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De Nederlandse overheid, zowel de rijksoverheid, als provincies en gemeenten, koopt elk jaar voor 85 miljard euro aan diensten, producten en werken in. Met dit bedrag wil de overheid niet alleen producten en diensten aanschaffen, maar ook het milieu minder belasten en sociale ontwikkelingen in relatie tot werk stimuleren. Dit heet Maatschappelijk Verantwoord Inkopen (MVI(maatschappelijk verantwoord inkopen)). Het RIVM volgt sinds 2015 elke twee jaar het effect van MVI op milieu en klimaat en sociale ontwikkelingen. In 2019 en 2020 zijn hierdoor minder broeikasgassen uitgestoten en zijn er minder grondstoffen gebruikt. Meer nog dan in de vorige monitoringsperioden. Dit blijkt uit een analyse van het effect van MVI in deze twee jaar. Deze stijgende lijn maakt duidelijk dat Maatschappelijk Verantwoord Inkopen een geschikt instrument is waarmee de overheid duurzame inkoop kan stimuleren. Aanbestedende diensten hebben er steeds meer oog voor. Wel zou meer effect mogelijk kunnen zijn als zij zich hier nog meer voor zouden inspannen. Door meer duurzame producten en diensten uit te vragen, wordt het ook voor de markt aantrekkelijker om erin te investeren. Door maatschappelijk verantwoord inkopen in 2019 en 2020 is naar schatting minstens 6,8 Mton(megaton) CO2(carbon dioxide)-equivalent minder broeikasgasemissies uitgestoten en is er 0,3 Mton CO2-equivalent gecompenseerd door bossen aan te planten. Dit is ongeveer hetzelfde als de hoeveelheid broeikasgassen die 345.000 Nederlandse huishoudens elk jaar uitstoten. Ook is er 1433 kilogram minder stikstofoxiden uitgestoten. Voor fijnstof is dat 91 kilo minder. Daarnaast is 292 ton aan grondstoffen bespaard. Verder is er 1203 fte aan werk gecreëerd mensen met een afstand tot de arbeidsmarkt en stagiairs. Het RIVM heeft zes clusters van producten en diensten bekeken met in totaal zestien productgroepen. Het gaat om de volgende clusters, met productgroepen tussen haakjes: Automatisering (ICT(Information and communication technology)), Energie (Elektriciteit, Zonnepanelen, Gas), Grond-, weg- en waterbouw (Wegen, Openbare Verlichting), Kantoorfaciliteiten (Bedrijfskleding, Catering, Schoonmaak, Kantoormeubilair, Kantoorgebouwen (Nieuwbouw, Renovatie) en Transport (Buitenlandse dienstreizen, Verhuisdiensten, Transportdiensten, Dienstauto’s). Deze clusters en productgroepen zijn gekozen omdat daarbij het meeste effect van deze manier van inkopen wordt bereikt.

Hydroxytyrosol (HTyr) and tyrosol (Tyr) are the most well studied phenolic alcohols of olive oil and olive products demonstrating numerous and significant beneficial health effects. However, their activity in the human organism as food bioactives is strongly associated with their bioavailability and metabolism, while manifested through their metabolites. Nevertheless, there are limited studies investigating their biotransformation and mainly catabolism by gut microflora under a holistic interpretation close to the human organism. Thus, in the present study, the GastroIntestinal Dialysis (GIDM)-colon model, a continuous flow in vitro dialysis system mimicking physiological conditions during human gastrointestinal digestion, was used to explore the metabolism of HTyr and Tyr as pure compounds. The GIDM–colon model simulates absorption from the lumen to the mucosa, followed by the colon phase using pooled human fecal suspensions. Samples were collected at different time points and analyzed via LC–Orbitrap MS. An integrated approach combining Multivariate Data Analysis (MVA) and thorough dereplication procedures led to the identification of HTyr and Tyr metabolites in different phases (gastric, small intestine, and colon), yielding also valuable information about metabolites kinetics. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting full spectrometric data of HTyr and Tyr metabolites along with possible transformation mechanisms in the GI tract. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Ruby chocolate was introduced in 2017 as the fourth type of chocolate, in addition to white, milk and dark chocolate. However, until now not much is reported about its phytochemical composition. Therefore, we analyzed ruby chocolate by UPLC-HRMS, together with the three other types of chocolate. Feature-based molecular networking was carried out to aid in the identification, while a set of 51 reference compounds were analyzed simultaneously for targeted quantification. In this way, a total of 54 compounds could be (tentatively) identified in the chocolates, of which 43 were found in the ruby chocolate. Moreover, 19 compounds were quantified, of which 13 in the ruby chocolate. The compounds include flavan-3-ols, proanthocyanidins and methylxanthines, but also biogenic amines and alkaloids. In general, ruby chocolate contained lower levels of these constituents compared to dark chocolate. However, A-type proanthocyanidins were found to be characteristic for the ruby chocolate. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

