ABSTRACT Traditionally, edible flowers have been used in alternative medicine by several cultures around the world. Recently, they have gained in popularity as a new trend in worldwide gastronomy because they have been added as ingredients in food and beverages since they have important organoleptic properties and beneficial health effects. In fact, edible flower consumption has increased in the last years, and many works have demonstrated that they are essential sources of macronutrients, vitamins, and antioxidant compounds, which give benefits like prevention against illness associated with oxidative stress, some cardiovascular illness, and cancers, among others. Nowadays, the main studies about edible flowers are focused on their nutritional, functional, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. This review summarizes relevant information about the properties and bioactive compounds content of edible flowers, likewise, the acceptance and security risks of their consumption, highlighting the importance of their incorporation in human nutrition and the main biological activities. According to the revision process, the consumer acceptability of edible flowers and their inclusion in the human diet have been increased due to their positive health effects.

The present study determines the chemical composition of Schinus molle essential oil and its mortality and repellent effect on Bactericera cockerelli immature stage and Sitophilus zeamais adults. Twenty-four compounds were identified and the most abundant were o-Cymene (29.04), 1R-α-Pinene (15.52), camphene (14.00), and β-myrcene (11.54). On the fifth-instar psyllid nymph, the LC50 and LC90 at 48 h were 442.67 and 864.29 ppm, and for the fourth-instar were 273.41 and 534.67 ppm. The maize-weevil registered an LC50 and LC90 of 343.25 and 986.96 ppm for the fifteenth day. A selection index (Si) of 0.37 with 800 ppm was registered, showing the highest repellent activity, while with the lowest concentration (50 ppm), non-repellent activity was recorded. However, all concentrations above 100 ppm showed repellency against the maize weevil. The study reveals, for the first time, the essential oil’s insecticidal effects on the fourth and fifth nymphal stage of the potato/tomato psyllid B. cockerelli and the usefulness of the essential oil as a repellent against adult of S. zeamais. The Si effect on maize weevil was grouped into categories.

Fermented and/or protein-rich foods, the most widely consumed worldwide, are the most susceptible to the presence of high levels of biogenic amines (BAs). Many reviews have focused on BAs toxicity and presence in foods; however, technological strategies such as evaluation of physical parameters, the addition of natural or synthetic compounds or the use of specific starter cultures of BAs reduction, and quick detection methods have been scarcely approached. In current research, there has been a focus on fast detection of BAs through colorimetric methods that allow these compounds to be quickly and easily identified by consumers. To reduce BAs presence in food, several alternatives have been developed and investigated with the aim of preventing negative effects caused by their intake, which can be applied before, during, or after processing. Food safety is one of the most important concerns of consumer and sanitary authorities. Therefore, detecting toxins such as BAs in food has become a priority for research. Recent reports that focus on the development of rapid detection methods of BAs are reviewed in this analysis. These methods have been successfully applied to food matrices with little to no sample pretreatment. Several alternatives for BAs reduction in food was also summarized. These findings will help the food industry to improve its processes for developing safe food.

AbstractMaize (Zea mays L.) is Mexico's primary staple food, but the Country's degrading soils and climate variability limit its productivity. Conservation agriculture (CA), a management technique that combines minimal tillage, permanent soil cover, and crop diversification, could reduce soil degradation and help improve soil health. There is however a lack of information about the effects of CA on soil health in the diverse agroecological conditions in Mexico. This study reports results of a field trial network established to adapt CA to Mexico's diverse cropping systems and local conditions. Physicochemical soil health, also referred to as soil quality, was studied in 20 trials in agro‐ecologies ranging from handplanted traditional systems to intensive irrigated systems, initiated between 1991 and 2016. Soil in CA was compared to the local conventional practice (CP), which commonly involves tillage, residue removal, and continuous maize production. Across the sites, organic matter and nitrates were higher in the top (0–5 cm) layer of soil and soil aggregate stability was greater under CA than under CPs. For other soil health parameters, such as nutrient content, pH or penetration resistance, the effects of management varied widely across sites and soil types and most were determined more by local soil type than by management. CA increased maize yields at most sites and on average by 0.85 ± 1.80 t ha−1. Given the significant variation across agro‐ecologies, local adaptive trials are important to assess the effects of CA on soil health and fit the practice to local conditions.

