Wholegrain Durum Wheat Bread Fortified With Citrus Fibers: Evaluation of Quality Parameters During Long Storage

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the addition of citrus fibers, from blood orange and lemon peels to produce a functional durum wheat bread. Breads fortified in fiber were packaged under a modified atmosphere (MAP) and stored at 25°C up to 120 days. No significant differences were observed with respect to the specific volume and weight, internal structure, pH and titratable acidity among the bread samples obtained using different types and percentages of fibers. Storage time, at 30 up to 90 days, affected significantly the bread firmness and caused significant differences in 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) levels in all bread samples. In fortified breads with citrus fibers the yeast and mold counts showed values of approximately 1 log10 cfu/g for the first 30 days and 3.5 log10 cfu/g at the end of storage. The results of the sensory evaluation highlight that loaves enriched with blood orange and lemon fibers showed a citrus flavor but had a similar overall evaluation respect to control bread produced without addition of citrus fiber. The results of this study showed that the addition up to 2% of blood orange and lemon fibers in wheat whole durum flour is a possible strategy to produce “high fibre” bread

Bioprotective Role of Yeasts

The yeasts constitute a large group of microorganisms characterized by the ability to grow and survive in different and stressful conditions and then to colonize a wide range of environmental and human ecosystems. The competitive traits against other microorganisms have attracted increasing attention from scientists, who proposed their successful application as bioprotective agents in the agricultural, food and medical sectors. These antagonistic activities rely on the competition for nutrients, production and tolerance of high concentrations of ethanol, as well as the synthesis of a large class of antimicrobial compounds, known as killer toxins, which showed clearly a large spectrum of activity against food spoilage microorganisms, but also against plant, animal and human pathogens. This review describes the antimicrobial mechanisms involved in the antagonistic activity, their applications in the processed and unprocessed food sectors, as well as the future perspectives in the development of new bio-drugs, which may overcome the limitations connected to conventional antimicrobial and drug resistance

Characterization and Antimicrobial Activity of Alkaloid Extracts from Seeds of Different Genotypes of Lupinus spp.

Alkaloid profiles of 22 lupin genotypes belonging to three different cultivated species, Lupinus albus L., Lupinus luteus L., and Lupinus angustifolius L., collected from different Italian regions and grown in Sicily, were studied by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine alkaloid composition. More than 30 alkaloids were identified. The lowest alkaloid concentration was observed in the L. albus Luxor, Aster, and Rosetta cultivars, and in all the varieties of L. luteus and L. angustifolius. The highest content was observed in all the landraces of L. albus. Surprisingly, the white lupin Lublanc variety and the commercial seeds of cv Multitalia had a high alkaloid content. The tested species and the different genotypes exhibited different alkaloid profiles: lupanine, 13α-hydroxylupanine, and albine were the main alkaloids in the analyzed L. albus seeds; angustifoline and 13α-tigloyloxylupanine were well-represented in L. albus landraces; sparteine and lupinine were typical of L. luteus; and lupanine, 13α-hydroxylupanine, and angustifoline were the main alkaloids in L. angustifolius seeds. The samples with the highest amounts of total alkaloids proved to be interesting from a pharmaceutical viewpoint. The alkaloid extracts showed significant activity on Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates