Nutraceutical properties and health-promoting biological activities of fruits of watermelon cultivars with different origins

This study was focused on biologically active compounds extracted from pulp and rind of watermelon fruits (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai, 1916) cultivars with different origins (Italy, Costa Rica, Brazil, Ecuador and Santana-Romania). Total polyphenols and flavonoids, lycopene and L-citrulline, were extracted from the pulp and their content determined spectrophotometrically. L-citrulline was also measured in the rind. In addition, the determination of some biological activities (antioxidant activity and inhibition of the amylase and lipase enzymes) of watermelon pulp was carried out. The examined pulp of the watermelon cultivars revealed to have a high content of antioxidants (e.g., lycopene up to 39.68 ± 0.13 μg/g FW in an Italian cultivar) and bioactive molecules (e.g., L-citrulline up to 0.87 mg/g FW in the Ecuadorian cultivar). Watermelon rind had higher contents of L-citrulline (up to 2.60 mg/g FW) compared to pulp. The comparisons between watermelons cultivars revealed the significant inhibitory of lipase (values ranging from 117.10 to 312.12 IC50) and α-amylase (values ranging from 145.52 to 322.13 IC50), so confirming their health-promoting potential. All these factors taken together make watermelon a high-value food with evident benefits on human health. The results of this study could facilitate the discovery, improvement and utilization of new watermelon cultivars with high nutraceutical properties

Chemical, biochemical and microbiological properties of soils from abandoned and extensively cultivated olive orchards

The abandonment of olive orchards is a phenomenon of great importance triggered mainly by economic and social causes. The aim of this study was to investigate some chemical, biochemical and microbiological properties in a soil of a Southern olive grove abandoned since 25 years. In order to define the effect of the long-term land abandonment on soil properties, an adjacent olive grove managed according to extensive practices was taken as reference (essentially minimum tillage and no fertilization). Soil organic matter, total nitrogen and pH were significantly higher in the abandoned olive grove due to the absence of tillage and the natural inputs of organic matter at high C/N ratio which, inter alia, increased the number of cellulolytic bacteria and stimulated the activity of β-glucosidase, an indicator of a more advanced stage of soil evolution. The soil of the abandoned olive orchard showed a lower number of total bacteria and fungi and a lower microbial diversity, measured by means of the Biolog® method, as a result of a sort of specialization trend towards low quality organic substrates. From this point of view, the extensive cultivation management seemed to not induce a disturbance to microbiological communities

Deficit of social cognition in subjects with surgically treated frontal lobe lesions and in subjects affected by schizophrenia

The ability of humans to predict and explain other people’s behaviour by attributing independent mental states such as desires and beliefs to them, is considered to be due to our ability to construct a “Theory of Mind”. Recently, several neuroimaging studies have implicated the medial frontal lobes as playing a critical role in a dedicated “mentalizing” or “Theory of Mind” network in the human brain. In this study we compare the performance of patients with right and left medial prefrontal lobe lesions in theory of mind and in social cognition tasks, with the performance of people with schizophrenia. We report a similar social cognitive profile between patients with prefrontal lobe lesions and schizophrenic subjects in terms of understanding of false beliefs, in understanding social situations and in using tactical strategies. These findings are relevant for the functional anatomy of “Theory of Mind”

Antioxidant compounds and nutraceutical benefits of Mediterranean red fruits

Today, the responsibility of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on the onset of non-transmissible chronic degenerative diseases has been clearly recognized by the scientific community. Epidemiological studies show that eating habits can significantly influence the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases. A conspicuous part of the protective effects of the Mediterranean diet is due to the presence of antioxidants in foods and beverages obtained from red fruits. The protective effect of dietary antioxidants from red fruits is supported by data obtained from animals, showing that the supplementation of the diet with red fruits can have beneficial effects against different types of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and cardiovascular damage. This chapter aims to contribute to a better understanding of ability of the antioxidant compounds of red fruits to counteract the damaging effects of ROS and will focus on the relevance of their antioxidant action

Assessment of microbial pool by an innovative microbiological technique in olive mill by-products co-composted under natural conditions

