Green Lemon Research Articles

Spectrophotometric Determination of Vitamin C Using Indirect Oxidation with a New Organic Dye

Background: In this study, the concentration of vitamin C was determined in various sources such as vitamins tablets, fruit juices, but particularly in natural fresh fruits e.g orange, lemon, mandarin, green lemon and lime as well as industrial juices from different companies. Methods: A simple, sensitive and accurate spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of vitamin C in pharmaceutical preparations. The method is based on the oxidation of vitamin C by excess potassium iodate (KIO3) in acid medium and unreacted iodate reacts with an organic dye (A1) to give a yellow color and the resulting iodine is extracted with toluene and measured spectrophotometrically at 430 nm. Results: A study was performed on various important parameters of the new dye such as the volume of the dye, type of oxidizing reagents, effect of volume, effect of sulfuric acid, effect of reaction time on the bleaching and oxidation process. Calibration curves were plotted after a diluted dye solution was analyzed within an appropriate Beer's law concentration interval (3-90 µg/ml) for each dye species. Molar absorptivities were obtained with values of 12500.521 L.mol^-1.cm^-1, mean recovery rate was 98.05 %. Conclusion: The developed procedure is successful in the analysis of Ascorbic acid content in pharmaceutical formulations and natural samples. The results obtained were found to be in good agreement with certified values and standard addition procedure. The simplicity and effectiveness of this procedure to estimate pure vitamin C content with accuracy make it a useful tool in various applications.

Development of methods to improve the technology of reproduction of lemon (Citrus limon L.) by green cuttings

The paper studies the effect of the form of preparation (powder and alcohol solution) and concentrations of auxin class phytohormone - indolyl-3- butyric acid (IBA) on morphometric parameters of root system development in green lemon cuttings at rooting under conditions of fog. The results of the study showed 100% rooting of Meyer lemon (C. meyeri) in all variants, and also revealed the advantage of using rooting powder with a concentration of 0.75% IBA. At rooting of ‘Novogruzinsky’ lemon variety (Citrus limon L.) 100% rooting ability was detected in all variants except for alcohol solution with concentration of 1.0%. According to the indicators of root system development the advantage of rooting powder with IBA concentration 1.0% and alcohol solution with IBA concentration 0.75% was revealed.

Essential oil extraction for all: A flexible and modular system for citrus biomass waste

The essential oil industry is a growing sector that generates 5.41 billion USD annually worldwide. Essential oils are widely used in medicine, agriculture, and perfumery. Although there are available systems in the market for domestic essential oil extraction, replacing the entire equipment in case of repair or malfunction can be costly. To address this problem, a pilot-scale essential oil extractor system was developed that operates through hydrodistillation. This system was used to process various citrus wastes such as green and yellow lemons, oranges, grapefruits, and Eucalyptus globulus. A factorial design was performed, and the best conditions were used to extract other biomass residues. GC-MS analysis revealed that the primary compound for orange, grapefruit, and green lemon essential oils is D-imonene, with 95.4%, 95.5%, and 49.2%, respectively. For yellow lemon the primary compound appeared to be D-limonene with 73.0% content, though the GC/MS data were less clear, and for eucalyptus, it is eucalyptol with 71.0%. The estimated production costs were 0.01 USD/mL, 0.04 USD/mL, 0.06 USD/mL, 0.07 USD/mL, and 0.15 USD/mL for orange, grapefruit, green lemon, yellow lemon, and eucalyptus essential oils, respectively. Therefore, the developed system is a competitive option for pilot-scale essential oil extraction.

Influence of novel coconut oil and beeswax edible coating and MAP on postharvest shelf life and quality attributes of lemon at low temperature

