The prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases is increasing in developing countries with the causes for death starting to follow the same pattern in the developed world. Lifestyle factors including inadequate dietary intake of fruits and vegetables and over consumption of nutrient-poor processed foods, are considered to be major causal risk factors associated with increased susceptibility to developing certain diseases (Alldrick, 1998 Alldrick, A. J. (1998). Functional foods: Assuring quality. In: Functional foods - The consumer, the products, the evidence, pp. 135–142. Sadler, M. J. and Saltmarsh, M. Ed. Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge . [Google Scholar] ; Kiani, 2007 Kiani, L. (2007, 13/03/2008). “Natural miracles: What functional foods can do for you?” ProQuest Discovery Guides. from http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/discoveryguides-main.php. [Google Scholar] ). Recent epidemiological evidence confirms a strong association between dietary fiber and reduced all-cause mortality risk, as well as a risk reduction for a number of non-communicable diseases (Chuang et al., 2012 Chuang, S.-C. , Norat, T. , Murphy, N. , Olsen, A. , Tjonneland, A. , Overvad, K. , Boutron-Ruault, M. C. , Perquier, F. , Dartois, L. , Kaaks, R. , Teucher, B. , Bergmann, M. M. , Boeing, H. , Trichopoulou, A. , Lagiou, P. , Trichopoulos, D. , Grioni, S. , Sacerdote, C. , Salvatore, P. , Palli, D. , Tumino, R. , Peeters, P. H. M. , Bueno-de-Mesquita, B. , Ros, M. M. , Brustad, M. , Asli, L. A. , Skeie, G. , Quiros, J. R. , Gonzalez, C. A. , Sanchez, M.-J. , Navarro, C. , Aicua, E. A. , Dorronsoro, M. , Drake, I. , Sonestedt, E. , Ingegerd, J. , Hallmans, G. , Key, T. , Crowe, F. , Khaw, K.-T. , Wareham, N. , Ferrari, P. , Slimani, N. , Romieu, I. , Gallo, V. , Riboli, E. and Vineis, P. (2012). Fiber intake and total and cause-specifics mortality in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition cohort. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 96:164–174. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ). The relationship between dietary fiber and mortality has been described as “convincing observations that call for mechanistic investigations” (Landberg, 2012 Landberg, R. (2012). Dietary fiber and mortality: convincing observatins that call for mechanistic investigations. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 96:3–4. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ). In particular, the health protective roles played by dietary fibers of different origin are not well understood. Whilst Hippocrates was the earliest known physician to study the health benefits of fiber derived from grains (Burkitt, 1987 Burkitt, D. P. (1987). Dietary fibre historical aspects. Scand. J.Gastroentero 22(S129):10–13. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ), the functionality of fruit and vegetable fiber, especially in association with other compounds such as polyphenols and carotenoids, is an area of more recent interest. Hence the objective of this review is to assess the complexity and health-related functional role of plant cell wall (PCW) fibers from fruits and vegetables with a particular emphasis on interactions between cell walls and phytonutrients.

Polyphenols are naturally occurring compounds found largely in fruits and vegetables. The antioxidant properties of these polyphenols including total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), tannin content, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical (DPPH), 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzo-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) scavenging abilities and ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were measured among sixteen (16) plant foods (mango, blueberry, strawberry, black carrot, raspberry, dark grapes, garlic, ginger, onion, cherry, plum, apple, papaya, peach, pear and apricot) by modifying, standardising and translating existing antioxidant methods using a 96-well plate reader. Eighteen targeted phenolic acids and flavonoids were characterised and quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography-photometric diode array (HPLC-PDA) and verified by modifying an existing method of liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray-ionisation triple quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-QTOF/MS). While most of these compounds were accurately detected by the HPLC-PDA at a low concentration, a few polyphenols in low concentrations could be only be characterised using the LC-ESI-QTOF/MS method. Our results showed that mango possessed the highest overall antioxidant activity, phenolic acid and flavonoid content among the selected fruits. Factor analysis (FA) and Pearson’s correlation tests showed high correlations among ABTS, DPPH, FRAP and phenolic acids, implying the comparable capabilities of scavenging the DPPH/ABTS free radicals and reducing ferric ions from the antioxidant compounds in the samples. Phenolic acids contributed significantly to the antioxidant activities, and flavonoids contributed more to tannin content based on the correlations. Overall, methods modified and standardized in this study can provide better understanding of high throughput technologies and increase the reliability of antioxidant data of different plant foods.

