Journal of Berry Research

Besides providing nutritional value, functional foods have potential beneficial effects on health. Consumers worldwide seek food products with added value based on physical and mental well-being.

This study aimed to analyze the urinary metabolome of volunteers who consumed a drink based on Costa Rican blackberries (Rubus adenotrichos) to identify the presence of urolithins and other possible bioactive compounds related to beneficial effects on health.

Fifteen healthy non-smoking male volunteers aged between 19 and 43 years old who consumed 250 ml of blackberry-based drink for breakfast for eight consecutive days were selected. Urine samples were obtained before and after drink consumption, which were submitted to analysis by Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to a Mass Detector (UPLC/ESI-Q-TOF-MS). Subsequently, a metabolomic analysis of the results was performed to identify the presence or absence of urolithins and other bioactive metabolites related to blackberry juice consumption.

It was possible to detect high intensity presence of urolithin A (n = 6) and high intensity presence of both urolithin A and B (n = 5) in urine samples in several volunteers. However, finding them was impossible in others, or they were at very low intensities (n = 4). Likewise, it was possible to identify Menth-1-en-4,8 diol glucuronide and 1-O-E-Cinnamoyl-(6-arabinosylglucose) as other compounds related to the consumption of blackberries.

The consumption of Costa Rican blackberries allowed us to demonstrate the presence of three metabotypes within the study population: 40% of strong urolithin A (UAP) producers, 33.3% of both urolithin (A and B) producers (UBP), and 26.7% of weak urolithin A producers (0P). Finally, it is recommended to carry out more research in this regard, considering a greater number of volunteers and including people of both sexes.

Strawberry (Fragaria×ananassa Duch.) is a species of great economic and nutritional importance. It is widely cultivated in different regions of the world. However, climatic factors have a significant influence on its production.

To evaluate the ecoclimatic suitability and growth index of F.×ananassa in the face of the impacts of climate change in Brazil and the world.

The potential global distribution of F.×ananassa it was based on predicted global climate changes using CLIMEX and the A1B and A2 emissions scenario for the years 2050 and 2100. CLIMEX weekly growth index (GIw) was applied, and productivity data in commercial strawberry cultivation in Brazilian areas were collected.

The results indicate a progressive reduction in areas suitable for strawberry cultivation globally, mainly on the African continent, Australia, China, and the Americas for the years 2050 and 2100. In Brazil, only the South region and part of the Southeast will continue to be suitable for strawberry production.

The CLIMEX model predicts a reduction in the suitable area for cultivating Fragaria×ananassa Duch between 2050 and 2100 due to climate change. The generated maps can help identify new cultivation areas and support genetic improvement programmes to develop cultivars more tolerant to heat.

Postharvest decay caused by Botrytis cinerea (gray mold) and Fusarium solani (fruit decay) negatively affects strawberry fruits during handling and marketing.

The effect of cinnamon oil, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate and/or pomegranate peel powder were estimated on the growth of the two pathogenic fungi and their fruit decay incidence under in vitro and in vivo conditions.

The isolated fungi from decayed strawberry fruits were identified as Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium sp. The isolated Fusarium sp. was identified molecularly as Fusarium solani and registered in GenBank under accession number ON248575.1 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/ON248575.1).

Complete fungal growth suppression was observed at a concentration of 3% for all tested materials, Additionally the same (100%) effect was achieved at 2% of a combination of essential oil, salts and pomegranate peel powder. Significant reduction in decay incidence and severity was observed in inoculated strawberry fruits treated with the same concentrations of the tested materials after 10 and 15 days of storage.

The results demonstrate that cinnamon oil, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate and/or pomegranate peel powder have potency as eco-friendly products, for safe postharvest treatments against strawberry fruit rots during storage. They could be recommended for use in packing-houses due to their wide utilization as safe food preservatives.

The fig (Ficus carica L.) tree known for its tasty and nutritious fruits, is typically propagated by cutting. While previous studies have focused on the effects of different treatments and environmental conditions on fig cutting propagation, little attention has been paid to the specific role and association of biochemical properties in leaves, stem bark and fruit on the rooting process.

This research explores the complex relationship between 40 biochemical traits and the rooting ability of fig cuttings. To achieve this objective, various machine learning techniques were employed, such as a random forest model, feature importance analysis, linear regression, and principal component analysis (PCA).

The random forest model showed significant predictive ability with a classification accuracy of 100%, supported by a high kappa statistic. Feature importance analysis identified a* (a colorimetric parameter in fruit), fruit trans-ferulic acid and leaf total flavonoids as the most influential traits in determining the rooting ability of cuttings. The robustness of these findings is supported by the high R-squared value (0.9002) and low error metrics (MAE 0.7554 and MSE 0.6980) of the linear regression model built on these important traits. In parallel, PCA indicated that a*, leaf total flavonoids and fruit trans-ferulic acid were the dominant traits in samples with lower rooting percentage.

These identified biomarkers can be effectively used by fig breeders and growers to select and introduce fig cultivars with improved rooting ability.