Pickering emulsions have emerged as suitable alternatives to healthily and sustainably deliver unstable compounds, addressing the demands of consumers, increasingly concerned about the nutritional value and environmental impact of the products they consume. They are stabilized by insoluble solid particles that partially hydrate both the oil (O) and aqueous (W) phases through a combination of steric and electrostatic repulsions determined by their surface properties. Since the desorption energy of the particles is very high, their adsorption is considered irreversible, which accounts for their greater stability compared to conventional emulsions. Proteins and polysaccharides, used either individually or in combination, can stabilize Pickering emulsions, and recent studies have revealed that microorganisms are also suitable stabilizing particles. This review provides an overview of recent research on Pickering emulsions, highlighting the properties of the stabilizing particles, and their ability to deliver hydrophobic and/or unstable compounds. The use of Pickering emulsions as fat-replacers, edible inks for 3D-printing or their incorporation into packaging material are also presented and discussed, pointing out their great potential for further innovation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing plant sciences by enabling precise plant species identification, early disease diagnosis, crop yield prediction, and precision agriculture optimization. AI uses machine learning and image recognition to aid ecological research and biodiversity conservation. It plays a crucial role in plant breeding by accelerating the development of resilient, high-yielding crops with desirable traits. AI models using climate and soil data contribute to sustainable agriculture and food security. In plant phenotyping, AI automates the measurement and analysis of plant characteristics, enhancing our understanding of plant growth. Ongoing research aims to improve AI models’ robustness and interpretability while addressing data privacy and algorithmic biases. Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential to fully harness AI’s potential in plant sciences for a sustainable, food-secure future.

Aim: Ashwagandha is a widely recognized medicinal plant in Ayurveda, a traditional Indian system of medicine. These extracts, which are concentrated forms of the root, contain specified withanolides (WLs) at a 5% median concentration on their packaging. Given the visual similarity between the capsule contents of these dietary supplements and authentic pulverized Ashwagandha root, there is a growing suspicion that these so-called extracts may be merely pulverized roots. To address these concerns, a procedure for evaluating Ashwagandha root extracts is presented that offers simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and the ability to provide a valid estimation. Methods: The procedure incorporates microscopic investigations to facilitate the identification of plant fragments, which should be absent in properly prepared extracts. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet detection is employed to check whether the supplements are more than 10-fold concentrated compared to the powdered root, as claimed on the product labels. Results: In the analyzed Ashwagandha root extracts, plant fragments and starch granules were detected, which could be attributed to the root in terms of size and shape. HPLC analysis of both root extracts and roots revealed nearly identical chromatograms with respect to peak patterns and signal intensity. Quantitative analysis indicated a WL content of approximately 0.15% in all tested Ashwagandha root extracts, considerably lower than the claimed 5% median content but consistent with published data for Ashwagandha root. Conclusions: Notably, none of the 10 dietary supplements labeled as Ashwagandha root extracts fulfilled the manufacturers’ claims. These findings emphasize the need for practical and simple evaluation procedures, such as those proposed in this study. Such methods enable the evaluation of Ashwagandha root extracts without requiring the complex coupling of HPLC to mass spectrometry, making them accessible and feasible.

Food products can contain various substances, including essential nutrients, as well as non-nutritive elements and potentially toxic metals. Metal contaminants have the potential to accumulate within the food chain and, when they exceed safe thresholds, can be toxic to humans, leading to health issues. To mitigate health hazards caused by exposure to such harmful substances, accurate monitoring of metal concentrations in various food samples is crucial. Achieving this goal needs understanding the basic principles of various elemental analysis methods. Additionally, selecting the appropriate technique or combination of techniques is critical for obtaining accurate and relevant results. Various advanced analytical techniques, such as atomic absorption spectroscopy, flame emission spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry, can be used for the quantification of heavy metals and metalloids in food. However, each method has its own limitations, and the accuracy depends on adequate sample preparation. This paper aims to provide a clear overview of commonly used methods and techniques for heavy metal detection in food products, addressing the advantages and limitations of each analytical technique. Additionally, it compares the most important performance parameters of the presented techniques, including the limit of detection (LOD), the limit of quantification (LOQ), recovery, and precision. Moreover, ensuring food safety involves conducting a thorough risk assessment analysis. By integrating risk assessment into the evaluation of heavy metals in food, it becomes possible to determine whether observed concentrations pose significant risks to human health. This step is imperative for establishing regulatory guidelines and implementing control measures to reduce or eliminate potential health risks. Incorporating risk assessment into the broader context of the review enhances its applicability in real-world scenarios, aiding policymakers, regulatory bodies, and researchers in making informed decisions regarding food safety standards and practices.

Aim: Three factors that affect the chemical composition and perceptible aroma of Retsina—a distinguished Greek wine, crafted by infusing resin harvested from the Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) into the fermentation process of white or rosé wines—were studied: i) the pine forest altitude (resins were harvested from two distinct forests), ii) the resins’ tapping method (two tapping methods were implemented; a conventional one using a paste of sulfuric acid on the pine trunk as an irritating stimulant, and a natural method by not using any chemical stimulant) and iii) the duration of resin extraction in the must (a short and a long extraction time were investigated). Methods: To study these three factors and their respective interactions, nine vinification protocols were carried out. Must and wine samples were collected at different time points during fermentation, maturation and after bottling, and analyzed by both headspace SPME-GC-MS and RP-LC-TIMS-TOF MS techniques. The findings of the chemical analyses were subsequently correlated with those of sensory analysis conducted. Results: In the case of pine resins harvested using the natural method, neither the forest microclimate, nor the employed duration of resin extraction in the must seem to affect the intensity of the oily character in the wine, which remains at low levels. On the other hand, the results showed that when pine resin is harvested by the conventional method, longer contact times release heavier and more oily aromas into the must. Conclusions: In the case of pine resin collected using the natural method, the extraction time in the wine must and the choice of the harvesting area of the resin do not constitute a factor of quality for the produced wine, but rather a matter of style, in contrast to conventionally harvested resin, where these factors are critical for the resulted quality.

Aim: In the present study, bunch stem and cane extracts (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Malbec) rich in phenolic compounds (PCs) like flavonoids, phenolic acids, and stilbenes are studied as potential anticancer candidates. Methods: Twenty-three PCs were quantified by liquid chromatography-diode array fluorescence detection (LC-DAD-FLD). In vitro cytotoxic activity of both extracts on healthy (HBL-100) and colorectal cancer (HCT-116) human cell lines was assessed by 3-(4,5-di-methylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction assay. Results: Cane extract did not show cytotoxic effect for the tested lines, which can be considered as an advantage for its application in the pharmaceutical industry. Conversely, the bunch stem extract showed a dose-dependent cytotoxic effect on HCT-116 and an IC₅₀ of 680 µg/mL after 48 h of incubation; but not reported cytotoxic activity on the healthy cell line, evidencing a beneficial selective activity. The reported results encourage further investigation of these extracts as potential preventive and/or therapeutic drugs, or their combined use with chemotherapeutic treatments that lead to a potential dose reduction. Conclusions: The results preliminarily demonstrated that the extracts have potential anticancer properties or do not cause damage at the cellular level, encouraging their application as functional/nutraceutical or phytotherapeutic agents.