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To this day, merely 8% of all estimated fungi species are documented and, in certain regions, its biodiversity is practically unknown. Inside the Fungi Kingdom, macrofungi and lichens assume a critical part in the ecosystem functionality and have a historical connection to mankind's social, clinical and nutritious uses. Despite their importance, the diversity of these groups has been widely overlooked in the sub-Antarctic Region of Chile, a crucial area in the study of climate change due to its extraordinary biodiversity and its proximity to Antarctica. Few studies regarding both groups have been conducted in this sub-Antarctic Region and the data are still scarce and inaccessible, as these are only published in specialised journals, unreachable to local communities., Chile's Innovation for Competitiveness Fund (FIC) provided funding for both SIB-Aysén (BIP 30346481-0) and the Open Laboratory for Sub-Antarctic Sciences (BIP 40000521-0) initiatives.

This article belongs to the Special Issue Cyclodextrins in Drug Delivery., Gold nanostars (AuNSs) exhibit modulated plasmon resonance and have a high SERS enhancement factor. However, their low colloidal stability limits their biomedical application as a nanomaterial. Cationic β-cyclodextrin-based polymer (CCD/P) has low cytotoxicity, can load and transport drugs more efficiently than the corresponding monomeric form, and has an appropriate cationic group to stabilize gold nanoparticles. In this work, we functionalized AuNSs with CCD/P to load phenylethylamine (PhEA) and piperine (PIP) and evaluated SERS-based applications of the products. PhEA and PIP were included in the polymer and used to functionalize AuNSs, forming a new AuNS-CCD/P-PhEA-PIP nanosystem. The system was characterized by UV–VIS, IR, and NMR spectroscopy, TGA, SPR, DLS, zeta potential analysis, FE-SEM, and TEM. Additionally, Raman optical activity, SERS analysis and complementary theoretical studies were used for characterization. Minor adjustments increased the colloidal stability of AuNSs. The loading capacity of the CCD/P with PhEA-PIP was 95 ± 7%. The physicochemical parameters of the AuNS-CCD/P-PhEA-PIP system, such as size and Z potential, are suitable for potential biomedical applications Raman and SERS studies were used to monitor PhEA and PIP loading and their preferential orientation upon interaction with the surface of AuNSs. This unique nanomaterial could be used for simultaneous drug loading and SERS-based detection., Orlando Donoso-González was supported by the ANID doctoral scholarship (no. 21180548). Rodrigo Sierpe was supported by the ANID-FONDECYT postdoctoral research grant (no. 3180706). Soledad Bollo, Marcelo Kogan, and Rodrigo Sierpe were funded by ANID-FONDAP (no. 15130011) and ANID-FONDEQUIP EQM (no. 140112). Marcelo Kogan, Rodrigo Sierpe and Orlando Donoso-González were funded by FONDECYT (no. 1170929). The funding was provided by Servicio General de Apoyo a las Investigación (SAI, University of Zaragoza).

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 bottom-up approach workflow because usually requires several hours. To reduce this time, the objective of this work was to carry out a chemometric optimization of trypsin digestion method applying infrared, microwave and ultrasound energies to determine caseins and ovalbumin in wines. The conditions of each accelerated digestion method were optimized using a Response Surface Methodology based on central composite design. The parameters optimized were digestion time and trypsin: protein ratio. The response variable evaluated was digestion yield, which was determined through the peak area of each protein transition determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The most effective technique was microwave followed by ultrasound and infrared. Since optimal values of microwave and ultrasound-assisted digestion were the same, the later was chosen considering sample preparation and cost. Applying the proposed approach, a reduction of ca. 140 and 240-fold on digestion time was achieved compared with optimized and non-optimized conventional methods, respectively. With this workflow, both proteins were digested in a single 3 min process allowing its detection by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry at µg L−1 level, which is ca. 60 times lower than the current limit of 0.25 mg L−1., This work is part of Jessy Pavón-Pérez thesis to obtain the degree of Doctor in Science and Analytical Technology from the University of Concepcion, Chile. Authors thank to the National Commission of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT) of the Chilean Government for the doctoral scholarship granted. This study was funded by the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FONDECYT) Project No. 1171857 and by the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Equipment (FONDEQUIP) Project No. 130209.

