Vanessa Giannetti

Simultaneous Determination of Phenolic Compounds in Red Wines by HPLC‐UV

Abstract Ten samples of commercially Italian red wines were analyzed in order to determine the phenolic content. Variations in wine types are largely due to differences in concentration and composition of these compounds. Polyphenolic compounds are a large and complex group of substances which constitute one of the most important quality parameters of wine. These constituents of red wine contribute to organoleptic characteristics and to antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory properties. Moderate wine consumption is associated with several beneficial physiological effects, which include anticancer activities, inhibition of platelet aggregation, and inhibition of LDL oxidation which constitutes the initial stage of the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis. For the analysis, reversed‐phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method coupled with UV‐Vis detection was used. The method uses a gradient elution to identify nine biologically active phenolic constituents: catechin; epicatechin; trans‐ and cis‐resveratrol; gallic, chlorogenic and caffeic acid; rutin and quercetin in red wine samples. The samples are injected directly without any pretreatment. The method is simple, fast, not expensive and shows good linearity for all constituents, and the detection limits ranged from 0.3–1.6 µg/ml for trans‐resveratrol and gallic acid, respectively. Moreover, the samples were analyzed in different times for estimation of stability of these compounds.

Furosine as a Pasta Quality Marker: Evaluation by an Innovative and Fast Chromatographic Approach

A fast and simple high-performance liquid chromatography method suitable for determining furosine level in heat-treated food samples was developed. The analysis of furosine was performed by a novel mixed-mode column that provides multiple and simultaneous retention mechanisms including cation-exchange, anion-exchange, reversed-phase, or hydrophilic interaction. Each retention mechanism could be independently controlled by setting chromatographic conditions. Adequate retention and selectivity of polar charged furosine were achieved by adjusting mobile phase pH, buffer concentration, organic content, and ionic strength. The optimized method was successfully applied to determinate furosine in durum wheat semolina pasta samples. Furosine level in pasta may be used as a reliable marker of health and nutritional damage occurring during pasta manufacture. Indeed, a low content of furosine is generally related to high nutritional quality of food and application of mild heat treatments. A wide range of dry pasta samples, collected from both supermarkets (large-scale retail trade) and shops selling local products, were analyzed. Variable amounts of furosine, ranging from 107 to 506 mg/100 g of protein, were found in pasta samples. The proposed method allows to discriminate products submitted to different time-temperature conditions during the drying process. At the same time, it may be used to highlight potential label fraud.

Enhanced Quality Control of Recycled Paperboard for Food Packaging

A method is reported for the industrial quality control of recycled paperboard for food contact applications. Benzophenones, phthalates, and diisopropyl naphthalene were selected as contamination markers. These compounds are commonly found in recycled paperboard packaging and are known to migrate even into dry nonfatty foods. The method was used to analyze commercial recycled board and involved sample pretreatment by accelerated solvent extraction, evaporation, and purification of the extract, and analysis by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The accelerated solvent extraction yields were compared with those obtained by Soxhlet extraction and extraction by immersion, and the recoveries of optimized procedures were estimated. The optimized method showed good repeatability, intermediate precision, and sensitivity. Because of the simplicity and partial automation, this method has potential application for the characterization of recycled paperboard.

Determination of Pesticide Residues in Cereals by Liquid Chromatography and UV Detection

Abstract A chromatographic method to determine pesticide residues in cereals by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultraviolet (UV) detection has been described. The study focused on the preliminary purification procedure because of the analytical problems associated with the presence in these food matrices of high-molecular-weight compounds, such as lipids, triglycerides, celluloses, and starch, which can interfere and reduce the chromatographic separation efficiency of the analytes. The method proposed is based on the extraction of pesticide residues from 5 g of sample extracted with the use of petroleum ether and on cleanup with a C18 cartridge. The pesticides were eluted with acetonitrile. The column packed with solid support was eluted with a suitable solvent, and only a portion of flow outlet side of the UV detector was collected. Using the information of standard UV trace, it was possible to establish an appropriate portion and to ensure the collection of all pesticides analyzed. The simple and rapid proposal method has shown good recovery (70–110%) for different spiked levels of samples (0.025–0.1 mg/Kg) and could be applied to other food matrices that containing high-molecular-weight compounds.

Monitoring of contaminants in recycled paperboard for food contact applications

BACKGROUND The lack of harmonized European legislation on food packaging led the Confederation of European Paper Industries to the proposal of a voluntary Industry Guideline for the compliance of paper and board materials for food contact applications. In the present work, a previously established method for the simultaneous determination of contaminants commonly found in recycled paperboard was improved and its applicability as a quality control tool in the paper industry was also assessed. The method involves a sample pre-treatment followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. RESULTS For analysis, paperboard samples were collected both from three sections of the same reel and from different reels belonging to the same production run. Results highlighted no significant differences in terms of contaminant distribution among samples, which ensured good sampling representativeness. The performance of the method was considerably improved in terms of linearity range, limits of detection and quantification (5- to 2-fold lower) by using a quadrupole GC/MS system instead of an ion trap GC/MS system. CONCLUSION The proposed method could offer a key strategy for analysis of benzophenone derivatives, diisopropyl naphthalene and phthalates in recycled paperboard in order to assess compliance of food packaging with the voluntary limits recommended by the Industry Guideline.

Maillard reaction products as markers of the durum wheat pasta manufacturing process: A commodity investigation

In the present work, three volatile Maillard reaction products (maltol, furfuryl alcohol, and furfural) were considered for their supposed ability to act as process markers of dry durum wheat pasta. Hence, a commodity investigation was performed on Made in Italy pasta products and the HS-SPME/GC-MS technique was adopted to detect the target compounds in sixty samples. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate whether the relative abundance of the flavour compounds can differentiate pasta samples processed through mild technologies (traditional methods) from that submitted to intense thermal stress during their elaboration (industrial methods). Results showed that the analysed products were efficiently discriminated according to their claimed manufacturing method by maltol, furfuryl alcohol, and furfural, which thus can serve as reliable pasta process indicators.