Oxygen deprivation is rapidly deleterious for most organisms. However, Caenorhabditis elegans has developed the ability to survive anoxia for at least 48 hours. Mutations in the DAF-2/DAF-16 insulin-like signaling pathway promote such survival. We describe a pathway involving the HYL-2 ceramide synthase that acts independently of DAF-2. Loss of the ceramide synthase gene hyl-2 results in increased sensitivity of C. elegans to anoxia. C. elegans has two ceramide synthases, hyl-1 and hyl-2 , that participate in ceramide biogenesis and affect its ability to survive anoxic conditions. In contrast to hyl-2(lf) mutants, hyl-1(lf) mutants are more resistant to anoxia than normal animals. HYL-1 and HYL-2 have complementary specificities for fatty acyl chains. These data indicate that specific ceramides produced by HYL-2 confer resistance to anoxia.

Wine production is a complex process from the vineyard to the winery. On this journey, microbes play a decisive role. From the environment where the vines grow, encompassing soil, topography, weather and climate through to management practices in vineyards, the microbes present can potentially change the composition of wine. Introduction of grapes into the winery and the start of winemaking processes modify microbial communities further. Recent advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology have progressed our understanding of microbial communities associated with grapes and fermentations. We now have a finer appreciation of microbial diversity across wine producing regions to begin to understand how diversity can contribute to wine quality and style characteristics. In this review, we highlight literature surrounding wine-related microorganisms and how these affect factors interact with and shape microbial communities and contribute to wine quality. By discussing the geography, climate and soil of environments and viticulture and winemaking practices, we claim microbial biogeography as a new perspective to impact wine quality and regionality. Depending on geospatial scales, habitats, and taxa, the microbial community respond to local conditions. We discuss the effect of a changing climate on local conditions and how this may alter microbial diversity and thus wine style. With increasing understanding of microbial diversity and their effects on wine fermentation, wine production can be optimised with enhancing the expression of regional characteristics by understanding and managing the microbes present.

Summary: Microbial ecology and activity in wine production influences grapevine health and productivity, conversion of sugar to ethanol during fermentation, wine aroma, wine quality and distinctiveness. Fungi in the vineyard ecosystem are not well described. Here, we characterized the spatial and temporal dynamics of fungal communities associated with the grapevine (grapes, flowers, leaves, and roots) and soils over an annual growth cycle in two vineyards to investigate the influences of grape habitat, plant developmental stage (flowering, fruit set, veraison, and harvest), vineyards, and climatic conditions. Fungi were influenced by both the grapevine habitat and plant development stage. The core microbiome was prioritized over space and time, and the identified core members drove seasonal community succession. The developmental stage of veraison, where the grapes undergo a dramatic change in metabolism and start accumulating sugar, coincided with a distinct shift in fungal communities. Co‐occurrence networks showed strong correlations between the plant microbiome, the soil microbiome, and weather indices. Our study describes the complex ecological dynamics that occur in microbial assemblages over a growing season and highlight succession of the core community in vineyards.

The volatile thiol 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP) is a potent contributor to wine aroma. In grape juice, 4MMP is bound to cysteine as a non-volatile compound and requires the action of yeast during fermentation to release the aroma active thiol. A method was developed to measure 4MMP release from the precursor by headspace solid-phase microextraction and separation by gas chromatography with atomic emission detection to screen the ability of wine yeast to release 4MMP. Yeast commonly used in white wine making were grown with the precursor at two different temperatures, and the amount of 4MMP released was measured. The results demonstrate that yeast strain selection and fermentation temperature can provide an important tool to enhance or modulate the grape-derived aromas formed during wine fermentation.