Different mixtures of olive pomace (OP), olive mill wastewater (OMWW) and olive pruning residues (OPR) were aerobically co-composted under natural conditions. Compost temperature showed a sharp increase in the first 40-60 days, followed by a stabilization at 60°C and a decline after 150 days, whereas compost water content ranged from 50-55% to 25-30%. Total and selec-tive microbial counts were followed throughout the experiment by means of innovative (IMT) and conventional (CMT) microbiological techniques. Pseudomonas spp., anaerobic bacteria, actino-mycetes, and fungi reached levels of 8, 7, 5 and 6 log CFU g–1 compost, respectively, with a slight depression after 30-80 days. Total and fecal coli- forms strongly decreased during the compost-ing process. The use of IMT allowed to detect a higher and more stable growth of microorgan-isms if compared to CMT. IMT was demonstrated to be an appropriate and reliable method for mo- nitoring the microbial pools during the co-com- posting process

Persistence ed effect of rotenone on oil quality in two Italian olive cultivars

The aims of this work are to assess the persistence of rotenone in oil and drupes of olive plants of cultivars Nocellara del Belice (NB) and Cassanese (CA), and to compare the quality of oils from rotenone-treated and untreated plants. Samples of drupes and oil were analyzed at 2, 12, 22 and 30 days after treatment. Rotenone levels in drupes of treated plants declined by about 50% after 22 days from treatment (0.037 mg kg-1 in NB and 0.039 mg kg-1 in CA), whereas the respective values in the oil were higher (0.209 mg kg-1 in NB and 0.229 mg kg-1 in CA) and had a lower decay half-life (4.02 days in NB and 4.71 days in CA). For both cultivars, no significant differences in oil physicochemical and nutritional parameters were found between the two treatments. The panel test of oils extracted after 22 days did not reveal significant differences in unpleasant aromatic notes nor defects between the two treatments. Our results confirm that serious doubts remain about the safety and healthiness of oils extracted from drupes treated with rotenone. This information could assess the real risk in the use of this product for plant protection in olive growing

Evoluzione del profilo chimico e microbiologico di un cumulo di sansa stoccato all’aperto

Pomace produced by a 3-phases “watersaving” olive mill was stored outdoors as usually happens in Italy. The pomace pile resulted was 6,00 m length, 1,60 m width, 0,90 m height. The pile was left exposed to atmospheric events for almost ten months, while we took samples of pomace at 30 cm depth from the top of the pile during the whole period of outdoor storage. We carried out chemical and microbiological analysis from each pomace sample, to determinate the content of the following parameters: oil content, water content, total phenols content, lactic bacteria, enterobacteria, yeasts and mold content. The results obtained seems to show some kind of trend related to climatic variations and time of outdoor storage but, due to the small amount of samples, the nature and origin of pomace used, the lack of research using same conditions, does not verify the thesis supposed. Anyway, the results obtained strongly suggests further and wider investigation

Long-term consequences of tillage, organic amendments, residue management and localized irrigation on selected soil micro-flora groups in a Mediterranean apricot orchard

In semi-arid Mediterranean environments, the loss of soil fertility can be avoided through the optimization and innovation of low environmental impact agricultural techniques. Such ‘innovative’, suitable agricultural management practices can have positive effects on soil microbial communities. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of two different agricultural systems (‘innovative’ and ‘conventional’) on the diversity of important groups of microorganisms related to soil fertility, such as fungi, actinomycetes, Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., Azotobacter spp., proteolytic and ammonifying bacteria. The study was carried out in an apricot orchard located in Southern Italy. Since 2003, half of the orchard was managed adopting no-tillage, cover crops, compost application, drip irrigation, winter pruning and limited mineral fertilization, whereas the other half was subjected to ‘conventional’ management. Soil samples were randomly collected from the superficial soil layer in four different orchard positions: innovative along the inter-rows (IIR) and under drip emitters (IUE), and conventional along the inter-rows (CIR) and under drip emitters (CUE). Higher populations of total bacteria, actinomycetes and proteolytic bacteria were induced by IIR treatment, whereas Pseudomonas spp., Azotobacter spp. and ammonifying bacteria showed increased populations in IUE. No differences between the treatments were found for total fungi and Bacillus spp. The higher inputs of organic matter of innovative plots caused an increase in the microbial groups responsible for nitrogen metabolism in well-watered zones (IUE), and higher activities of decomposer and humus-forming microorganisms in IIR. Results show that suitable agricultural practices can have positive effects on microbial activities and complexity, which in turn influence soil fertility