Development of a methodology to analyze leaves from Prunus dulcis varieties using near infrared spectroscopy.
Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can be a faster and more economical alternative to traditional methods for screening varietal mixtures of nursery plants during the propagation process to ensure varietal purity and to avoid errors in the dispatch batches. The global objective of this work was to develop and optimize a NIR spectral collection method for construction […]
Nutrition Quality Parameters of Almonds as Affected by Deficit Irrigation Strategies.
The influence of full irrigation, double-regulated (RDI) and sustained deficit irrigation (SDI) treatments on almond quality was assessed by analyzing different parameters: sugars, organic acids, antioxidant activity, total phenolic content (TPC), and volatile compounds. Almond quality studies for plants submitted to water stress are scarce, and it is essential to understand the biochemical responses of […]
Effect of Food Structure, Water Activity, and Long-Term Storage on X-Ray Irradiation for Inactivating Salmonella Enteritidis PT30 in Low-Moisture Foods.
Recent outbreaks and recalls of low-moisture foods contaminated with Salmonella have been recognized as a major public health risk that demands the development of new Salmonella mitigation strategies and technologies. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of X-ray irradiation for inactivating Salmonella on or in almonds (kernels, meal, butter), dates (whole fruit, paste), and wheat (kernels, flour) at various water activities (aw) […]
Phenolic and fatty acid profiles, α‐tocopherol and sucrose contents, and antioxidant capacities of understudied Portuguese almond cultivars.
Almonds have recognized health benefits, which are largely attributed to their chemical composition, including fatty acids, phenolics, vitamin E, and sucrose. This study was carried with the aim of providing information on the levels of the aforementioned bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities in six understudied Portuguese cultivars (Amendoão, Bonita, Casanova, Molar, Pegarinhos-Moncorvo, Pegarinhos-Murça and Refêgo), in […]
Almond (Prunus dulcis) allergen Pru du 8, the first member of a new family of food allergens.
An almond allergen with 2 known short peptide sequences was reported as the almond 2S albumin but was later suspected to be almond vicilin. However, this allergen was designated by WHO/IUIS. This study aimed to determine the true identity of this elusive almond allergen. cDNAs were synthesized from total RNA of the Nonpareil almond. The […]
Almond Consumption and Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Evidence suggests that eating nuts may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating almond consumption and risk factors for CVD. MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau, and previous systematic reviews were searched from 1990 through June 2017 for RCTs of ≥3 wk […]
Mutation of a bHLH transcription factor allowed almond domestication
Wild almond species accumulate the bitter and toxic cyanogenic diglucoside amygdalin. Almonddomestication was enabled by the selection of genotypes harboring sweet kernels. We report the completion of the almond reference genome. Map-based cloning using an F1 population segregating for kernel taste led to the identification of a 46-kilobase gene cluster encoding five basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors, bHLH1 to bHLH5. Functional characterization demonstrated that bHLH2 […]
The association between metabolic syndrome and peanuts, pine nuts, almonds consumption: The Ansan and Ansung Study.
BACKGROUND: Previous studies reported an inverted relationship between nut consumption and the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS). The present study investigated the incidental risk for MetS according to peanut, almond, and fine nut consumption in the Korean population. METHODS: In a community-based Korean cohort, 5306 Korean adults were divided into four groups according to their […]
Transposons played a major role in the diversification between the closely related almond (Prunus dulcis) and peach (P. persica) genomes: Results from the almond genome sequence.
Combining both short and long-read sequencing, we have estimated the almond Prunus dulcis cv. Texas genome size in 235 Mbp and assembled 227.6 Mb of its sequence. The highly heterozygous compact genome of Texas comprises eight chromosomes, to which we have anchored over 91% of the assembly. We annotated 27,042 protein-coding genes and 6,800 non-coding […]
Defining the sensory profiles of raw almond (Prunus dulcis) varieties and the contribution of key chemical compounds and physical properties.
This study describes the sensory composition of commercial sweet almond varieties across two California growing seasons. It also discusses the relationship between sensory attributes and chemical and physical measures. Raw, whole almonds (43 samples each of 13 varieties in 2015 and 40 samples each of 10 varieties in 2016) were evaluated for their sensory profiles using descriptive […]