Search Results (12)

Background/Objectives: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by hyperglycemia, increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, and oxidative imbalances. This study aimed to investigate the impact of dietary supplementations with ‘Arinto’ grape pomace flour (GPF) (WGPF) and ‘Touriga Nacional’ GPF (RGPF) in an animal model of T2DM. Methods: T2DM was induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) for 28 days and a single dose of streptozotocin (STZ) (35 mg/kg) on the 21st day. Forty adult male Wistar rats were divided into five groups: Control (CT), T2DM, T2DM + Metformin (250 mg/kg), T2DM + 10% ‘Arinto’ GPF (WGPF), and T2DM + 10% ‘Touriga Nacional’ GPF (RGPF). On the 21st day of the experimental protocol, animals were submitted to an oral glucose tolerance test. An oral glucose tolerance test, oxidative stress parameters, biochemical analysis, and pancreas histological analyses were performed. Results: T2DM impaired glucose tolerance, elevated serum triglycerides and cholesterol, increased oxidative damage in the liver, and induced pancreatic histological abnormalities. However, supplementation with WGPF and RGPF demonstrated positive effects, mitigating glycemic and lipid disruptions, ameliorating oxidative stress, and protecting pancreatic Islets β-cells. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the protective effects of WGPF and RGPF in the adverse impacts of T2DM. Additionally, our study emphasizes the innovative use of grape pomace, a winemaking by-product, promoting sustainability by transforming waste into functional foods with significant health benefits. Full article

The aging ability of dry white wines has been increasingly recognized. The present work aimed to identify which sensory features drive their quality assessment by experienced tasters. Individuals assessed several sensory attributes, using dark tasting glasses. Wines originated from the grape varieties Alvarinho, Arinto, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Bianco with a wide range of ages. Basic physical–chemical analysis, browning (Abs 420 nm), elemental composition and a partial volatile fraction were also determined. The overall quality scores were a function of complexity and balance and were negatively influenced by the perception of faultiness. The aging process could be associated with a continuous sensory space characterized by a declining perception of freshness and an intensification in the mellowed flavors. Despite their age, wines were characterized by an austere perception caused by their acidity, saltiness, bitterness, smoothness and dryness. Nevertheless, quality scores were similar from the youngest to the oldest tasted wines (17 years old). The exception was a Sauvignon Blanc wine from a recent vintage that was judged as faulty due to the perception of earthiness. Overall, the tasted wines displayed an unexpected aging ability as demonstrated by the difference between the predicted and real wine ages. To improve the recognition of old wines, the metaphor “mellowed by age” is proposed to describe flavors resulting from beneficial aging instead of “oxidized by age”. Full article

Environmental degradation leads to an unsustainable food system. In addition to this issue, the consumption of foods that improve people’s health and well-being is recommended. One of the alternatives is undoubtedly the use of by-products of winemaking, namely in the form of grape pomace flour (GPF). To verify the benefits of using the Touriga Nacional and Arinto (Vitis vinifera L.) flour varieties, analytical determinations were made to identify and quantify different components. In terms of nutritional characterization, the Touriga Nacional GPF showed results that indicate better nutritional quality than the Arinto GPF. The Touriga Nacional and Arinto samples had protein contents of 10.13% and 8.38%, polyunsaturated fatty acids of 6.66% and 5.18%, soluble dietary fiber of 14.3% and 1.7%, and insoluble dietary fiber of 55.1% and 46.4%, respectively. The anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, and flavonols presented in samples were detected by HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS. Atomic absorption spectrometry revealed elevated concentrations of certain elements in Touriga Nacional compared to Arinto, with the former showing higher levels of aluminum (130 mg/kg) and iron (146 mg/kg) against the latter’s Al (120 mg/kg) and Fe (112 mg/kg) content. GPF could become a valuable ingredient due to its nutritional quality and high content of various polyphenols. Full article

Pulsed electric field (PEF) processing of white grapes (Arinto, Moscatel Graúdo also known as Moscatel de Setúbal) before pressing for must extraction (1.2 and 1.6 kV/cm) and before bottling for finished wine physical stabilization (10 kV/cm) was implemented in a pilot-scale winery to produce about 540 L of wine for each variety. PEF was applied at these two different stages of wine production, and its effects on the sensory and physico-chemical quality of the wines were investigated. The sensory triangle tests revealed no significant change in both wine varieties’ colour, odour, and taste with PEF extraction and PEF stabilization treatments. However, for colour coordinates assessed with a spectrophotometer, a significant increase in CIE b* colour coordinate was registered for PEF-extracted Arinto and Moscatel wine samples, showing a development of a more intense yellow colour. Concerning physico-chemical quality parameters, the PEF extraction increased both wine varieties’ turbidity and pH, although total acidity was not affected. The total phenols also increased in Arinto with extraction. The second PEF treatment applied for wine stabilization did not affect any of the quality parameters, except total phenols, which decreased in Moscatel wine. The results encourage the application of PEF in the wineries at different stages of vinification of white wine grape varieties. Full article

