Castanea sativa shells and fruits: Compositional analysis by proton induced X-ray emission

Abstract

Chestnut fruits, from Castanea sativa Miller species, have been previously characterized mainly to study the nutritional and biochemical parameters, with mineral contents receiving less attention from the researchers, although these minerals are essential for several mechanisms in human body. In this study, a detailed elemental compositional analysis was performed using Proton Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) to characterize two varieties of Castanea sativa Miller chestnuts (Longal and Judia). This study comprises the composition of the outer shells (pericarp), inner shells (episperm) and the edible fruits. From our knowledge, this is the first time that the presence of up to 20 elements on the shells and the fruits are reported. Furthermore, by PIXE it was possible to quantify them, allowing significant improvements in the assessment of chestnuts composition. Essential and nonessential elements were quantified on a food item that is used mainly for human consumption but it is also incorporated in animal feeding.

Quantification and Reduction in Heavy Metal Residues in Some Fruits and Vegetables: A Case Study Galați County, Romania

“…Results published in previous studies for As [34][35][36][37][38], Cd [36,37,[44][45][46][47], Pb [18,[35][36][37][44][45][46][47][48]54], and Zn [17,18,34,35,45,47,54,[57][58][59][60][61] are comparable to the findings from the present study. Our results are also in line with previous research carried out on samples of fruits and vegetables from Romania [16,49,50] and Moldavia [38].…”

Vitamin B6 Cofactor-Conjugated Fluorescent Polymeric Nanoparticles for Nanomolar Detection of Cu(II) and Fe(II) and Their Application in Edible Items

“…The available methods, such as high-performance liquid chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, , flame atomic absorption spectrometry, , X-ray fluorescence and emission quadrupole, , and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry − for the detection of copper/iron have limitations of time-consuming and complicated procedures and requirement of sophisticated analytical instruments with a skilled analyst. Therefore, the fluorescence-based method has gained significant interest among analytical chemists to develop fluorescence chemosensors for the facile and real-time detection of copper and iron.…”

A Drug Discovery Approach to a Reveal Novel Antioxidant Natural Source: The Case of Chestnut Burr Biomass

“…In fact, chestnuts are excellent dietary sources that provide carbohydrates, fiber, starch, fatty acids, minerals (mainly potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium), and vitamins (B9, C and E) [ 8 , 11 ]. In Europe, the chestnut sector has shown growing interest over recent years, leading to high investments being made from governments, industries, and factories to this sector [ 8 ].…”

“…Although there are indications that chestnuts are a rich source of tannins [ 9 , 10 ], most studies have evaluated the use of leaves, bark, and wood [ 8 , 10 , 11 ], and scarce information is available about the potential use of other types of chestnut waste, e.g., chestnut burrs. Studies on chestnut by-products revealed a good profile of bioactive compounds with antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, and cardioprotective properties [ 13 ].…”