Two LC methods were developed for the achiral and chiral reversed-phase (RP) analysis of an amino acid (AA) pool in a food supplement, in compliance with the main paradigms of Green Chromatography. A direct achiral ion-pairing RP-HPLC method was optimized under gradient conditions with a water-ethanol (EtOH) eluent containing heptafluorobutyric acid (0.1%, v/v), to quantify the eight essential AAs (Ile, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Thr, Trp, and Val) contained in the food supplement. Thus, the usually employed acetonitrile was profitably substituted with the less toxic and more benign EtOH. The method was validated for Leu and Phe. The chiral LC method performed with a teicoplanin chiral stationary phase was developed with a water-EtOH (60:40, v/v) eluent with 0.1%, v/v acetic acid. The enantioselective analysis was carried out without any prior derivatization step. Both developed methods performed highly for all eight AAs and revealed that: (i) the content of six out of eight AAs was consistent with the manufacturer declaration; (ii) only L-AAs were present. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that a two-dimensional achiral–chiral configuration is possible in practice, making it even more environmentally sustainable. A molecular modelling investigation revealed interesting insights into the enantiorecognition mechanism of Lys.

Background Pancreatic lipase (PL) is a key lipolytic enzyme in humans for the digestion and absorption of dietary fats. Thereby, PL is a well‐recognized target in the management of obesity and its inhibition attracts the interest of researchers globally. The screening of new natural PL inhibitors as alternative strategy to the synthesis of chemical ones represents nowadays a hot topic in research. The main challenge in this matter is the lack of a universal analytical method allowing the monitoring of PL activity and the reliable quantification of lipid digestion products. Results The (normal phase)‐high‐performance liquid chromatography‐evaporative light scattering detector [(NP)‐HPLC‐ELSD] method proposed in this work represents a direct and rapid strategy to simultaneously quantify the products obtained from in vitro PL digestion. As one of the main novelties, the triacylglycerol (TAG) fraction from extra‐virgin olive oil was selected as natural substrate. The PL activity was measured by monitoring the levels of remaining TAGs and formed free fatty acids (FFAs), using Orlistat as known inhibitor. The method validation confirmed the adequacy of the analytical method for quantitative purposes, showing high recovery percentage values (between 99% and 103%) and low relative standard deviation (RSD%) values (between 2% and 7%) for triolein and oleic acid standard solutions, as well as appreciably low limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) values (respectively 58 and 177 ng mL−1 for triolein; 198 and 602 ng mL−1 for oleic acid). Finally, the developed HPLC‐ELSD method was successfully applied to evaluate the inhibitory effect of a polyphenolic extract obtained from apple pomace. The results showed a comparable inhibition degree between a 4.0 mg mL−1 apple pomace solution and a 1.0 μg mL−1 Orlistat solution. Conclusion The proposed innovative method reveals highly sensitive and simple to follow the fate of PL digestion, thus opening the way to further investigations in the research of new potentially anti‐obesity compounds. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Potato sprouts, an underutilized by-product of potato processing, could be exploited for the recovery of caffeoyl-quinic acids (CQAs), a family of polyphenols with well-recognized biological activities. In this work, the predominant compound of this class, 5-CQA, was extracted by Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction (UAE) under conditions optimized by an Experimental Design. The investigated variables solid/solvent ratio (1:10–1:50 g/mL), water content in ethanol (30–100% v/v) and UAE time (5–20 min) highlighted a critical influence of the last two factors on the extraction efficiency: extracts richer in 5-CQA were obtained with lower water content (30%) and time (5 min). The addition of ascorbic acid (1.7 mM) as anti-browning agent to the extraction solvent improved the extraction efficiency of 5-CQA compared to acetic and citric acids (3158.71 μg/mL, 1766.71 μg/mL, 1468.20 μg/mL, respectively). A parallel trend for the three acids and an increase in 5-CQA recovery was obtained with the use of freeze-dried sprouts (4980.05 μg/mL, 4795.62, 4211.25 μg/mL, respectively). Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in vitro demonstrated UAE being a more valuable technique than conventional maceration. Furthermore, three-times-higher values of TPC (7.89 mg GAE/g) and TAC (FRAP: 24.01 mg TE/g; DPPH: 26.20 mg TE/g; ABTS 26.72 mg TE/g) were measured for the optimized extract compared to the initial one. An HPLC-DAD method was applied to monitor 5-CQA recovery, while an LC-HRMS/MS investigation allowed us to perform analyte identity confirmation along with detection of the glycoalkaloids α-solanine and α-chaconine. This evidence underlines the necessity to develop purification strategies in order to maximize the potential of potato sprout waste as a source of 5-CQA.

Currently, there is a growing interest in valorizing agro-food byproducts having interesting bioactives with functional and health properties. This paper deals with the use of apple pomace (AP), the most abundant by-product of apple juice industry, to formulate a novel value-added mayonnaise (AP mayo). The effect of AP on the chemical and rheological characteristics, microbiological quality, and sensory attributes of the new product was studied during a 30-day storage at refrigerated temperature. A comparison with two commercial mayo samples was also carried out. The results highlighted that the AP mayo showed a total phenol content of 2.12 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g, and improved antioxidant properties (DPPH radical-scavenging activities 2.47 mg TE/g; 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) diammonium salt, ABTS 3.18 mg TE/g; ferric reducing antioxidant power, FRAP 2.78 mg TE/g). After 30 days, it was more stable than the other two mayo. Moreover, AP mayo showed even higher overall acceptability scores by the assessors than the commercial samples. The results confirm that the addition of AP represents a valid approach to increase the health properties of spreads and sauces, satisfying the demand of health-conscious consumers, even those who prefer plant-based foods. The proposed healthy mayonnaise confirm the AP is a multifunctional ingredient with interesting potential applications in the formulation of new spreads/sauces with antioxidant properties.