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In this perspective article, several internationally recognized experts, members of the editorial team of this journal, discuss a selection of current hot topics identified in Food Science and Foodomics. The topics are comprised of the main areas of Food Science and Foodomics, namely, food safety, food authenticity, food processing, and food bioactivity. Logically, several of the discussed topics involve more than one of the mentioned main areas. Regarding food safety, the topics discussed are the use of analytical nanotechnology, nanometrology, nano-chromatography; the determination of organic contaminants based on MS and NMR; the impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on food or the contamination of foods with plant toxins. Regarding food authenticity, the paper discusses the role of MS, NMR, biosensors and the new trends in foodomics for food authentication. In terms of food processing, the work shows interesting perspectives on novel processing technologies, the effect of food processing on the gut microbiota or in the interaction among secondary metabolites and macromolecules; the development of active packaging, and the potential effects of introducing recycled plastics in food packaging; the new green extraction and encapsulation strategies of bioactive compounds from food by-products; and the anti-biofilm capacity of natural compounds/extracts/vegetal oils and essential oils. Food bioactivity and the relation between food and health includes the bioavailability and bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds; new trends and challenges in the interaction of nutraceuticals with biological systems; how food matrix impacts the bioaccessibility of nutrients and bioactive compounds; or the study of biodiversity, food and human health through one-health concept. We anticipate elaborations on these hot topics will promote further studies in Food Science and Foodomics.

Citrus aurantium, also known as bitter orange, and the by-products obtained during its processing are a rich source of bioactive compounds. In particular, leaves from the tree pruning and from fruits harvesting are considered an agrifood-related waste with high valorization potential. Considering the wide variety of bioactive compounds present in the leaves (carotenoids, terpenes and phenolic compounds), this study is focused on the valorization of C. aurantium pruning waste through a sequential three-step extraction process using green extraction techniques, i.e. supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), followed by pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) using natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES), and an antisolvent extraction to recover the remaining bioactive compounds adsorbed to the NADES and extraction residues. In this sense, this is the first time that PLE using NADES followed by an antisolvent step to re-extract the compounds from the PLE residue is presented. Moreover, different protocols to efficiently remove the NADES from the PLE extract were also studied for the first time. Due to the different nature and bioactivity of the obtained extracts, the mixture of the three fractions was optimized to enhance its overall preventive potential against neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, its scalability to a semi-pilot scale was evaluated, giving rise to increased bioactive values of the blended extract.

The valorization of agrifood by-products to obtain high added-value products is an interesting research topic in the frame of Circular Economy. Moreover, the development of environmentally respectful and efficient extraction tools to obtain interesting compounds from those biomasses is a necessity today. In this contribution, a process combining gas-expanded liquids extraction together with a novel microencapsulation protocol is studied with the aim to recover and stabilize neuroprotective compounds from orange by-products. Both process conditions were optimized by means of experimental designs. After their application, optimum extraction conditions involved the use of 30 % ethyl acetate expanded into CO2 at 50 °C,10 MPa, for 30 min in static mode. The obtained extracts showed higher bioactivities than other similar extracts obtained using pressurized liquids and supercritical fluid extractions. On the other hand, the optimization of a cryo-stirred microencapsulation protocol allowed an effective encapsulation higher than 73 %. Consequently, the overall bioactivity of the encapsulated product was reduced due to this value, although the product was demonstrated to be stable for >4 months of storage under accelerated conditions (45 °C and 80 % humidity), while the non-encapsulated original extract lost 50 % of its activity in less than a month. Thus, the obtained results demonstrated the usefulness of the combined approach to achieve the valorization of commonly found agrifood by-products into added-value extracts with potential as functional ingredients due to their bioactivity and stability.

