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  • Assessing Serra da Estrela PDO cheeses’ origin-production date using fatty acids profiles
    Publication . Lima, M. J. Reis; Bahri, Hamdi; Morais, Jorge Sá; Veloso, Ana CA; Fontes, Luísa; Lemos, Edite Teixeira de; Peres, António
    Serra da Estrela is a Portuguese traditional cheese produced with raw ewe’s milk from “Churra Mondegueira” and “Bordaleira” autochthonous breeds and the wild thistle flower (Cynara cardunculus L.), which benefits from the status of Protected Designation of Origin. Cheese chemical composition, namely the fatty acids profile, depends on milk composition and on manufacturing practices. Thus, the identification of possible chemical biomarkers capable of classifying Serra da Estrela cheeses according to the dairy manufacturing plant, geographical origin or production date would be of utmost relevance for producers and consumers. A typical fatty acids profile, including 23 saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, was identified for the studied cheeses, being butyric, caproic, caprilic, capric, lauric, miristic, palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and its trans-isomer and α-linolenic acids the most abundant ones (relative mean abundances ranging from 1.4% ± 0.5% to 23.9% ± 1.9%). Linear discriminant models were established based on the most discriminative fatty acids (namely, caproic, caprilic, undecanoic, lauric, pentadecanoic, palmitic, palmitoleic, heptadecanoic, oleic, linoleic trans-isomer, heneicosanoic and arachidonic acids) that included less abundant fatty acids, which were selected using the simulated annealing algorithm. The established models enabled assessing cheeses’ origin (models based on 10–12 fatty acids) and/or production date (model based on 20 fatty acids) with predictive sensitivities of 71–88%. Therefore, fatty acids profiles coupled with chemometric techniques, could be foreseen as a fingerprint of cheese’s genuineness, enhancing the consumers’ confidence when purchasing this high-value cheese.
  • Serra da Estrela cheese’s free amino acids profiles by UPLC-DAD-MS/MS and their application for cheese origin assessment
    Publication . Reis Lima, M.J.; Santos, Andréia O.; Falcão, Soraia I.; Fontes, Luísa; Lemos, Edite Teixeira de; Vilas-Boas, Miguel; Veloso, Ana C.A.; Peres, António
    Serra da Estrela cheese is a high-value Portuguese Protected Designation of Origin cheese, produced with raw ewe milk. Thus, information regarding its composition is of utmost relevance for both consumers and certified producers. In this work, the chromatographic profiles of free amino acids in cheeses (45 days of maturation, 6 producers located in 5 municipalities and produced from November 2017 to March 2018) were established by UPLC-DAD-MS/MS. The proposed method allowed detecting 19 free amino acids and cystine with overall limits of detection and quantification lower than 44 μmol/L (1.4 mg/100 g cheese, wet matter) and then 134 μmol/L (4.2 mg/100 g cheese, wet matter), respectively. In all cheeses, 17 free amino acids were quantified including 8 essential amino acids (histidine, leucine-isoleucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine) and 9 non-essential amino acids (arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, proline, serine and tyrosine). The amounts of the free amino acids, essential free amino acids, branched chain free amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine) plus the free amino acids ratios (mg/g protein) were further used to identify the producer of Serra da Estrela cheeses. Linear discriminant analysis coupled with the simulated annealing variable selection algorithm was used allowing the correct classification of 96% and 90±8% of the samples, for leave-one-out and repeated K-fold cross-validation procedures, respectively. The satisfactory predictive performance pointed out the possibility of using cheeses’ amino acids profiles as origin biomarkers for authenticity control, warranting the correctness identification of the cheese producer/brand, which is quite relevant for ensuring the consumer confidence and satisfaction when purchasing this high-value dairy food.
