Carbonyl compounds in wine: factors related to presence and toxic effects

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to review technological and toxicological factors related to presence of carbonyl compounds found in wines, including acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, acrolein, ethyl carbamate (EC) and furfural. Acetaldehyde and formaldehyde may be formed through the ethanol and methanol oxidation, respectively. Acrolein may arise as a thermal degradation product of glycerol, amino acids, carbohydrates and triglycerides or by metabolic activity of microorganisms. In addition, acrolein and furfural are formed during wood combustion; therefore, these aldehydes may be present in raw materials due to the environmental contamination. Furfural is also a product of the Maillard reaction formed from sugars and amino acids, while ethyl carbamate occurs through the reaction between urea and ethanol. These compounds may react with SO2 and phenolic compounds to form non-volatile adducts, which positively modulates color stability, astringency and aroma in wine. However, when ingested through wine, electrophilic carbonyl compounds may form adducts with nucleophilic targets, such as DNA, resulting in genotoxicity along the gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, carbonyl compounds induce the increase of reactive oxygen species and can trigger apoptosis, in addition to hepatocellular adenoma and carcinoma as a consequence of chronic hepatotoxicity. Neurodegenerative diseases may be related to the exposure to carbonyl compounds. Therefore, strategies to reduce the levels of these compounds should be studied in order to get the most out of the beneficial functional properties of wine consumption.

Food processing as a means for pesticide residue dissipation

Pesticides are one of the major inputs used for increasing agricultural productivity of crops. However, their inadequate application may produce large quantities of residues in the environment and, once the environment is contaminated with pesticides, they may easily enter into the human food chain through plants, creating a potentially serious health hazard. Nowadays, consumers are becoming more aware of the importance of safe and high quality food products. Thus it is pertinent to explore simple, cost-effective strategies for decontaminating food from pesticides. Various food processing techniques, at industrial and/or domestical level, have been found to significantly reduce the contents of pesticide residues in most food materials. The extent of reduction varies with the nature of pesticides, type of commodity and processing steps. Pesticides, especially those with limited movement and penetration ability, can be removed with reasonable efficiency by washing, and the effectiveness of washing depends on pesticide solubility in water or in different chemical solvents. Peeling of fruit and vegetable skin can dislodge pesticide residues to varying degrees, depending on constitution of a commodity, chemical nature of the pesticide and environmental conditions. Different heat treatments (drying, pasteurization, sterilization, blanching, steaming, boiling, cooking, frying or roasting) during various food preparation and preservation processes can cause losses of pesticide residues through evaporation, co-distillation and/or thermal degradation. Product manufactures, from the simplest grain milling, through oil extraction and processing, juicing/pureeing or canning of fruits and vegetables, to complex bakery and dairy production, malting and brewing, wine making and various fermentation processes, play a role in the reduction of pesticide contents, whereby each operation involved during processing usually adds to a cumulative effect of reduction of pesticides present in the material. There is diversified information available in literature on the effect of food processing on pesticide residues which has been compiled in this article.