Exploring perceptive drivers and barriers to the consumption of plant-based alternatives

Nowadays, a major global challenge is to find healthy and sustainable alternative food sources to meet the growing demand for food. One of the strategies adopted to reduce the environmental impact of the food system is the development of plant-based foods used as substitutes for animal products (i.e. plant-based meat analogues, plant-based dairy alternatives). Although consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of their food choices, barriers to the transition towards these products still exist. In this context, the aims of this study were to: a) obtain a sensory mapping of animal product alternatives of the Italian market b) identify the main perceptive drivers of acceptability and rejection of plant-based products.  A sample of adult consumers (n ≥ 100; age > 18 years) balanced according to gender and age was recruited. Consumers were asked to taste and rate their overall liking of commercial plant-based foods and to perform a Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) task to describe the samples. Consumers also completed questionnaires to investigate their food consumption behaviour.  Through this study, a sensory database of plant-based products was defined based on compositional, nutritional and sensory characteristics. This database showed that there is a large diversity within the same food category with reference to the raw ingredients used and the sensory characteristics. Furthermore, through Principal Coordinate Analysis, obtained by linking liking data with CATA descriptions, the drivers of liking and rejection towards these food products were identified. Further analyses are in progress to verify the effect of consumers eating behaviour on the acceptability of these products.  The present study provides useful information for food companies for identifying potential reformulation opportunities and product development. Indeed, the optimization of the sensory and nutritional properties of plant-based food is a key strategy to improve its liking and to promote its consumption with consequent environmental and health benefits

Green Oxidation of Ketones to Lactones with Oxone in Water

Cyclic ketones were quickly and quantitatively converted to 5-, 6- and 7-membered lactones, very important synthons, by treatment with Oxone, a cheap, stable, and non-pollutant oxidizing reagent, in 1M NaH2PO4/Na2HPO4 water solution (pH 7). Under such simple and green conditions, no hydroxyacid was formed thus making unnecessary the adoption of more com-plex and non-ecofriendly procedures previously developed to avoid lactone hydrolysis. With some changes, the method was successfully applied also to water insoluble ketones such as adamantanone, acetophenone, 2-indanone and challenging cy-cloheptanone

Pyrrolidinyl benzofurans and benzodioxanes: Selective α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor ligands with different activity profiles at the two receptor stoichiometries

A series of racemic benzofurans bearing N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinyl residue at C(2) or C(3) has been synthesized and tested for affinity at the α4β2 and α3β4 nicotine acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). As previously reported for the benzodioxane based analogues, hydroxylation at proper position of benzene ring results in high α4β2 nAChR affinity and α4β2 vs. α3β4 nAChR selectivity. 7-Hydroxy-N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinyl-1,4-benzodioxane (2) and its 7- and 5-amino benzodioxane analogues 3 and 4, which are all α4β2 nAChR partial agonists, and 2-(N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinyl)-6-hydroxybenzofuran (12) were selected for functional characterization at the two α4β2 stoichiometries, the high sensitivity (α4)2(β2)3 and the low sensitivity (α4)3(β2)2. The benzene pattern substitution, which had previously been found to control α4β2 partial agonist activity and α4β2 vs. α3β4 selectivity, proved to be also involved in stoichiometry-selectivity. The 7-hydroxybenzodioxane derivative 2 selectively activates (α4)2(β2)3 nAChR, which cannot be activated by its 5-amino analogue 4. A marginal structural modification, not altering the base pyrrolidinyl benzodioxane scaffold, resulted in opposite activity profiles at the two α4β2 nAChR isoforms providing an interesting novel case study

4-, 5-, 6-, and 7-Hydroxybenzofuran: a unified strategy for a two-step synthesis of versatile benzofuranic building blocks

Over several decades, many different strategies have been reported to prepare 4-, 5- , 6-, and 7- hydroxybenzofuran (HBF), which are very important synthetic intermediates. Interested in addition of their 2- lithiated O-protected derivatives to transient 1-pyrroline as a straightforward way to nicotinoids, we have developed a unique two-step procedure to obtain 4-, 5- , 6-, and 7-HBF from 2,6-, 2,5-, 2-4- and 2,3- dihydroxyacetophenone, respectively, by conversion into 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-hydroxybenzofuranone and successive reduction of these latter with lithium borohydride. On the basis of the overall yields, the number of steps and the availability of the starting materials, such a synthetic strategy can be advantageously compared with the literature methods, here briefly reviewed, developed to synthesize the four HBFs.(piture presented

The role of nutritional and sustainability information on consumer’s acceptance of gluten-free formulations fortified with pulses