Weight loss, turning of peel colour from green to yellow and microbial infections are the major postharvest problems of lemon. Lipid-based edible coatings and modified atmospheric packaging (MAP) are effective techniques in maintaining postharvest quality of fruits for long-term storage. With this view, an investigation was conducted for the preservation of green lemon using coconut oil and beeswax edible coating and MAP during storage at low temperature. Physiologically matured lemons were collected and washed with potable water; fruit surface water was removed and then coated with coconut oil-beeswax (90:10) or only coconut oil. After coating, lemons were packaged in MAP or kept in open crates and stored at 12±1 °C and 85±5% relative humidity (RH) for 8 weeks and a week interval, the sampling was conducted. The results revealed that coconut oil-beeswax coating had immense effect on retaining shiny green colour, reducing respiration, weight loss, shrivelling and preserving firmness and ascorbic acid of lemon throughout the storage. On the other hand, MAP mainly helped to retain moisture & firmness and reduce shrivelling. Uncoated lemons kept open lost the highest amount of ascorbic acid and retained only 13.7 mg/100 g that is significantly (p < 0.05) less than the lemons of all other treatments at 8th week of storage period. While lemons coated with coconut oil-beeswax and packaged in MAP was preserved the highest amount (24.2 mg/100 g) of ascorbic acid and there was no significant difference (p < 0.05) with the amount of ascorbic acid content of lemons coated with only coconut oil and packaged in MAP at the last week (8th week) of storage. Hue angle value was 93.4 in uncoated lemons packaged in MAP while it was 113.67 in coconut oil-beeswax coated lemon kept open and 112.64 in lemon coated with coconut oil-beeswax and packaged in MAP at 8th week of storage. Based on all sensory, physical and chemical parameters uncoated lemons kept open was acceptable up to 1 week, coconut oil-beeswax coated lemon kept open was 6 weeks and coconut oil-beeswax coated lemon packaged in MAP was 8 weeks with good quality and shiny green colour.

Green Synthesis of Magnetic Nanoparticles of Iron Oxide Using Aqueous Extracts of Lemon Peel Waste and Its Application in Anti-Corrosive Coatings

Lately, the development of green chemistry methods with high efficiency for metal nanoparticle synthesis has become a primary focus among researchers. The main goal is to find an eco-friendly technique for the production of nanoparticles. Ferro- and ferrimagnetic materials such as magnetite (Fe3O4) exhibit superparamagnetic behavior at a nanometric scale. Magnetic nanoparticles have been gaining increasing interest in nanoscience and nanotechnology. This interest is attributed to their physicochemical properties, particle size, and low toxicity. The present work aims to synthesize magnetite nanoparticles in a single step using extracts of green lemon Citrus Aurantifolia residues. The results produced nanoparticles of smaller size using a method that is friendlier to health and the environment, is more profitable, and can be applied in anticorrosive coatings. The green synthesis was carried out by a co-precipitation method under variable temperature conditions. The X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) characterization showed that magnetite nanoparticles were successfully obtained with a very narrow particle size distribution between 3 and 10 nm. A composite was produced with the nanoparticles and graphene to be used as a surface coating on steel. In addition, the coating's anticorrosive behavior was evaluated through electrochemical techniques. The surface coating obtained showed good anticorrosive properties and resistance to abrasion.

Cuticular wax metabolism of lemon (Citrus limon Burm. f. Eureka) fruit in response to ethylene and gibberellic acid treatment

The brightness and color of lemon fruit directly determine its commodity value. Ethylene (ETH) and gibberellic acid (GA3) treatment are widely adopted to achieve postharvest uniform peel color, which may affect fruit surface brightness. Fruit brightness is closely associated with cuticular wax. However, little is known about how ETH and GA3 treatment affect cuticular wax metabolism in lemon fruit. Here, we treated green lemon fruit with ethephon and GA3 solution, and analyzed the changes in wax crystal morphology, chemical composition and expression levels of wax-related genes during storage. ETH increased the density and size of platelet-like wax crystals. Moreover, ETH accelerated cuticular wax accumulation, particularly alkanes and aldehydes, while GA3 inhibited these processes. ETH treatment increased the total wax content by 56% after four-day storage, particularly very-long-chain (VLC) alkanes (by 83%), while GA3 decreased the total wax content by 53% after fourteen-day storage, particularly VLC alkanes (by 56%). The main differentially expressed genes, including those involved in total wax accumulation (KCS19–1 and KCS19–2) and transformation of VLC aldehydes to VLC alkanes (CER1–1 and CER3), were up-regulated by ETH treatment while down-regulated by GA3 treatment. In summary, ETH accelerates and GA3 inhibits the accumulation of total wax, VLC aldehydes and VLC alkanes. I In addition, ETH and GA3 treatment have little effect on the intrinsic quality, but can alter the membrane lipid property and oxidase activity of fruit.

