Detection of Saffron’s Main Bioactive Compounds and Their Relationship with Commercial Quality

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Hi dear Editorial board of Foods

This article "Saffron apocarotenoids and its relationship with its commertial quality” was revised and has a novelty and I recommend it for publication after consideration of the following comments.

Title: It is concise and it is better change to comprehensive title as the follow:

·       “Various techniques for detecting different types of bioactive compounds in different Crocus sativus L. sections and their relation to the commercial quality of saffron”

Abstract:

·       Line 20: which type of chromatography are you mean. Please express it carefully.  

·       Line 25-26: “The large number of chemical compounds found in the by-products of saffron (catechin, quercetin, delphinidin, etc.)” What is the meaning of by-product of saffron? Do you mean the leaf or root or red stigmas of Crocus sativus L. after giving back the color? Please explain it appropriate.

Keywords: Please choose keywords other than the main words of the title. In this case, other researchers can find your article by searching a wide range of words through databases. I propose another keywords as the follow:

Saffron; apocarotenoids; Saffron adulteration; By-products, phytochemicals, Bioactive metabolites compounds, Chemical identification etc.

 

Introduction:

·       Line 31-36: Use bioactive compounds from food waste as an enrichment in food formulation as an example in the introduction. For example, you can refer to the following articles:

·       https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.15311

·       https://doi.org/10.1590/fst.52120

··       Line 57” what is the PDO abbreviation?

·       Line 124: please add the drying speed and the type of drying for variables to be used

·       Line 130-131: “One kilogram of dried saffron requires between 110 000 and 165 000 flowers (approximately 80 kg of flowers)” in parenthesis is that rights? Please reconsider another time.

·       Line 233: HTCC ?

·        

Methodology:

·       Please in the manuscript consider the different types of extraction methods and the solvents for saffron extract?

Discussion:

Discussion text must grammar improve and in some cases it is weak. Please strengthen.

Conclusions:

Conclusion is very general, try to make it more scientific, comprehensive and concise in detail, especially.

·       Line 576-579: “Saffron chemical profiles determination with chemometric methods favored the discrimination of adulterated samples, possible plants, or adulterating compounds, and even concentrations in which these are obtained.” Please point some chemometric methods in conclusion.

References: It is OK.

The article has many flaws in express and concept of English, it is suggested to be revised in a scientific and native way.

 

 

Author Response

This article "Saffron apocarotenoids and its relationship with its commertial quality” was revised and has a novelty and I recommend it for publication after consideration of the following comments.

Title: It is concise and it is better change to comprehensive title as the follow:

• “Various techniques for detecting different types of bioactive compounds in different Crocus sativus L. sections and their relation to the commercial quality of saffron”

ANSWER: The paper tittle was modified according to all reviewers’ observations

Abstract:

• Line 20: which type of chromatography are you mean. Please express it carefully.  

ANSWER: It was expressed as reviewer observation

 

• Line 25-26: “The large number of chemical compounds found in the by-products of saffron (catechin, quercetin, delphinidin, etc.)” What is the meaning of by-product of saffron? Do you mean the leaf or root or red stigmas of Crocus sativus L. after giving back the color? Please explain it appropriate.

ANSWER: The correct term was included

Keywords: Please choose keywords other than the main words of the title. In this case, other researchers can find your article by searching a wide range of words through databases. I propose another keywords as the follow:

Saffron; apocarotenoids; Saffron adulteration; By-products, phytochemicals, Bioactive metabolites compounds, Chemical identification etc.

ANSWER: New keywords were included as requested

Introduction:

• Line 31-36: Use bioactive compounds from food waste as an enrichment in food formulation as an example in the introduction. For example, you can refer to the following articles:
• https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.15311
• https://doi.org/10.1590/fst.52120
• http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6933-635X

 

ANSWER: In L37-40 information was included

• Line 57” what is the PDO abbreviation?:

ANSWER: We include an abbreviation index, however is included in the text L62

• Line 124: please add the drying speed and the type of drying for variables to be used

ANSWER: We don’t find the drying speed, however, we include some of the main drying variables L129-131

• Line 130-131: “One kilogram of dried saffron requires between 110 000 and 165 000 flowers (approximately 80 kg of flowers)” in parenthesis is that rights? Please reconsider another time.

     

 

ANSWER: L138-150 the sentence was mofidied

• Line 233: HTCC ?

ANSWER: L246 included the complete name of the compund

Methodology:

• Please in the manuscript consider the different types of extraction methods and the solvents for saffron extract?

