Inulin from Globe Artichoke Roots: A Promising Ingredient for the Production of Functional Fresh Pasta

Globe artichoke roots represent an alternative and sustainable source for inulin extraction and are well-noted for their technological and functional properties. Therefore, the aim of our study was to exploit inulin with high degree of polymerization as a replacement of durum wheat semolina for the production of functional fresh pasta. The effect of increased level of substitution (5, 10, 15%) on cooking, structural, sensory, and nutritional properties were evaluated and compared with a control sample consisting exclusively of durum wheat semolina. Inulin addition caused changes to internal structure as evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. The enriched samples showed a lower swelling index, an increasing cooking time, and values of cooking loss (2.37-3.62%), mainly due to the leaching of inulin into the cooking water. Cooked and raw enriched pasta was significantly darker and firmer than the control, but the sensory attributes were not negatively affected, especially at 5 and 10% of substitution levels. The increase of dietary fiber content in enriched pasta (3.44-12.41 g/100 g) resulted in a significant reduction of glycaemic index (pGI) and starch hydrolysis (HI). After gastrointestinal digestion, inulin-enriched pasta increased prebiotic growth able to significantly reduce E. coli cell density

Biodegradable mulching spray for weed control in the cultivation of containerized ornamental shrubs

Abstract Background Weed control represents a major issue in plant cultivation in containers. Manual weed control is very expensive and the use of chemical herbicide or plastic mulch films has a large environmental impact. The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of an experimental biodegradable chitosan-based mulching spray in controlling weed growth in containers. This research also studied the effect of this mulch on the growth of Viburnum lucidum Mill. plants to test for possible phytotoxic effects. Results The study compared a total of six treatments derived from three types of weed control (no weed control; herbicide, oxadiazon; mulching spray) applied in containers either filled only with the sterile substrate or filled with the sterile substrate and then artificially inoculated with seeds of the weed species [Sonchus asper (L.) Hill subsp. asper and Epilobium montanum L.]. The mulch controlled the weeds effectively for more than 2 months after its application even under severe weed infestation. The mulching spray controlled the emergence of S. asper more efficiently than E. montanum plants, probably because the latter has a stronger capacity to penetrate the mulch film during emergence. Conclusions Three months after its application, the mulch started to degrade and this allowed some weeds to emerge in the containers, but, in general, the mulch performed better than the herbicide. The chitosan-based mulch did not have any negative effective on the growth of V. lucidum plants

Host–Guest Complexes HP-β-CD/Citrus Antioxidants: Exploratory Evaluations of Enhanced Properties in Biodegradable Film Packaging

: The aim of this work was to exploit the antioxidant potential of molecules recovered during the pectin purification process of citrus lemon waste and to encapsulate them in stable pectin films, with a view to a green and circular economy process. Antioxidant molecules were recovered during the pectin purification process, further recovering matter from the waste. Seven molecules were identified and quantified, and the antioxidant power of the mixture and its stability over time was evaluated. To improve the stability of the bioactive fraction, this was complexed with 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD); indeed, this procedure increased their thermal stability from 120 °C up to 250 °C, as verified by thermogravimetry. Furthermore, the most promising complexes were studied under autoclave-like conditions (120 °C, 28 min) to simulate thermal sterilization. The antioxidants and HP-β-CD were combined in a pectin film, showing increased stability over time (up to three times) compared to uncomplexed antioxidants. This process represents a first step towards the development of applicable devices for the delivery of antioxidant molecules

Tunable "In-Chain" and "At the End of the Branches" Methyl Acrylate Incorporation in the Polyolefin Skeleton through Pd(II) Catalysis

The synthesis of functionalized polyolefins through coordination-insertion polymerization is a highly challenging reaction. The ideal catalyst, in addition to showing a high productivity, has to be able to control the copolymer microstructure and, in particular, the way of the polar vinyl monomer incorporation. In this contribution, we modified the typical Brookhart's catalyst by introducing in the fourth coordination site of palladium a hemilabile, potentially bidentate ligand, such as a thiophenimine (N-S). The obtained cationic Pd(II) complexes, [Pd(Me)(N-N)(N-S)][PF6], generated active catalysts for the ethylene/methyl acrylate (MA) copolymerization leading to the desired copolymer with a different incorporation of the polar monomer depending on both the reaction medium and the N-S ligand. Surprisingly enough, the produced copolymers have the inserted acrylate both at the end of the branches (T(MA)) and in the main chain (M(MA)) in a ratio M(MA)/T(MA) that goes from 9:91 to 45:55 moving from dichloromethane to trifluoroethanol (TFE) as a solvent for the catalysis and varying the N-S ligand. The catalytic behavior of the new complexes was compared to that of the parent compound [Pd(Me)(N-N)(MeCN)][PF6], highlighting the fact that when the copolymerization is carried out in trifluoroethanol, this complex is also able to produce the E/MA copolymer with MA inserted both in the main chain and at the end of the branches. Accurate NMR studies on the reactivity of the precatalyst [Pd(Me)(N-N)(MeCN)][PF6] with the two comonomers allowed us to discover that in the fluorinated solvent, the catalyst resting state is an open-chain intermediate having both the organic fragment, originated from the migratory insertion of MA into the Pd-Me bond, and the acetonitrile coordinated to palladium and not the six-membered palladacycle typically observed for the Pd-alpha-diimine catalysts. This discovery is also supported by both DFT calculations and in situ NMR studies carried out on [Pd(Me)(N-N)(N-S)][PF6] complexes that point out that N-S remains in the palladium coordination sphere during catalysis. The open-chain intermediate is responsible for the growth of the copolymer chain with the polar monomer inserted into the main chain

