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What would you say if someone told you that one of the best things you could eat with a nice glass of certain red wines would be a fatty burger? It wouldn’t hurt to try it with filet mignon, either, but there is something special about that burger that will probably surprise you. According to a report in ACS’ journal Langmuir, lipids (fats) in certain foods match up well with wines high in tannins (polyphenols, or antioxidants) to produce a smooth-tasting beverage. Such wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Montepulciano, Tempranillo, Petit Verdot and Nebbiolo, all reds. This interaction is critical to the taste of the wine because the fats interfere with the tannins’ ability to mix with saliva and create a bitter taste, says Julie Géan, Ph.D., who is the study team leader. So any foods with a significant amount of lipids would work well with these high-tannin red wines. Studies have shown that tannins from red grape seeds and skins are known to play an important part in taste since they contribute to red wine astringency, a dry and rough sensation in the mouth. “Based on our study, we can assume that fats present in meat, fish and cheese could interact with tannins when you drink wine,” said Géan, who is with Université Bordeaux, Pessac, France. This study is unique because of its close examination of interactions between the tannins and the lipids and their effect on the wine taste and “feel,” she said. Researchers had studied astringency and the tannin-saliva interaction widely, but little was known about interactions between tannins and lipids and their implications for tasting wine. In addition, the influence of food on the flavor and dryness of wine is well known by consumers, but has not been examined at the molecular level, according to Géan. That is, we know that cheese goes well with a nice Petite Sirah, but we just haven’t known why –– until this study. So with what you now know, how about trying a glass of red with a double cheeseburger? Red Wine Tannins Fluidify and Precipitate Lipid Liposomes and Bicelles. A Role for Lipids in Wine Tasting? Click here for the abstract. *Journalists can request a PDF of the journal article by emailing newsroom@acs.org ... View more

Here’s an item from this week’s PressPac that we thought you’d enjoy. The PressPac features summaries of articles appearing in our peer-reviewed journals and Chemical & Engineering News. To get the entire PressPac in your inbox, email us at newsroom@acs.org. Long stigmatized because of its “high”-inducing cousins, hemp — derived from low-hallucinogenic varieties of cannabis — is making a comeback, not just as a source of fiber for textiles, but also as a crop packed with oils that have potential health benefits. A new study, which appears in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, details just how many healthful compounds hempseed oil contains. Maria Angeles Fernández-Arche and colleagues note that for millennia, people around the world cultivated cannabis for textiles, medicine and food. Hemp has high levels of vitamins A, C and E and beta carotene, and it is rich in protein, carbohydrates, minerals and fiber. In the early 20 th century, many countries banned cannabis because some varieties contain large amounts of the high-inducing compound THC. And although Colorado recently legalized recreational marijuana use — and some states have passed medical marijuana laws — the drug remains illegal according to U.S. federal law. But the European Union has legalized growing low-THC versions of hemp, and it’s making its way back into fabrics and paper. With increasing interest in plant oils as a source of healthful compounds, Fernández-Arche’s team wanted to investigate hempseed oil’s potential. They did a detailed analysis of a portion of hempseed oil. They found it has a variety of interesting substances, such as sterols, aliphatic alcohols and linolenic acids, that research suggests promote good health. For example, it contains α-linolenic acid, which is an omega-3 fatty acid that some studies suggest helps prevent coronary heart disease. The findings could have implications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food and non-food industries, they state. " Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Seed Oil: Analytical and Phytochemical Characterization of the Unsaponifiable Fraction" Click here for the abstract. *Journalists can request a PDF of the journal article by emailing newsroom@acs.org . Credit: American Chemical Society Follow us: Twitter , Facebook ... View more

The nerve gas sarin was released on several subway lines in Tokyo in 1995 in a terrorist attack. Thirteen people died, and many more had severe injuries. But while such an incident is going on, how do you determine what’s happening and what might be in the air? Someday, first responders might come onto the scene and, after evacuating everyone, release a bunch of beetles with tiny, thin sensors on them into the subway stations. As the beetles make their way into the stations, the sensors would wirelessly report back whether sarin gas or some other agent is present. That’s what Jang-Ung Park and colleagues envision. They are developing futuristic thin, flexible electronic devices that could attach onto leaves, insects, clothes or human skin to monitor environmental conditions or even someone’s health status. The researchers, who are at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology and Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute , report in ACS’ journal Nano Letters that they’ve come up with a simple, inexpensive way to make the sensors. They are using carbon-based materials — graphite and carbon nanotubes — instead of silicon, which is traditionally used to make electronic circuits. “The fabrication and processing can be much cheaper with our sensors because the entire device can be chemically synthesized in a single step, and carbon is also much less expensive than silicon,” says Park. Silicon-based electronics are brittle and rigid, but the carbon-based sensors that Park’s team is making are flexible. The sensors can even bend around a thin optical fiber without breaking. They also can stick to living things, like skin, bugs and plants, without adding an adhesive. They tested their sensors by putting them onto the leaf of a “lucky bamboo” plant and onto the backs of “stag beetles.” The sensors performed well, detecting DMMP, which is similar to sarin, within seconds.  The authors acknowledge funding from the Basic Science Research Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea , IT R&D Program, Materials Original Technology Program and Technology Innovation Program. What do you think? Is this feasible? What other applications can you think of for these sensors, aside from detecting harmful gases? “In-situ Synthesis of Carbon Nanotube–Graphite Electronic Devices and Their Integrations onto Surfaces of Live Plants and Insects” Click here for the abstract. *Journalists can request a PDF of the journal article by emailing newsroom@acs.org . Credit for both images: American Chemical Society Follow us: Twitter , Facebook ... View more

