Extra virgin olive oil shelf-life prediction based on an integrated approach from farm to fork

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Characterization of Liquid Dosage Forms of Atenolol and Enalapril Maleate for Oral and Enteral Feeding Administration

Publication . Mota, Sandra; Torres, Ana; Quintas, Clara; Peres, António M.; Ferreiro, Nuno Manuel; Cruz, Rebeca; Ferreira, Helena; Almeida, Isabel F.; Casal, Susana

The limited availability of pharmaceutical formulations tailored for cardiovascular diseases in both pediatric and geriatric populations generates the need for compounded dosage forms to guarantee precise dosing and medication adherence. This study aimed to analyze the physicochemical properties and stability of formulations of atenolol and enalapril maleate prepared with a proprietary oral vehicle, SuspendIt®. To this end, palatability, injectability, pH, rheological behavior, and physical, microbiological, and chemical stability over a 180-day storage period at 25 ◦C and 5 ◦C were evaluated. Injectability tests confirmed the suitable use of both formulations for administration through enteral feeding tubes. By using a potentiometric electronic tongue, it was confirmed that the SuspendIt® vehicle effectively served as a bitter-blocking strategy for atenolol and enalapril maleate. Adequate stability throughout the storage period was confirmed in terms of the mechanical properties, pH, and effectiveness of the preservative system. The atenolol concentration remained above 90% of the initial amount, while the concentration of enalapril maleate decreased to 88% after 90 days of storage at 25 ◦C. In summary, the atenolol formulation maintained suitable chemical, physical, and microbiological stability after 180 days at both storage temperatures, while the enalapril maleate formulation remained stable up to 60 days at 25 ◦C and for 180 days at 5 ◦C.

2024Journal article

Open access

Electronic nose: a tool to verify the PDO declaration of Portuguese olive oils

Publication . Rodrigues, Nuno; Ferreiro, Nuno Manuel; Ruano, Daniela Filipa Magalhães; Dias, Francisco; Veloso, Ana C.A.; Pereira, J.A.; Peres, António M.

The volatile and olfactory profiles of three Portuguese olive oils with protected designations of origin (PDO) were studied: "Azeite do Alentejo Interior", "Azeites da Beira Interior", and "Azeite de Tras-os-Montes". Seven classes of volatiles were identified, with aldehydes, followed by hydrocarbons and alcohols, the most prevalent (5.63, 2.92, and 2.79 mg/kg olive oil, respectively). The "Azeites da Beira Interior" oils exhibited the highest amount of volatiles (18.2 +/- 4.6 mg/kg olive oil) compared to the oils from the other two PDOs. Ten positive olfactory sensations were detected, and a significant effect of the PDO on the intensities of fruity, apple, cabbage, tomato, dry and fresh herbs was observed. Specifically, "Azeite do Alentejo Interior" PDO oils were characterized as fruity-ripe, while "Azeite de Tras-os-Montes" PDO oils were labelled as fruity-green. Conversely, "Azeites da Beira Interior" PDO oils encompassed both fruity-ripe and fruity-green oils. Unique volatile and olfactory fingerprints were established for each PDO, allowing the linear discrimination of the oils according to the PDO, with a predictive sensitivity of 98.0 +/- 4.2% (repeated K-fold-CV). Furthermore, a lab-made electronic nose successfully discriminated the studied oils based on the PDO, with a predictive accuracy of 99.7 +/- 2.0% (repeated K-fold-CV). This device also allowed predicting the concentrations of the three main volatile classes found in the oils through multiple linear regression models (R2 >= 0.923 +/- 0.101 and RMSE <= 1.32 +/- 0.72 mg/kg oil; repeated K-fold-CV). These findings underscore the potential of the electronic nose as a reliable traceability tool to authenticate the PDO declaration of Portuguese olive oils, and broaden its use beyond non-PDO oils from a specific geographical area to encompass a national scale.

2024Journal article

Open access

Predicting the shelf-life of extra virgin olive oil during storage at 22 and 50ºC, using a kinetic modelling approach

Publication . Ferreiro, Nuno Manuel; Pereira, José Alberto; Peres, António M.; Rodrigues, Nuno

Only extra virgin olive oils (EVOOsor VOOs), can be commercialized, being their classification dependent on the fulfillment of a set of legal tresholds.

2023Conference poster

Open access

Application of a lab-made electronic nose as a tool to assess extra virgin olive oil sensory category

Publication . Ferreiro, Nuno Manuel; Veloso, Ana C.A.; Rodrigues, Nuno; Pereira, José Alberto; Peres, António M.

Premium extra virgin olive oils are usually subjected to national and international contests aiming to promote their competitiveness and internationalization capacity. Olive oils were assessed by a sensory expert panel and initially split according to the perceived intensity of the fruitiness sensation into four categories, namely ripe (RF), green delicate (GD), green medium (GM), and green robust (GR) fruitiness.1 However, even for trained panelists, the assessment comprises a subjectivity degree, and the number of oils that can be evaluated per day is limited. In this sense, the use of electronic sensing devices can be helpful as pre-assessment tools, which may allow reducing the initial number of oils to be evaluated. Thus, a lab-made electronic nose (E-nose) comprising nine commercial metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) sensors, previously developed by the research team,2 was applied (Figure 1) aiming to verify its suitability for this purpose. In total, 59 olive oils were included in this study, which were previously classified by an expert sensory panel in a national contest: 20 oils as RF, 15 as GD, 17 as GM and 7 as GR fruitiness. For the E-nose analysis, 0.5 mL of each olive oil was inserted into a 25 mL glass vial and placed in the sampling chamber at 28 ºC (temperature recommended by the International Olive Council for sensory analysis of olive oils) for 13-min, allowing to generate a volatile fraction representative of the sample. After a cleaning step of the sensors’ surfaces using an air flow, the gas headspace from each sample was directed into the detection chamber, where it interacted with the MOS sensors for 2.5 min. The resistance signals of each of the nine MOS sensors were recorded by a data logger at 4 sec intervals being then treated taking into account seven distinct feature extraction methods: the last response point (LP), the integral of the response curve (INT), the maximum response point (MAX), the minimum response point (MIN), the sum of the response curve (SUM), and the mean of the response curve (MEAN).3 The results showed that the E-nose feature extracted data could be used to satisfactorily discriminate, based on a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) coupled with a simulated annealing (SA) algorithm, the olive oils according to sensory category groups with a sensitivity of 100% for training (Figure 2a) and 73% for the leave-one-out cross-validation (LOO-CV) procedure. The lower sensitivity achieved for the internal validation was mainly due to misclassification between GD and GM. Indeed, the classification performance of the E-nose-LDA-SA could be enhanced if only three groups were considered: RF, GD+GM and GI fruitiness. In this case the E-nose could correctly classify 100% of the oils for training (Figure 2b) and 92% for LOO-CV. In conclusion, the E-nose could be effectively applied as a rapid, cost-effective, and non-invasive tool for olive oil sensory classification.

2024Conference object

Open access