Characterization of defatted products obtained from the Parmigiano–Reggiano manufacturing chain: Determination of peptides and amino acids content and study of the digestibility and bioactive properties

Parmigiano–Reggiano (PR) is a worldwide known Italian, long ripened, hard cheese. Its inclusion in the list of cheeses bearing the protected designation of origin (PDO, EU regulation 510/2006) poses restrictions to its geographic area of production and its technological characteristics. To innovate the Parmigiano–Reggiano (PR) cheese manufacturing chain from the health and nutritional point of view, the output of defatted PR is addressed. Two defatting procedures (Soxhlet, and supercritical CO2 extraction) were tested, and the obtained products were compared in the composition of their nitrogen fraction, responsible for their nutritional, organoleptic, and bioactive functions. Free amino acids were quantified, and other nitrogen compounds (peptides, proteins, and non-proteolytic aminoacyl derivatives) were identified in the extracts and the mixtures obtained after simulated gastrointestinal digestion. Moreover, antioxidant and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition capacities of the digests were tested. Results obtained from the molecular and biofunctional characterization of the nitrogen fraction, show that both the defatted products keep the same nutritional properties of the whole cheese

Effect of the storage time and packaging material on the antioxidant capacity and phenols content of organic grape juice stabilized by high hydrostatic pressure

Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) is widely used in juice industries and it contains a variety of polyphenols with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The effect of packaging materials and storage time on the phenol content and antioxidant stability of grape juices made with a Merlot variety was studied. In order to preserve sensory and nutritional values, the juice was stabilized with a high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) and a polylactic acid (PLA) bottle was tested as a substitute for the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging. Except for o-diphenols, the spectrophotometric assays of the different phenol classes showed higher values in juice after HHP treatment. Overall, a loss of most of the phenols was tested in PLA bottle samples at four months of shelf-life. On the contrary, juices in PET bottle did not show significant changes until the end of storage. A comparable trend was observed also for the antioxidant activity and the individual phenols analyzed by a liquid chromatography-diode array detection-mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MS), which showed anthocyanins as principal class of phenols, followed by flavonols and hydroxycinnamoyl tartrates (HCTs). These results on grape juice stability could be interesting not only for the juice production but also for the development of the best packaging material

Valutazione della shelf life di pasta arricchita con acidi grassi omega-3

Valutazione della shelf life della pasta di semola arricchita con acidi grassi omega-3, in funzione delle modalit\ue0 di stoccaggio, confrontata con la pasta tradizionale. Parametri valutati: numero di perossido e acidi grassi ossidati (OFA)

Water in Martian Magmas: Clues from Light Lithophile Elements in Shergottite and Nakhlite Pyroxenes

There is abundant geomorphic evidence that Mars once had potentially significant amounts of water on its surface. Bulk martian meteorites are curiously dry, and hydrated minerals found in some of these rocks are also surprisingly low in water content. We look for evidence of pre-eruptive magmatic water by analyzing the abundances of Li, Be, and B, light lithophile elements that have proven useful in tracking water-magma interactions in terrestrial studies because of their solubility differences. We performed secondary ionization mass spectrometer (SIMS) analysis of these incompatible elements in pyroxenes of two nakhlites and two basaltic shergottites, with quite different results. In Nakhla and Lafayette, all three elements behave as incompatible elements, with increasing abundance with magma evolution from pyroxene cores to rims. In Shergotty and Zagami, Be increases, but both B and Li decrease from pyroxene cores to rims. From terrestrial studies, it is known that Be is virtually insoluble in aqueous hydrothermal fluids, whereas B and Li are quite soluble. We suggest, therefore, that the elemental decreases in the shergottite pyroxenes reflect dissolution and loss of B and Li in a hot, aqueous fluid exsolved from the magma. Consistent with our results, recent experimental work proposes that the shergottite parent magmas contained 1.8 wt% water (Dann et al., 2001). We suggest that the pyroxene cores grew at depth (\u3e4 km) where the water would remain dissolved in the magma. Once the magma began to ascend, the volatile component could gradually exsolve, removing the soluble species from the melt in the process. Upon eruption, the volatile component might then be lost through degassing, leaving a B- and Li-depleted magma to crystallize pyroxene rims and plagioclase. This magmatic water might have derived from the martian mantle or resulted from deep crustal contamination. If the water contents proposed for the shergottite magmas, and implied by our results, are typical of basaltic magmas on Mars, this mechanism could provide an efficient method of delivering substantial amounts of water to the martian surface at later times in martian history

Apigenin and apigenin-derivatives from artichokes: urine excretion in humans

Apigenin and apigenin glycosides are the main flavonoids in artichokes. Thus, their 24 h-urinary excretion was investigated, as a marker of absorption, in six women after consumption of two steamed artichokes. No enzymes treatment was performed and the urine metabolites were investigated by HPLC-MS/MS. After a single dose of steamed artichokes, 0.76% and 0.16% of apigenin-monoglucuronide and apigenin, respectively, were recovered in urine collected during the first twelve hours. In the next 12 h, only 0.11 % and 0.02% of apigenin-monoglucuronide and apigenin were recovered. Our results suggest that apigenin and derivatives are absorbed in humans after consumption of steamed artichokes and their excretion into urine mainly occurs during the first twelve hours. In the present study it was not possible to verify the presence of apigenin-sulphate derivatives. Reference: [1] Pandino G, Courts FL, Lombardo S, Mauromicale G, Williamson G. Caffeoylquinic Acids and Flavonoids in the Immature Inflorescence of Globe Artichoke, Wild Cardoon, and Cultivated Cardoon. J Agric Food Chem 2010; 58:1026–31

Effect of nitrogen fertilisation rates on the content of fatty acids, sterols, tocopherols and phenolic compounds, and on the oxidative stability of walnuts

The influence of nitrogen (N) fertilisation on the content of lipids and phenolic compounds in walnut kernels (cv. Chandler) has studied for three consecutive growing years. Moreover, a new technique (OXITEST) was set up to analyse the oxidative stability of the kernel directly from the whole sample. Significant differences in the fatty acid composition were observed, and linoleic acid was the main fatty acid present. N fertilisation reduced the oleic acid content relative to the control. High amounts of N increased the linoleic acid content and reduced the linolenic acid content. On the other hand, the control and the lower N fertilised samples had the highest levels of these n-3 fatty acids. Comparing control and fertilised samples, there were no statistical differences in the sterol and tocopherol compositions (with the exception of α-tocopherol). With regard to phenolic content, N fertilisation had a significant negative effect on the phenolic compounds in walnut kernel samples. The OXITEST technique confirmed that the oxidative stability of kernels was related to the fatty acid composition and the PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acid) content

Valutazione della stabilit\ue0 ossidativa mediante OXITEST\uae e correlazione con la composizione lipidica di noci coltivate secondo differenti condizioni agronomiche.

L'influenza della concimazione azotata (0, 100 e 200 kg/ha) sul contenuto di lipidi nelle noci (cv. Chandler) \ue8 stata studiata per tre anni consecutivi mediante tecniche cromatografiche. Inoltre, una nuova tecnica (OXITEST\uae), uno strumento sviluppato da VELP, \ue8 stata istituita per analizzare la stabilit\ue0 ossidativa del gheriglio direttamente sul campione senza alcuna estrazione del grasso. Differenze quantitative sono state osservate tra il controllo (0 kg/ha di azoto) e le noci trattate, soprattutto per la quantit\ue0 di acidi grassi C18: 1, C18: 2 e C18: 3 n-3. In breve, il grado di insaturazione del campione controllo \ue8 inferiore rispetto ai campioni trattati; i campioni concimati con 200 kg N/ha di azoto hanno mostrato minori quantit\ue0 di acido linolenico e una maggiore quantit\ue0 di acido linoleico rispetto ai campioni trattati con 100 kg/ha di azoto, quindi i campioni concimati con100 N kg/ha di azoto hanno riportato un\u2019insaturazione superiore rispetto ai 200 N kg/ha e questo ha dimostrato una minore stabilit\ue0 dei lipidi all\u2019ossidazione. Infatti, il campione controllo ha mostrato il valore pi\uf9 alto di IP seguito dal campione concimato con 200 kg/ha e con 100 kg/ha di azoto. La correlazione positiva tra i risultati OXITEST\uae e il contenuto di MUFA (r2 = 0,8921, p <0,001) e la correlazione negativa tra i risultati OXITEST\uae e il contenuto PUFA (r2 = 0,8865, p <0.001) ha confermato l'influenza della composizione in acidi grassi sulla stabilit\ue0 ossidativa di campioni di noci

How Lactobacillus plantarum shapes its transcriptome in response to contrasting habitats

Triplets of Lactobacullus plantarum strains were isolated from nine contrasting habitats. Without any passage through other culture media, isolation and cultivation were on model media that strictly reproduced the chemical and physical conditions and stressors of the habitats of origin. Here, we demonstrated how L. plantarum regulates and shapes its transcriptome in response to contrasting habitats. Firstly, multivariate clustering analysis of transcriptional data (RNA-Seq), complemented with metabolomics and phenomics, grouped the strains according to the habitats of origin. Subsequently, selected strains from each habitat switched to repeated cultivation on MRS medium and transcriptomes homogenized into a unique cluster. Adaptation to this common medium mainly relied on activation of genes for phage- and prophage-related proteins and transposases. Finally, the comparison of growth across model media and with respect to MRS medium showed that 44% of the overall 3112 gene transcripts changed depending on the specific habitat. Regulation and shaping of transcriptomes mainly concerned carbohydrate acquisition, pyruvate catabolism, proteolytic system and amino acid, lipid and inorganic ion transport and metabolism, with contrasting responses for contrasting habitats. Pathways reconstruction demonstrated how the large genome size of L. plantarum imparts transcriptome and metabolic flexibility as the basic mechanism for a nomadic lifestyle