Defect Classification of Green Plums Based on Deep Learning.

The green plum is rich in amino acids, lipids, inorganic salts, vitamins, and trace elements. It has high nutritional value and medicinal value and is very popular among Chinese people. However, green plums are susceptible to collisions and pests during growth, picking, storage, and transportation, causing surface defects, affecting the quality of green plums and their products and reducing their economic value. In China, defect detection and grading of green plum products are still performed manually. Traditional manual classification has low accuracy and high cost, which is far from meeting the production needs of green plum products. In order to improve the economic value of green plums and their products and improve the automation and intelligence level of the product production process, this study adopted deep learning methods based on a convolutional neural network and cost-effective computer vision technology to achieve efficient classification of green plum defects. First, a camera and LEDs were used to collect 1240 green plum images of RGB, and the green plum experimental classification standard was formulated and divided into five categories, namely, rot, spot, scar, crack, and normal. Images were randomly divided into a training set and test set, and the number of images of the training set was expanded. Then, the stochastic weight averaging (SWA) optimizer and w-softmax loss function were used to improve the VGG network, which was trained and tested to generate a green plum defect detection network model. The average recognition accuracy of green plum defects was 93.8%, the test time for each picture was 84.69 ms, the recognition rate of decay defect was 99.25%, and the recognition rate of normal green plum was 95.65%. The results were compared with the source VGG network, resnet18 network, and green lemon network. The results show that for the classification of green plum defects, the recognition accuracy of the green plum defect detection network increased by 9.8% and 16.6%, and the test speed is increased by 1.87 and 6.21 ms, respectively, which has certain advantages.

Integration of metabolome, histochemistry and transcriptome analysis provides insights into lignin accumulation in oleocellosis-damaged flavedo of citrus fruit

• Oleocellosisdecreased the primary metabolitesandincreased the secondary metabolites. • Oleocellosis accelerated flavedo lignification. • Oleocellosissignificantly up-regulated the genes involved in flavedolignin accumulation. • Oleocellosis disorder improved citrus fruitpathogen resistance. Oleocellosis, a physiological disorder that affects the appearance quality of citrus fruit, is usually accompanied by the lignification of fruit flavedo. However, the mechanism of lignin accumulation in citrus flavedo in response to oleocellosis remains largely unknown. Here, the molecular mechanism of flavedo lignification caused by oleocellosis in citrus was dissected by metabolome, histochemistry and transcriptome analysis of healthy and oleocellosis disorder green lemon (Citrus limon Burm. f. Eureka) fruit. The metabolome analysis showed a remarkable decrease in primary metabolite content while an increase in secondary metabolite content in oleocellosis-damaged flavedo. The histochemical analysis revealed that oleocellosis disorder accelerated flavedo lignification and resulted in lignin accumulation. The transcriptomic analysis showed that in oleocellosis-damaged flavedo, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis was significantly activated, and 79 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to lignin accumulation were identified, among which 65 (82.3 % of the total DEGs) were significantly up-regulated, particularly the PAL , C4H, CCR , F5H, POD and UGT72E genes. The results of penicillium inoculation showed that oleocellosis disorder could enhance fruit pathogen resistance. In conclusion, the occurrence of oleocellosis may enhance the pathogen resistance of citrus fruit by lignin accumulation.

Variations of membrane fatty acids and epicuticular wax metabolism in response to oleocellosis in lemon fruit

Oleocellosis is a physiological disorder causing blemishes on fruit surface. This study investigated the influence of oleocellosis on the membrane fatty acids and wax in lemon fruit rinds at the morphological, physiological, metabolic and molecular levels by using a variety with a high incidence rate of oleocellosis (green lemon). Oleocellosis-damaged rinds showed loose and flaky wax layers with more fissures on the surface, as well as higher contents of C16 and C18 fatty acids and very long chain (VLC) fatty alkanes while lower contents of VLC fatty aldehydes. The main differentially expressed genes, including FabZ, FAD2 and SAD6 involved in the accumulation of C16 and C18 fatty acids and CER1 involved in the transformation of VLC fatty aldehydes to VLC fatty alkanes, were up-regulated by oleocellosis. These results indicate that oleocellosis accelerates the accumulation of membrane free fatty acids and transformation of VLC fatty aldehydes to VLC fatty alkanes.

