Common Fruit Research Articles

Evaluation of Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activity in 51 Minor Tropical Fruits of Ecuador.

Less common tropical fruits have been the subject of little research, leaving a vast field to be explored. In this context, a comprehensive study was carried out on the bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of 51 non-traditional fruits consumed in Ecuador. Vitamin C, organic acids, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds were evaluated using microextraction and rapid resolution liquid chromatography (RRLC) techniques, while antioxidant activity was measured using microplate readings. The results showed high levels of vitamin C (768.2 mg/100 g DW) in Dovyalis hebecarpa, total organic acids (37.2 g/100 g DW) in Passiflora tripartita, carotenoids (487.0 mg/100 g DW) in Momordica charantia, phenolic compounds (535.4 mg/g DW) in Nephelium lappaceum, Pourouma cecropiifolia (161.4 µmol TE/g DW) and Morus alba (80.5 µmol AAE/g DW) in antioxidant activity. Effective extraction of carotenoids was also observed using a mixture of methanol: acetone: dichloromethane (1:1:2) with an extraction time of 2 min, while an 80% solution of 0.1% acidified methanol with hydrochloric acid with an extraction time of 3 min was highly effective for phenolics in fruit. These results provide a valuable basis for optimising future extraction processes of bioactive compounds from non-traditional fruits, with significant implications for their potential use in various nutritional and pharmaceutical contexts.

Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES): Beyond the guidelines.

Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) is a non-immunoglobulin E (IgE) cell mediated food allergy that can cause severe symptoms and is considered an allergic emergency. To describe FPIES epidemiology and appraise the approach to diagnosis and management. A review of the relevant articles published in the peer-reviewed journals since the publication of the First International FPIES Consensus Guidelines in 2017. FPIES is estimated to affect 0.51-0.9% of children and 0.22% of adults in the United States. It typically presents with protracted, projectile vomiting, which occurs within 1-4 hours of ingesting culprit foods, sometimes followed by diarrhea within 24 hours of ingestion. In ∼15-20% of severe cases, patients go into hypovolemic or distributive shock. In chronic FPIES, infants may have failure to thrive and weight loss. The most common triggers include cow's milk, oat, rice, and avocado, with egg and peanut being more frequently reported. Examples of other common fruit and vegetable triggers include banana, apple, and sweet potato. FPIES can be classified into acute, chronic, adult-onset, or atypical subtypes. FPIES is associated with comorbid atopic conditions of IgE-mediated food allergy, atopic dermatitis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eosinophilic esophagitis. The natural history of infantile FPIES is generally favorable, with the exception of fish FPIES. Seafood FPIES in adults has low rates of resolution over 3-5 years. Correctly identifying FPIES can be challenging because there are no specific biomarkers for diagnosis and the constellation of symptoms may mimic those of infectious enteritis or sepsis. Management relies on dietary food avoidance, periodic re-evaluations for tolerance with oral food challenges, and management of acute reactions with rehydration and antiemetic ondansetron. Although the pathophysiology of FPIES remains poorly understood, underlying mechanisms such as cytokine release, leukocyte activation, and impaired gastrointestinal mucosal barrier function may act as cornerstones for further research. Prevention, laboratory diagnostic testing, and strategies to accelerate tolerance development are urgent unmet needs in FPIES.

Network pharmacology-based pharmacological mechanism prediction of Lycii Fructus against postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) has become one of most frequent bone diseases worldwide with aging population. Lycii Fructus, a common plant fruit with the property of drug homologous food, has long since been used to treat PMOP. The aim of this study is to explore pharmacological mechanisms of Lycii Fructus against PMOP through using network pharmacology approach. The active ingredients of Lycii Fructus were obtained from Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology database. Target fishing was performed on these ingredients in UniProt database for identification of the relative targets. Then, we screened the targets related to PMOP using GeneCards database and DisGeNET database. The overlapping genes between PMOP and Lycii Fructus were obtained to perform protein-protein interaction, gene ontology analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis. A total of 35 active ingredients were identified in Lycii Fructus, and fished 158 related targets. Simultaneously, 292 targets associated with PMOP were obtained from GeneCards database and DisGeNET database. By drawing Venn diagram, 41 overlapping genes were obtained, and were considered as therapeutically relevant. Gene ontology enrichment analysis predicted that anti-inflammation and promotion of angiogenesis might be 2 potential mechanism of Lycii Fructus for PMOP treatment. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis revealed several pathways, such as IL-17 pathway, TNF pathway, MAPK pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and HIF signaling pathway were involved in regulating these 2 biological processes. Through the method of network pharmacology, we systematically investigated the mechanisms of Lycii Fructus against PMOP. The identified multi-targets and multi-pathways provide new insights to further determinate its exact pharmacological mechanisms.

The Growth Activity and Productivity of Apple Trees Depending on the Form of the Crown and the Time of Pruning

Abstract The apple tree is the most common fruit crop in the temperate climate zone. Modern intensive fruit cultivation involves the use of new, highly productive cultivars and cultivation technologies, thanks to the creation of small crown shapes with an increased number of trees per hectare. Reducing planting patterns and creating more dense plantation systems can significantly improve their yields. However, the limiting factor that can reduce tree productivity and deteriorate fruit quality is the degree of crown illumination. Ensuring even access of sunlight to all parts of the crown is the main task in the formation and pruning trees. The study aimed to determine the effect of crown pruning at BBCH 0 (winter) and BBCH 74 (early summer) and various types of crown formation on the growth activity and productivity of ‘Fuji’ and ‘Honeycrisp’ apple trees. A significant decrease (20%) in the number of newly formed shoots in the form of the French axis crown compared to the ballerina and slender spindle crowns was found. However, their length and total growth were significantly higher. The formation of the ballerina crown (with the removal of overgrown wood in the 25 cm zone on the central conductor above the lower tier of semi-cross-branched branches) contributed to a decrease in shoot length and total growth. The introduction of crown pruning in the summer also improved crown illumination – shoot length decreased by 17% and total growth by 12%. Specific productivity per bole cross-section and total shoot length was the highest in ballerina crown trees, followed by trees with a slender spindle crown, and trees pruned in winter and summer.

Fe3+ assisted water-soluble nickel nanocluster for the “on-off-on” fluorescence determination of ascorbic acid

An “on-off-on” fluorescent sensor has been constructed to determine ascorbic acid (AA) based on water-soluble glutathione-decorated nickel nanoclusters (NiNCs) with assistance of trivalent iron ions (Fe3+). The fluorescence could be effectively quenched (off) upon adding Fe3+ due to aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) and the internal filtering effect (IFE). Meanwhile, the fluorescence of NiNCs–Fe3+ systems could be again recovered (on) after introducing AA, which is attributed for the redox reaction between Fe3+ and AA. The sensor can detect AA in the linear range of 20–200 μmol/L with a LOD of 7.45 μmol/L. More importantly, the proposed approach has been successfully applied for the detection of AA content in commercially available tablets and beverages as well as in common fruits with satisfactory recovery ranges, suggesting the potential sensing platform for AA detection. Therefore, the prepared sensor offers distinct advantages including low cost, simple operation, good sensitivity, and high selectivity, which has a broad application prospect of metal nanoclusters.

Cadmium, Nickel and Zinc Concentration in Some Common Fruits Samples Collected from Different Super Shops Located in Dhaka City and Probable Health Risk Assessment

Heavy metals concentration in fruits samples collected from different super shops were determined by using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry and potential health risk from the consumption of these fruits was estimated. Mean concentration of Cd, Ni and Zn in the studied fruits samples (Fuji Apple, Green Apple, Red Grape, Green Grape, Pear, Malta and Pomegranate) were within the range of 0.00 to 0.15, 0.17 to 10.78, 3.44 to 19.88 mg/kg for Agora; 0.00 to 0.20, 0.00 to 42.75, 3.20 to 13.40 mg/ kg for Meena Bazaar and 0.00 to 0.15, 0.60 to 18.65, 4.31 to 17.68 mg/kg of dry weight, for Swapno, respectively. Cadmium concentration was the highest in Fuji Apple and Red Grape (0.15 mg/kg) samples, which was higher than MAC value by FAO/ WHO, collected from Swapno. The highest Nickel concentration (42.75 mg/kg) was found in Green Grape, collected from Meena Bazaar, which was 53.44 times higher than MAC value according to FAO/WHO. Mean concentration of metals were found above the maximum allowable limit in most of the fruits though mean Average Daily Intake (ADI) values were below the PMTDI value for all fruits. The Hazard Quotient (HQ) and Hazard Index (HI) values for all metals were below 1.00 which signifies that these fruits were not carcenogenic but continuous consumption of some of high metals containing fruits sold in the market is imposing threat to food security

Research Progress of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Promoting Citrus Growth

Citrus, the world’s most common fruit, boasts an abundance of resources and varieties and possesses a high commodity value. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and citrus roots can form a symbiotic relationship, promoting citrus growth, improving its disease resistance, and increasing the quality of the fruits. However, the literature lacks a detailed understanding of the symbiotic citrus–AMF relationship in cultivation. In this study, we reviewed the diversity (different citrus species and habitats), stress resistance (disease, drought, saline-alkali, temperature stresses), expression of defense genes, and underlying mechanisms of symbiotic AMF in citrus. Our aim was to provide a robust reference point and offer valuable insights to guide future studies on citrus symbiotic AMF and their applications in citrus planting. This review could help to facilitate AMF applications in citrus biological control (particularly in the citrus Huanglongbing) and sustainable development.

Development of a multispectral spatial-frequency domain imaging system for property and quality assessment of fruits and vegetables

Thanks to the unique features of wide-field, label-free and depth-resolved imaging, spatial-frequency domain imaging (SFDI) technique has witnessed rapid and considerable progress in biomedical, agricultural and food engineering. This paper reports on the design, characterization and calibration of a multipurpose, multispectral SFDI system (550, 600, 630, 675, 710 and 730 nm) for property and quality assessment of fruits and vegetables. The system was mainly composed of illumination unit, imaging unit and sample stage. Customized software was developed to synchronously control pattern generation and shift, light illuminating, image acquisition and saving. Multiple parameters, including field of view, spatial resolution, uniformity, linearity, repeatability and stability, were used to characterize or calibrate the multispectral SFDI system from a systematic view, based on a set of experiments using optical phantoms. The results indicate that the constructed multispectral SFDI system can be used to collect optical property parameters of common fruits and vegetables after calibration. Then the multispectral SFDI system was applied to measure the optical properties of six types of fruits and vegetables (apple, pear, cucumber, tomato, white and green radish), and the measured optical property mappings were utilized for detecting early-stage bruise, which cannot be observed by naked eyes or even conventional uniform lighting imaging. The results demonstrated that the multispectral SFDI system was capable of measuring optical properties, and the reduced scattering coefficient mapping was superior to the absorption coefficient mapping in detecting early-stage bruise. Selection of effective characteristic wavelength could further enhance the bruise detection.

Design and fabrication of a gripper propotype for a fruit harvesting machine

In Vietnam, post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables are very high. According to analysis reports, Vietnam must invest more in harvesting and post-harvest technologies to enhance the global competitiveness of agricultural products, including fruits and vegetables. Fruit harvesting machines are an effective solution to enhance the quality of agricultural products, including fruits and vegetables. The gripper can be considered the most important component of a harvesting machine when it comes to horticulture products, since it acts as interface between the robotic system and product. To pick up fruits, which frequently have complex shapes and poor mechanical properties, a gripper must be designed carefully. In addition to being able to pick the produce, it is crucial that a gripper does not damage the fruit during harvest. The weak force may cause the gripper to be unable to pick the fruit. If excessive force is applied or improper picking technique is used, the grippers could damage fruits. However, Vietnam has not widely adopted the use of automatic machine in agriculture. This is due to the uniqueness of fruits in each region; for example, fruits in Vietnam have their own shape and mechanical properties. Therefore, it is occasionally inappropriate to utilize harvesters that have already been imported. This paper shows the development and fabrication of a gripper for common Vietnam fruit grasping. A new prototype has been fabricated by 3D printing method and tested in the laboratory. The prototype of a gripper has been subjected to simulation and experimental testing with real fruits to verify that the proposed model is capable of meeting all objectives’ requirements. The proposed gripper was straightforward and efficient. The developed device exhibited dependability and stability and is suitable for farmers who require independent harvesting. In addition, the designed gripper can be produced at a lower cost than comparable machines developed by other commercial products. Key words: Harvesting machine, gripper, Solidwork, prototype, 3D printing, low-cost production

