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This study was conducted to identify resistant pepper accessions against the destructive disease bacterial wilt (BW) caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. A total of 338 pepper (Capsicum species) germplasms collected from different countries and deposited in the National Agrobiodiversity Genebank, Rural Development Administration (RDA), Republic of Korea, were evaluated. The evaluated accessions comprise samples from five distinct species: Capsicum annuum (213), Capsicum baccatum (47), Capsicum chinense (45), Capsicum frutescens (31), and Capsicum chacoense (2). Disease severity scores were recorded over four consecutive weeks and showed an increase in severity from initial inoculation to the end of the evaluation period. A strong correlation was observed between week 1 and 2, as well as between week 3 and 4. Ten resistant pepper accessions were identified. All selected accessions consistently exhibited low disease scores ranging from 0 to 1 throughout the observation period. These accessions belong to C. chinense (2), C. annuum (6), C. chacoense (1), and C. frutescens (1). Accessions such as IT236738 (C. chinense) and IT283498 (C. chinense) were demonstrated to have high resistance, showing no symptoms over all four weeks. Other accessions belonging to C. annuum (IT247232 and IT236340) and C. chacoense (IT158713) maintained a disease score of 0 (no symptoms) for the first three consecutive weeks; however, they developed symptoms with a score of 1 in the fourth week. Other important characteristics of the resistant materials were evaluated, including carotenoids and fruit characteristics. These accessions have important traits beyond resistance to the destructive pepper disease. They will serve as promising resources for breeding resistant pepper varieties against BW to enhance productivity.

Abstract Recent advances in technology related to objective measures of dietary intake have led to tools such as the Veggie Meter®. The Veggie Meter uses pressure-mediated reflection spectroscopy to determine skin carotenoid status as an objective proxy of fruit and vegetable intake. This project is part of a larger study to determine seasonal changes in skin carotenoids of residents in an urban setting. The purpose of this project is to report baseline measures of skin carotenoids in a subset of older urban adults. Adults frequenting community events (senior center, food pantries, health fairs) consented to triplicate Veggie Meter readings. Adults (n=54) ages >60 years old who provided consent completed a survey and a baseline Veggie Meter reading. Participants were 68% female with a mean ± standard deviation age of 68 ± 7.2 years. Mean BMI was 29.9 ± 7.47 kg/m² . Most were non-smokers (75%). Participants identified as African American (78%), Caucasian (7%), two or more races (7%), or other race (6%). Mean Veggie Meter score was 275.6 ± 98.88. Smokers had a significantly lower Veggie Meter® score (216±73.4) than non-smokers (295 ± 98.7) p=0.006. Conclusion: For this sample of older adults in the DC area, differences in skin carotenoid status was seen by smoking status. Additional data is pending for Winter, Spring and Summer readings to determine whether seasonal variations exist in skin carotenoid status as measured by the Veggie Meter.

Provitamin A (proVA) carotenoid synthesis and degradation are strongly influenced by environmental factors, including during post-harvest storage. Hypobaric and hyperbaric storages increase the shelf-life of many crops, but their effects on proVA carotenoids are not known. Our aim was to investigate the effects of modifications of atmospheric pressure and composition on α- and β-carotene concentration and bioaccessibility during the post-harvest storage of carrots and sweet potatoes. Vegetables were stored for 11–14 days at 20 °C in the dark in chambers with modified pressure and O[sub.2] concentrations. In carrots, α- and β-carotene concentrations increased significantly during storage, but compared to the control, they were significantly lower in hyperbaria (−23 and −26%, respectively), whereas they did not differ significantly in hypoxia and hypobaria. In sweet potatoes, α- and β-carotene concentrations decreased significantly during storage, but neither hypoxia, hypobaria nor hyperbaria led to any significant change compared to the control. There was a significant increase for carrot α- and β-carotene bioaccessibility in hypobaria and hyperbaria, while there was a significant decrease for sweet potato β-carotene bioaccessibility in hypobaria/hypoxia and normobaria/hypoxia (−45% and −65% vs. control, respectively). Atmospheric pressure and composition during the post-harvest storage of carrots and sweet potatoes modified the concentration and bioaccessibility of proVA carotenoids.