Abstract In this study, an exhaustive chemical characterization of a Dunaliella salina (DS) microalga extract obtained using supercritical fluids has been performed, and its neuroprotective capacity has been evaluated in vivo using an Alzheimer’s disease (AD) transgenic model of Caenorhabditis elegans (strain CL4176). More than 350 compounds were annotated in the studied DS extract, with triacylglycerols, free fatty acids (FAs), carotenoids, apocarotenoids and glycerol being the most abundant. DS extract significantly protects C. elegans in a dose-dependent manner against Aβ-peptide paralysis toxicity, after 32 h, 53% of treated worms at 50 µg/mL were not paralyzed. This concentration was selected to further evaluate the transcriptomics and metabolomics changes after 26 h by using advanced analytical methodologies. The RNA-Seq data showed an alteration of 150 genes, mainly related to the stress and detoxification responses, and the retinol and lipid metabolism. The comprehensive metabolomics and lipidomics analyses allowed the identification of 793 intracellular metabolites, of which 69 were significantly altered compared to non-treated control animals. Among them, different unsaturated FAs, lysophosphatidylethanolamines, nucleosides, dipeptides and modified amino acids that have been previously reported as beneficial during AD progression, were assigned. These compounds could explain the neuroprotective capacity observed, thus, providing with new evidences of the protection mechanisms of this promising extract.

Au XVIe siècle, deux traductions castillanes de la Politique d’Aristote ont été publiées : l’une, anonyme, en 1509, à partir de la version latine de Leonardo Bruni, et l’autre, par Pedro Simón Abril, en 1584, à partir du grec. La première n’a eu aucun impact, mais la deuxième a été la seule traduction espagnole pendant plus de trois siècles, et a été fondamentale pour l’établissement d’un lexique politique en espagnol. La traduction de Simón Abril a pris en compte des traductions latines, italienne et française, en même temps qu’elle est un produit original, qui réussit avec habilité à rapprocher le texte aristotélicien de la langue et la réalité de son époque.

BackgroundColonoscopy screening is underused by first-degree relatives (FDRs) of patients with non-syndromic colorectal cancer (CRC) with screening completion rates below 50%. Studies conducted in FDR referred for screening suggest that fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) was not inferior to colonoscopy in terms of diagnostic yield and tumor staging, but screening uptake of FIT has not yet been tested in this population. In this study, we investigated whether the uptake of FIT screening is superior to the uptake of colonoscopy screening in the familial-risk population, with an equivalent effect on CRC detection.Methods and findingsThis open-label, parallel-group, randomized trial was conducted in 12 Spanish centers between February 2016 and December 2021. Eligible individuals included asymptomatic FDR of index cases ConclusionsIn this study, compared to colonoscopy, FIT screening did not improve screening uptake by individuals at high risk of CRC, resulting in less detection of advanced colorectal neoplasia. Further studies are needed to assess how screening uptake could be improved in this high-risk group, including by inclusion in population-based screening programs.Trial registrationThis trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02567045).

Given the growing interest in drought impacts on crops, this work studied the impact of agricultural drought on wheat and barley during the period 2001–2020. The study was carried out in the Spanish regions of Castilla y León and Castilla–La Mancha, with approximate areas of 94,000 km2 and 79,000 km2, respectively, and in the German regions of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Niedersachsen and Bayern, with approximate areas of 34,000 km2, 48,000 km2 and 71,000 km2, respectively. These are the main cereal-growing regions of Spain and Germany. Soil moisture (SM) in the root zone was extracted from the LISFLOOD model database, and SM anomalies were used as the agricultural drought index. Gross primary productivity (GPP) and leaf area index (LAI) variables were obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the month in which SM is most influential on these crop state variables was identified. Crop yields in Spain and Germany were obtained from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the German Federal Statistical Office, respectively. Agricultural drought years and their impact on cereal yields were determined on a regional scale using three approaches based on the critical month with different time periods. These approaches were the use of the critical month and the two (before or after) and the three months (before and after) around the critical month. Two different analyses were used to identify the critical month, depending on the different environmental conditions in each country. These two approaches consisted of a monthly correlation analysis between SM anomalies and cereal yield in Spain and a monthly trend analysis of SM anomalies in Germany. The results showed a dependence of crop variables on SM in spring months in both countries and in summer months in Germany. Differences were found depending on the environmental conditions. A considerable reduction in cereal yields was obtained in Spain which exceeded 30%. Similarly, a worrying sign was observed in Germany, with a positive agricultural drought trend and a yield reduction of almost 5% in cereal crops. In view of future forecasts of the negative impact of climate change on global food production, this study provides valuable information for water and agricultural management under climate change scenarios. Both in regions that are already threatened and in those that until recently were not affected, it is necessary to study adaptation measures to avoid aggravating the impact of agricultural drought on crops, which could improve water productivity and future food security.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia that is associated with extracellular amyloid beta (Aβ) plaque formation. Genetic, environmental, and nutrition factors have been suggested as contributors to oxidative stress and neuroinflammation events that are connected to AD etiology, and secondary metabolites, such as triterpenes, have shown promising results in AD prevention. In this work, the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory potential of an olive leaves fraction enriched in triterpenoid compounds obtained using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and dynamic adsorption/desorption using sea sand as adsorbent has been performed. In addition, a comprehensive lipidomics study of the response of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line to this fraction was carried out using advanced analytical methodologies, namely, charged-surface hybrid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (CSH-Q-TOF MS/MS). The use of freely available lipidomic annotation tools and databases, and stringent cut-off filters allowed the annotation of more than 250 intracellular lipids. Advanced bioinformatics and statistical tools showed a number of phosphatidylcholines and phosphatidylethanolamines significantly increased, which could explain the protection against the cell death caused by Aβ1–42. Moreover, several triacylglycerols were found decreased. These results suggest triterpenoids from olive leaves as good neuroprotective candidates, and open a new gate for future experiments using in vivo models to corroborate this hypothesis.

