Location: Methods and Application of Food Composition Laboratory
2024 Annual Report
Objectives
Objective 1: Determine the impact of post-harvest processing (freezing, canning, and storage), industrial processing, and cooking (boiling, steaming, and microwaving) on carbohydrates (sugars, oligomers, starch, and fiber) in foods and bioaccessibility in the GI tract.
Sub-objective 1: Determine the effects of post-Approach:harvest handling, industrial processing, and cooking on carbohydrates and evaluate the impact of analysis methodologies.
Sub-objective 2: Evaluate the impact of industrial food processing and home cooking on the bioaccessibility of carbohydrates using the INFOGEST digestion model with modifications.
Sub-objective 3: Physical analysis of RS motifs and DF.
Objective 2: Determine the effects of dietary interventions in dairy cattle on the composition of milk.
Objective 3: Evaluate nutrient profiles of leafy vegetables grown under controlled environmental agriculture conditions (CEA).
Sub-objective 1: Modulation of growth conditions (light, water, nutrient delivery) to increase production and nutrient quality.
Sub-objective 2: Research staple foods grown under different saline environments to identify salt-tolerant cultivars with similar or better nutritional traits.
Approach
The concentration and variability of conventional and emerging nutrients impacted by genetics, environment and production, processing, and preparation in food and agriculture systems are integral to research in human nutrition. Targeted research on production, processing, and preparation and emerging analytical methodology will provide crucial information on compounds of public health importance, significantly expanding our understanding of food composition. Carbohydrates are critical in shaping microbiome and immune system health, but components can be altered by processing and preparation and dramatically change functionality. New analytical methods and biomimetic digestion systems are needed to cross-validate classic analytical methods and investigate the impact of the 3Ps on digestion and bioaccessibility assessed from a whole food/meal perspective. In addition to carbohydrates, the impact of production practices on milk lipids will be investigated with respect to forage, soil health, milk volume, and bovine microbiome. The effect of covering crops that promote soil and animal health and productivity and methane-reducing seaweed forage on milk lipid quality will be investigated. The impact of management and environmental factors (drought, soil salinity, radiation) on the nutritional quality and marketability of leafy greens from controlled environment agriculture (CEA) using variable nutrient delivery systems will be studied. Nutrient and phytochemical analyses will assist in the selection of cultivars with improved nutritional traits and higher crop yields. Research on soil salinity, nutrient composition, and plant growth will support the identification of salt-tolerant cultivars for crop farmers in drought-affected/water-stressed croplands. This will support agricultural and human nutrition research, dietary guidance and consumer awareness.
Progress Report
Sub-objective 1. Determine the effects of post- harvest handling, industrial processing, and cooking on carbohydrates and evaluate the impact of analysis methodologies. We determine fiber content in different wheat fractions (bran, germ, and endosperm) and compare and optimize methods in raw and processed foods. In addition, we investigate the roles of metabolite profiles of dry beans collected from the pulse crop health initiative program collected from different regions of the U.S. via collaboration with various researchers. Our recent hire of a postdoc (University of California, Davis) will advance our efforts, including analysis of bioactive peptides within the foods treated using the INFOGEST method. This expands our capabilities for carbohydrate analysis and protein and amino acid bioavailability.
Sub-objective 2. Evaluate the impact of industrial food processing and home cooking on the bio-accessibility of carbohydrates using the INFOGEST digestion model with modifications. A simple version of INFOGEST model was tested using different sweet corn samples at University of Maryland. Several potential issues with the standard method, such as sample types and sample to digestion liquid ratio, were identified and needed to be addressed; the goal is to move this model to BHNRC for assessment of digestibility. We have purchased all major instruments, ordered chemicals, reagents and enzymes for using the INFOGEST model at The Methods and Application of Food Composition Laboratory MAFCL.BHNRC. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) was explored through collaborating with Dr. Andrew Jensen at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) Electron and Confocal Microscopy Unit; the goal is to observe the changes of polysaccharide microstructure in foods. Preliminary data showed changes of microstructure possibly related to starch in sweet corn after cooking and industrial processing.
