The popularity of small berries has rapidly increased in Western countries given their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities and health-promoting properties. The aim of this study was to compare the fatty acid (FA) profile, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant capacity of extracts of 11 berries cultivated in the North West of Italy. Berry samples were extracted and evaluated for FA profile and total anthocyanin (TAC), total flavonoid contents (TFC), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and for their radical scavenging activities against 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH^•) radical. The main polyphenols of berry extracts were characterized by HPLC-DAD-UV-ESI HRMS in positive ion mode. Results showed that the highest TAC and TFC contents were recorded in black currants, blackberries, and blueberries. Maximum and minimum DPPH^• radical scavenging activities, Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity, and FRAP measurements confirmed the same trend recorded for TAC and TFC values. HPLC-HRMS analyses highlight how blueberries and blackberries have the highest concentration in polyphenols. Palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, α-linolenic, and γ-linolenic acids significantly differ between berries, with oleic and α-linolenic acid representing the most abundant FAs in raspberries. Among the berries investigated, results of phytochemical characterization suggest choosing black currants and blueberries as an excellent source of natural antioxidants for food and health purposes.

The effects of three concentrations (0.2%, 1% and 3%) of rosemary oil (RO) on the freshness indicators, oxidative stability, fatty acid and biogenic amine (BA) contents of minced rainbow trout muscle (MTM) were investigated after different periods of storage (three and nine days) at 4 ± 1 °C. Moreover, the terpene and sesquiterpene contents in the treated MTM were also measured. RO treatment improves the pH, oxidative stability of the lipids and the FA profile, which resulted in a significant extension of MTM shelf-life. Storage time influenced all freshness indicators, with the exception of yellowness and chroma. Treatment with RO had a positive effect, leading to low BA content, especially putrescine, cadaverine, tyramine and histamine. Differences in BA were also found to be due to storage time, with the exception of spermidine, which was not influenced by time. Moreover, the presence of the terpenoid fraction of RO in MTM improved the quality of this ready-to-cook fish food.

Protium heptaphyllum (Aubl.) Marchand (PH) trees are endemic to the tropical region of South America, mostly Brazil. Antibacterial, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic, antidepressant and anti-hyperlipidemic/anti-hypercholesterolemic effects were reported for its resinous exudate Protiumheptaphyllum resin (PHR). This work aims to provide a qualitative and quantitative consistent chemical profiling of the major constituents of this resin and two extracts enriched in acid (acidic triterpene concentrated extract, ATCE) and neutral triterpenes (α and β-amyrin concentrated extract, AMCE). GC–MS/GC–FID was used for volatile terpene fraction, a validated GC–MS method was developed for quantification of neutral α and β-amyrin and HPLC–APCI HRMS² was used for acidic triterpenes analysis. The chemical investigation reported 29 molecules, including 14 volatile terpenes, 6 neutral triterpenes and 11 acid triterpenes. The most abundant compounds were α-amyrin (251.28 g kg⁻¹, 123.98 g kg⁻¹ and 556.82 g kg⁻¹ in PHR, ATCE and AMCE, respectively), β-amyrin (172.66 g kg⁻¹, 95.39 g kg⁻¹ and 385.58 g kg⁻¹ in PHR, ATCE and AMCE, respectively), 3-oxo-tirucalla-7,24-dien-21-oic acid (80.64 g kg⁻¹, 157.10 g kg⁻¹ and 15.31 g kg⁻¹ in PHR, ATCE and AMCE, respectively) and 3α-hydroxy-tirucalla-8,24-dien-21-oic acid (77.71 g kg⁻¹, 130.40 g kg⁻¹ and 11.64 g kg⁻¹ in PHR, ATCE and AMCE, respectively). Results showed specific enrichment of acidic and neutral triterpenoids in the two respective extracts.

Interesterification is an industrial transformation process aiming to change the physico-chemical properties of vegetable oils by redistributing fatty acid position within the original constituent of the triglycerides. In the confectionery industry, controlling formation degree of positional isomers is important in order to obtain fats with the desired properties. Silver ion HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) is the analytical technique usually adopted to separate triglycerides (TAGs) having different unsaturation degrees. However, separation of TAG positional isomers is a challenge when the number of double bonds is the same and the only difference is in their position within the triglyceride molecule. The TAG positional isomers involved in the present work have a structural specificity that require a separation method tailored to the needs of confectionery industry. The aim of this work was to obtain a chromatographic resolution that might allow reliable qualitative and quantitative evaluation of TAG positional isomers within reasonably rapid retention times and robust in respect of repeatability and reproducibility. The resulting analytical procedure was applied both to confectionery raw materials and final products.

Food contact materials (FCMs) are an underestimated source of food chemical contaminants and a potentially relevant route of human exposure to chemicals that are harmful to the endocrine system. Foods and water are the main sources of exposure due to contact with the packaging materials, often of polymeric nature. European Regulation 10/2011 requires migration tests on FCMs and foodstuffs to evaluate the presence of listed substances (authorized monomers and additives) and non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) not listed in the regulation and not subjected to restrictions. The tests are required to ensure the compliance of packaging materials for the contained foods. NIAS are a heterogeneous group of substances classified with a potential estrogenic or androgenic activity. Subsequently, the evaluation of the presence of these molecules in foods and water is significant. Here we present an online SPE/UHPLC-tandem MS method to quantify trace levels of NIAS in food simulants (A: aqueous 3% acetic acid; B: aqueous 20% ethanol) contained in PET preformed bottles. The use of online SPE reduces systemic errors thanks to the automation of the technique. For the developed analytical method, we evaluate the limit of detection (LOD), the limit of quantitation (LOQ), selectivity, RSD% and BIAS% for LLOQ for a total of twelve NIAS, including monomers, antioxidants, UV-filters and additives. LOD ranged between 0.002 µg/L for bisphenol S and 13.6 µg/L for 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (BHT). LOQs are comprised between 0.01 µg/L for bisphenol S and 42.2 µg/L for BHT. The online-SPE/UHPLC-tandem MS method is applied to the food simulants contained in several types of PET packaging materials to evaluate the migration of the selected NIAS. The results show the presence (µg/L) of NIAS in the tested samples, underlining the need for a new regulation for these potentially toxic molecules.