Publications by authors named "Susana Casal"

Article Synopsis
  • Limited pharmaceutical options for cardiovascular treatments in children and the elderly necessitate customized compounded medications for accurate dosing and adherence.
  • This study evaluated the stability and properties of atenolol and enalapril maleate formulations using a unique oral vehicle called SuspendIt, focusing on factors such as palatability, pH, and injectability.
  • Results showed that the atenolol formulation remained stable for 180 days, while enalapril maleate was stable for 90 days at room temperature and 180 days when stored at a cooler temperature.
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  • The paper reviews recent studies on how high pressure processing (HPP) and hyperbaric storage (HS) affect lipid oxidation in various foods.
  • It finds that HPP increases lipid oxidation in highly perishable foods, while HS, using lower pressure for longer durations, alters the balance of oxidation products, reducing oxidation during storage.
  • The research emphasizes the necessity for a complete analysis of all types of oxidation products, rather than focusing on individual indicators, to better understand lipid oxidation processes.
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  • Consumers increasingly seek natural, minimally processed foods due to health awareness, prompting research into safe food processing methods that maintain nutritional quality.
  • The study evaluated the effects of high-pressure processing (HPP) on a fruit salad over 35 days, finding HPP significantly improved microbiological stability compared to raw samples while slightly increasing browning and not affecting antioxidant activity.
  • HPP processing resulted in nearly a 4-log reduction in microbial load and a noted increase in polyphenol oxidase activity, with changes in the volatile profiles of the fruit salad indicating alterations in flavor and aroma compounds.
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Roasted ground coffee has been intentionally adulterated for economic revenue. This work aims to use an untargeted strategy to process SPME-GC-MS data coupled with chemometrics to identify volatile compounds (VOCs) as possible markers to discriminate Arabica coffee and its main adulterants (corn, barley, soybean, rice, coffee husks, and Robusta coffee). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed the difference between roasted ground coffee and adulterants, while the Hierarchical Clustering of Principal Components (HCPC) and heat map showed a trend of adulterants separation.

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  • BPA is an endocrine disruptor found in food contact materials, linked to negative health effects, prompting a study on its impact on cardiometabolic patterns in adolescents.
  • Data from a Portuguese study involving 2,386 adolescents was analyzed, revealing three cardiometabolic patterns and quantifying BPA exposure through urine tests.
  • Higher BPA exposure correlated with increased BMI, body fat, waist circumference, insulin, and triglycerides in adolescents, indicating a significant association with higher cardiometabolic risk.
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Aiming to understand the nutritional impact of oil (MOO) on the quality of fried potatoes as consumed, a frying study using intermittent frying at 180 °C was conducted over 5 days, with a total heating time of 15 h, against olive (OO) and sunflower (SFO) oils. Additionally, due to MOO's higher costs, a SFO/MOO blend (80/20 /) was tested. With similar fat incorporation and moisture contents, potato lipid composition revealed the impact of oil oxidation over the frying time, gradually decreasing the content of unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants, including vitamin E, carotenoids and ascorbic acid, and increasing the incorporation of fatty acids (TFAs) and volatile aldehydes.

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Poultry meat is an important part of the human diet, and the valorisation of autochthonous breeds is a determinant for the sustainability of the rural areas. The increasing demand for niche products demands for better knowledge of the carcass characteristics and meat quality of these local populations. The present study aims to characterise the roosters' meat from the "Branca" (BR), "Amarela" (AM), "Pedrês Portuguesa" (PP), and "Preta Lusitânica" (PL) breeds.

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  • * In a study, HPP treatment at 450 and 600 MPa showed that dairy cream remained microbiologically safe for up to 51 days in refrigerated storage, compared to only a shorter shelf life for thermally pasteurized cream.
  • * The physicochemical properties of HPP-treated cream, like pH, color, and fatty acid profiles, remained stable, although viscosity was higher than in thermally processed samples after 28 days, indicating that HPP might be a better option for preserving dairy cream.
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Unlabelled: Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor used in food contact materials, by the application of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. The main objective of this study is to compare the estimate of daily BPA exposure at 13 years of age and in the adult Portuguese population, using different methodological approaches, and assess the associations between this exposure and sociodemographic characteristics.

Methodology: Cross-sectional data of 13-years follow-up from a population-based birth cohort Generation XXI (GXXI) (n = 2804) and from the National Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (IAN-AF 2015-2016) (n = 3845, ≥18 years old) was used.

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  • * Despite ongoing research, there are still many unanswered questions about how PS work in the body and the need for better characterization of their complex chemical structures, particularly oxidized forms.
  • * There's a growing focus on developing new methods for isolating and purifying PS while also addressing environmental sustainability, indicating that future research should explore these challenges and trends.
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As an alternative to commercial whole egg thermal pasteurization (TP), the sequential combination of moderate pressure (MP) and/or ultrasound (US) pre-treatments prior to a shorter TP was evaluated. The use of US alone or in combination with MP or TP resulted in an inactivation that was far from that of commercial TP. Nevertheless, when these three technologies were combined (MP-US-TP, 160 MPa/5 min-50% amplitude/1 min-60 °C/1.