The “green lemon” problem - a study of the effect of partial disclosure of poorer assessment ratings on housing prices

The introduction of green building certifications, on the one hand, can provide useful information for different stakeholders, such as developers and buyers, to evaluate “green” buildings’ environmental performance. On the other hand, it gives rise to an issue resembling the “lemons” problem in New Institutional Economics, as sellers such as developers and owners of properties with poorer ratings do not disclose, or only partially disclose this information to the public. Given that a likely result of this “lemons” problem is lower average market prices that drive good products out of the market, this paper, thus, investigates this latent issue by assessing how the knowledge of these “lemons”, referring to BEAM Plus-assessed buildings with an “Unclassified” rating, influences the price effect of BEAM Plus certification for other certified properties. Utilizing Bayesian Modeling, the findings indicate that should the “green lemons”, or BEAM Plus-assessed properties with an Unclassified rating, be known, the price premium for other BEAM Plus-certified properties on Hong Kong Island and in the New Territories is higher than the scenario under which “green lemons” are not known as thus mistaken as non-assessed properties. This finding is akin to the traditional “lemons” issue which can result in the saturation of “lemons” in the market due to lower average prices that drive the good quality products out of it. This situation, we believe, is further exacerbated by the HKSAR government’s GFA Concession Policy that grants GFA concessions to projects assessed under BEAM Plus regardless of rating, which is reflected by the high percentage of assessed projects with an “unclassified” rating. A higher degree of disclosure for these “lemons” compared to what is required now, according to the findings, could benefit potential investors and the BEAM Society alike.

Preparation of New Carbonated Beverages Based on Hydrolyzed Whey by Fruit and Some Herbs

In an attempt to develop new carbonated beverages, whey was hydrolyzed by lactase enzyme at pH 6.6. Whey beverages were prepared by blending sugar (10%), fruit juice or/and herbs extract to hydrolyzed whey. The hydrolyzed whey beverages were carbonated by injecting CO2 at a pressure of 15 psi/15sec. The carbonated whey beverages were analyzed for chemical, physical, microbiological and evaluated for its sensory properties. The TS, ash, total carbohydrates, and pH values had recorded significant (P < 0.05) between all treatments in carbonated beverages. But the protein and fat contents showed no significant between all treatments. From the results, it is clear that T8 treatment recorded the significantly high value of viscosity compared to T3 treatment which had the lowest values. Energy value of carbonated whey beverages ranged from 56.85 to 61.21 kcal 100g-1 sample. The total bacterial counts were ranged from 0.95 to 1.04 log10 CFU mL-1 in all treatments. The acceptability value in carbonated whey beverages had an increasing trend with a treatment containing green tea, lemon and/or peppermint. Higher acceptability values were obtained for the T8 sample and minimum acceptability scores were attained for the T1 sample of carbonated whey beverages.

Prevention of oral cancer by natural products

Oral cancer has a tendency to be detected at late stage which is detrimental to the patients because of its high mortality and morbidity rates. Early detection of oral cancer is important to reduce the incidence of mortality. The use of natural products which have a rich source of anticancer agents helps to reverse, suppress, or prevent carcinogenic progression. Chemopreventive agents play a crucial role in reversal, suppression, and prevention of carcinogenesis of premalignant or malignant cells by modulating cell proliferation or differentiation. This article review describes the most important chemopreventive agents taking place in the prevention of premalignant lesions to develop to oral cancer. By including cancer fighting foods in the daily diet like leafy green vegetables, sweet potatoes, carrots, soya, seaweed, drumsticks, tomatoes, grapes, avocado, grapefruit, papaya, lemon, oranges, and green tea, oral cancer can be prevented. Natural therapies may be a good substitute in the prevention of premalignant lesion to develop to invasive cancer by using Chemotherapeutic agents.

