The different cultivation methods affect tea quality by altering the basic metabolite profiles. In this study, the metabolome changes were investigated in green tea and shade cultured green tea (tencha) by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) coupled with a multivariate data set. The principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA) of green tea clearly showed higher levels of galloylquinic acid, epigallocatechin, epicatechin, succinic acid, and fructose, together with lower levels of gallocatechin, strictinin, apigenin glucosyl arabinoside, quercetin p-coumaroylglucosyl-rhamnosylgalactoside, kaempferol p-coumaroylglucosylrhamnosylgalactoside, malic acid, and pyroglutamic acid than tencha. The effects of some seasonal variations were also observed in the primary metabolite concentrations such as amino acids and organic acids. In addition, green tea showed stronger antioxidant activity than tencha in both April and July. The antioxidant activity of green tea samples were significantly correlated with their total phenol and total flavonoid contents. This present study delineates the possibility to get high umami and less astringent green teas in shade culture. It highlights the metabolomic approaches to find out the effect of cultivation methods on chemical composition in plants and the relationship with antioxidant activity.

Apple processing results in peel, stem, seeds, and pulp being left as a waste product known as apple pomace. This review comprehensively assessed apple pomace composition for nutritional value and bioactive substances and evaluated potential health benefits and safety. Apple pomace is a rich source of health-benefitting nutrients, including minerals, dietary fiber, antioxidants, and ursolic acid, which suggests it has potential use as a dietary supplement, functional food, and/or food additive. Preclinical studies have found apple pomace and its isolated extracts improved lipid metabolism, antioxidant status, and gastrointestinal function and had a positive effect on metabolic disorders (eg, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, etc.). Safety studies have shown apple pomace to be a safe livestock feed additive and to have pesticide concentrations within safety thresholds established for human consumption. Commercial development of apple pomace for human consumption requires more research focusing on standardized methods of nutrient reporting, mechanistic studies, and human clinical trials.

The phytonutrient concentrations of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) florets, stems, and leaves were compared to evaluate the value of stem and leaf by-products as a source of valuable nutrients. Primary metabolites, including amino acids, organic acids, and sugars, as well as glucosinolates, carotenoids, chlorophylls, vitamins E and K, essential mineral elements, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and expression of glucosinolate biosynthesis and hydrolysis genes were quantified from the different broccoli tissues. Broccoli florets had higher concentrations of amino acids, glucoraphanin, and neoglucobrassicin compared to other tissues, whereas leaves were higher in carotenoids, chlorophylls, vitamins E and K, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. Leaves were also good sources of calcium and manganese compared to other tissues. Stems had the lowest nitrile formation from glucosinolate. Each tissue exhibited specific core gene expression profiles supporting glucosinolate metabolism, with different gene homologs expressed in florets, stems, and leaves, which suggests that tissue-specific pathways function to support primary and secondary metabolic pathways in broccoli. This comprehensive nutrient and bioactive compound profile represents a useful resource for the evaluation of broccoli by-product utilization in the human diet, and as feedstocks for bioactive compounds for industry.

Liquid chromatography-mass and multivariate analyses were employed to measure the composition of pu-erh teas and to determine the general changes in the compositional patterns of pu-erh teas during postfermentation. Principle component analysis of pu-erh teas indicated two large distinct clusters in the score plot: ripened pu-erh teas and raw pu-erh teas. The raw pu-erh teas contained more antioxidant compounds compared to ripened pu-erh teas. As a result, the raw pu-erh teas showed significantly higher antioxidant activities than the ripened pu-erh teas in the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity, and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays. In addition, raw pu-erh teas showed significantly higher NO inhibitory and cell protective activities than the ripened pu-erh teas. Significant correlations between compounds and postfermentation year were observed in raw pu-erh teas; epigallocatechin-3-gallate, epigallocatechin, epicatechin-3-gallate, and quinic acid were decreased and gallic acid was increased in a year-dependent manner. The antioxidant activity was shown to decrease as the number of antioxidant compounds in raw pu-erh tea decreased. These findings indicate that a metabolomic approach is a useful tool for analyzing manufacturing type, postfermentation year, and antioxidant activity of pu-erh tea.

Effect of pre-harvest methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and post-harvest 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) treatments on broccoli floret glucosinolate (GS) concentrations and quinone reductase (QR, an in vitro anti-cancer biomarker) inducing activity were evaluated two days prior to harvest, at harvest and at 10, 20, and 30 days of post-harvest storage at 4 °C. MeJA treatments four days prior to harvest of broccoli heads was observed to significantly increase floret ethylene biosynthesis resulting in chlorophyll catabolism during post-harvest storage and reduced product quality. Post-harvest treatment with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), which competitively binds to protein ethylene receptors, maintained post-harvest floret chlorophyll concentrations and product visual quality in both control and MeJA-treated broccoli. Transcript abundance of BoPPH, a gene which is responsible for the synthesis of pheophytinase, the primary enzyme associated with chlorophyll catabolism in broccoli, was reduced by 1-MCP treatment and showed a significant, negative correlation with floret chlorophyll concentrations. The GS, glucobrassicin, neoglucobrassicin, and gluconasturtiin were significantly increased by MeJA treatments. The products of some of the GS from endogenous myrosinase hydrolysis [sulforaphane (SF), neoascorbigen (NeoASG), N-methoxyindole-3-carbinol (NI3C), and phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC)] were also quantified and found to be significantly correlated with QR. Sulforaphane, the isothiocyanate hydrolysis product of the GS glucoraphanin, was found to be the most potent QR induction agent. Increased sulforaphane formation from the hydrolysis of glucoraphanin was associated with up-regulated gene expression of myrosinase (BoMyo) and the myrosinase enzyme co-factor gene, epithiospecifier modifier1 (BoESM1). This study demonstrates the combined treatment of MeJA and 1-MCP increased QR activity without post-harvest quality loss.