[Introduction]: Giant garlic is a functional food that contains different kinds of bioactive molecules with beneficial effects on chronic noncommunicable diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. Considering biosynthesis pathways, abundance, and biological activity, alliin and S-allyl-cysteine were used as chemical markers of organosulphur compounds present in giant garlic., [Objective]: To establish a chemometric optimisation of pressurised liquid extraction for the determination of alliin and S-allyl-cysteine in giant garlic by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS)., [Methodology]: Samples were blanched (ca. 90°C for 10 min) to inactivate alliinase and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase enzymes and then freeze-dried. Chemometric optimisation was performed via response surface methodology based on central composite design (CCD). Organosulphur compound yields were determined applying a validated LC–MS/MS method in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode using the following transitions: for alliin m/z 178 → 74 and for S-allyl-cysteine m/z 162 → 41., [Results]: According to CCD results, under constant conditions of pressure (1500 psi) and time (20 min), the optimal conditions for pressurised liquid extraction of alliin and S-allyl-cysteine were 70.75 and 68.97% v/v of ethanol in extraction solvent and 76.45 and 98.88°C as extraction temperature, respectively. Multiple response optimisation for the simultaneous extraction of both organosulphur compounds was established via desirability function. Under these conditions, 2.70 ± 0.27 mg g−1 dry weight (DW) of alliin and 2.79 ± 0.22 mg g−1 DW of S-allyl-cysteine were extracted., [Conclusions]: These results clearly demonstrated that pressurised liquid extraction is an efficient green technique to extract bioactive organosulphur compounds from giant garlic. Extraction yields were significantly (p, This study was funded by National Fund for Scientific & Technological Development (FONDECYT), project N°1171857, International Cooperation Program (REDI) N°170441, and Fund for Scientific and Technological Equipment (FONDEQUIP) project N° 130209.

Certain grape (Vitis vinifera L.) varieties overseen for decades by the Chilean wine industry have emerged as the 'Carignan'. 'País' has not had this resurgence and its production is sold for a price below the national average, negatively affecting the economy of small producers of the Maule Valley (Chile). The aim was to study the grape phenolic composition of 'Carignan' grapevines grafted onto 'País' rootstock according to climate and soil conditions. Sites were located in Valdivia (Val), Loncomilla (Lon), Melozal (Mel), and Huerta de Maule (Hdm) situated in Maule Valley. Phenolic compounds in grapes were analyzed by HPLC. The results showed that soil and climate conditions affected the accumulation of soluble solids, weight of 100 berries and most of the anthocyanins, flavonols and flavanols. Total anthocyanins content in grapes varied from 1393.05 to 1856.03 mg kg-1 (Val and Mel sites, respectively), while total flavonols content ranged from 124.17 to 218.93 mg kg-1 (Val and Lon, respectively). Total flavanols concentration varied from 86.85 to 158.13 mg kg-1 (Lon and Val), while total content of hydroxycinnamic acids varied from 23.91 to 34.84 mg kg-1 (Mel and Hdm). Location conditioned grape flavonoid composition of 'Carignan' grapevines grafted onto 'País'. The use of an ancient variety as a rootstock ('País') on a variety with a great oenological potential ('Carignan'), could be a viticultural tool to improve the income of the small wine-growers of the Maule Valley, without affecting phenolic composition in grapes., This work was funded by FIC BIP30.345.677-0 and VIGNO (Vignadores de Carignan). G.G.-G. thanks for the financial support given by CONICYT BCH/Doctorado-72170532.