Does voluntary disclosure create a green lemon problem? Energy-efficiency ratings and house prices

This paper seeks to elucidate whether high levels of non-disclosure lead to adverse market outcomes in the form of the well-known lemons problem. It also empirically tests whether energy-efficiency ratings (EERs) are reflected in both housing sales prices and rents in the Australian Capital Territory, the only Australian housing market with mandatory ratings for all dwellings at point of sale or lease. Using a comprehensive dataset of sale and lease transactions during the period 2011–2016, a hedonic framework is applied. The analysis confirms that both the reported energy-efficiency levels and other sustainability-related characteristics that are not part of the formal rating assessment influence the pricing of both sales and rental transactions. Characteristics such as heating and cooling systems and the presence of solar power generators are significantly reflected in rents and sales prices, as tenants and buyers are likely to estimate their expected utility costs based on the EER. It is also shown that the option of leaving the EER of a rental property unreported presents a moral hazard for landlords of sub-standard properties, in that the likelihood of EER disclosure increases in line with the number of energy-efficient features of a property as revealed in the marketing material. The analysis also reveals that socio-economically disadvantaged areas suffer from disproportionately higher levels of EER non-disclosure, potentially constituting a ‘double disadvantage’ of non-disclosure and low–energy efficiency dwelling stock. From a market and asset-pricing perspective, it thus seems preferable to extend the requirement to obtain and present a valid EER to the rental market.

Sardine proteins (Sardina pilchardus) combined with green lemon zest (Citrus latifolia) improve blood pressure, lipid profile and redox status in diabetic hypertensive rats

PurposeThis paper aims to study the effect of green lemon zest combined with sardine proteins in diabetic hypertensive rats (DHRs).Design/methodology/approachMale Wistar rats (n = 30) weighing 250 ± 10 g were divided into five groups. The first group consumed a diet containing 20 per cent casein (C). The other four groups are rendered diabetic by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (40 mg/kg body weight), then hypertensive by subcutaneous implantation controlled time-release pellet containing ouabain (0.25 mg/pellet). One untreated group (DHR) consumed 20 per cent casein and the three other groups consumed the same diet supplemented with 2 per cent green lemon zest (DHR-lz), or with 20 per cent of sardine protein (group DHR-sp) or with the combination of both sardine proteins and green lemon zest (group DHR-sp + lz).FindingsDHRs feeding on the combination of both sardine protein (sp) and lemon zest (lz) induced a significant decrease of diastolic blood pressure and heart rates values compared with DHR (p < 0.05). The HDLC values were increased by +55 per cent in DHR-sp + lz compared with DHR group. Moreover, plasma non-HDLC concentrations were decreased significantly compared to DHR, DHR-lz, DHR-sp and C groups. In DHR-sp + lzvs DHR group, TBARS values were decreased by −25 per cent in the liver. Moreover, kidney TBARS were significantly reduced by −66, −51, −65 and −67 per cent compared with C, DHR, DHR-lz and DHR-sp, respectively.Originality/valueThese results suggest that consumption of green lemon zest combined with sardine proteins can reduce blood pressure and tissue oxidative damage and, therefore, help to prevent cardiovascular complications in hypertensive diabetic patients.

Text for Dinner: ‘Plain’ Food in Colonial Australia … Or, Was It?

Text for Dinner: ‘Plain’ Food in Colonial Australia … Or, Was It?

Involvement of Limonene Hydroperoxides Formed after Oil Gland Injury in the Induction of Defense Response against Penicillium digitatum in Lemon Fruit

The effects of wounding oil glands of lemon [Citrus limon (L.) Burm.] fruit were investigated. Young mature-green lemons demonstrated significantly lower decay incidence than older yellow fruit when their oil glands were punctured in the presence of postharvest wound pathogen Penicillium digitatum Sacc. Contact with the released gland content on the green lemon surface reduced the viability of P. digitatum spores approximately twice. Wounding caused rapid production of limonene hydroperoxides that persisted for only a few minutes. The magnitude depended on the physiological maturity of the fruit; mature-green fruit produced much higher levels than did yellow lemons. Furthermore, wounding of the oil glands or injection of limonene hydroperoxides into the lemon peel elicited the production of the citrus fruit phytoalexins, scoparone and scopoletin, to levels known to be effective in reducing decay caused by P. digitatum. The mature-green fruit produced about twice as much of these phytoalexins as the older yellow fruit. This induced defensive elicitation of phytoalexin production, as well as the direct effects of these antifungal compounds, markedly inhibited the pathogen in mature-green fruits but was ineffective in older yellow ones.

