Lycopene is a phytochemical that belongs to a group of pigments known as carotenoids. It is red, lipophilic and naturally occurring in many fruits and vegetables, with tomatoes and tomato-based products containing the highest concentrations of bioavailable lycopene. Several epidemiological studies have linked increased lycopene consumption with decreased prostate cancer risk. These findings are supported by in vitro and in vivo experiments showing that lycopene not only enhances the antioxidant response of prostate cells, but that it is even able to inhibit proliferation, induce apoptosis and decrease the metastatic capacity of prostate cancer cells. However, there is still no clearly proven clinical evidence supporting the use of lycopene in the prevention or treatment of prostate cancer, due to the only limited number of published randomized clinical trials and the varying quality of existing studies. The scope of this article is to discuss the potential impact of lycopene on prostate cancer by giving an overview about its molecular mechanisms and clinical effects.

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The Potential Role of Lycopene for the Prevention and Therapy of Prostate Cancer: From Molecular Mechanisms to Clinical Evidence

Consumers' interest in organic foods is increasing and so is the need for robust analytical tools for their authentication. This review focuses on the most promising biomarkers/analytical approaches that are available for the authentication of organic produce. Food products have been subdivided into two groups: foods of plant origin (crops) and foods of animal origin (meat, milk and dairy products, eggs and fish). For each food category the most suitable biomarkers are presented and their potential for authentication is discussed. In the light of current knowledge, it is unlikely that the authentication of organic food products can be attained by the measurement of a single marker. Analytical approaches based on the measurement of multiple markers and/or complex chemical or physical profiles/fingerprints supported by multivariate statistical analysis seem considerably more promising in this respect. For the development of robust classification models, well-designed experimental studies must be performed that rely on data sets that are both well balanced and of sufficient size to ensure that all relevant sources of variation for the target biomarkers are included in the reference database.

Analytical authentication of organic products: an overview of markers

Lycopene is a phytochemical that belongs to a group of pigments known as carotenoids. It is red, lipophilic and naturally occurring in many fruits and vegetables, with tomatoes and tomato-based products containing the highest concentrations of bioavailable lycopene. Several epidemiological studies have linked increased lycopene consumption with decreased prostate cancer risk. These findings are supported by in vitro and in vivo experiments showing that lycopene not only enhances the antioxidant response of prostate cells, but that it is even able to inhibit proliferation, induce apoptosis and decrease the metastatic capacity of prostate cancer cells. However, there is still no clearly proven clinical evidence supporting the use of lycopene in the prevention or treatment of prostate cancer, due to the only limited number of published randomized clinical trials and the varying quality of existing studies. The scope of this article is to discuss the potential impact of lycopene on prostate cancer by giving an overview about its molecular mechanisms and clinical effects. © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

The potential role of lycopene for the prevention and therapy of prostate cancer : from molecular mechanisms to clinical evidence

An increasing interest in organic agriculture for food production is seen throughout the world and one key reason for this interest is the assumption that organic food consumption is beneficial to public health The present paper focuses on the background of organic agriculture, important public health related compounds from crop food and variations in the amount of health related compounds in crops In addition, influence of organic farming on health related compounds, on pesticide residues and heavy metals in crops, and relations between organic food and health biomarkers as well as in vitro studies are also the focus of the present paper Nutritionally beneficial compounds of highest relevance for public health were micronutrients, especially Fe and Zn, and bioactive compounds such as carotenoids (including pro-vitamin A compounds), tocopherols (including vitamin E) and phenolic compounds Extremely large variations in the contents of these compounds were seen, depending on genotype, climate, environment, farming conditions, harvest time, and part of the crop Highest amounts seen were related to the choice of genotype and were also increased by genetic modification of the crop Organic cultivation did not influence the content of most of the nutritional beneficial compounds, except the phenolic compounds that were increased with the amounts of pathogens However, higher amounts of pesticide residues and in many cases also of heavy metals were seen in the conventionally produced crops compared to the organic ones Animal studies as well as in vitro studies showed a clear indication of a beneficial effect of organic food/extracts as compared to conventional ones Thus, consumption of organic food seems to be positive from a public health point of view, although the reasons are unclear, and synergistic effects between various constituents within the food are likely

