The juvenile stem as a food material
In some Mexican communities, juvenile stems of Acanthocereus tetragonus are a traditional vegetable known as cruzeta or jacube. Preparation involves cleaning and cooking. These steps change the chemical availability of stem constituents. In 2022, Cornejo-Campos and colleagues compared raw and cooked material to describe the metabolites present after both preparation methods. [Cornejo-Campos et al. 2022, pp. 1–3]
The stems were collected in Veracruz in November 2020. Spines and the cuticle, the outer protective surface layer, were removed. The cooked treatment consisted of sliced material heated in water for 15 minutes at 90°C. The stem-mass-to-water-volume ratio was 1 to 3. Both raw and cooked material were subsequently dried in darkness for a week at 40°C, ground and extracted with methanol. [Cornejo-Campos et al. 2022, p. 8]
Chromatography reveals a changed profile
The comparison used liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry. Compounds were first separated in a column, followed by analysis of their ion masses and the fragments generated during measurement. The authors reported 35 separated signals with proposed metabolite identities. These assignments are tentative and derive from spectra and comparisons with the literature. [Cornejo-Campos et al. 2022, p. 3–9]
Both treatments contained signals assigned to citric acid, eucomic acid, sinapic acid and luteolin rutinoside, among other compounds. Other signals occurred in only one treatment. This pattern may reflect breakdown during heating, release from tissues or a change in extractability. The presence of a signal describes the detectability of a compound by the method used, within its sensitivity threshold. [Cornejo-Campos et al. 2022, p. 3–9]
Two chemical assays of the extract
The Folin–Ciocalteu reagent produces a reaction used to estimate total phenolic content. The result is expressed by comparison with a gallic acid standard. Raw material yielded 40.79 ± 1.00 µg gallic acid equivalents per mg of dry mass, whereas cooked material yielded 27.52 ± 1.36 µg/mg. These are means of three measurements with standard deviations. The reagent also responds to other reducing constituents in the extract. [Cornejo-Campos et al. 2022, p. 3, table 1, p. 9]
The second assay measured scavenging of the stable DPPH radical by the extract. At the extract concentration used, raw material produced 86.44% inhibition and cooked material 5.96%. The table shows a pronounced reduction in this response after heat treatment. The result concerns a chemical reaction in a laboratory system. Constituent absorption and effects in humans require separate studies. [Cornejo-Campos et al. 2022, p. 3, table 1, p. 9]
Preparation changes what enters the extract
Cooking affects both tissue structure and constituent stability. Some compounds may enter the water used during preparation, whereas others become easier to extract after heating. The study compared dried stems and their extracts. A full balance would also require measurements in the cooking liquid and quantitative analysis of individual compounds. [Cornejo-Campos et al. 2022, p. 3–4, 8–9]
The central value of this experiment is its documented comparison of two preparation methods applied to the same material. The heating temperature and duration belong to the procedure tested. The findings provide a starting point for work on metabolite retention during preparation of juvenile stems, considering food quality, flavour and consumption conditions. [Cornejo-Campos et al. 2022, p. 3, 9–10]
Based on the full report of a chemical study of juvenile stems. Tentative metabolite assignments and extract assay results retain the scope of the method used.
Impact of the Cooking Process on Metabolite Profiling of Acanthocereus tetragonus, a Plant Traditionally Consumed in Mexico
Cornejo-Campos J., Gómez-Aguirre Y. A., Velázquez-Martínez J. R., Ramos-Herrera O. J., Chávez-Murillo C. E., Cruz-Sosa F., Areche C., Cabañas-García E., Impact of the Cooking Process on Metabolite Profiling of Acanthocereus tetragonus, a Plant Traditionally Consumed in Mexico, Molecules, 2022, 27(12):3707, doi: 10.3390/molecules27123707
Analysis of raw and cooked juvenile Acanthocereus tetragonus stems from Veracruz. UHPLC–MS profiling and chemical extract assays document the effects of food preparation on detected metabolites.