Cereus peruvianus (Koubo) new cactus fruit for the world

Several different species of the columnar cacti of the genera Stenocereus and Pachycereus, were introduced into different semi-arid ecozones in Israel and most of these efforts were of disappointing outcomes, the only exception being the Cereus peruvianus (L.) Miller,which bore plenty of fruits, some of them of good taste. The original seeds of this plant were obtained from the late Mr. Amram (Ron) Kodish, who collected seeds from various private gardens in Southern California which bore fruits of reasonable qualities. The initial success of this species led us to initiate an intensive research study, and today it is already fruit-crop, marketed mainly in Israel under the name " Koubo" . This paper will describe our work of domestication of this new cactus fruit crop in Israel.

Fruit and vegetables and cancer risk : a review of southern European studies

High intakes of fruit and vegetables may reduce the risk of cancer at several sites. Evidence has been derived mainly from case-control studies. We reviewed the relationship between consumption of vegetables and fruit and the risk of several common cancers in a network of Italian and Swiss case-control studies including over 10 000 cases of fourteen different cancers and about 17 000 controls. Data were suggestive of a protective role of vegetable intake on the risk of several common epithelial cancers. OR for the highest compared with the lowest levels of consumption ranged from 0·2 (larynx, oral cavity and pharynx) to 0·9 (prostate). Inverse associations were found for both raw and cooked vegetables, although for upper digestive tract cancers the former were somewhat stronger. Similar inverse associations were found for cruciferous vegetables. Frequent consumption of allium vegetables was also associated with reduced risk of several cancers. Fruit was a favourable correlate of the risk of several cancers, particularly of the upper digestive tract, with associations generally weaker than those reported for vegetables. A reduced risk of cancers of the digestive tract and larynx was found for high consumption of citrus fruit. Suggestive protections against several forms of cancer, mainly digestive tract cancers, were found for high consumption of apples and tomatoes. High intakes of fibres, flavonoids and proanthocyanidins were inversely related to various forms of cancer. In conclusion, data from our series of case-control studies suggested a favourable role of high intakes of fruit and vegetables in the risk of many common cancers, particularly of the digestive tract. This adds evidence to the indication that aspects of the Mediterranean diet may have a favourable impact not only on CVD, but also on several common (epithelial) cancers, particularly of the digestive tract.

INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF CONSUMING FRUIT ON CONSUMER PREFERENCES IN TEMUCO, REGION OF THE ARAUCANÍA

ABSTRACT With the aim of identifying strategies to increase fruit consumption in Temuco, consumer segments were classified according to the importance and preference of theattributes type of fruit, package/ brand, benefit associated with fruit consumption and price. A survey was applied to 400 people in Temuco,Chile, distributed using a simple allocation: 200 working adults and 200university students. The questionnaire included the SWFL (Satisfaction with Food-related Life) scale, respondents’ fruit consumption habits and their characteristics. Using conjoint and cluster analyses, three segments were distinguished: Group 1 (22.0%) gave greatest importance to the package/brand and preferred themessage “prevents diseases” and “without information”; Group 2 (47.5%) gave greatest importance to the package/brand and preferred the message “prevents diseases”; Group 3 (30.5%) assigned greatest importance to the price and preferred the message “contains antioxidants”. The segments differed in their level of satisfaction with food-related life, self-declared lifestyle, age and presence of university students. The results provide input to promote fruit consumption in working adults and university students.

Associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and psychological distress: results from a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Several studies observed associations of various aspects of diet with mental health, but little is known about the relationship between following the 5-a-day recommendation for fruit and vegetables consumption and mental health. Thus, we examined the associations of the Swiss daily recommended fruit and vegetable intake with psychological distress. METHODS: Data from 20,220 individuals aged 15+ years from the 2012 Swiss Health Survey were analyzed. The recommended portions of fruit and vegetables per day were defined as 5-a-day (at least 2 portions of fruit and 3 of vegetables). The outcome was perceived psychological distress over the previous 4 weeks (measured by the 5-item mental health index [MHI-5]). High distress (MHI-5 score ≤ 52), moderate distress (MHI-5 > 52 and ≤ 72) and low distress (MHI-5 > 72 and ≤ 100) were differentiated and multinomial logistic regression analyses adjusted for known confounding factors were performed. RESULTS: The 5-a-day recommendation was met by 11.6 % of the participants with low distress, 9.3 % of those with moderate distress, and 6.2 % of those with high distress. Consumers fulfilling the 5-a-day recommendation had lower odds of being highly or moderately distressed than individuals consuming less fruit and vegetables (moderate vs. low distress: OR = 0.82, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.69-0.97; high vs. low distress: OR = 0.55, 95 % CI 0.41-0.75). CONCLUSIONS: Daily intake of 5 servings of fruit and vegetable was associated with lower psychological distress. Longitudinal studies are needed to further determine the causal nature of this relationship.

Las 'escuelas democráticas' de Michael W. Apple y James A. Beane en nuestro contexto

Ressenya de: Rafael Feito y Juan Ignacio López (eds.): Construyendo escuelas democráticas. Barcelona: Hipatia, 2008.