ANSWER: The requested information was added L470-482

Discussion:

Discussion text must grammar improve and in some cases it is weak. Please strengthen.

ANSWER: Grammar were revised by MDPI English editing services

Conclusions:

Conclusion is very general, try to make it more scientific, comprehensive and concise in detail, especially.

ANSWER: Conclusion section was modified

 

References: It is OK.

The article has many flaws in express and concept of English, it is suggested to be revised in a scientific and native way.

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Authors,

I find the topic and aim of this review article quite valuable and interesting, the review article is well-organized and design. However, the main drawback is about the language, considerable language correction is needed. I recommend professional help because this is a review article and it has an educational mission. I will be happy if authors present a English language certification after revision. Also, i attached the pdf manuscript with some notes on it.

 

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

REVIEWER 2.

The manuscript is well writen and have many information on saffron compounds, chemical components, origin, some adulterants and quality parameters according to the legislation.

However, I think this manuscript was not very foccused on the correlation of the autheticity or quality of the saffron with the chemometrics tools. In Table 2, and pages 14 and 15 are listed some studies that should have make chemometrics for this matrice. But in many of them, especially on the Table 2, many papers seems do not use chemometric tools. Or if they used the authors could include in the part of thechnique. Many of them just cite the reference technique (UHLPC, LC-MS...) but not the chemometric tool used. 

ANSWER: We include in table 2 the chemometric methods and include the observations in

L508-512

From my reader perspective the chemometrics parts is not very well linked to the text, that was very well foccused on the composition of saffron. The authors could try to improve this conection, especially on writing more of chemometrics in the introduction and during the text. In the current way, looks like this subject was added in the very last time of the paper preparation.

ANSWER: L519-533

The title is about Saffron apocarothenoids, but it is not clear where the chemometrics tools were used to evaluate them.

ANSWER: The paper tittle was modified according to all reviewers observations

Some words that refers to chemometrics are missing in the key-words.

ANSWER: New keywords were included as requested

Reviewer 3 Report

The manuscript is well writen and have many information on saffron compounds, chemical components, origin, some adulterants and quality parameters according to the legislation.

However, I think this manuscript was not very foccused on the correlation of the autheticity or quality of the saffron with the chemometrics tools. In Table 2, and pages 14 and 15 are listed some studies that should have make chemometrics for this matrice. But in many of them, especially on the Table 2, many papers seems do not use chemometric tools. Or if they used the authors could include in the part of thechnique. Many of them just cite the reference technique (UHLPC, LC-MS...) but not the chemometric tool used. 

From my reader perspective the chemometrics parts is not very well linked to the text, that was very well foccused on the composition of saffron. The authors could try to improve this conection, especially on writing more of chemometrics in the introduction and during the text. In the current way, looks like this subject was added in the very last time of the paper preparation.

The title is about Saffron apocarothenoids, but it is not clear where the chemometrics tools were used to evaluate them.

Some words that refers to chemometrics are missing in the key-words.

Author Response

REVIEWER 2.

The manuscript is well writen and have many information on saffron compounds, chemical components, origin, some adulterants and quality parameters according to the legislation.

However, I think this manuscript was not very foccused on the correlation of the autheticity or quality of the saffron with the chemometrics tools. In Table 2, and pages 14 and 15 are listed some studies that should have make chemometrics for this matrice. But in many of them, especially on the Table 2, many papers seems do not use chemometric tools. Or if they used the authors could include in the part of thechnique. Many of them just cite the reference technique (UHLPC, LC-MS...) but not the chemometric tool used. 

ANSWER: We include in table 2 the chemometric methods and include the observations in

L508-512

From my reader perspective the chemometrics parts is not very well linked to the text, that was very well foccused on the composition of saffron. The authors could try to improve this conection, especially on writing more of chemometrics in the introduction and during the text. In the current way, looks like this subject was added in the very last time of the paper preparation.

ANSWER: L519-533

The title is about Saffron apocarothenoids, but it is not clear where the chemometrics tools were used to evaluate them.

ANSWER: The paper tittle was modified according to all reviewers observations

Some words that refers to chemometrics are missing in the key-words.

ANSWER: New keywords were included as requested

Round 2

Reviewer 3 Report

The manuscript improved and can be accepted in the present form.

Author Response

The manuscript improved and can be accepted in the present form.

ANSWER: Thank you

Author Response File: Author Response.docx