28 documents found, page 1 of 3
Towards Botanical Authentication of Ginkgo Food Supplements: A Holistic Approac...
Grazina, Liliana; Paíga, Paula; Amaral, Joana S.; Costa, Joana; Moreira, Manuela M.; Delerue-Matos, Cristina; Mafra, IsabelGinkgo biloba is one of the most consumed medicinal plants and broadly included as an ingredient in plant food supplements (PFS) and herbal infusions, being potential targets for economically motivated adulteration. This work aimed at comparing the use of DNA and phytochemical markers to authenticate the botanical origin of ginkgo-leaf extracts and PFS. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect ginkgo DNA, ...
Authentication of incense (Pittosporum undulatum Vent.) honey from the Azores (...
Lopes, Ana; Moura, Monica B.M.V.; Grazina, Liliana; Costa, Joana; Amaral, Joana S.; Pinto, M. Alice; Mafra, Isabel'Mel dos Acores' is a unique nectar honey produced from the exceptional and diverse flora of the Azores archipelago, categorised as incense honey ('mel de incenso') or multifloral honey ('mel multiflora'). Incense honey should contain over 30 % of pollen grains of Pittosporum undulatum Vent. In this work, a real-time PCR method targeting the ITS region was proposed for the first time to detect P. undulatum in t...
Mass spectrometry-based approaches to assess the botanical authenticity of diet...
Grazina, Liliana; Mafra, Isabel; Monaci, Linda; Amaral, Joana S.Dietary supplements are legally considered foods despite frequently including medicinal plants as ingredients. Currently, the consumption of herbal dietary supplements, also known as plant food supplements (PFS), is increasing worldwide and some raw botanicals, highly demanded due to their popularity, extensive use, and/or well-established pharmacological effects, have been attaining high prices in the internat...
Authentication of carnaroli rice by HRM analysis targeting nucleotide polymorph...
Grazina, Liliana; Costa, Joana; Amaral, Joana S.; Garino, Cristiano; Arlorio, Marco; Mafra, IsabelCarnaroli is a high quality and priced variety, being considered as one of the finest Italian rice varieties due to its sensorial and rheological properties and, thus being a potential adulteration target. The present work aimed at exploiting polymorphisms in the Alk (A/G and GC/TT in exon 8) and Waxy ((CT)n and G/T in intron 1) genes by HRM analysis to differentiate Carnaroli rice from closely related varietie...
Botanical authentication of globe artichoke-containing foods: Differentiation o...
Grazina, Liliana; Batista, Andreia; Amaral, Joana S.; Costa, Joana; Mafra, IsabelCynara scolymus L., known as globe artichoke, is a medicinal plant widely used in plant food supplements (PFS) and herbal infusions due to its beneficial health properties. The high demand for artichoke-containing products can lead to adulteration practices. In this work, a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system coupled to high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis was proposed to differentiate C. scolymu...
Incense honey (Pittosporum undulatum) in the Azores: Botanical authentication b...
Lopes, Ana; Moura, Monica B.M.V.; Grazina, Liliana; Costa, Joana; Amaral, Joana S.; Pinto, M. Alice; Mafra, IsabelHoney is a widely consumed food and much appreciated for its nutritional, organoleptic, and health properties. The honey produced in the Azores archipelago can be categorised as incense honey or multifloral honey. Incense honey classification should account with >30% from Pittosporum undulatum pollen grains and it is generally perceived as a unique and high-quality product and, consequently, susceptible to be a...
Authentication of Argan (Argania spinosa L.) oil using novel DNA-based approach...
Amaral, Joana S.; Raja, Fatima Zahra; Costa, Joana; Grazina, Liliana; Villa, Caterina; Charrouf, Zoubida; Mafra, IsabelArgan oil is a traditional product obtained from the fruits of the argan tree (Argania spinosa L.), which is endemic only to Morocco. It is commercialized worldwide as cosmetic and food-grade argan oil, attaining very high prices in the international market. Therefore, argan oil is very prone to adulteration with cheaper vegetable oils. The present work aims at developing novel real-time PCR approaches to detec...
Tracing Styphnolobium japonicum (syn: Sophora japonica) as a potential adultera...
Grazina, Liliana; Amaral, Joana S.; Costa, Joana; Mafra, IsabelThe rising demand for ginkgo-containing products and their high economic value make them desirable targets for adulteration, particularly by the partial substitution with other plant species. Styphnolobium japonicum (plant rich in flavonol glycosides) is known as a potential adulterant of ginkgo-based foods. Therefore, this work aimed at developing a species-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) m...
High-resolution melting analysis as a tool for plant species authentication
Grazina, Liliana; Costa, Joana; Amaral, Joana S.; Mafra, IsabelHigh-resolution melting (HRM) analysis is a cost-effective, specific, and rapid tool that allows distinguishing genetically related plants and other organisms based on the detection of small nucleotide variations, which are recognized from melting properties of the double-stranded DNA. It has been widely applied in several areas of research and diagnostics, including botanical authentication of several food com...
Towards authentication of Korean ginseng-containing foods: differentiation of f...
Grazina, Liliana; Amaral, Joana S.; Costa, Joana; Mafra, IsabelPanax ginseng C.A. Meyer (Korean ginseng) is one of the most valuable medicinal plants, recognised for its neuroprotection and other beneficial health effects. It is present in a wide range of food products, namely plant food supplements (PFS) and herbal infusions. However, other Panax species, having distinct therapeutic effects, are also known as ginseng, pointing out the need of authenticating such products....