Flavour and Fragrance Journal最新文献

Artemisia brevifolia Wall. ex DC commonly known as short-leaved wormwood is found specifically in the high-altitude cold desert areas of the Indian Himalayan Region. The distinctive feature of this species is its pale-green coloured leaves, which are highly aromatic in nature. Extracted essential oil of A. brevifolia was found to be dark yellow in colour with a strong smell, and the content reached up to 86.67 ± 11.54 μL / 80 g of dried material. A total of 16 compounds were found to be present in the essential oil, which includes eucalyptol as the main component, the content of which reached up to 332.26 ± 30.04 μg/mL of essential oil when quantified by GC-FID. The internal pool of volatile analysis revealed a total of 26 compounds contributing to the aroma of this plant. The antioxidant capacity of the essential oil was also measured using three different systems, viz. β-carotene-linoleic acid bleaching assay, reducing power assay, and DPPH assay. Enzyme inhibitory properties of A. brevifolia essential oil against tyrosinase and elastase were studied to explore its use as an anti-ageing product. Histological studies were also conducted to understand the anatomical features of A. brevifolia aerial parts that accumulate a high quantity of essential oil. In addition, simple ethanol-based deodorants in mixture with essential oil of different plants were prepared and evaluated by 20 individuals to obtain an acceptability score. The overall study with A. brevifolia essential oil was proven to be a potential candidate for many applications.

Molecular odour, as a crucial chemical property, serves as the foundation for flavour modulation in food product development, directly impacting applications ranging from precision design of food flavours and fragrance synthesis to environmental monitoring. However, the structure–activity relationship between molecular characteristics and olfactory perception remains incompletely understood, while traditional experimental approaches face challenges in large-scale molecular odour characterisation. Recent advances have highlighted the growing importance of artificial intelligence algorithms integrated with chemical data processing techniques for molecular property prediction and rational interpretation of structure-flavour correlations. This study develops a MPNN-based fusion model that constructs a multi-label binary classification framework by integrating molecular topological features with chemical feature maps. Through atomic-level feature embedding and bond relationship propagation mechanisms, our architecture effectively captures cross-scale structural patterns from a meticulously curated molecular odour dataset. The model demonstrates robust predictive performance across key food-related odour dimensions including Odourless, Fruity, Offensive, Oily and Woody (F1-score: > 0.73, AUC: > 0.82), while maintaining strong generalisation capabilities for low-abundance labels (e.g., Alcoholic, n = 50: F1-score = 0.6940, AUC: = 0.8612). The mechanistic analysis revealed that gradient backpropagation can elucidate quantitative associations between specific functional groups and odour perception, providing actionable insights for rational modification of flavour molecules. Our work innovatively integrates multi-label classification with feature visualisation, overcoming the interpretability limitations inherent in conventional QSAR models for odour prediction. The developed computational framework provides an extensible technical pathway for intelligent fragrance development and odour digitisation engineering, establishing a novel algorithmic paradigm for next-generation food sensory innovation.

To investigate the distinctive cellar aroma differences between traditional and modern upper steaming distilled strong-aroma type of Baijiu (SAB), Napping-ultraflash profile (Napping-UFP) combined with flavoromics was used. Significant distinctions of the cellar-aroma among 18 different upper steamed distilled samples were observed between LZLJ-T7 and LZLJ-M7 using Napping-UFP. Moreover, 44 odorants with FD ≥ 9 were identified using comparative aroma extract dilution analysis and further quantified using multiple quantitative techniques. Among them, 28 odorants with OAVs ≥ 1 were identified as important. In addition, 18 key discriminant mark substances were identified through partial least squares discriminant analysis. Further verification using aroma recombination and omission identified 17 key aroma compounds in LZLJ-T7 and 14 in LZLJ-M7. Partial least squares regression revealed ethyl hexanoate, ethyl 3-phenylpropionate, isovaleric acid, dimethyl trisulfide and ethyl caprylate as the primary contributors to the differential cellar aroma between traditional and modern upper steaming distilled SAB.

Dissipation patterns of fungicides were studied on rose following two applications of Luna Experience (Fluopyram 200 g/L + Tebuconazole 200 g/L SC) at 100 + 100 and 200 + 200 g a.i. ha⁻¹ as single and double doses, respectively. Samples were collected at 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days post-treatment. A rapid and sensitive method for simultaneously quantifying fluopyram and tebuconazole in rose based on acetonitrile extraction combined with GCMS/MS spectrometry was validated. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were found to be 0.003 and 0.01 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. Half-life of the applied pesticide at the different doses ranged from 1.48 to 1.86 days for fluopyram and 1.27 to 1.82 days for tebuconazole. Fluopyram residues dissipated below its LOQ of 0.01 mg kg⁻¹ after 21 days post-treatment at double dose, while residual dissipation of tebuconazole below LOQ was observed after 14 days in both doses.

Neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), etc., pose a significant global health burden, yet their underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. The olfactory tubercle (OT), a ventral striatal component, emerges as a critical hub integrating olfactory information with reward, emotion, and motivation. Dysfunctions within OT related neural circuits are heavily implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders. This review synthesises OT's anatomical and functional architecture, highlighting its laminar organisation dominated by D1/D2 dopamine receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons and islands of Calleja granule cells. The OT acts as a nexus, receiving input from the olfactory bulb and connecting extensively with key regions like the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, and periaqueductal gray. Its rich neurochemical landscape, particularly dopaminergic transmission, alongside glutamate, GABA, and serotonin systems, underpins synaptic plasticity crucial for sensory integration and behavioural adaptation. Evidence links abnormal OT activity and specific pathways to anxiety- and depression-like behaviours. The OT's roles in multisensory integration, social behaviour, and stress response further implicate it in schizophrenia, ASD, and OCD. Olfactory deficits, as seen in COVID-19, also highlight OT vulnerability. Understanding OT circuit mechanisms offers novel perspectives for pathophysiology and potential neuromodulation-based therapies. Future research should leverage advanced techniques to decipher precise OT-mediated multimodal integration and its translational potential for treating neuropsychiatric conditions.

This study aimed to compare olfactory disorders (OD) and their risk factors in 497 H1N1 influenza patients and 369 COVID-19 patients. Patients with H1N1 influenza and COVID-19 were categorised into groups with and without OD using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The olfactory conditions and clinical characteristics of the group with OD among H1N1 influenza patients and COVID-19 patients were compared, and the independent risk factors of OD were analysed. It was found that the incidence of OD in H1N1 influenza patients was 19.11%, lower than 25.75% observed in COVID-19 patients (χ² = 5.436, p = 0.020). Compared to COVID-19 patients, the group with OD of H1N1 influenza patients showed a shorter overall disease course (Z = −5.281, p < 0.001), an earlier onset time of OD (Z = −3.995, p < 0.001), a shorter duration of OD (Z = −8.816, p < 0.001), as well as fewer comorbidities (χ² = 4.456, p = 0.035). Age (OR = 1.021, p = 0.020), nasal symptoms (OR = 3.648, p < 0.001), and smoking history (OR = 3.169, p = 0.002) were identified as independent risk factors for OD in H1N1 influenza patients, whereas nasal symptoms (OR = 4.466, p < 0.001), comorbidities (OR = 3.861, p < 0.001), and smoking history (OR = 2.129, p = 0.029) were independent risk factors for OD in COVID-19 patients. H1N1 influenza patients were found to have a lower incidence, earlier onset, and faster recovery of OD, with different independent risk factors compared to COVID-19 patients.

The biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles through essential oil-mediated methods represents an innovative approach at the intersection of nanotechnology and natural products. The primary focus of this study was on the synthesis of Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) by utilising the essential oil (EO) of Eucalyptus tereticornis species (Euc EO), as well as the investigation of the prospective biological applications of these nanoparticles. The synthesised Eucalyptus tereticornis EO mediated ZnO NPs (Euc ZnO NPs) were characterised by UV–Vis spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Scanning Electron microscopy (SEM) analysis (average size between 30 and 120 nm). The agar well diffusion method was used to test the antibacterial activity of an oil and biosynthesised nanoparticles, followed by Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) determinations. In comparison to pure Euc EO (100%), ZnO NPs showed efficient antibacterial activities against all tested microorganisms, with a maximum zone of inhibition for Bacillus cereus (24 mm) and high antifungal activities against Aspergillus fumigatus (23 mm) at 100 mg/mL. At 1000 μg/mL concentration, Euc ZnO NPs showed significant antioxidant activity, inhibiting 80.2% of free radicals compared to 76.43% for pure EO (100%). The membrane stabilising effect of Euc ZnO NPs was demonstrated with the high outcome at 3000 μg/mL, outperforming Acetylsalicylic acid. This study presents a method for synthesising efficient and rapid ZnO NPs using Eucalyptus tereticornis EOs, which utilise less toxic chemicals that have the potential to be used as an effective alternative to combat antibiotic resistance.