Publications by authors named "Eulalia Mendes"

Edible insects are attracting increasing interest as sustainable alternative protein sources. Despite being considered a safe food for most population, their consumption can pose health risks for allergic patients. This work focused on isolating proteins from the four-European Union approved insects (Tenebrio molitor, Alphitobius diaperinus, Acheta domesticus, and Locusta migratoria) and evaluating their potential immunoglobulin E (IgE)-reactivity with crustacean-allergic patients' sera.

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Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) comprise a major class of brominated flame retardants and are well-known endocrine disruptors. The dietary route, through contaminated seafood consumption, is a main contributor to human exposure. Hence, the aim of this work was to provide thorough information on the dietary pathway of PBDEs and their methoxylated metabolites (MeO-PBDEs) after consumption of contaminated cooked seafood.

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Octopus vulgaris, Octopus maya, and Eledone cirrhosa from distinct marine environments [Northeast Atlantic (NEA), Northwest Atlantic (NWA), Eastern Central Atlantic, Western Central Atlantic (WCA), Pacific Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea] were characterized regarding their lipid and vitamin E composition. These species are those commercially more relevant worldwide. Significant interspecies and interorigin differences were observed.

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Spent coffee grounds (SCG) are usually disposed as common garbage, without specific reuse strategies implemented so far. Due to its recognised richness in bioactive compounds, the effect of SCG on lettuce's macro- and micro-elements was assessed to define its effectiveness for agro industrial reuse. A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted with different amounts of fresh and composted spent coffee, and potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, calcium, sodium, iron, manganese, zinc and copper were analysed.

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The antioxidant activity and individual bioactive compounds of lettuce, cultivated with 2.5-30% (v/v) of fresh or composted espresso spent coffee grounds, were assessed. A progressive enhancement of lettuce's antioxidant capacity, evaluated by radical scavenging effect and reducing power, was exhibited with the increment of fresh spent coffee amounts, while this pattern was not so clear with composted treatments.

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Alheiras are a traditional, smoked, fermented meat sausage, produced in Portugal, with an undeniable cultural and gastronomic legacy. In this study, we assessed the nutritional value of this product, as well as the influence of different types of thermal processing. Alheiras from Mirandela were submitted to six different procedures: microwave, skillet, oven, charcoal grill, electric fryer and electric grill.

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Espresso spent coffee grounds were chemically characterized to predict their potential, as a source of bioactive compounds, by comparison with the ones from the soluble coffee industry. Sampling included a total of 50 samples from 14 trademarks, collected in several coffee shops and prepared with distinct coffee machines. A high compositional variability was verified, particularly with regard to such water-soluble components as caffeine, total chlorogenic acids (CGA), and minerals, supported by strong positive correlations with total soluble solids retained.

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Immature coffee fruit processing contributes to a high amount of defective beans, which determines a significant amount of low-quality coffee sold in the Brazilian internal market. Unripe bean processing was tested, taking the levels of bioactive amines as criteria for evaluating the extent of fermentation and establishing the differences between processing methods. The beans were processed by the dry method after being mechanically depulped immediately after harvest or after a 12 h resting period in a dry pile or immersed in water.

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This work reports the composition of arabica and robusta coffees in terms of biogenic amines. The analyses were conducted before and after acid hydrolysis with the aim of the determining both free and conjugated forms in green and roasted coffee beans. The amines (putrescine, cadaverine, serotonin, tyramine, spermidine, and spermine) were determined by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) after derivatization with dansyl chloride.

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This work reports the results for the composition of robusta and arabica coffee species in terms of their amino acid enantiomers in the green and roasted states. The analyses were conducted for the free amino acids, as well as for the amino acids obtained after acid hydrolysis. The amino acids were extracted/hydrolyzed and isolated by SPE on strong cation exchange columns, derivatized to their N-ethoxycarbonylheptafluorobutyl esters, and analyzed by gas chromatography/FID on a Chirasil l-Val column.

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