  • Fatty acids profile of Serra da Estrela PDO cheeses and respective atherogenic and thrombogenic indices
    Publication . Lima, M. J. Reis; Fontes, Luisa; Bahri, Hamdi; Veloso, Ana C.A.; Peres, António; Lemos, Edite Teixeira de
    Purpose – This study aims to determine the physicochemical and fatty acids composition of Serra da Estrela cheese (SEC), as well as health-related lipid indices, like the atherogenic and thrombogenic indices, and to evaluate the influence of producer, geographical origin and production date. Design/methodology/approach – All 24 SEC produced between November 2017 and March 2018 were collected at selected certified producers and analyzed by NIR spectrophotometer and by GC. Data were statistically evaluated by chemometric tools. Findings – In all evaluated SEC, 23 fatty acids were quantified. Cheese origin influenced nutritional and health-related lipid indices). The cheeses were characterized by a relative high abundance of saturated fatty acids (67-76%), followed by a medium content of monounsaturated fatty acids (17-25%) and by low level of polyunsaturated fatty acids (5-7%). A putative positive association between cheese consumption and healthy lipid indices could be reached. Practical implications – The contents of some medium and long chain fatty acids as well as of nutritional and health indices were influenced by cheese producer, geographical origin and production date pointing out the need for standardizing production procedures. Social implications – The SEC plays a key role in the local economy, being an endogenous product with unique sensory characteristics and nutritional potential, for which the knowledge of the lipids profile and health indices is of utmost relevance. Originality/value – SEC is an iconic Portuguese cheese with Protected Designation of Origin. Based on the results, like health-related lipid indices, evaluated for the first time, a positive association between cheese consumption and healthy lipid indices could be envisaged.
  • Dataset on free amino acids contents of Serra da Estrela PDO cheeses determined by UPLC-DAD-MS/MS
    Publication . Lima, M. J. Reis; Santos, Andreia O.; Soraia, Falcão; Fontes, Luísa; Teixeira-Lemos, Edite; Vilas-Boas, Miguel; Veloso, Ana CA; Peres, António
    The composition of Serra da Estrela PDO cheeses (total fat, total protein, salt and free amino acids) was assessed using NIR spectrophotometry and UPLC-DAD-MS/MS. In total, 24 cheeses were acquired from 6 certified cheesemakers located in 5 different municipalities within the delimited PDO geographical region. Cheeses were produced from raw ewe milk of two autochthonous Portuguese sheep breeds, between November 2017 and March 2018, and were acquired after 45 days of maturation. The data include the mean (and respective standard deviations) levels of moisture (%), total fat (%), total protein (%) and salt (%), obtained by NIR spectrophotometry. As well the mean (and respective standard deviations) of free amino acids contents (mg/100 g of cheese, in wet basis) evaluated using a UPLC-DAD-MS/MS method are shown. The latter data include information regarding 8 essential free amino acids (histidine, leucine-isoleucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine) and 9 non-essential free amino acids (arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glutamic acid, proline, tyrosine and serine). Leucine and isoleucine, being isomers, were quantified together. Leucine-isoleucine, phenylalanine and serine were the most abundant essential free amino acids and cysteine, proline and asparagine were the most abundant non-essential free amino acids. Free amino acids contents depended on the cheese producer as well as on the production time-period.
  • Fatty acid profile in Serra da Estrela cheese: An overview
    Publication . Lima, Maria João; Fontes, Luísa; Peres, António; Guiné, Raquel; Lemos, Edite Teixeira de
    Milk and dairy products are of major importance in the human diet, since they are an excellent source of well-balanced nutrients which are consumed in large amounts and are easy to manufacture. Most cheeses present in the market are made from cow's milk, with ewe’s and goat’s cheeses being considered delicacies derived from the unavailability of goat's and ewe’s milk in certain periods of the year, proleading to a final product with high prices that consumers tend to value given the quality of the final products. Serra Estrela (SE) cheese, a traditional variety manufactured in the center region of Portugal, is part of the national ancient cultural heritage. Made from raw sheep milk it is assumed as an iconic gourmet cheese, when compared with other Portuguese cheeses. In the present work, the evolution of the lipid fraction, namely unsaturated fatty acids such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated (omega 3 fatty acids and omega 6 fatty acids), was evaluated for a period of 9 months. Chemically it was possible to verify differences in terms of the fatty acid profile between the analysed cheese samples. SE cheese was characterized by a relatively high content of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and the evaluation of the lipid profile of SE cheese allowed possible future work in determining bioactive lipid compounds with possible health promoting functions.