The Mezquital Valley (MV), Mexico, is a semi-arid region whose main economic activity is agriculture, this zone is characterized by the use of wastewater for crop irrigation. This condition has increased the amount nutrients in soils, organic carbon content and native microorganisms. The Streptomyces species are a group of saprophytic bacteria that represent between 20 and 60% of the total microbial population in soils, capable of producing metabolites of commercial importance. In this work, Streptomyces species were isolated from agricultural soils of the MV and was evaluated the production of endoglucanases (CMCase) and xylanases (Xyl) in Solid-State Cultivation (SSC). From soil samples, 73 possible strains of Streptomyces species were isolated for their ability to produce CMCase and Xyl in SSC. The study also included its characterization by morphological characteristics. Of the isolated microorganisms, 38 strains were selected as strong enzyme producers according to the measurement of the halo generated in plate and by growth on barley straw as only carbon source. Two different sizes of barley straw particle were tested, finding that the greatest enzymatic activity was observed in particle size 12. Three strains of Streptomyces species were chosen which presented the best catalytic capacities, a maximum of 100.69 AU Xyl/gram dry matter (gdm), 82 AU Xyl/gdm and 26.02 AU CMCase/gdm for strains 30, 28 and 12, respectively. The strains were identified by ribosomal gen16s sequence and identified as S. flavogriseus, S. virginiae and S. griseoaurantiacus. It is the first report of endogluconase and xylanolytic activity by S. virginiae isolated from a semi-arid soil.

Lisianthus es una planta ornamental, que en los últimos años adquirió una gran importancia en el mercado nacional e internacional por su belleza y variedad de colores, este cultivo tradicionalmente se establece en suelo y hay poca información en relación con sus hábitos de crecimiento y desarrollo en sistemas hidropónicos. El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo evaluar por medio de imágenes digitales el cambio en el color de las hojas y de las flores en el cultivo de lisianthus en hidroponía con diferentes soluciones nutritivas. Las soluciones nutritivas (SN) ensayadas en el cultivo fueron cuatro, como testigo fue la solución Steiner (SN1) y el resto de los tratamientos fueron soluciones modificadas, en la (SN2) se utilizó el doble de la concentración de la solución Steiner, mientras que la (SN3) fue adicionada con una cantidad elevada de K y la SN4 con una mayor cantidad de calcio (18 mEq L-1), se evaluó altura y número de hojas obteniendo en ambos una diferencia significativa en la SN1 con respecto a la SN4, en cuanto a las características fenotípicas de la hoja y flor mediante los valores de RGB el color de la hoja no se vio afectada por los tratamientos a partir de las modificaciones que se le realizaron a la solución Steiner, la variable R solo presentó diferencia significativa en la SN1 con respecto a la SN4 con mayor cantidad de calcio, sin embargo no ocurrió lo mismo para las demás variables y solo este fenómeno se presentó en el día 61 DDT, en cuanto al efecto de la solución nutritiva sobre el color de las flores, se encontró una diferencia significativa en las variables R en la solución 1 (Steiner) G hubo diferencia en la solución con concentraciones altas de potasio lo mismo ocurrió para las variables artif iciales utilizadas.

The design of experiments (DOE) is a useful tool to define the most significative variables of a process, and the optimal operation conditions, or reduce the noise caused by uncontrollable variables. An advantage of the employ of DOE is the reduction of time required for analysis and costs associated. The Factorial, surface response methodology, and Taguchi have been employed to analyze the variables involved in the removal of heavy metal ions coming from wastewater by adsorption employing low-cost adsorbents, which include agro-industrial waste and biomass. The most important variables associated to increase of adsorption capacity and evaluated by researchers include temperature, pH, adsorbent dose, initial concentration of metal, and particle size.

Since 1912, it arises one of the irrigation districts oldest and most extensive in the world called “Irrigation District 03” (DR03), and it is in the Mezquital Valley in the State of Hidalgo, Mexico. This area is characterized by the reuse of wastewater from the City of Mexico to irrigation of oats, barley, cauliflower, turnip, wheat, zucchini, green chili, beans, green tomato, corn, and alfalfa, these last two crops being the economic potential in the region. The water coming from the Valley of Mexico is a mixture of urban, industrial, and rain wastewater presents a high load of pollutants organic, inorganic, and microbial contaminants that can be used as nutrients by the crops, increasing the yields of the region. However, health risk could be represented by putting at danger the safety of the food produced in this type of system due to its bioaccumulative properties. In addition to the above, the present work has the purpose of compiling cases studies on chemical contaminants in the agricultural system of the Mezquital Valley. Ranges of 3.9–47.0 mg kg−1 of lead have been reported in soils of the region, pharmaceutical waste (trimethoprim, erythromycin, naproxen, ibuprofen, and diclofenac) in wastewater, 0.9 mg kg−1 of cadmium in alfalfa, and 0.06 mg kg−1 of lead in corn plants among other compounds and pollutants. Consequently, it is essential to cover this demand without stopping economic development considering as a basis of the sustainable development and rational use of wastewater used for agricultural irrigation.