Snakebite envenoming can be a life-threatening medical emergency that requires prompt medical intervention to neutralise the effects of venom toxins. Each year up to 138,000 people die from snakebites and threefold more victims suffer life-altering disabilities. The current treatment of snakebite relies solely on antivenom—polyclonal antibodies isolated from the plasma of hyperimmunised animals—which is associated with numerous deficiencies. The ADDovenom project seeks to deliver a novel snakebite therapy, through the use of an innovative protein-based scaffold as a next-generation antivenom. The ADDomer is a megadalton-sized, thermostable synthetic nanoparticle derived from the adenovirus penton base protein; it has 60 high-avidity binding sites to neutralise venom toxins. Here, we outline our experimental strategies to achieve this goal using state-of-the-art protein engineering, expression technology and mass spectrometry, as well as in vitro and in vivo venom neutralisation assays. We anticipate that the approaches described here will produce antivenom with unparalleled efficacy, safety and affordability. Full article

The increase in awareness of consumers and producers regarding the sustainable production and consumption of food commodities is motivating the emergence of new technologies to improve the efficiency of pre-established methods and reduce or supplant the usage of production factors. Thus, innovative technologies, such as the nonthermal application of pulsed electric fields (PEFs), may play a crucial role in the optimization of processes, both economically and environmentally (shrinkage of wastage, energy efficiency and decrease in the use of food additives), without compromising the quality of the final product. Thus, a comparison was made between the application of commercial-grade enzymes and PEF treatment to assess the impact on cuvée white grape must and on wine yield and quality. Oenological parameters were evaluated during alcoholic fermentation and after 3 months, with tartaric stability measured after 6 months. For this, assays resorting to 1.5 tons of Arinto grapes were separated into nine similar batches: three control, three treated with enzymes (1.5 g/100 kg) and three subjected to PEFs (1 kV/cm; 2 kJ/kg) at a rate of 4 ton/h. PEFs presented the highest increase in cuvée wine yield of 5.47%; a reduction of 19% of wine lees production was also determined. The effect of PEFs on pH, total acidity, turbidity, total phenols, color intensity, %Ye, total dry extract, volatile acidity and tartaric stability was studied and compared with control and enzymatic treatment. PEF and enzyme usage direct costs were determined; the employment of PEFs represented a direct cost of 0.12 EUR/ton, while enzyme usage was 1.80 EUR/ton. Full article

The wine industry generates large amounts of by-products that are usually destined as waste. Grape pomace is the residue of the winemaking process and is rich in compounds with functional properties, such as dietary fiber and phenolic compounds. The aim of this research was to study the influence of white and red grape pomace flour (GPF) addition in the enhancement of functional properties of savory crackers. Different levels of incorporation were tested (5%, 10% and 15% (w/w)). Analysis of physical properties, nutritional composition and sensory acceptability were conducted to evaluate the effect of GPF incorporation. GPF cracker stability throughout a four-week period was achieved with regard to firmness and color. These products presented distinctive and appealing colors, ranging from a violet (GPF of Touriga Nacional variety) to a brown hue (GPF of Arinto variety). Concerning nutritional composition, both crackers incorporated with 10% GPF of Arinto or Touriga Nacional varieties could be considered “high in fiber”, as per the Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006, suggesting a functional food. GPF crackers demonstrated an overall great acceptance of this kind of innovative foods, with the majority indicating that they would certainly/probably buy them. Moreover, the cracker with 10% Arinto GPF achieved the most balanced and overall preference. Full article

Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus is a very productive expression vector for recombinant proteins in insect cells. Most vectors are based on the polyhedrin gene promoter, which comprises a TAAG transcription initiation motif flanked by 20 base pairs upstream and 47 base pairs downstream before the native ATG. Many transfer vectors also include a short sequence downstream of the ATG, in which case this sequence is mutated to ATT to abolish translation. However, the ATT sequence, or AUU in the mRNA, is known to be leaky. If a target-coding region is placed in the frame with the AUU, then some products will comprise a chimeric molecule with part of the polyhedrin protein. In this study, we showed that if AUU is placed in the frame with a Strep tag and eGFP coding region, we could identify a protein product with both sequences present. Further work examined if alternative codons in lieu of AUG might reduce translation initiation further. We found that AUA was used slightly more efficiently than AUU, whereas AUC was the least efficient at initiating translation. The use of this latter codon suggested that there might also be a slight improvement of protein yield if this is incorporated into expression vectors. Full article