The primary neurotoxic factor, Lansamide I, from Clausena lansium fruits and metabolic dysfunction invoked

Wampee (Clausena lansium) is a common fruit in South Asia. The pulp is a tasty food, and the seed is a typical traditional herb in China. However, we identified a primary toxic compound, Lansamide I, by NMR and X-ray diffraction of single-crystal. The compound occurred at 4.17 ± 0.16 mg/kg of dried seed and 0.08 ± 0.01 g/kg of fresh fruit. In our phenotype-based toxicity investigation, the compound caused decreased hatchability of zebrafish eggs, increased malformations such as enlarged yolk sacs and pericardial edema, and delayed body length development. Moreover, the compound also caused nerve cell damage and decreased locomotor activity. The compound caused an increase in peroxidation levels in vivo, with increases in both malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase levels, but did not interfere with acetylcholinesterase levels. Metabolomic studies found that the compound caused significant up-regulation of 16 metabolites, mainly amino acids and peptides, which were involved in the nucleotide metabolism pathway and the betaine biosynthesis module. The qRT-PCR revealed that the substance interfered with the mRNA expression of tat and dctpp. These discoveries offer fresh perspectives on the toxicity mechanisms and metabolic response to the primary harmful molecules in wampee, which could inform the rational usage of wampee resources.

Mycoflora of strawberry plants

Goal. To identify fungi associated with the tissues of strawberry plants and evaluate the frequency of their isolation at different stages of plant growth.
 Methods. The research was conducted in the Right Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine (Cherkasy Region) in 2021—2023, cv. ‘Clery’. Plant samples were taken in the phases of rosette formation (April), budding-flowering (May), fruit ripening (June) and in the post-harvest period (July-August). The analysis was carried out in laboratory conditions using macroscopic and biological methods.
 Results. During the research period, fungi belonging to 27 genera were isolated from strawberry tissues. In general, they can be divided into three groups: pathogens of leaves, which is the most numerous, berries, roots and crown. Representatives of the genera Alternaria, which were isolated from 57—100% of samples, and Fusarium (40—88%) occurred most often. Less often, but also during the entire growing season, Penicillium spp. (36—69%), Podosphaera aphanis (11—80%), Botrytis cinerea (27—67%), Paraphomopsis obscurans (24—77%) were isolated. Among the leaf diseases powdery mildew was recorded during all growing season, with a maximum in the fruit ripening phase. White leaf spot was observed starting from the budding-flowering phase, and leaf scorch was found from the fruit ripening phase. Gray rot was the most common fruit disease. The root system was more often affected by Fusarium spp.
 Conclusions. The obtained results demonstrate that during the entire growing season fungi of the genera Alternaria, Fusarium, Penicillium, as well as Podosphaera aphanis, Botrytis cinerea and Paraphomopsis obscurans were most often isolated from strawberry tissues. R.grevilleana was isolated starting from the budding-flowering phase, and D. earlianum from the fruit ripening phase. Species from the genera Podosphaera, Ramularia, Diplocarpon, Colletotrichum, Pestalotiopsis, Verticillium, Sclerotinia, Gnomoniopsis, Rhizoctonia, Coniella, Rhizopus, Septoria, Cylindrocarpon require constant control of their spread. Under favorable conditions for their development, they can cause damage to plants and a significant lack of harvest. The seasonal monitoring of fungi on strawberry provides a means for establishing the optimal periods for their control and developing effective disease protection system.

