Purple flesh cultivated potato (PP) is a foodstuff scarcely cultivated in the world but with high potential because of its anthocyanin content. Moreover, it has been little explored as a source of anthocyanins (AT) for further applications in formulated food products. The main goal of this research was to study the effect of maltodextrin (MD) and spray drying conditions on the encapsulation efficiency (EE) and bioaccesibility of AT from purple flesh cultivated potato extract (PPE). The anthocyanin-rich extract was obtained from PP and microencapsulated by spray-drying, using MD as the encapsulating agent. A statistical optimization approach was used to obtain optimal microencapsulation conditions. The PPE microparticles obtained under optimal conditions showed 86% of EE. The protector effect of microencapsulation on AT was observed to be stable during storage and in vitro digestion. The AT degradation rate constant was significantly lower for the PPE-MD than for the PPE. The assessed bioaccesibility of AT from the PPE-MD was 20% higher than that of the PPE, which could be explained by the protective effect of encapsulation against environmental conditions. In conclusion, microencapsulation is an effective strategy to protect AT from PP, suggesting that AT may be an alternative as a stable colorant for use in the food industry.

Cultivated potato crops are sensitive to drought stress, reducing yield and tuber quality when the soil water potential drops to -0.3 MPa. However, drought not only affects plant growth and physiological activity, but this stress also induces biochemical and molecular changes in the cellular gene expression profile, triggering genes that play a direct role in plant protection and gene regulation. The genes involved in regulation include C-repeat Binding Factors/Dehydration responsive element binding (CBF/DREB) transcription factors, which increase cold, drought and salt tolerance in different plant species. The aim of this research was to evaluate whether the overexpression of the ScCBF1 gene from Solanum commersonii enhances drought stress tolerance in transgenic Solanum tuberosum and S. commersonii plantlets grown in vitro and induces drought adaptation mechanisms, such as osmoprotectors and genes for osmotic adjustment and membrane stability. Drought conditions were simulated through the addition of polyethylene glycol (PEG4000) to hormone-free MS medium. The vegetative growth, root development, proline content, and ScCBF1, Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS) and Dehydrins like genes (DNH10) expression were evaluated. The constitutive in vitro overexpression of ScCBF1 in both potato species showed better overall plantlet growth and root development under drought stress and higher proline levels in the stems and leaves. A significant increase in DNH10 expression was also associated with drought stress. In summary, the expression of ScCBF1 in potatoes induces responses associated with drought adaptation mechanisms, resulting in better overall plant growth.

The potato is the fourth most important crop in the world in terms of human food, after maize, wheat and rice (FAOSTAT, 2019). The cultivated potato is a vital food-security crop considering its worldwide growth, from latitudes 65° Lat N to 53° Lat S, high yield, and great nutritive value. The potato is a good source of dietary energy and micronutrients, and its protein content is high in comparison with other roots and tubers. The cultivated potato is also a concentrated source of vitamin C and some minerals such as potassium and magnesium. Tuber flesh color generally ranges from white to dark yellow in cultivated potato; however, the high potato diversity shows tuber flesh color varies from white to dark purple. Red and purple-flesh potatoes are an interesting alternative for consumers due to phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity. The goal of this publication is to show the advances in red and purple flesh potato, in terms of anthocyanin profile, color extraction and stability in simulated in vitro digestion.

The black carrot (Daucus carota L.) is a source of anthocyanins (AT), especially acylated forms, valued for their color and antioxidant properties, which are linked to the prevention of diseases caused by oxidative stress. However, their low robustness to pH and temperature limits their application. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of spray-drying microencapsulation of black carrot juice (BCJ) on the stability and bioaccessibility of AT. Spray-drying (SD) was used as an encapsulation technique with conventional (two-nozzle) and three-nozzle spray-drying, and maltodextrin (MD) was used as the encapsulating agent; sodium alginate (SA) was used as the outer layer. The optimal SD conditions were 150 °C and a BCJ:MD ratio of 1:2. Two systems were obtained: BCJ-MD and (BCJ-MD)-SA, both with encapsulation efficiencies above ~90%. During storage for 198 days at 60 °C, both systems significantly reduced the degradation constant compared to free juice, following pseudo-first-order kinetics. However, a critical finding was that in vitro bioaccessibility was significantly higher in the conventional BCJ-MD (~88%) compared to the BCJ-MD-SA system (~44%). These results suggest that maltodextrin alone is a more effective strategy for maximizing the in vitro bioaccessibility of black carrot anthocyanins, thereby providing a stable, highly bioaccessible healthy ingredient for the food industry.