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Staphylococcus aureus is considered a high priority pathogen by the World Health Organization due to its high prevalence and the potential to form biofilms. Currently, the available treatments for S. aureus biofilm-associated infections do not target the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) matrix.

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Decabromodiphenyl-ether (BDE-209) is a persistent organic pollutant ubiquitously found in marine environments worldwide. Even though this emerging chemical contaminant is described as highly toxic, bioaccumulative and biomagnifiable, limited studies have addressed the ecotoxicological implications associated with its exposure in non-target marine organisms, particularly from a behavioural standpoint. Alongside, seawater acidification and warming have been intensifying their impacts on marine ecosystems over the years, compromising species welfare and survival.

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  • A study compared the preservation of raw milk stored under hyperbaric conditions (high pressure) at room temperature with traditional refrigeration methods over 60 days.
  • After 14 days, both storage methods showed similar milk degradation, but hyperbaric storage resulted in slower degradation after 60 days, keeping many quality parameters intact.
  • The research suggests that using hyperbaric storage could enhance the shelf life and preservation of raw milk and other perishable foods compared to refrigeration.
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Both vitamin A and E support female reproduction and embryonic development. These vitamins have been associated with decreased fertility or failure to end the pregnancy in animals. An observational study was conducted on follicular fluid (FF) samples to determine the concentrations of fat-soluble vitamins of women undergoing fertilization and its correlation with assisted reproductive technology characteristics and pregnancy outcomes.

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Chayote leaves are known for culinary and traditional medicine applications. This work intended to recover carotenoids and phenolic compounds from chayote leaves using the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). A Box-Behnken design was employed to investigate the impact of extraction time, temperature, and ultrasonic power on the recovery of total carotenoids, total phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activities.

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The impact and relative relevance of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion, processing temperature (room temperature or 180 °C), and gelling agent (GA) (carrageenan and alginate) on the bioactive compounds and oxidation status of olive and echium oils gelled formulations with 40% lipid incorporation was assessed. In vitro digestion was not affected by the GA, with >90% lipolysis in all formulations, but was the most relevant variable, promoting oxidation (MDA) regardless of the oil type, GA or temperature applied. Tocopherols and phenolic decreased with digestion, which could be interpreted as a protective response to pro-oxidative conditions during digestion.

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. (Arundinoideae subfamily, Poaceae family) is a sub-tropical and temperate climate reed that grows in arid and semi-arid environmental conditions, from eastern China to the Mediterranean basin, suggesting potential adaptations at the epicuticular level. A thorough physical-chemical examination of the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of leaf was performed herein in an attempt to track such chemophenetic adaptations.

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The "Branca" breed is a dual-purpose Portuguese autochthonous chicken breed, produced in extensive systems and in small flocks, especially in the Entre Douro and Minho regions. A total of 40 birds (n = 20/sex) were slaughtered between 38 and 42 weeks (males) and 110 and 120 weeks (females), and carcass and meat quality parameters were evaluated. The results showed significantly higher weights and differences for males between sexes and pieces ( ≤ 0.

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Olive oils from seven Portuguese regions were selected to study the effect of the geographical origin on the oils' composition. Quality parameters, fatty acids, tocopherols, hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol derivatives, and oxidative stability were evaluated. All olive oils could be classified as extra virgin, and the geographical origin significantly affected the oils chemical composition.

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Roasting is a key step for preparing sesame oil that leads to important changes in its organoleptic properties and quality. In this study, white sesame seeds were roasted for 20 min in an electric oven at different temperatures (120, 150, 180, 210, 250 and 300 °C). The oils extracted from unroasted and roasted seeds were compared for their chemical composition: fatty acids (including trans isomers), phytosterols, lignans (sesamin and sesamolin), tocopherols and total phenolic compounds, as well as their oxidative stability and antiradical capacity.

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Classically, vicariant phenomena have been essentially identified on the basis of biogeographical and ecological data. Here, we report unequivocal evidences that demonstrate that a physical-chemical characterization of the epicuticular waxes of the surface of plant leaves represents a very powerful strategy to get rich insight into vicariant events. We found vicariant similarity between L.

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Article Synopsis
  • Meat and fish provide protein but have different fatty acid compositions affecting lipid stability, with fatty fish being more prone to oxidation due to higher polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content, while red meat's heme-Fe affects lipid stability.
  • The study aimed to assess lipid oxidation in meals containing either beef or fatty fish, alongside fried potatoes and a sugar soft drink, under simulated gastric digestion conditions.
  • Results showed that fatty fish meals had more lipid oxidation products (LOPs) formed during digestion, particularly at later gastric emptying stages, though they still retained more unoxidized PUFAs compared to beef meals.
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