The Six Transmembrane Epithelial Antigen of the Prostate (STEAP1) is an oncogene overexpressed in several human tumors, particularly in prostate cancer (PCa). However, the mechanisms involved in its overexpression remain unknown. It is well known that epigenetic modifications may result in abnormal gene expression patterns, contributing to tumor initiation and progression. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the methylation pattern of the STEAP1 gene in PCa versus non-neoplastic cells. Bisulfite amplicon sequencing of the CpG island at the STEAP1 gene promoter showed a higher methylation level in non-neoplastic PNT1A prostate cells than in human PCa samples. Bioinformatic analysis of the GEO datasets also showed the STEAP1 gene promoter as being demethylated in human PCa, and a negative association with STEAP1 mRNA expression was observed. These results are supported by the treatment of non-neoplastic PNT1A cells with DNMT and HDAC inhibitors, which induced a significant increase in STEAP1 mRNA expression. In addition, the involvement of HDAC in the regulation of STEAP1 mRNA expression was corroborated by a negative association between STEAP1 mRNA expression and HDAC4,5,7 and 9 in human PCa. In conclusion, our work indicates that STEAP1 overexpression in PCa can be driven by the hypomethylation of STEAP1 gene promoter. Full article

The evaluation of the variety suitability regarding each appellation’s specificities should be a strategy for maximizing the varieties’ oenological potential while contributing to the sustainable production of quality wines, keeping their typicity and rationalizing winemaking costs. Thus, the combination of several grape physicochemical attributes, modulated by climate and vineyard characteristics, providing knowledge for each grape variety’s oenological potential, is a relevant and reliable support for winemakers’ decisions. To prove this hypothesis, six mature grape varieties from three harvests, each one from three vineyard parcels with different topographical conditions from Bairrada Appellation (Portugal), were studied using analysis of variance–simultaneous components analysis (ASCA). The effects of harvest year and parcel on grape berry weight, pH, titratable acidity, total sugars, total phenolics, antiradical activity, and volatile composition in free and glycosidically-linked forms were analyzed. The compositional plasticity of autochthonous varieties (white Arinto and Bical and red Baga, Castelão, and Touriga Nacional) was observed. Sauvignon Blanc grape composition was significantly modulated by harvest. This study represents an important contribution for the maintenance of varieties’ biodiversity while contributing to establishing their peculiarities. Autochthonous varieties, if accurately exploited, can provide higher characteristic diversity than worldwide used varieties, an aspect to be more objectively taken into consideration by winemakers. Full article

Wine aroma is the result of complex interactions between volatile compounds and non-volatile ones and individual perception phenomenon. In this work, an aroma network approach, that links volatile composition (chromatographic data) with its corresponding aroma descriptors was used to explain the wine aroma properties. This concept was applied to six monovarietal wines from Bairrada Appellation (Portugal) and used as a case study. A comprehensive determination of the wines’ volatile composition was done (71 variables, i.e., volatile components), establishing a workflow that combines extraction techniques and gas chromatographic analysis. Then, a bipartite network-based approach consisting of two different nodes was built, one with 19 aroma descriptors, and the other with the corresponding volatile compound(s). To construct the aroma networks, the odor active values were calculated for each determined compound and combined with the bipartite network. Finally, the aroma network of each wine was compared with sensory descriptive analysis. The analysis of the specific aroma network of each wine revealed that Sauvignon Blanc and Arinto white wines present higher fruity (esters) and sweet notes (esters and C₁₃ norisoprenoids) than Bical wine. Sauvignon Blanc also exhibits higher toasted aromas (thiols) while Arinto and Bical wines exhibit higher flowery (C₁₃ norisoprenoids) and herbaceous notes (thiols), respectively. For red wines, sweet fruit aromas are the most abundant, especially for Touriga Nacional. Castelão and Touriga Nacional wines also present toasted aromas (thiols). Baga and Castelão wines also exhibit fusel/alcohol notes (alcohols). The proposed approach establishes a chemical aroma fingerprint (aroma ID) for each type of wine, which may be further used to estimate wine aroma characteristics by projection of the volatile composition on the aroma network. Full article

The characterization of the metabolites accumulated in the grapes of specific cultivars grown in different climates is of particular importance for viticulturists and enologists. In the present study, the metabolite profiling of grapes from the cultivars, Alvarinho, Arinto and Padeiro de Basto, of two Portuguese Controlled Denomination of Origin (DOC) regions (Vinho Verde and Lisboa) was investigated by gas chromatography-coupled time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) and an amino acid analyzer. Primary metabolites, including sugars, organic acids and amino acids, and some secondary metabolites were identified. Tartaric and malic acids and free amino acids accumulated more in grapes from vines of the DOC region of Vinho Verde than DOC Lisboa, but a principal component analysis (PCA) plot showed that besides the DOC region, the grape cultivar also accounted for the variance in the relative abundance of metabolites. Grapes from the cultivar, Alvarinho, were particularly rich in malic acid and tartaric acids in both DOC regions, but sucrose accumulated more in the DOC region of Vinho Verde. Full article