Sub-objective 3: Physical analyses of Resistant Starch (RS) motifs and DF. The physical analysis of starch has started with evaluation of natural use cases for the approved methods of analysis of foods consumed in a minimally processed state. While type 2 RS (RS2) is present in many raw foods, most foods are consumed in a cooked state, thus RS2 is removed by processing. We have identified popped grains, e.g., corn, sorghum, wherein incomplete “cooking” occurs as a natural part of the process, resulting in residual RS2 in the as-consumed product. Further, with sorghum, we are working on establishing standardized cooking methods to resemble as consumed foods. Once completed, we can evaluate the rate of formation of retrograde RS during storage.
Objective 2: Determine the effects of dietary interventions in dairy cattle on the composition of milk.
Approximately 60% of milk samples from the Dairy Grand Challenge bovine dietary invention trial have been extracted and analyzed by fast Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS). Since 2022, there have been building infrastructure challenges that have left critical laboratory equipment rendered unusable or needing repair. During this interruption, we have developed an Interactive R-based custom quantification program for quantitative analysis of triacylglycerols in bovine milk. This work was done with by a graduate student inter n using the SCINet Ceres computer cluster for the all the experimenatal data. A manuscript “An interactive R-based custom quantification program for quantitative analysis of triacylglycerols in bovine milk”, Log # 0000414898 has been submitted to Analytical and in Bioanalytical Chemistry and in the process of revision.
Objective 3: Evaluate nutrient profiles of leafy vegetables grown under controlled environmental agriculture conditions (CEA).
Sub-objective 1. Modulation of growth conditions (light, water, nutrient delivery) to increase production and nutrient quality. An improved method as an alternative to the ISO 9167-1 (ISO) method was developed for glucosinolates quantitation. In the present study, scientists at USDA ARS in Beltsville, Maryland, developed an efficient extraction and purification procedure with a commercially available dimethylaminopropyl (DEA)-based weak anion exchange solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. The method demonstrated comparable quantification of total and individual GLSs on certified rapeseeds and other Brassica vegetables compared to the ISO method. The developed SPE method is simpler and more efficient, allowing application to a large sample size with reduced analysis time, improved repeatability and accuracy, and possible automation. This work is being used collaboratively with scientists at the Food Quality Lab of USDA-ARS. A rapid and simple investigation method for optimizing the Control (CEA) growing conditions was developed. Scientists at MAFCL developed a non-targeted metabolomic method for investigation of phytochemical profiles of vegetables grown under different CEA conditions by using Brassica microgreens as model plants. With this method, a minimum sample size as two cotyledons and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) were used for sample analysis. An image-based data normalization coupled with chemometrics-based strategies including principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were applied for the post-acquisition data analysis. This method successfully distinguished between Brassica microgreens grown under different CEA settings in a shortened cycle. This work is being used collaboratively with scientists at the Food Quality Lab of USDA-ARS. Exploring the link between diet and health has obtained significant attention. Scientists at ARS in Beltsville, Maryland, identified potential dietary biomarkers from pig fecal samples with fruits and vegetables (FV) intervention using the liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS), multivariate statistical analysis, metabolic pathway prediction and network exploration. The integration of data-driven and knowledge-based analytical methods enables the exploration of interconnected
metabolic pathways and potential interactions between identified biomarkers. Based on the strategy, a significant number of potential biomarkers, which are related to the intake of the diet including in flavanols, flavones, flavan-3 -ls, and anthocyanins, etc. were identified.
Sub-objective 2: Research staple foods grown under different saline environments to identify salt-tolerant cultivars with similar or better nutritional traits
MAFCL is investigating the variations in phytochemical content of tomato cultivars grown under different salinity conditions. We evaluated the effect of increasing concentration of sulfate and chlorid salts (control (0.65), 3.0, 4.5, and 6.0 dS m–1) in irrigation water on the concentration and profiles of metabolites in two tomato cultivars (‘Jaune Flamme’ and ‘Red Pear’) using targeted and untargeted approaches applying using ultra-high-performancenliquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). This research was done in collaboration with researchers from USDA-ARS U.S. Salinity Laboratory in Riverside, California. Results showed that there was no significant impact of salinity in both cultivars based on the limited phenolic compounds semi-quantified and identified by UHPLC-HRMS analysis. However, the principal component analysis (PCA) showed a distinct differentiation between two cultivars with both positive and negative ion modes. However, only positive ionization allowed classification between the control and different salinity treatments with both JF and RP cultivars. The total free amino acid concentrations increased with salinity as compared to the control; however, the two cultivars showed different behavior based on the salt-anion concentration In the present study with the two tomato cultivars, the polyphenols and amino acid contents marginally increased with salinity, suggesting that varying methodologies need to be applied to investigate the changes in the metabolomic profiles of crops grown under varying climatic conditions.
