obviously among grape varieties. Except for monoterpenol pentosyl-hexosides, most glycosides were kept almost stable in their concentrations during berry maturation. This research provides an approach to understand the variation of glycosidic aroma components from the perspective of aglycones and glycosides.