Pulses represent an ingredient for enriching food formulations with beneficial consequences both on human health and sustainability of the agri-food system, since their production requires the exploitation of few natural resources. The aims of this study were to: a) evaluate consumer acceptance and expectations of whole corn-based gluten-free formulations fortified with pulses flour; b) investigate the effect of sustainability and health information on overall liking. A sample of 127 consumers evaluated five food formulations: a whole corn-based gluten-free control sample and four experimental samples fortified with 20% of raw or pre-gelatinized red lentils or chickpea flours, respectively. Consumers were asked to evaluate overall liking under blind (only tasting), expected (only information) and real condition (information + tasting) and to complete a questionnaire about their food behaviour and sustainability commitment. ANOVA results showed that all samples were well accepted in blind condition (M: 57.6–62.7) with no significant differences between samples fortified with pulses and control sample. The information provided during the expected condition led to a general significant increase (p<0.001) in the hedonic ratings compared with the blind ones. An incomplete assimilation effect resulted for pre-gelatinized samples, while it was complete for the raw chickpea sample. In conclusion, new food formulations well accepted by consumers could be developed with pulses flours. Furthermore, information regarding food sustainability and health effects about the use of pulses as new food ingredient may positively influence consumers’ expectations and subsequent liking. Therefore, promoting the benefits of these products can be a powerful strategy to encourage their consumption and encourage consumer choice. Further analyses are in progress to verify the effect of information in consumers’ segments differing for commitment to sustainability, food neophobia and health and taste attitudes

Advantages and pitfalls of the Rate-All-That-Apply method to characterize large and heterogenous wine samples

It is well known that descriptive sensory analysis is the most powerful tool to quantitatively profile products and obtain a complete sensory description. However, conventional descriptive sensory methods have the limitation of being able to describe a small number of similar samples and being time consuming and expensive. The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability and reliability of the Rate-All-That-Apply method (RATA) to characterize a large and heterogeneous Italian wine samples involving a small number of semi-trained judges. Twelve judges evaluated 46 samples including white, red, rosé, and sparkling wines in two replicates. Judges were asked to select from a list of descriptors all the sensations that described the samples and to evaluate their intensity on a 5-point scale. Results showed that the panelists had an adequate performance as a whole and individually. Judges obtained high repeatability index scores (arbitrary cut-off > 0.50), meaning that they were consistent with the descriptors’ selection in the replicates. Panel reliability was further assessed in terms of reproducibility of whole sensory characterization by evaluating the configurational similarity of product spaces obtained from the two separate replicates through a Multi Factor Analysis (MFA). This analysis showed that replicates of all wines were located near in the bidimensional space. MFA results also showed a good discriminatory ability of the method with red wines described by bitterness, astringency, body, alcohol, and specific olfactory stimuli such as red fruits, spicy and roasted, while white wines were salty, sour, and characterized by citrus, tropical fruits and white flowers odors. The RATA method proved to be an adequate, alternative descriptive method for characterizing heterogeneous wines, making it extremely useful for producers and/or small companies to characterize their portfolio of wines. Advantages (user-friendly, rapid) and pitfalls (R.I. too optimistic with large descriptors list) of RATA method were highlighted

Selective potentiation of the (α4)3(β2)2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor response by NS9283 analogues

NS9283, 3-(3-pyridyl)-5-(3-cyanophenyl)-1,2,4-oxadiazole, is a selective positive allosteric modulator of (α4)3(β2)2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR). It has good subtype selective therapeutic potential afforded by its specific binding to the unique α4-α4 subunit interface present in the (α4)3(β2)2 nAChR. However, there is currently a lack of structure activity relationships (SAR) studies aimed at developing a class of congeners endowed with the same profile of activity that can help consolidate the druggability of the α4-α4 subunit interface. In this study, new NS9283 analogues were designed, synthesized, and characterized for their ability to selectively potentiate the ACh activity at heterologous (α4)3(β2)2 nAChRs vs nAChR subtypes (α4)2(β2)3, α5α4β2 and α7. With few exceptions, all the NS9283 analogues exerted positive modulation of the (α4)3(β2)2 nAChR ACh-evoked responses. Above all, those modified at the 3-cyanophenyl moiety by replacement with 3-nitrophenyl (4), 4-cyanophenyl (10), and N-formyl-4-piperidinyl (20) showed the same efficacy as NS9283, although with lower potency. Molecular dynamic simulations of NS9283 and some selected analogues highlighted consistency between potentiation activity and pose of the ligand inside the α4-α4 site with the main interaction being with the complementary (-) side and induction of a significant conformational change of the Trp156 residue in the principal (+) side

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

A Photoactivatable Version of Ivabradine Enables Light-Induced Block of HCN Current In Vivo

Therapeutic drugs, whose bioactivity is hindered by a photoremovable cage, offer the advantage of spatiotemporal confinement of their action to the target diseased tissue with improved bioavailability and efficacy. Here, we have applied such an approach to ivabradine (IVA), a bradycardic agent indicated for angina pectoris and heart failure, acting as a specific HCN channel blocker. To overcome the side effects due to its poor discrimination among HCN channel subtypes (HCN1–4), we prepared a caged version of IVA linked to a photocleavable bromoquinolinylmethyl group (BHQ-IVA). We show that upon illumination with blue light (440 nm), BHQ-IVA releases active IVA that blocks HCN channel currents in vitro and exerts a bradycardic effect in vivo. Both BHQ-IVA and the cage are inactive. Caging is stable in aqueous medium and in the dark, and it does not impair aqueous solubility and cell permeation, indispensable for IVA activity. This approach allows for bypassing the poor subtype-specificity of IVA, expanding its prescription to HCN-related diseases besides cardiac