Nutritional and chemical characterization of food products enriched with biological produced fruits of Vaccinum myrtillus L

Vaccinum myrtillus L. belongs to Ericaceae family, being commonly known for its sweet small fruits: the blueberries. Widely consumed in fresh, these fruits are also used in jams and marmalades due to their digestive and hypoglycemic properties and also due to the presence of several bioactive compounds [!]. Therefore, it has become a very appealing matrix in the development of functional products that, beyond their nutritional properties, will add a long-term beneficial physiological/health effect [2]. In the present work, three novel blueberry based products developed by RBR Foods Company (Portugal), were characterized in terms of their nutritional and chemical properties: carbohydrates, ash, proteins, fat and energetic value (following official methods of food analysis), fatty acids profile (by CG-FID), soluble sugars (by HPLCRI), organic acids (by HPLC-DAD) and tocopherols (by HPLC-fluorescence). The products result from a mixture of the fruits with rose petals (PI), marigold petals (P2) and apple and goji berries (P3). The blueberry fruits were used as control sample. The nutritional profile of the novel products was very similar to the control sample: the carbohydrates were the most abundant macronutrient, followed by proteins and total fat. Regarding sugars, fructose, glucose and sucrose were identified in all the samples. P 1 and P2 didn't show significant differences in comparison to the control, however, P3 revealed a lower concentration of sugars. In terms of fatty acids composition, all the studied samples presented higher contents in polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially due to the contribution of linoleic and alinolenic acids. The results of tocopherols revealed that the control sample only presented two isoforrns of tocopherols, a- and y-tocopherol, being the same observed in P3. However, P 1 revealed the presence of all the isoforrns of tocopherols, while P2 was lacking otocopherol; which is related with the contribution of rose and marigold petals, respectively. The a-tocopherol isoforrn was the most abundant in all the studied samples. Overall, this work contributed to the nutritional characterization of novel blueberry based products and is a part of a wider project that aims the detailed study of these products, namely their potential to be used as functional foods.

Biotechnological, nutritional and therapeutic uses of Pleurotus spp. (Oyster mushroom) related with its chemical composition: A review on the past decade findings

The particular characteristics of growth and development of mushrooms in nature result in the accumulation of a variety of secondary metabolites, several of them with biological activities. The genus Pleurotus is a cosmopolitan group of mushrooms with high nutritional value and therapeutic properties, besides a wide array of biotechnological and environmental applications. Scope and approach: The present report aims to provide a critical review on aspects related to chemical compounds isolated from the genus Pleurotus with possible biotechnological, nutritional and therapeutic uses. Investigations on the genus have immensely accelerated during the last ten years, so that only reports published after 2005 have been considered. Key findings and conclusions: The most important Pleurotus species cultivated in large scale are P. ostreatus and P. pulmonarius. However, more than 200 species have already been investigated to various degrees. Both basidiomata and mycelia of Pleurotus are a great renewable and easily accessible source of functional foods/nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals with antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and immunomodulatory effects. A series of compounds have already been precisely defined including several polysaccharides, phenolics, terpenes and sterols. However, intensification of structure determination is highly desirable and demands considerable efforts. Further studies including clinical trials need to be carried out to ascertain the safety of these compounds as adequate alternatives to conventional drugs. Not less important is to extend the search for novel bioactives to less explored Pleurotus species.