The genus Curcuma is part of the Zingiberaceae family, and many Curcuma species have been used as traditional medicine and cosmetics in Thailand. To find new cosmeceutical ingredients, the in vitro anti‐inflammatory, anti‐oxidant, and cytotoxic activities of four Curcuma species as well as the isolation of compounds from the most active crude extract (C. aromatica) were investigated. The crude extract of C. aromatica showed 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity with an IC50 value of 102.3 μg/mL. The cytotoxicity effect of C. aeruginosa, C. comosa, C. aromatica, and C. longa extracts assessed with the 3‐[4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl]‐2,5‐diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay at 200 μg/mL were 12.1 ± 2.9, 14.4 ± 4.1, 28.6 ± 4.1, and 46.9 ± 8.6, respectively. C. aeruginosa and C. comosa presented apoptosis cells (57.7 ± 3.1% and 32.6 ± 2.2%, respectively) using the CytoTox‐ONE™ assay. Different crude extracts or phytochemicals purified from C. aromatica were evaluated for their anti‐inflammatory properties. The crude extract of C. aromatica showed the highest potential to inhibit NF‐κB activity, followed by C. aeruginosa, C. comosa, and C. longa, respectively. Among the various purified phytochemicals curcumin, germacrone, curdione, zederone, and curcumenol significantly inhibited NF‐κB activation in tumor necrosis factor (TNF) stimulated HaCaT keratinocytes. Of all compounds, curcumin was the most potent anti-inflammatory. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

The fruit pulp of Crescentia cujete is traditionally used in folk medicine for the treatment of a variety of respiratory conditions and gastrointestinal disorders. Due to the lack of a comprehensive phytochemical description of the fruit of this plant, its active compounds and rational quality control parameters have not yet been described. An untargeted metabolomics approach combining UPLC-MS/MS-based molecular networking with conventional isolation and NMR methods was carried out for the phytochemical profiling of the fruit pulp of Crescentia cujete. Sixty-six metabolites, including nine n-alkyl glycosides, twenty-three phenolic acid derivatives (such as cinnamoyl and benzoyl derivatives), fifteen flavonoids, four phenylethanoid derivatives and fifteen iridoid glycosides were identified at different levels of confirmation: eighteen confirmed structures (Level 1), six probable structures (Level 2) and forty two tentative candidates (Level 3). Among these, all four phenylethanoid derivatives were described for the first time within this species. In addition, 8-epi-eranthemoside, crescentiol A and crescentiol B were reported as three undescribed iridoid glucosides. The use of molecular networking has resulted in a detailed phytochemical overview of this species. This work provides a useful tool for further development and validation of appropriate analytical methods for routine quality control assessment of commercially available products containing the fruit of this species and further interpretation of their related pharmacological effects. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

The flavonoids comprise a large class of plant metabolites distributed in food plants. These compounds have antioxidant, antitumor, antiallergic, and anti‐inflammatory effects. The molecular mechanisms of their biological activities remain to be clearly understood. We investigated the in vitro anti‐inflammatory potential of a flavonoid mixture and isolated compounds from the leaves of Boldoa purpurascens. Our results provide direct evidence of the anti‐inflammatory effects of the mixture, which are mediated by the inhibition of the proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 6 as well as the modulation of the expression of cyclooxygenase 2.