Cereals are keystone crops for achieving food security and socioeconomic equilibrium, but rainfed cropland is highly sensitive to environmental anomalies that impact yields. The impact of soil moisture on cereal yield is particularly overlooked. This study evaluates the impact of root-zone soil moisture on yield compared to nine common climatic variables: maximum and minimum temperature, diurnal temperature range, growing degree days, accumulated rainfall, radiation, photothermal quotient, relative humidity of the air, and vapor pressure deficit. This study used the climatic database E-OBSv23 and the soil moisture databases ERA5-Land and LISFLOOD, focused on wheat and barley over the main cereal areas of Spain. Correlation analysis between annual yield and daily soil moisture and climatic data provided indicated the prevalence and concurrence of the impact factors on phenological stages of the Zadoks scale. Critical periods of impact on wheat and barley yields primarily concentrate during the growth and reproductive phases of spring. Soil moisture exceeds all other factors in magnitude and duration of influence, and our results suggest a complex interplay of factors during the critical spring period. This study highlights the preeminent role of soil moisture over climatic factors on the variability of rainfed cereal yields in water-limited areas.

Abstract Background Symptom based referral criteria for colorectal cancer (CRC) detection are the cornerstone of the strategy to improve prognosis in CRC. In 2017, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) updated their referral criteria (2017 NG12). Recently, several studies have evaluated the faecal haemoglobin (f-Hb) concentration in this setting. The aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the 2017 NG12 referral criteria and to compare them with the CG27 referral criteria, the f-Hb concentration and two f-Hb based prediction model: COLONPREDICT and FAST Score. Methods This is a post-hoc diagnostic test study performed within the COLONPREDICT study database (1572 patients, CRC prevalence 13.6%). We assessed symptoms, the 2017 NG12 and CG27 referral criteria and determined the f-Hb before performing a colonoscopy. We compared the discriminatory ability using the area under the curve (AUC) and the sensitivity and specificity at pre-stablished thresholds with the McNemar’s test. Results The 2017 NG12 referral criteria discriminatory ability (AUC 0.53; 95% confidence interval- CI 0.49–0.57) was inferior to the CG27 version (AUC 0.59; 95% CI 0.55–0.63; p = 0.01), the f-Hb concentration (AUC 0.86; 95% CI 0.84–0-89; p

Resumen: En este trabajo se exponen, con elevado nivel de detalle, los elementos que influyeron en la redacción del Real Decreto Ley de 18 de marzo de 1977, que reguló las primeras elecciones democráticas en España, y que influyó posteriormente en la actual regulación electoral todavía vigente. Abstract In this work are exposed, with high level of detail, the elements that influenced the drafting of the Royal Decree of March 18, 1977, which regulated the first democratic elections in Spain, and which later influenced the current electoral regulation still in force.

La poética del microrrelato en la Grecia antigua es enormemente productiva, pero ha sido poco explorada. Este estudio la aborda en tres frentes: la que deriva de la perspectiva del lector moderno (poética del fragmento); la que surge de una relación implícita o explícita con una macronarrativa del contexto (poética de la alusión); y la que de modo consciente aprovecha una forma comprimida para comunicar un mensaje completo dentro de la obligada brevedad (poética del epigrama).