Predicted decrease in global climate suitability masks regional complexity of invasive fruit fly species response to climate change

Climate change affects the rate of insect invasions as well as the abundance, distribution and impacts of such invasions on a global scale. Among the principal analytical approaches to predicting and understanding future impacts of biological invasions are Species Distribution Models (SDMs), typically in the form of correlative Ecological Niche Models (ENMs). An underlying assumption of ENMs is that species-environment relationships remain preserved during extrapolations in space and time, although this is widely criticised. The semi-mechanistic modelling platform, CLIMEX, employs a top-down approach using species ecophysiological traits and is able to avoid some of the issues of extrapolation, making it highly applicable to investigating biological invasions in the context of climate change. The tephritid fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) comprise some of the most successful invasive species and serious economic pests around the world. Here we project 12 tephritid species CLIMEX models into future climate scenarios to examine overall patterns of climate suitability and forecast potential distributional changes for this group. We further compare the aggregate response of the group against species-specific responses. We then consider additional drivers of biological invasions to examine how invasion potential is influenced by climate, fruit production and trade indices. Considering the group of tephritid species examined here, climate change is predicted to decrease global climate suitability and to shift the cumulative distribution poleward. However, when examining species-level patterns, the predominant directionality of range shifts for 11 of the 12 species is eastward. Most notably, management will need to consider regional changes in fruit fly species invasion potential where high fruit production, trade indices and predicted distributions of these flies overlap.

A simplified procedure for determination of clofentezine residues in fruits by liquid chromatography with UV detection

A rapid and sensitive method is described for the determination of clofentezine residues in apple, papaya, mango and orange. The procedure is based on the extraction of the sample with a hexane:ethyl acetate mixture (1:1, v/v) and liquid chromatographic analysis using UV detection. Mean recoveries from 4 replicates of fortified fruit samples ranged from 81% to 96%, with coefficients of variation from 8.9% to 12.5%. The detection and quantification limits of the method were of 0.05 and 0.1 mg kg-1, respectively.

Análise de imagem em química analítica: empregando metodologias simples e didáticas para entender e prevenir o escurecimento de tecidos vegetais

A simple and didactic experiment was developed for image monitoring of the browning of fruit tissues caused by the enzyme polyphenol oxidase. The procedure, easy and inexpensive, is a valuable tool to teach and demonstrate the redox reaction between the enzyme and the natural polyphenols. To obtain the browning percentage for apple, pear and banana, digital photographs were employed, and the images were analyzed by means of Monte Carlo methods and digital analysis programs. The effects of several experimental conditions were studied, such as pH, light, temperature and the presence of oxygen or anti-oxidants. It was observed that each fruit presented a different condition that better minimized the oxidation process. The absence of oxygen and the application of a bissulphite solution were sufficient to keep the quality of all fruits tested.

Cinética e caracterização físico-química do fermentado do pseudofruto do caju (Anacardium occidentale L.)

The production of cashew apple wine has the purpose of minimizing the wastage in the Brazilian cashew production. Knowing that the cashew apple fermentation produces a good cashew wine, a study of alcoholic fermentation kinetics of the cashew apple and the physico-chemical characterization of the product were made. The cashew wine was produced in an stirred batch reactor. The results of the physico-chemical analysis of volatiles, residual sugars, total acidity and pH of cashew wine showed that their concentrations were within the standard limits established by the Brazilian legislation for fruit wines.

Comparison of GC and HPLC for quantification of organic acids in two jaboticaba (Myrciaria) fruit varieties

Gas chromatography (GC) with trimethylsilyl derivative formation was compared to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for quantification of organic acids (OAs) in two jaboticaba (Myrciaria) fruit (pulp and pericarp) varieties (Sabará and Açu Paulista). Succinic and citric acids were the major OAs found in all the samples analyzed. Besides being much more tedious, the results obtained with GC were significantly lower than HPLC (p<0.05) when the data (acids, variety, two parts and flowering days) were considered together. The presence of both acids was confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

Determinação eletroquímica da capacidade antioxidante de sucos de frutas industrializados usando o CRAC assay

Fruits juices are natural sources of several compounds that present antioxidant action. Together with the fruits, they contribute with almost 40% of the antioxidant capacity in a healthy diet avoiding and preventing diseases deriving from oxidative stress. The present study determined the antioxidant capacity of seven samples of industrialized fruits juices applying CRAC (Ceric Reducing/Antioxidant Capacity) assay, a new electrochemistry assay that evaluates, by means of chronoamperometric measurements, the ability of a sample in reducing species Ce4+ in acid media. At the end of the assay was obtained the following classification: cashew > guava > grape > mango > apple > orange > passion fruit.

Characterization of the major nutritional components of Caryocar brasiliense fruit pulp by nmr spectroscopy

Pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.), a typical fruit of Brazilian Cerrado, is well known in regional cookery and used in folk medicine to treat various illnesses. Mass spectrometry and chromatographic methods have identified the organic composition of pequi fruit pulp; however, NMR spectroscopy is used for the first time to characterize the nutritional components of organic and aqueous-ethanolic extracts. This spectroscopic technique determined the triacylglycerols in the pequi organic fraction, which is constituted mainly by oleate and palmitate esters, and detected the carbohydrate mixtures as the major components of aqueous and ethanolic fractions, respectively. In this study, presence of phenolic compounds was only evidenced in the ethanolic fraction.

Analysis of passion fruit rinds (Passiflora edulis): isoorientin quantification by HPTLC and evaluation of antioxidant (radical scavenging) capacity

The content of isoorientin in passion fruit rinds (Passiflora edulis fo. flavicarpa O. Degener) was determined by HPTLC (high performance thin layer chromatography) with densitometric analysis. The results revealed a higher amount of isoorientin in healthy rinds of P. edulis (92.275 ± 0.610 mg L-1) than in rinds with typical symptoms of PWV (Passion fruit Woodiness Virus) infection (28.931 ± 0.346 mg L-1). The HPTLC data, allied to assays of radical scavenging activity, suggest the potential of P. edulis rinds as a natural source of flavonoids or as a possible functional food.