High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Phenolic Acids in Fruits and Vegetables

A simple isocratic HPLC technique has been developed for the quantitative analysis of phenolic acids (PAs) in fruits and vegetables. Nine benzoic and cinnamic acid derivatives were separated in less than 30 min, and the resolution was all more than 1.23. The ranges of linearity for PAs standards were 0.2-100 ng, even up to 600 ng (r = 0.983-1.000) and the detection limits were 0.02-0.24 mg/kg. Samples of fresh vegetables and fruits were extracted with 80% mcthanol and ethyl acetate, then purified with C18 Sep-Pak cartridge and determined by HPLC. This method was applied to the determination of PAs in 7 kinds of fruits and vegetables, i.e., apple, pear, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, turnip, soybean sprout and white grape wine. The content of the 9 PAs varied widely in the 7 kinds ol'foods studied. The average concentrations ofchlorogenic acid in apple (100.2 mg/kg) and pear (30.8 mg/kg) were quite high, and sinapinic acid was remarkable (42.5 mg/kg) in Chinese cabbage, and protocatechuic acid had the highest concentration of all the PAs in white wine.

Relationship between Ponkan Mandarin Fruit Quality and Nutrient Concentrations

Five age groups of trees were carried out in order to study relationships between the deterioration of Ponkan mandarin fruit quality and changes in tissues nutrient concentrations with tree age.Fruit quality and nutrient concentrations in fruits and leaves were measured.Comprehensive fruit quality decreased in the order:5-year-old > 13-year-old > 38-year-old > 8-year-old >18-year-old.In 18-year-old trees,calcium(Ca) concentrations of fruit and leaf were lower,while potassium(K) and boron(B) concentrations of fruit and magnesium(Mg) and manganese(Mn) concentrations of leaf were higher.Negative relationships were observed between fruit total soluble solids and leaf B,while positive relationships were observed between fruit total soluble solids and leaf and fruit Ca concentrations,and between titratable acidity and leaf Mn.Fruit quality decreasing with tree age most likely resulted from an imbalance of high K,Mg and B but lower Ca concentrations in leaves and fruits.

Switch-on fluorescence sensor for ascorbic acid detection based on MoS2 quantum dots-MnO2 nanosheets system and its application in fruit samples

In this work,molybdenum disulfide quantum dots（MoS2 QDs） were firstly prepared by hydrothermal method using sodium molybdate and glutathione as precursors,and applied in ascorbic acid detection.When joining MnO2 nanosheets into MoS2 QDs solution,they produced an obvious fluorescence quenching,which should be due to inner filter effect（IFE）.Meanwhile,the fluorescent probe was formed,Interestingly,we found that this quenching phenomenon disappeared with the addition of ascorbic acid,In other words,the fluorescence gradually restored.This recovery phenomenon is mainly due to the reduction effect of ascorbic acid for MnO2 nanosheets.Under the optimum conditions,the limit of detection（LOD） of 39 nmol/L for ascorbic acid was achieved with a linear range of 0.33-5.00 μmol/L.The repeatability was better than 5.0% for ascorbic acid in both standard and fruit samples（n = 3）.Moreover,the as-fabricated fluorescent sensing system was successfully employed to detect the ascorbic acid levels in hawthorn and jujube with satisfactory results.

Genomic insights into citrus domestication and its important agronomic traits

Citrus originated in Southeast Asia,and it has become one of the most important fruit crops worldwide.Citrus has a long and obscure domestication history due to its clonal propagation,long life cycle,wide sexual compatibility,and complex genetic background.As the genomic information of both wild and cultivated citrus becomes available,their domestication history and underlying traits or genes are becoming clear.This review outlines the genomic features of wild and cultivated species.We propose that the reduction of citric acid is a critical trait for citrus domestication.The genetic model representing the change during domestication may be associated with a regulatory complex known as WD-repeat-MYB-bHLH-WRKY(WMBW),which is involved in acidification and anthocyanin accumulation.The reduction in or loss of anthocyanins may be due to a hitchhiking effect of fruit acidity selection,in which mutation occurs in the common regulator of these two pathways in some domesticated types.Moreover,we have summarized the domestication traits and candidate genes for breeding purposes.This review represents a comprehensive summary of the genes controlling key traits of interest,such as acidity,metabolism,and disease resistance.It also sheds light on recent advances in early flowering from transgenic studies and provides a new perspective for fast breeding of citrus.Our review lays a foundation for future research on fruit acidity,flavor,and disease resistance in citrus.