For a strawberry-lover there’s nothing better than picking that sweet, dark red piece of fruit right off the bush and popping it into your mouth. Well, maybe strawberries and cream would be nice, too. And then there’s strawberry jam slathered on a nice piece of buttered toast. Wait: How about a big slice of strawberry pie?  Just when you think it can’t get any better for your strawberry desserts, there’s new, exciting research on your favorite fruit. Scientists are breeding the better berry. So far these super-good strawberries appear to have more healthful antioxidants and a sweeter flavor than your standard red berry of the same name in grocery stores. Another advantage of their process is that it involves natural breeding to develop new varieties and does not produce “genetically modified,” or GMO, strawberries, avoiding this controversial technique. According to a report in the ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, strawberries are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and flavonoids, a rich source of antioxidants. Numerous studies have linked eating lots of fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidants to lower risk of cancer and heart disease. So with this in mind, a research team in Italy decided to see if it could create even more healthful berries that taste even better. For their study, the researchers bred wild strawberries with a commercial variety. “We already released a new variety (Romina) with increased high nutritional quality of the fruit in comparison with other varieties on the market (e.g. Elsanta),” said Bruno Mezzetti, who headed the team of scientists. “But then by crossing wild strawberries with cultivated genotypes we were able to develop new genotypes with a further higher content of antioxidants that looked pleasing to the eye and tasted quite sweet.” The new plants also produced a good yield of berries, he added. Overall, the researchers worked with 20 kinds of strawberries they created and their “parents,” checking them for weight, yield, sugar content, acidity and antioxidant content. Based on their analysis, they concluded that a full-scale breeding program can produce new strawberry varieties that are superior to current commercial crops. Mezzetti says the group’s ultimate aim is to produce these “super-good” strawberries that will be sold commercially. First, they will test the berries further in the lab and then, possibly, with human volunteers to determine even more definitively if the fruit has added health benefits and is even tastier than current varieties. “ Use of Wild Genotypes in Breeding Program Increases Strawberry Fruit Sensorial and Nutritional Quality” Click here for the abstract. *Journalists can request a PDF of the journal article by emailing newsroom@acs.org .                Credit: iurii Konoval/ iStock/Thinkstock                                    Follow us: Twitter, Facebook ... View more

Looking to nature for materials to use in everyday products has its appeal and has spurred earnest research efforts toward this end. The approach seems more healthful than turning to synthetic materials — but nature is not always benign. Luckily, there are scientists acting as watchdogs over this enterprise to make sure at least some of what’s natural in our products is actually a good thing. In a new study, one team led by Anna Shvedova, Ph.D., has looked at materials called cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), which are the most abundant natural biopolymers on the planet. Her team’s report from the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering states that CNCs have a lot of traits that are useful. CNCs can lend desirable strength, and electrical and magnetic properties to products. They’re also biodegradable and come from renewable sources such as wood, bacteria and algae. Because of their all-around appeal, CNCs have made it into an impressive array of products.               “The novel generations of cellulose products are already manufactured and used for a number of applications in spray paints, cosmetics, packaging, construction and building insulation,” says Shvedova, who’s with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and West Virginia University. What could be safer or more sustainable? As it turns out, perhaps a lot of things. Shvedova tested these CNCs for health effects in mice. Her team found that these otherwise promising materials caused pulmonary inflammation and lung damage that is more severe than that caused by crocidolite asbestos, one of six kinds of the mineral. This could pose a serious health risk to manufacturing employees who work with CNCs and might inhale them. “The major point to emphasize is that this nanomaterial should be handled carefully,” Shvedova says. There is a bit of good news in all this. Shvedova also found that the way the CNCs were produced made a big difference in how they affected the animals’ health. “Taken together, our data suggests that particle morphology and nanosize dimensions of CNCs, regardless of the source and chemical composition, may be critical factors affecting the type of innate immune inflammatory response,” she says. “As the need for manufacturing novel frontier nanocellulose materials for various applications including consumer products rises over the years, a detailed assessment of specific health outcomes with respect to their physical, structural and chemical properties is highly warranted.” Shvedova’s work raises the persistent, modern question: How do we balance consumption with safeguarding our health and environment? Click here for the abstract. Image credit: Aquir/iStock/Thinkstock ... View more