Biodegradable Spray Mulching and Nursery Pots: New Frontiers for Research

Agricultural activities need plastics 1'or many applications such as films lor soil mulching and pots lbr plants tr"ansplanting. The use of plastic proc{ucts, made of fossil raw materials, sucll as polystyrene, polyethylene, and polypropyÌene results in huge quantities of plastic wastes to be disposecl of. In the past two decades, the growing environmental awareness strongly encouraged researchers and industries toward the use of biodegradab|: polymers 1òr solving the plastic wasle problem. Researchers have made strong eflbrts to identify new biopolymers corning fionl renewable sources as valid ecosustainable alternatives to petroleum based plastic commodities. The rnain reseai'ch results and current applications concernìng the biodegraclable plastics in agriculture, such as thermo-extrucled \later-Ili and sprayable water-botn polysaccharides based coatings. are described in this chapter. A liner-rp o1'triopolymers cuning from raw and renewable sources, such as polysaccharides. a1'e reported; the inh'insic chemicc»physical properlies of polysaccharides, responsible for the realization of clry water stable hydr.ogels, suitable for the formation of both soil mulching coatings ancl transplanting biopots. are investigated. A clescription of the natural actditives, fillers and cellulosic fibers included in the polymeric matrices. able to enhance the mechanical performance of coatings and pots is provitled, together with tlie outputs in the specific applications

Physico-chemical evaluation of hydrophobically modified pectin derivatives: Step toward application

Present study reports synthesis and physico-chemical evaluation of hydrophobically modified pectin derivatives, obtained by reacting of pectin with di-acyl chlorides (glutaryl and sebacoyl chloride). Depending on length of the inserted carbon chains, the acylation resulted in possible formation of mono-grafted (isolated chains) and bi-grafted (chemical gels) structures. The structural features of obtained derivatives were investigated using FTIR spectroscopy, confirming the successful synthesis. The concentrated aqueous solutions of modified pectin showed interesting rheological properties, having lower values of apparent viscosity compared to neat pectin. Since the GPC analysis indicated that no degradation occurred, the viscosity decrease was explained by more heterogeneous organization within modified pectin solutions (microparticles together with sticky polymer entanglement). A shift in particle size distribution proved that proposed modifications also affected pectin solution properties in diluted regime. The modified samples turned to be more sensible to thermal degradation than neat pectin, whereby the increasing size of flexible acyl chains attached to a polymer backbone reduced the glass transition temperature. The hydrophobicity of obtained derivatives was evaluated by sessile drop and du Nouy ring methods. It was found that acylation enhanced hydrophobicity of the pectin molecule, while hydrophobically associative character turned to be inconsistent in aqueous and non-aqueous environment

IInfluence of the use of drip irrigation systems and different mulching materials on ornamental sunflowers in greenhouse cultivation

This research, conducted during the 2010 spring-summer seasons in a plastic greenhouse Mediterranean type environment, investigated the effects of drip irrigation system (I1= surface drip irrigation; I2= subsurface drip irrigation) and mulching materials (PM1= black LDPE; PM2= LDPE white on black coextruded; BM1= black biodegradable spray with chitosan; BM2= black biodegradable spray with galactomannans and agarose; U.M= non mulching soil), on soil thermal behaviour, Irrigation Water Productivity (IWP), yield and quality features of ornamental sunflower cut stems. The sprays are two pre-competitive research materials, prepared using natural polymers. The thermal analysis showed that the mulching plastic films increased the soil temperatures around of 2°C, compared with the un-mulching soil, at 20cm depth; instead the mulching sprays didn’t influence significantly the thermal soil behaviour. The agronomic results showed that I1 had more advantage than I2 and that both PM2 e BM1 had the highest IWP values. Among the different mulches the values were, in order, PM1>PM2>BM2>BM1>UM for sunflower yield and qualitative characteristics

Probing the effect of high energy ball milling on PVC through a multitechnique approach

The effects induced by ball milling treatment on PVC features and properties were deeply investigated through a multitechnique approach. SEM analysis showed a drastic change in PVC morphology; the hierarchical structure of PVC grains was partially destroyed as well as the domain size strongly reduced. A X-ray diffraction and DSC comparative study proved a structural modification in the PVC crystalline phase. Moreover, it was found that these morphological and structural changes strongly affected the gelation behavior, the microstructure and the mechanical parameters of PVC. In particular, the gelation time increased with increasing the ball milling time; the residual primary crystallite content doubled with respect to neat PVC and the toughness improved up to 25% as a function of the resulting microstructure. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

How Poloxamer Addition in Hyaluronic-Acid-Decorated Biodegradable Microparticles Affects Polymer Degradation and Protein Release Kinetics

Polymeric microparticles (MPs) designed for the intravitreal administration of therapeutic proteins result in a prolonged half-life in the vitreous and can delay or discourage the onset of adverse effects inevitably related to this route of administration. Hence, here we designed MPs composed of a polymeric blend based on poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid and poloxamers, externally decorated with hyaluronic acid. The MPs are intended for intravitreal administration of bovine serum albumin. In detail, a systematic formulative study aiming to shed light on the complex relationship between protein release rate and MP degradation rate was carried out by means of calorimetric and gel permeation chromatography analyses. We found out that poloxamer addition caused a compact MP matrix, which led to a slight modification of the degradation kinetics and a reduction in the initial BSA initial release, which is of the utmost importance to ensure a relatively regular BSA release. It must also be underlined that for acid-labile molecules such as proteins, the poloxamer’s presence induced complex and hardly predictable effects on MP degradation/protein release, due to the dynamic balance between the time-evolving hydrophilicity of MPs and the influence of poloxamers themselves on the PLGA degradation rate