Reseña del libro de Martínez, Mario-Paul y Herrero Herrero, Miguel (Eds.). (2018). Arte y Cine. Movimientos artísticos y cinematográficos tras 1945. Sax, Alicante: Cinestesia

The bioaccessibility of chlorogenic acid (CGA) and caffeine in coffee silverskin extracts (CSE) and the contribution of these substances to the prophylactic effect of CSE on the pathogenesis of diabetes have not been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the bioaccessibility, bioavailability and bioactivity of CGA and caffeine alone and in CSE in the pancreas of rats treated with streptozotocin–nicotinamide (type 2 diabetes model). Metabolism of CGA and caffeine started in the gastrointestinal tract due to changes of pH taking place during digestion. Their metabolites protected pancreatic cells against the risk of diabetes. This is the first in vivo study to demonstrate a specific chemo-protective effect of CSE in pancreatic tissue, and this effect may be associated with its antioxidant capacity. Daily administration of CSE, CGA or caffeine 35 d previous to the induction of diabetes significantly reduced (p

Drought has a great impact on agriculture and food security, and climate change is increasing its frequency and exacerbating its intensity. Given the enormous interest in studying the recent drought evolution, in this work, agricultural drought trends over the past four decades on the Iberian Peninsula (IP) were analyzed. A trend analysis was performed with soil moisture based on the study of the evolution of anomalies and the Soil Water Deficit Index (SWDI). Two soil moisture databases (Lisflood and ERA5-Land) were used and the analysis was performed at daily and weekly temporal scales. Climate characteristics and soil properties were also considered to detect whether a trend spatial pattern could be identified. The results have shown a clear predominance of negative trends. A marked temporal pattern with negative trends was obtained over a 10-month period that coincided with the growing season of most of the crops on the IP, while a positive trend was observed over 2 months. No differences were found based on the climatic zone or soil characteristics. However, negative trends were observed to decrease as the clay content increased. These results can provide useful information for better water management and agriculture of the IP and other Mediterranean areas.

To provide further insight into the antioxidant potential of procyanidins (PCs) from cocoa beans, PC extract was fractionated by several methodologies, including solid phase extraction, Sephadex LH-20 gel permeation, and preparative HPLC using C18 and diol stationary phases. All the isolated fractions were analyzed by UHPLC-QTOF-MS to determine their relative composition. According to our results, classical techniques allowed good separation of alkaloids, catechins, dimers, and trimers, but were inefficient for oligomeric PCs. Preparative C18-HPLC method allowed the attainment of high relative composition of fractions enriched with alkaloids, catechins, and PCs with degree of polymerization (DP) < 4. However, the best results were obtained by preparative diol-HPLC, providing a separation according to the increasing DP. According to the mass spectrometry fragmentation pattern, the nine isolated fractions (Fractions II–X) consisted of exclusively individual PCs and their corresponding isomers (same DP). In summary, an efficient, robust, and fast method using a preparative diol column for the isolation of PCs is proposed. Regarding DPPH• and ABTS•+ scavenging activity, it increases according to the DP; therefore, the highest activity was for cocoa extract > PCs > monomers. Thereby, cocoa procyanidins might be of interest to be used as alternative antioxidants.

Fermentation profiles of five enzymatically synthesized purified oligosaccharides (kojibiose, 4-galactosyl-kojibiose, lactulosucrose, and sets of lactosyl- (DP 4-6) and raffinosyl-oligofructosides (DP 4-7)) were studied using an in vitro batch-culture fermentation system inoculated with human faecal slurries, simulating the events in the distal colon. Selectivity index for bifidobacteria and lactobacilli was calculated for each oligosaccharide to obtain a comparative relationship between the growth of these beneficial bacteria with respect to the other bacterial groups studied. Results showed a strong bifidogenic effect for all oligosaccharides, with similar Bifidobacterium levels compared to those produced by well-established prebiotics such as lactulose and fructo-oligosaccharides. Accordingly, acetic acid was the most prevalent SCFA produced. Oligosaccharides sharing structural features such as monomer composition and type of glycosidic linkage were grouped by dendrogram analysis, thus, underlining the potential correlation between the structural features of prebiotic candidates and their impact on the composition and metabolism of the human faecal microbiota.