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Experimental evidence indicates that the noncompetitive N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists ketamine and MK‐801 induce schizophrenia‐like symptoms in rodents, including cognitive deficits. Crocins are among the active components of the plant Crocus sativus L. and were found to be effective in different models of psychiatric disorders comprising schizophrenia. The present study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of the joint administration of sub‐effective doses of crocins with those of the atypical antipsychotics clozapine and risperidone in alleviating nonspatial recognition and emotional memory deficits induced either by ketamine (3 mg/kg) or MK‐801 (0.1 mg/kg) in the rat. To this end, the object recognition and the step‐through passive avoidance tests were used. Co‐administration of sub‐effective doses of crocins (5 mg/kg) with those of clozapine (0.1 mg/kg) or risperidone (0.03 mg/kg) counteracted nonspatial recognition and emotional memory deficits induced by NMDA receptor antagonists. The current findings suggest that this combinatorial treatment was efficacious in attenuating cognitive impairments related to the blockade of the NMDA receptor. In addition, the present results support the potential of crocins as an adjunctive drug for the therapy of schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The authenticity of honey is of high importance since it affects its commercial value. The discrimination of the origin of honey is of prime importance to reinforce consumer trust. In this study, four chemometric models were developed based on the physicochemical parameters according to European and Greek legislation and one using Raman spectroscopy to discriminate Greek honey samples from three commercial monofloral botanical sources. RESULTS: The results of physicochemical (glucose, fructose, electrical activity) parameters chemometric models showed that the percentage of correct recognition fluctuated from 92.2% to 93.8% with cross‐validation 90.6–92.2%, and the placement of test set was 79.0–84.3% successful. The addition of maltose content in the previous discrimination models did not significantly improve the discrimination. The corresponding percentages of the Raman chemometric model were 95.3%, 90.6%, and 84.3%. CONCLUSION: The five chemometric models developed presented similar and very satisfactory results. Given that the recording of Raman spectra is simple, fast, a minimal amount of sample is needed for the analysis, no solvent (environmentally friendly) is used, and no specialized personnel are required, we conclude that the chemometric model based on Raman spectroscopy is an efficient tool to discriminate the botanical origin of fir, pine, and thyme honey varieties. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Consumers today wish to know the botanical origin of the olive oil they purchase. The objective of the present study was the development of robust chemometric models based on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) and attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR‐FTIR) for the purpose of botanical differentiation of three commercial Greek olive oil cultivars. RESULTS: Using the solid‐phase microextraction technique (SPME), volatile compounds (VC) were obtained and analyzed by GC‐MS. Five hydrocarbons and one ester were selected by the forward stepwise algorithm, which best discriminated the olive oil samples. From ATR‐FTIR analysis, the spectral regions chosen from the forward stepwise algorithm were associated with CO stretching vibration of the esters of triglycerides and the CH bending vibrations of the CH2 aliphatic group and double bonds. Application of the supervised methods of linear and quadratic discriminant cross‐validation analysis, based on VC data, provided a correct classification score of 97.4% and 100.0%, respectively. Corresponding statistical analyses were used in the mid‐infrared spectra, by which 96.1% of samples were discriminated correctly. CONCLUSION: ATR‐FTIR and SPME‐GC‐MS techniques in conjunction with the appropriate feature selection algorithm and classification methods proved to be powerful tools for the authentication of Greek olive oil. The proposed methodology could be used in an industrial setting for determination of the botanical origin of Greek olive oil. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Aloe vera is a popular medicinal plant used widely by the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food industries. The A. vera leaf gel, which is used mostly for its positive effects on human health, contains over 75 different bioactive compounds, including aloin. Aloin is a toxic compound, and its content in A. vera leaf gel products depends on the different cultivation conditions and especially on leaf processing. RESULTS: In this study, A. vera leaf gel products, varied in terms of leaf processing, were analyzed using liquid chromatography for their aloin content, their antioxidant activity by 2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonate) radical cation (ABTS·+) and the 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH·) antioxidant activity assays and their toxicity against Aliivibrio fisheri and SH‐SY5Y cells. In the samples processed with industrial methods and in those filtered in the lab, the content of aloin was found below the limit (0.1 mg L−1) of the EU legislation however, the unprocessed and unfiltered samples were found to contain more than 10 mg L−1. Antioxidant activity was estimated to vary from 1.64 to 9.21 μmol Trolox mL−1 for DPPH· and from 0.73 to 5.14 μmol Trolox mL−1 for ABTS·+. Toxicity values on A. fisheri, expressed as the concentration at 50% loss of initial luminescence, ranged from 0.03 to 0.09 mg mL−1. The cytotoxic study indicated that aloin A at low concentrations (1 and 10 μg mL−1) protects SH‐SY5Y cells from toxicity induced by hydrogen peroxide. CONCLUSIONS: Consequently, the filtration process of A. vera leaf gels, either laboratory or industrial, resulted in aloin A content below the EU legislation detection limits. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wine aging in wooden barrels improves the final products' sensory profile and increases the price. Among the different types of woods, the International Enological Codex of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) approves only the use of Oak and Chestnut, thus producing a need for fast and cost-effective authentication methods. In this study Fourier Transform (FT)-mid-infrared (IR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics was employed to analyze and discriminate wines aged in barrels made from different type of wood species and in stainless steel tanks, over a period of 12 months. The wines used were made from four indigenous Greek grape varieties, two white and two red. A complete differentiation of the samples was achieved according to grape variety, the container type and the aging time based on two spectral regions (from 1800 to 1500 cm−1 and from 1300 to 900 cm−1) of their FT-IR spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Introduction Mentha pulegium L. (pennyroyal) is one of the four most commercially important Mentha species, even it is not a cultivated plant. It can be abundantly located in the Iberian Peninsula and North African countries. In Greece it grows in the wild and it is scattered all over the country. Pennyroyal is best known for its essential oil, with Spain and Morocco being the largest producers in the world. Mid-infrared spectroscopy has been applied to determine the origin of various samples. Objectives In this work Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) combined with canonical discriminant analysis has been applied to distinguish 70 Greek pennyroyal samples according to their collection areas. Material and methods Pennyroyal nonpolar organic extracts were prepared using ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction. The spectra of the extracts were recorded in the range of 4000-400 cm−1 and the best discrimination was achieved in the spectral region 1720-1650 cm−1. Results Spectral features for the discrimination of pennyroyal samples among the different collection areas occur primarily in the carbonyl region and are correlated with the main volatile constituents of the extracts (menthone, isomenthone, pulegone, piperitone). All areas were easily differentiated by canonical discriminant analysis. The percentages of correct classification and validation were 94.3 and 90.0%, respectively. Conclusion The combination of FT-IR spectroscopy and multivariate analysis provides a rapid and ambient method to discriminate pennyroyal samples in terms of geographical origin. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]