Postharvest conditioning temperatures and fruit maturity on flavedo soluble sugars of coastal and desert lemons

SummaryThe content and changes in flavedo soluble sugars of Citrus limon (L.) Burm. F. of different maturity derived from coastal and desert climatic regions to two postharvest conditioning temperatures of 158C and 108C were determined. Conditioning caused significant changes of flavedo soluble sugars in lemons of the two geographic areas. Raffinose level increased with duration of conditioning in both desert and coastal lemons and was slightly higher at 108C than at 158C conditioning. The flavedo sucrose content of green coastal lemons was greater than silver or yellow lemons and increased significantly in silver and yellow lemons after conditioning for 3 d at 158Cor108C, but declined significantly in all maturity classes to a low level with conditioning of more than 3 d. In contrast, the flavedo sucrose content of green and yellow desert lemons was 2.8–fold and 1.7–fold greater, respectively, than comparable coastal lemon flavedo, with the green lemon flavedo showing a significant gradual decrease with increasing duration of conditioning at 158C and 108C, but not in yellow lemon flavedo. The flavedo glucose and fructose contents of desert lemons remained relatively unchanged with conditioning at 158C and 108C, but their contents in yellow, silver and green coastal lemon flavedo increased after prolonged conditioning. The flavedo fructose content of yellow coastal lemons was significantly greater than green lemons, but there was no difference in flavedo fructose content of green and yellow desert lemons. The observed alteration of flavedo soluble sugars associated with conditioning provided an insight of cellular response to temperature, and emphasized the importance of climatic origin on lemon flavedo sugar composition.

Conditioning and heat treatments influence flavedo soluble sugars of lemon

SummaryThe changes in flavedo soluble sugars of lemon, Citrus limon (L.) Burm. cv. Eureka, to conditioning and heat treatment were determined. Raffinose significantly increased with 3–6 d conditioning at 15·C with 85% relative humidity but sucrose significantly decreased in flavedo of lemons after 6 d of conditioning. Glucose and fructose contents were not altered significantly. Heat treatment of lemons at 55·C for 5 min significantly increased sucrose content of flavedo, but the raffinose content was unaffected while glucose and fructose contents decreased slightly. The content of fructose in green lemon flavedo was significantly lower than in yellow lemon flavedo, but the content of glucose, sucrose and raffinose tended to be slightly higher. The probable involvement of soluble sugars of lemon flavedo in moderating stress and in protecting cellular membranes from temperature extremes and desiccation is discussed.

Prevention of Red Blotch in Degreened Lemon Fruit

Abstract Mature green lemon (Citrus limon Burm.) fruits are degreened commercially with ethylene to enhance yellow color development and improve marketing quality. This treatment often results in the development of a peel disorder called red blotch, a superficial reddish-brown discoloration, which may cover most of the fruit peel. We found that degreening at 30°C, instead of the recommended temperature of 25°, eliminated the disorder. Similarly, a predegreening treatment of dipping the fruit in the antioxidant ethoxyquin (“Stop Scald”) prevented red blotch development. The high temperature and the antioxidant may act on oxidative enzyme systems, which are apparently causative factors of the disorder.

Cycloheximide Derivatives and Mite Control, with Special Reference to Mites on Citrus1

Cycloheximide and its acetate, acetoacetate, oxime, semicarbazone, and thiosemicarbazone derivatives were evaluated in the laboratory to ascertain their toxicity to and effects on the fecundity of the citrus red mite, Panonychus citri (McGregor), on citrus, and the Pacific mite, Tetranychus pacificus McGregor, on bean seedlings. Laboratory sprays of these compounds, in the order listed, produced injury to green lemon fruit at concentrations of 2, 0.5, 100, 40, 5, 10 ppm, respectively, and to bean seedlings at 100, 25, 1000, 100, 100, and 100 ppm, respectively. None of the compounds were highly effective in producing direct mortality to either mite species at concentrations which were nonphytotoxic. At concentrations of 10 ppm or above, spray applications of each compound, except the thiosemicarbazone, materially reduced the fecundity of both mite species. In field evaluation trials, the oxime was the only one of these compounds that showed promise for control of P. citri . Most effective control resulted when applications were made between the cycles of plant growth. When applications were made during the growth cycle, adult female mites moved onto new growth where egg laying returned to normal.