Non‐native mammals are weak candidates to substitute ecological function of native avian seed dispersers in an island ecosystem

AbstractAlthough prominent examples exist of non‐native species causing substantial ecological harm, many have neutral or positive effects, including filling surrogate roles once performed by extinct native organisms. We tested the ecological roles of two non‐native mammals as seed dispersers or seed predators in Guåhan, which, due to invasive brown tree snakes (Boiga irregularis), is devoid of native seed dispersers–birds and bats. We conducted feeding trials with captive rats (Rattus spp.), which are present but uncommon due to predation by snakes, and pigs (Sus scrofa), which are abundant. We examined if and how they interacted with common forest fruits. We then compared how any gut‐passed or animal‐handled seeds germinated compared to seeds left in whole fruit or depulped seeds. Rats and pigs interacted with most of the fruits and seeds (>80%) that they were fed. Of those, most seeds were destroyed—78% for rats and 90% for pigs, across both native and non‐native plant species. Compared to seeds germinating within whole fruits, rats improved germination of the seeds that they handled without ingesting, while pigs diminished the germination of seeds that they handled. The small percentage of seeds (approximately 1.5% for rats and 5% for pigs) that survived gut passage germinated in higher proportions than those in whole fruits. Percentages of seed survival to germination are lower than found in similar studies with native avian frugivores. Our results indicate that pigs and rats have mixed effects on seeds, but are not suitable surrogates for native seed dispersers.

Plant growth regulator residues in fruits and vegetables marketed in Yinchuan and exposure risk assessment

Data on plant growth regulators (PGRs) in common fruits and vegetables remain deficient. Supermarkets and farmers’ markets in three districts, two counties, and one city in Yinchuan with high traffic flow were selected and randomly sampled using the five-point sampling method. The QuEChERS pre-treatment method, combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, was used for detection. High-end exposure to PGRs was calculated via the chronic dietary risk assessment method from the point assessment model. The linearity of the components was good, (range: 0.2–100 ng/mL) with correlation coefficients ≥ 0.9962. Of the 25 PGRs examined, 16 were detected. The exceedances were as follows: chlormequat chloride and succinic acid 2,2-dimethylhydrazide in three and one batches of fruits, respectively, and gibberellin in four and six batches of vegetables, respectively. The same batch of fruits and vegetables could contain multiple PGRs, with seven PGRs detected in green dates and six in strawberries. In total, 10 batches of sprouts, six batches of fresh mushrooms, five of fruits and vegetables, one of leafy vegetables, and one of melons had excessive amounts of PGRs. The mean and median exposures were 0.0–0.832 mg/d and 0.0–0.453 mg/d, respectively. Although individual exceedances of PGRs were observed, most were at low levels, indicating that the corresponding risk was acceptable for human consumption.

Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity and Drug Delivery Potential of Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles from Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. 'Dahongpao'.

Plant extracellular vesicles (PEVs) have attracted increasing attention due to their rich composition, good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, and ability to transport drugs. As a common fruit, citrus is an ideal material for extracting PEVs because of the diversity and abundance of bioactive substances in it. In our study, citrus-derived extracellular vesicles (CEVs) were extracted from red mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. 'Dahongpao') and it was found that they contain high levels of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. The high levels of total phenols and total flavonoids suggest that CEVs have good chemical antioxidant properties. We also demonstrated through cell experiments that CEVs have significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Furthermore, we found that CEVs have an encapsulation rate of 71.5 ± 0.19% and a high drug-carrying capacity of 4.96 ± 0.22% and can enhance antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity when loaded with tangeretin. Our results show that CEVs contain abundant bioactive components, have low toxicity, exhibit good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and can serve as drug delivery agents. This study has important implications for utilizing citrus materials and developing natural anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory biomaterials.