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/11/4/3870/pdf

Contribution of Organically Grown Crops to Human Health

Organic food products are believed to be healthier, safer and more environment-friendly than their conventional counterparts and are sold at premium prices. Consequently, adulteration of organic plants and fraudulent activities for economic profit are increasing. This has spurred the development of sophisticated analytical procedures for testing authenticity. We review the use of multi-element and stable-isotope analysis based on atomic spectroscopy for discriminating between organic and conventional plants. We conclude that inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, stable-isotope analysis of bulk plant tissue, and compound-specific isotope analysis based on isotope ratio-mass spectrometry are promising tools for documenting the fertilization history of organic plants. However, these techniques are challenged by the potential diversity of fertilization practices of organic and conventional plant production. We therefore recommend that analytical techniques are combined and coupled with chemometrics to develop statistical models that can classify the agricultural origin of plant products.

Authentication of organically grown plants – advantages and limitations of atomic spectroscopy for multi-element and stable isotope analysis

Summary
Organic food is associated by the general public with improved nutritional properties, and this has led to increasing demand for organic vegetables. The objective of this study was to investigate whether there were any differences in the micronutrient contents in organic and conventional tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Two tomato cultivars ‘Llado’ and ‘Antillas’ grown organically and conventionally were compared regarding their micronutrient in terms of K, Ca, Na, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, lycopene, s-carotene, ascorbic, malic and citric acids, and total phenolic compound content. Cultivar ‘Llado’ had the highest concentration of the nutrient lycopene, s-carotene, Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu. Where cultivation method affected the concentration of ascorbic acid and Mn, only one cultivar was affected. For all nutrients examined, cultivar differences were greater than differences because of cultivation method. This study confirms that the most important variable in the micronutrient content of tomatoes is cultivar; organically grown tomato is no more nutritious than conventionally grown tomato when soil fertility is well managed.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2011.02648.x

Micronutrient contents in organic and conventional tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Bread has been associated with different cultures and civilizations since ancient times, being a product widely consumed and appreciated for both its sensory and nutritional characteristics. The aim of this work was to develop a list of descriptors to evaluate Galician breads and analyze the typical Galician bread shape influence on sensory characteristics. To achieve these goal four breads, made with the same recipe but having different shape were analyzed by a trained taste panel. Significant differences were identified for 12 of 21 attributes analyzed, being the difference between the lowest value and the highest one for these attributes in the different loaves (in cm): crust color (3.04), crumb color (1.36), amount of large cells (2.09), amount of small cells (1.94), flour residue (3.01), fermented dough odor (1.97), springiness (2.16), adhesiveness (1.70), chewiness (1.83), salty taste (1.51), bitter taste (2.36) and persistency (1.57). The loaf shape affects sensory descriptors related with odor, texture and taste since the raw materials and recipe were common for the loaves analyzed. Furthermore, the selected descriptors allow determining if a loaf meets the requirements established in the specifications of the PGI “Pan Galego”.

Influence of bread shape on the sensory characteristics of Galician breads: Development of lexicon, efficacy control of the trained panel and establishment of a sensory profile

The quality index method (QIM) is widely used for fish sensory assessment, but there are hardly any studies on quality changes in fish that have been previously frozen. A QIM scheme was developed f...

M. Ángeles Romero-Rodríguez

Papers

Micronutrient contents in organic and conventional tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Influence of bread shape on the sensory characteristics of Galician breads: Development of lexicon, efficacy control of the trained panel and establishment of a sensory profile

A QIM-Based Evaluation of Sensory Quality of Frozen–Thawed Roundnose Grenadier (Coryphaenoides rupestris) and Its Applications