Among the forgotten varieties within the Chilean wine industry, ‘Carignan’ grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) in the Maule Valley, Chile, have been rediscovered by viticulturist and winemakers, producing very interesting wines and well recognized worldwide. Phenolic compounds are secondary metabolites, and there has been much interest in potential health benefits of polyphenols as antioxidants. The aim of this work was to study grape phenolic composition from ‘Carignan’ vineyards growing in eight different sites of the Maule Valley during the 2016 vintage. Phenolic compounds were analyzed by HPLC-DAD. The results showed that, as expected, the most abundant anthocyanin, flavonol, flavanol and hydroxycinnamic acid in ‘Carignan’ grapes were malvidin-3-glc varying from 279.56 to 428.68 mg kg-1, quercetin-3-glucoside+rutin ranging from 27.64 to 82.69 mg kg-1, procyanidin B1 varying from 39.13 to 72.84 mg kg-1 and trans-coutaric acid varying from 27.14 to 72.76 mg kg-1, respectively. trans-Piceid was the only stilbene identified, which ranged from 1.06 to 7.67 mg kg-1. Climate conditions more than soil characteristics affected grape ripening. Generally, grapes from Curtiduría (Cur) and El Peumal (Peu) presented a faster ripening, in terms of technological maturity, than grapes harvested from the rest of the sites, regarding day of season. In most of the phenolic compounds, grapes from Peu, presented higher concentration than grapes from the rest of the sites. Thus, location conditioned phenolic composition in grapes. These findings are of importance for the Chilean wine industry in relation to the viticultural management of the ‘Carignan’ variety, regarding climatic conditions, soil characteristics and ripening within the Maule Valley., This work was funded by FIC BIP 30.345.677-0 and VIGNO (Vignadores de Carignan). Gastón Gutiérrez-Gamboa thanks for the financial support given by CONICYT, BCH/Doctorado-72170532.

[Background] Carignan noir is one of the minor and ancient varieties from the Chilean wine scenario that has had a resurgence as a result of to its rediscovered oenological potential when cultivated under the conditions of the interior dryland area. Under these growing conditions Carignan noir wines stand out as fruit driven and fresh compared to those originating from other growing areas. On the other hand, it is well known that wine aroma composition depends mainly on variety, viticultural management and winemaking. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the volatile composition of wines from Carignan noir grapes originating from ungrafted and grafted onto País grapevines, in ten sites of the Maule Valley (Chile) during two consecutive vintages. [Results] Higher alcohols were the most abundant volatile compounds, whereas ethyl esters and ß‐damascenone were the most odoriferous compounds according to their odorant activity value. The dominant factor in Carignan noir wine volatile composition was season, whereas rootstock did not have a significant effect in differentiating the wines. In terms of climate, cold nights during the month prior to harvest correlated with higher linalool, α‐terpineol and trans‐3‐hexen‐1‐ol content. The biologically effective degree‐days index was inversely correlated with isoamyl acetate and 2‐phenylethyl acetate content. Huglin's heliothermal and the average mean temperature of the warmest month indices were inversely correlated with ethyl vanillate, ethyl hexanoate and ethyl octanoate content. [Conclusion] Site climate conditions were related to the accumulation of certain wine volatile compounds. This information may be useful for devising new Carignan noir vineyard management strategies when aiming to improve wine quality or adjust site selection approaches to maximize grape/wine volatile composition according to wine style., This work was funded by FIC BIP 30.345.677‐0 Gobierno Regional del Maule‐Chile, Vigno (Vignadores de Carignan), Wines of Chile, Viña Casas Patronales, Cooperativa Loncomilla and INIA‐Gobierno de La Rioja. GG‐G is grateful for the financial support given by CONICYT, BCH/Doctorado‐72170532. TG‐C and EPP‐Á thank MINECO for their contracts.

[Background] Among Chilean varieties, Carignan noir has had a major resurgence due to its rediscovered wine quality potential. For this, the aim of this study was to characterize phenolic composition of grapes grown in six sites from the Maule Valley. [Results] The data showed that myricetin‐3‐glc and catechin were the most important flavonol and flavanol, respectively. Anthocyanin and flavonol composition was correlated with biologically effective degree days, exhibiting a relationship with grape maturity. Flavanol and hydroxycinnamic acid composition was inversely correlated to the average maximum temperature of the warmest month, showing that their synthesis is favored by cooler temperatures during the warmest month. [Conclusion] These results have enological and viticultural interest for grape growers as vineyard site selection for this cultivar can confer differentiable attributes in terms of grape composition and quality. On the other hand, understanding the effects of climate on the synthesis of phenolic compounds may be useful for managing the vineyards with the aim of improving grape quality. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry, This work was funded by FIC BIP 30.345.677‐0, Gobierno Regional del Maule, Chile, Vigno, Vinos de Chile A.G., Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) and Gobierno de La Rioja. G.G.‐G. thanks for the financial support given by CONICYT, BCH/Doctorado‐72170532. T.G.‐C. and E.P.P‐Á., wish to thank the INIA and the Gobierno de La Rioja for their contracts.