The zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) cultivars 'Patty Green', 'Black Beauty', and 'Gold Rush' were cultivated on weathered dioxin-contaminated soil in pots, and concentrations of the 29 dioxin-like compounds that were assigned WHO-TEFs, three non-toxic polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), and two non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were analyzed. Toxic equivalent (TEQ) values accumulated in 'Black Beauty' and 'Gold Rush' were about 180 times higher than those in 'Patty Green'. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) based on total mass concentration of the twelve dioxin-like PCBs was higher than those of the seven PCDDs and ten PCDFs in all the cultivars. The BCFs for PCDD and PCDF congeners were negatively correlated with octanol-water partition coefficients in all the plants. No correlations were observed in PCB congeners in the high accumulators, although in 'Patty Green' the BCFs for PCB congeners were significantly correlated with octanol-water partition coefficients. Our findings suggest that the high accumulators had unknown, unique mechanisms for uptake of PCBs, whereas PCDDs and PCDFs were absorbed based on their physicochemical properties.

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Objective The present work aimed at evaluating the effects of carcass quality grade (QG) on the quality characteristics of pork meat according to Korean carcass QG system. Methods Pork carcasses with varying in QG: 1+ (QG1+, n = 10), 1 (QG1, n = 10) and 2 (QG2, n = 10), were used to evaluate the relationship between carcass QG and meat quality. The meat quality traits, fatty acid profiles, flavor compounds and sensory qualities were measured on the longissimus dorsi muscle samples of these carcasses. Results Pork meat of higher QG (QG1+) presented significantly higher fat content (5.43%), C18:2n-6 level (19.03%) and total unsaturated fatty acids content (62.72%). Also, the QG1+ meat was significantly higher in levels of classes of flavor compounds such as aldehydes, alcohols and hydrocarbons in comparison to those of the meat samples from the lower QG groups. The sensory evaluation results (flavor, juiciness, tenderness, and acceptability scores) of QG1+ meat was significantly higher than the QG1 and QG2 meats. The pork with lower QG (i.e., QG2) was found positively correlated to redness (r = 0.987), C18:1n-9 level (r = 1.000) but negatively correlated to the fat content (r = −0.949), and flavor (r = −0.870), juiciness (r = −0.861), tenderness (r = −0.862) and acceptability (r = −0.815) scores. Conclusion The pork with higher QG had higher fat content, total unsaturated fatty acids and better eating quality, thus producing pork with higher QGs should be considered in order to satisfy the consumer’s expectation.

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