Publications by authors named "Maria T Morales"

Storage is important for virgin olive oil, a product obtained only during the harvest period, which requires a year-round storage until its best-before date. Low temperatures slow undesirable reactions, though this method is not widely applied. The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of frozen storage on the volatile composition and sensory properties of virgin olive oils.

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The sensory perception of virgin olive oil is complex and produced mainly by phenols and volatiles. These compounds are affected by the interaction with other components of the oil matrix and by biological factors. The aim of the work was to study the saliva effect and/or the presence of phenols on the release of 12 volatiles, using different olive oil matrices and volatile concentrations, and applying Solid Phase Microextration-Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detection, Proton Transfer Reaction-Mass Spectrometry and sensory analysis.

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The oxidation reactions that take place in virgin olive oil under moderate conditions involved the combined effect of antioxidant and prooxidant compounds. Given the complexity of oxidation processes of multicomponent matrices, there is still a need to develop new methods with a dynamic approach to study the persistence of the compounds with healthy properties. This work studied the joint evolution of them, including phenols and pheophytin , modeling their tendency during a real storage.

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The volatile compounds of virgin olive oil (VOO) have an important role from a sensory point of view as they are responsible for the aroma of the oil. Once the oil is obtained, auto-oxidation is the main process contributing to its deterioration, modifying the volatiles profile and aroma. The addition of aromatic herbs to VOO is a traditional technique to change the flavor and to preserve the oil.

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An objective sensory evaluation of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), involving the chemical characterization of positive attributes, is of interest. These attributes are objectively divided, according to fruitiness, into "green" and "ripe" fruity. This work studied the differentiation in the volatile profile of EVOOs into these two classes, obtained by three analytical methods, including different extraction techniques and detectors and two data processing strategies, and their relation with sensory results.

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Extra virgin olive oil is highly appreciated worldwide for its healthy and organoleptic properties. From the variety of compounds present in the oil, phenols stand out, not only for producing the bitter-pungent perception but also for their antioxidant properties, which contribute to human health protection. The addition of plants can change the phenolic profile due to a migration of plant antioxidants to the oil.

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Sacha inchi is a super seed primarily grown in the Amazon rainforest of Peru. One of the main products obtained from seeds is oil. This product is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, tocopherols, and sterols.

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Virgin olive oil is inevitably subject to an oxidation process during storage that can affect its stability and quality due to off-flavors that develop before the oil surpasses its 'best before' date. Many parameters are involved in the oxidation process at moderate conditions. Therefore, a multiparametric study is necessary to establish a link between physico-chemical changes and sensory quality degradation in a real storage experiment.

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Sacha inchi oil (SIO) is one of the largest vegetable oil exports in Peru, used for consumption, in the food industry, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals; it represents a significant economic income for producers. This study addresses the characterization and quantification of fatty acids, tocopherols, sterols, and alcohols of commercial Sacha inchi oils from Peru. Some of the SIO samples received had a high substance consistency, while others differed in the compounds studied.

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The adulteration of virgin olive oil with hazelnut oil is a common fraud in the food industry, which makes mandatory the development of accurate methods to guarantee the authenticity and traceability of virgin olive oil. In this work, we demonstrate the potential of a rapid luminescent method to characterize edible oils and to detect adulterations among them. A regression model based on five luminescent frequencies related to minor oil components was designed and validated, providing excellent performance for the detection of virgin olive oil adulteration.

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Freeze injuries in olives are responsible for the 'frostbitten olives' sensory defect that is sometimes detected in virgin olive oil. This defect is becoming one of the most common negative attributes today because climate change has modified weather patterns. The temperature changes can take place abruptly, with rapid freeze-thaw cycles, or gradually.

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Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has been linked to the Guillain-Barré syndrome. From November 2015 through March 2016, clusters of cases of the Guillain-Barré syndrome were observed during the outbreak of ZIKV infection in Colombia. We characterized the clinical features of cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome in the context of this ZIKV infection outbreak and investigated their relationship with ZIKV infection.

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This work studies the relationship between 45 volatile compounds and 17 sensory attributes (13 flavour perceptions) of dry-cured hams. Volatile compounds were quantified by SPME-GC while the sensory assessment was carried out by 13 panellists. GC-sniffing was used to determine the odour impact zones of the chromatogram.

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The difference between theoretical and empirical triglyceride content is a powerful tool to detect the presence of any vegetable oil in olive oil. The current drawback of the method is the separation between equivalent carbon number ECN42 compounds, which affects the reliability of the method and, hence, its cutoff limit. The determination of the triglyceride profile by liquid chromatography using propionitrile as the mobile phase has recently been proposed to improve their quantification, together with a mathematical algorithm whose binary response determines the presence or absence of hazelnut oil.

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The relations between dietary habits and serum lipids have been firmly established in adults. In children, this relation has been less extensively studied. We have assessed the relations between dietary components, including the different types of fatty acids (saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) and serum lipids and apolipoproteins in a group of 673 6-year-old children of the town of Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain.

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Unlabelled: We have studied the distribution of lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) and its relation to lipid profiles and a family history of cardiovascular disease in grandparents in a cohort of 673 6-year-old Spanish children. Lp(a) levels were highly skewed, showed no differences between sexes and had no relevant relations with anthropometric variables. When compared with children without a family history of stroke, children with a family history of this disorder showed significantly higher levels of Lp(a) (median 13 mg/dl, range 2-110 mg/dl versus 9 mg/dl, range 2-120 mg/dl, P=0.

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