Flexible Modelling of Diel and Other Periodic Variation in Hidden Markov Models

Animal behaviour is often characterised by periodic patterns such as seasonality or diel variation. Such periodic variation can be comprehensively studied from the increasingly detailed ecological time series that are nowadays collected, e.g. using GPS tracking. Within the class of hidden Markov models (HMMs), which is a popular tool for modelling time series driven by underlying behavioural modes, periodic variation is commonly modelled by including trigonometric functions in the linear predictors for the state transition probabilities. This parametric modelling can be too inflexible to capture complex periodic patterns, e.g. featuring multiple activity peaks per day. Here, we explore an alternative approach using penalised splines to model periodic variation in the state-switching dynamics of HMMs. The challenge of estimating the corresponding complex models is substantially reduced by the expectation–maximisation algorithm, which allows us to make use of the existing machinery (and software) for nonparametric regression. The practicality and potential usefulness of our approach is demonstrated in two real-data applications, modelling the movements of African elephants and of common fruit flies.

Digestion under saliva, simulated gastric and small intestinal conditions and fermentation in vitro by human gut microbiota of polysaccharides from Ficus carica Linn.

Previous studies have shown that Ficus carica polysaccharide (FCPS) extracted from common fig fruit exhibits antioxidant and immune-enhancing properties. Nevertheless, it remains uncertain whether FCPS can modulate the metabolism of gut microbiota. This study aims to assess whether the polysaccharides from two different types of figs can be broken down by the upper digestive system, including saliva, simulated stomach, and small intestinal conditions, and whether the gut microbiota can utilize them (Mw = 4.59 × 104 (LFCP, Low molecular weight), Mw = 6.08 × 104(HFCP, High molecular weight)). The results revealed that FCPS retained its molecular weight and reducing sugar content even after passing through the upper digestive system, indicating its safe arrival in the gut without undergoing decomposition. In vitro FCPS fermentation of gut microbiota lowered the pH and produced more gas in the order of LFCP<HFCP, LFCP>HFCP, respectively, indicating that it can be broken down and utilized by the microbiota. Additionally, the amount of short-chain fatty acids increased notably (LFCP < HFCP), indicating the higher the molecular weight, the stronger the acid production capacity. FCPS demonstrated the ability to significantly decrease the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio, potentially inhibiting obesity and inflammation. Therefore, FCPS is a promising functional food with potential to enhance health and prevent disease by promoting gut health.

Fruits and Vegetables Recognition System in Dzongkha Using Visual Geometry Group Network

English speaking among the youth is gaining popularity in Bhutan. The Ministry of Education and Dzongkha Development Commission have been trying to promote the national language through different strategies. Furthermore, developed interesting learning materials in Dzongkha. However, youth find it difficult even to name common fruits and vegetables in Dzongkha, and this is an increasing concern. The purpose of this study was to develop an automatic fruit recognition system in Dzongkha using machine learning techniques. Ten classes of fruits and 17 classes of veg- etables that are found in Bhutan are considered for the study. The fruits and vegetable datasets were downloaded from Kaggle and Websites. Furthermore, images were augmented and rotated every 15 degrees. The dataset comprised 405000 images. The model was trained and deployed using customized VGGNet and Gradio. The training and vali- dation accuracy of the proposed model was 97.76% and 97.80% respectively.

YOLOv7-Plum: Advancing Plum Fruit Detection in Natural Environments with Deep Learning.

The plum is a kind of delicious and common fruit with high edible value and nutritional value. The accurate and effective detection of plum fruit is the key to fruit number counting and pest and disease early warning. However, the actual plum orchard environment is complex, and the detection of plum fruits has many problems, such as leaf shading and fruit overlapping. The traditional method of manually estimating the number of fruits and the presence of pests and diseases used in the plum growing industry has disadvantages, such as low efficiency, a high cost, and low accuracy. To detect plum fruits quickly and accurately in a complex orchard environment, this paper proposes an efficient plum fruit detection model based on an improved You Only Look Once version 7(YOLOv7). First, different devices were used to capture high-resolution images of plum fruits growing under natural conditions in a plum orchard in Gulin County, Sichuan Province, and a dataset for plum fruit detection was formed after the manual screening, data enhancement, and annotation. Based on the dataset, this paper chose YOLOv7 as the base model, introduced the Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM) attention mechanism in YOLOv7, used Cross Stage Partial Spatial Pyramid Pooling-Fast (CSPSPPF) instead of Cross Stage Partial Spatial Pyramid Pooling(CSPSPP) in the network, and used bilinear interpolation to replace the nearest neighbor interpolation in the original network upsampling module to form the improved target detection algorithm YOLOv7-plum. The tested YOLOv7-plum model achieved an average precision (AP) value of 94.91%, which was a 2.03% improvement compared to the YOLOv7 model. In order to verify the effectiveness of the YOLOv7-plum algorithm, this paper evaluated the performance of the algorithm through ablation experiments, statistical analysis, etc. The experimental results showed that the method proposed in this study could better achieve plum fruit detection in complex backgrounds, which helped to promote the development of intelligent cultivation in the plum industry.

