This technology detects nutrients in crops in moments

The technology developed by a group of Doctors in Japan detects nutrients in crops in a few seconds.

Una nueva technology analyzes the nutritive compounds of crops in moments, through a mass spectrometry in tandem of ionization by electrospray (Pesi/MS/MS), which can support the evaluation and improvement of the quality of the plant.

Researchers of the university of Nagoya, Japan, they point out that in addition the tool could analyze other plant metabolitess, which contribute to the quality of crops and their processed products, including their taste, aroma, color and functionality.

They assure that with the new technique, the analysis of compounds and the evaluation of the quality of crops and foods can be carried out in a simpler and faster way than with conventional technology.

how does new technology?

The technology consists of insert a probe needle in a sample, when entering the compounds that adhere to the probe tip are then ionized with high-voltage electricity and analyzed by Pesi/MS/MS.

With these tests, the researchers detected 81 types of anthocyanins in 16 types of fruits and vegetables, reducing time and labor required for sample preparation and analysis, enabling analysis in seconds to minutes.

For example, in these pruebas color pigments have been seen to have strong antioxidant, found in berries like blackberry, blueberriesraspberries and strawberries, plus purple cabbage, sweet potato, and radishes.

Color pigments having strong antioxidant properties have been seen in these tests. Photo: Nayoga University.

Advantages of Pesi/MS/MS

In addition to the advantages already mentioned, It is noted that the procedure no pretreatment required by the food to be investigated, nor separation of samples, which makes it suitable for high-throughput analysis.

It also highlights the compound microscale of achenes, the small dots found on the skin of the strawberry that serve as seeds for cultivation.

However, Dr. Shiratake, who is in charge of the project at Nagoya University, says that MS requires great skill in equipment maintenance and analysis techniques, but his way of analyzing is easy and fast. Crop technology around the world.

The new technology could be a powerful tool for quality evaluation and breed selection in horticultural science to help detect indicators of physiological responses in the crop”, the specialists point out.

An example is the case of anthocyanins, which can be used to analyze compounds involved in the flavor and functionality of crops and foods, such as sugars, organic acids, amino acids, and various secondary metabolites," explains Shiratake.

They also comment that they are already working on the development of analytical methods to present these technologies in the near future.

Another of the steps that they want to do is with animals, a project by Dr. Kei Zatsu, to combine PESI/MS/MS with bioinformatics, in this way the analysis of important compounds and metabolites in crops and foods would be accelerated by analyzing these compounds .

technology can strengthen foods

Another vision that has been seen with this technology, In addition to analyzing the culture components, it is in strengthen some, for this to reduce the food insecurity that is in the whole world.

Researchers have already developed moffins with benefits for healthusing extract of hibiscus, which provides high levels of anthocyanin, antioxidants, phenolic and ascorbic acid, which are not found in a conventional product.

About us iprona, has also carried out its own tests, developing a black currant extract with a guaranteed level of 11% anthocyanins, which are rich in antioxidants.

With these investigations, the door is opened for more researchers to formulate technology with benefits, where only a product can be analyzed in seconds, it can also be strengthen.

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