Advances in analytical techniques coupled to in vitro bioassays in the search for new peptides with functional activity in effect-directed analysis.

Bioactive peptides derived from food proteins have important biological effects. The search for new bioactive peptides from natural sources needs to base their decisions on evidence from methods providing structural information, where classic biological assays do not provide it. In this context, high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) coupled with bioassays in effect-directed analysis (EDA) has been used recently to detect the bioactivities of peptides.

Phycobiliproteins: Structural aspects, functional characteristics, and biotechnological perspectives.

Phycobiliproteins (PBPs) are fluorescent proteins of various colors, including fuchsia, purple-blue and cyan, that allow the capture of light energy in auxiliary photosynthetic complexes called phycobilisomes (PBS). PBPs have several highly preserved structural and physicochemical characteristics. In the PBS context, PBPs function is capture luminous energy in the 450-650 nm range and delivers it to photosystems allowing photosynthesis take place.

Chemometric optimization of trypsin digestion method applying infrared, microwave and ultrasound energies for determination of caseins and ovalbumin in wines.

Caseins and ovalbumin are frequently used as wine fining agents to remove undesirable compounds like polymeric phenols. Their presence in wines is a subject of concern because may cause adverse effects on susceptible consumers, especially when their presence is not labeled. A key step for its determination is trypsin digestion, which is considered the bottleneck of approach workflow because usually requires several hours.

Identification of type B trichothecenes and zearalenone in Chilean cereals by planar chromatography coupled to mass spectroscopy.

High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) and HPTLC coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) methods were described for the simultaneous determination of zearalenone (ZEA); type B trichothecenes (TCT-B); nivalenol (NIV) and deoxynivalenol (DON) along with its acetylated derivatives: 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-ADON) and 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-ADON). The extract samples were cleaned-up with Bond Elut Mycotoxin solid-phase extraction cartridges. Then, separation was performed on HPTLC silica gel 60 F plates using toluene, ethyl acetate and formic acid (1:8:1 v/v/v) as mobile phase.

Occurrence of allergen proteins in wines from Chilean market.

Casein and ovalbumin are proteins commonly used as wine fining agents that may trigger allergic reactions in susceptible individuals. Therefore, their occurrence in wines could become a health risk, moreover when their presence is not reported. The objective of this work was to determine the occurrence of casein and ovalbumin in Chilean wines.

An improved method for a fast screening of α-glucosidase inhibitors in cherimoya fruit (Annona cherimola Mill.) applying effect-directed analysis via high-performance thin-layer chromatography-bioassay-mass spectrometry.

α-glucosidase inhibitors (AGIs) are very attractive bioactive compounds due to their therapeutic profile that includes beneficial effects over glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus and viral infections. Its detection and identification in plants and fruits has gained growing attention, and certainly requires efficient screening methodologies. The objective of the present work was to develop a fast methodology to detect and identify AGIs in cherimoya fruit (Annona cherimola Mill.