Accomplishments
Review Publications
Choe, U., Liu, Z., Li, Y., Sun, J., Wu, X., Pehrsson, P.R., Xie, Z., Zhang, Y., Wang, T.T., Yu, L., Gao, B. 2023. Chemical compositions of dill (Anethum graveolens L.) water and ethanol extracts and their potential in reducing the COVID-19 risk and free radical scavenging capacities. Food Chemistry. 3(10):1654–1662. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.3c00206?urlappend=%3Fref%3DPDF&jav=VoR&rel=cite-as.
Whent, M.M., Huang, J., Childs, H., Slavin, M., Harrison, D.J., Novotny Dura, J., Yu, L., Pehrsson, P.R., Wu, X. 2023. Evaluation of postharvest handling and domestic cooking on carotenoids in sweet corn. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 71(15):6133-6143. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.3c00584.
Yao, Y., Li, Y., Whent, M.M., Pehrsson, P.R., Sun, J., Chen, P., Wu, X., Huang, D., Yu, L. 2023. Chemical composition of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) extracts and potential inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-ACE2 binding and ACE-2 expression, and radical scavenging capacity. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 71(49):19523-19530. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.3c05432.
Whent, M.M., Huang, J., Childs, H., Slavin, M., Harrison, D.J., Novotny Dura, J., Yu, L., Pehrsson, P.R., Wu, X. 2023. Stability of carotenoids in sweet corn: Part 2. Effects of blanching, freezing, and canning. ACS Food Science and Technology. 3(9):1590-1599. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.3c00273.
Casavale, K., Vargas, A., Ahuja, J.K., Pehrsson, P.R., Chakrabarti, S., Hopperton, K.E., Paarnel, S., Mélanie, L. 2023. The Human Milk Composition Initiative – Filling Crucial Gaps in Data on and Related to Human Milk in the United States and Canada. Advances in Nutrition. 14(6): 1253–1254.
Lee, E.Y., Liu, Z., Li, Y., Wang, T.T., Sun, J., Wu, X., Whent, M.M., Pehrsson, P.R., Zhang, Y., Gao, B., Yao, Y., Yu, L. 2023. The chemical constituents of parsley (petroselinum crispum) leaf extract and its potential in mitigating the effects of viral infections. ACS Food Science and Technology. 3(12):2108-2116. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.3c00357.
Whent, M.M., Holly, C., Cheang, S., Jiang, J., Lebrilla, C., Luthria, D.L., Bukowski, M.R., Yu, L., Pehrsson, P.R., Wu, X. 2023. Effects of blanching, freezing and canning on the carbohydrates in sweet corn. Nutrients. 12(21):3885. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12213885.
Durazzo, A., Lucarini, M., Dwyer, J.T., Sorkin, B.C., Heinrich, M., Pehrsson, P.R. 2024. Opportunities and challenges in using NIH’s dietary supplement label database for research on ingredients in honeybee products. PharmaNutrition. 27:100377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phanu.2024.100377.
Li, Y., Zhang, M., Pehrsson, P.R., Harnly, J.M., Chen, P., Sun, J. 2024. Fast and simple solid phase extraction-based method for glucosinolate determination: an alternative to ISO-9167 method. Foods. 13(5):650. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13050650.
Gao, B., Zhu, H., Liu, Z., He, X., Sun, J., Li, Y., Wu, X., Pehrsson, P.R., Zhang, Y., Yu, L. 2024. Chemical compositions of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. (Huangqin) extracts and their effects on ACE2 binding of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, ACE2 activity, and free radicals. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 25(4). Article 2045. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25042045.