A Thin-Layer Chromatography Method for the Determination of Essential Oil Components in Anise and Fennel Fruits

Scientific relevance. The State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation, edition XIV, requires the identification of aniseed and fennel fruits by the same thin-layer chromatography (TLC) procedure using Sudan III and menthol. These markers are neither specific nor related to the therapeutic effects of these herbal drug products. The visual interpretation of chromatograms is complicated because of the low intensity of adsorption zones. Moreover, the corresponding compendial monographs do not characterise the adsorption zones specific to each of the plants. The most abundant component in aniseed and fennel essential oils, trans-anethole, would make a better reference standard from a methodological point of view.Aim. This study aimed to optimise the TLC procedure for essential oil determination in herbal drugs and herbal medicinal products of aniseed and fennel fruits and subsequently recommend it for inclusion in the relevant compendial monographs.Materials and methods. The study examined samples from several batches of herbal drugs, including aniseed and common fennel fruits, sourced from Russian manufacturers. The reference standards comprised commercial reagents, including trans-anethole, anise oil, and linalool, as well as fresh essential oils that had been steam distilled from the test samples in a Clevenger apparatus. The study was conducted by TLC. Sample preparation involved using Merck aluminium TLC plates, an IKA KS-501 digital orbital shaker, and a CAMAG Linomat 5 semi-automatic sample application system. The authors heated the plates in either a Binder ED53 drying oven or a CAMAG TLC plate heater. For visualisation, the authors selected a CAMAG TLC VISUALIZER 2 UV imaging and documentation system.Results. The informational and experimental research showed the feasibility of using trans-anethole as an identification reference standard for common anise and fennel fruits. The authors selected the optimal solvent for extracting active substances from the test products (hexane) and a detection reagent for improving visual evaluation of the chromatograms (1% sulfovanillin). The authors established characteristic adsorption zones for differentiating between aniseed and fennel fruits.Conclusions. The optimised procedure identifies the main components in the essential oils of aniseed and fennel fruits with a specific reference standard. This procedure may be recommended for inclusion in draft monographs for the corresponding herbal medicinal products.

Enhancing the antioxidant and antifungal properties of polyphenols through encapsulation in β-lactoglobulin nanoparticles using emulsification-evaporation technique

Numerous studies have demonstrated the potential of banana blossom polyphenols as antioxidants and antifungal agents. However, their application in the food field is extremely limited due to their vulnerability to environmental conditions. This study aims to increase the stability of banana blossom polyphenols and explore their potential in food preservation, particularly against fungal infections. To achieve this, β-lactoglobulin@ferulic acid-quercetin-vanillic acid nanoparticles (N-β-LG@FA-QT-VA) with a particle size of 74.5–80.7 nm were successfully obtained using β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) as the encapsulating material, combined with protein heating modification and emulsification-evaporation techniques. The encapsulation process resulted in a significant increase in antioxidant activity, with an improvement of 42.3% over the free polyphenols. Furthermore, N-β-LG@FA-QT-VA nanoparticles displayed significantly higher antifungal activity and fruit preservation abilities compared to β-LG and FA-QT-VA mixtures. They effectively inhibited the germination and expansion of Penicillium digitatum, a common fruit pathogen. Applying this knowledge, these nanoparticles were tested on orange fruits inoculated with P. digitatum. A successful delay in green mold infection and decay was observed, demonstrating the potential of N-β-LG@FA-QT-VA nanoparticles as a natural alternative to synthetic fungicides, all while maintaining fruit quality.