Carotenoids represent a class of pigmented terpenoids. They are distributed in all taxonomic groups of fungi. Most of the fungal carotenoids differ in their chemical structures to those from other organisms. The general function of carotenoids in heterotrophic organisms is protection as antioxidants against reactive oxygen species generated by photosensitized reactions. Furthermore, carotenoids are metabolized to apocarotenoids by oxidative cleavage. This review presents the current knowledge on fungal-specific carotenoids, their occurrence in different taxonomic groups, and their biosynthesis and conversion into trisporic acids. The outline of the different pathways was focused on the reactions and genes involved in not only the known pathways, but also suggested the possible mechanisms of reactions, which may occur in several non-characterized pathways in different fungi. Finally, efforts and strategies for genetic engineering to enhance or establish pathways for the production of various carotenoids in carotenogenic or non-carotenogenic yeasts were highlighted, addressing the most-advanced producers of each engineered yeast, which offered the highest biotechnological potentials as production systems.

Despite an increase in life expectancy that indicates positive human development, a new challenge is arising. Aging is positively associated with biological and cognitive degeneration, for instance cognitive decline, psychological impairment, and physical frailty. The elderly population is prone to oxidative stress due to the inefficiency of their endogenous antioxidant systems. As many studies showed an inverse relationship between carotenoids and age-related diseases (ARD) by reducing oxidative stress through interrupting the propagation of free radicals, carotenoid has been foreseen as a potential intervention for age-associated pathologies. Therefore, the role of carotenoids that counteract oxidative stress and promote healthy aging is worthy of further discussion. In this review, we discussed the underlying mechanisms of carotenoids involved in the prevention of ARD. Collectively, understanding the role of carotenoids in ARD would provide insights into a potential intervention that may affect the aging process, and subsequently promote healthy longevity.

The aim of this work was to evaluate a previously-developed model on supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) for carotenoid recovery from carrot peels on various carotenoid-rich fruit and vegetable wastes. To this end, 15 matrices, including flesh and peels of sweet potato, tomato, apricot, pumpkin and peach, as well as flesh and wastes of green, yellow and red peppers, were submitted to SFE under optimised conditions (59 °C, 350 bar, 15 g/min CO2, 15.5% (v/v) ethanol as co-solvent, 30 min of extraction time). The obtained extracts were characterised for their total carotenoid content, antioxidant activity and total carotenoid recovery (TCR). TCR values were greater than 90% w/w for most samples, with β-carotene being the most successfully extracted compound (TCRs 88–100% w/w). More polar carotenoids, such as lutein and lycopene, exhibited lower TCRs. A comparison with literature data suggested that carotenoid extraction is partially dependent on the composition of vegetable matrices, specifically on polysaccharide and moisture content. The results indicated that the optimised SFE conditions can be used as a general model for carotenoid extraction from various fruit and vegetable matrices and as a viable method for adding value to these waste streams by generating carotenoid-rich extracts.

Lycopene (LYC) bioavailability is relatively low and highly variable, because of the influence of several factors. Recent in vitro data have suggested that dietary Ca can impair LYC micellarisation, but there is no evidence whether this can lead to decreased LYC absorption efficiency in humans. Our objective was to assess whether a nutritional dose of Ca impairs dietary LYC bioavailability and to study the mechanism(s) involved. First, in a randomised, two-way cross-over study, ten healthy adults consumed either a test meal that provided 19-mg (all-E)-LYC from tomato paste or the same meal plus 500-mg calcium carbonate as a supplement. Plasma LYC concentration was measured at regular time intervals over 7 h postprandially. In a second approach, an in vitro digestion model was used to assess the effect of increasing Ca doses on LYC micellarisation and on the size and zeta potential of the mixed micelles produced during digestion of a complex food matrix. LYC bioavailability was diminished by 83 % following the addition of Ca in the test meal. In vitro, Ca affected neither LYC micellarisation nor mixed micelle size but it decreased the absolute value of their charge by 39 %. In conclusion, a nutritional dose of Ca can impair dietary LYC bioavailability in healthy humans. This inhibition could be due to the fact that Ca diminishes the electrical charge of micelles. These results call for a thorough assessment of the effects of Ca, or other divalent minerals, on the bioavailability of other carotenoids and lipophilic micronutrients.