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This essay's main goal the present review is to highlight the connections between intestinal dysbiosis and the ensuing activation of the mucosal lymphatic system. One of the study's goals is to investigate the impact on mood caused by a serotonergic deficit driven by mucosal inflammation. It assesses the relationship between food consumption and the onset of psychological and mental illness as a secondary end aim. Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases and psychological and psychiatric mood disorders appear to benefit therapeutically from the sort of diet they consume.

The present work was performed to improve the general quality characteristics of sparkling wines produced in Southern Italy (Sicily region) as well as the sustainability of the production process. To this purpose, two novel approaches were applied during experimental winemaking: (i), the use of raceme grapes (formed from the secondary shoots) of Grillo cultivar to improve the chemical characteristics of sparkling base wine; (ii), the technological selection of potential fructophilic Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from honey by-product to improve the alcoholic fermentations and the organoleptic features of bottled wines. The racemes are typical of Grillo cugrapes and mature 20 days after the primary production. The racemes, not reaching maturation, possess a high acidity, a low sugar content and pH values between 2.5-2.8. Thus, they represent a production scrap that can be enhanced through the production of base wines for sparkling wines in warm temperate climate areas, such as the Mediterranean Basin. The experimental vineyards were subjected to a topping operation to stimulate the production of racemes. The topping operation was carried out leaving a different number of buds in order to evaluate the incidence of the budding load on the quality of the grapes and musts. The yeasts used, previously isolated from honey by-products, were subjected to the genotypic identification and technologically characterization in order to select the strains with oenological potential. Four strains (SPF21, SPF42, SPF52 and SPF159) belonging to the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been used as starters to ferment raceme musts obtaining base wines characterized by a remarkable and significant sensation of acidity and flavour. This is the case with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae 'galactose –' yeasts: their fructophile index is generally higher than that of the standard S. cerevisiae yeasts (known as 'galactose +'). The SPF21, SPF42, SPF52 and SPF159 strains, which belongs to GAL- group, therefore has a naturally above-average propensity for fructose. The experimental project was developed over two years at industrial level. The analysis of the chemical parameters of wines obtained through experimental vinifications showed the presence of high values of total acidity (10 g/l) and a low pH (

The present work was carried out to select lactic acid bacteria (LAB) resistant to polyphenols in order to develop an ad hoc starter culture for the production of functional fresh ewes’ milk cheeses through the addition of grape pomace powder (GPP). To this purpose, raw ewes’ milk samples were inoculated with individual polyphenols belonging to five classes: flavanols (cathechin, epicatechin and epigallocathechin), flavonols (quercetin), flavones (rutin), hydroxyl-benzoic acid (vanillic acid and syringic acid) and hydroxyl-cinnamic acid (caffeic acid and cumaric acid). These polyphenols are commonly associated with the wine industry by-products and were added in milk to a final concentration of 0.5 mg/mL. All samples were incubated at 30°C and 44°C for 48h in order to select potential mesophilic and thermophilic starter LAB. Plate counts showed the total microbial counts (TMC) till levels of almost 109 CFU/mL and all milk samples were dominated by coccus LAB. All colonies with different morphological appearance were isolated and differentiated on the basis of their phenotypic characteristics and by Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR profiles. A total of 55 strains were collected and subjected to the genotypic analysis by means of 16S rRNA gene sequencing, which identified 5 LAB species belonging to two genera (Enterococcus and Lactococcus). The species most frequently found were Lactococcus lactis. The 55 strains were investigated in vitro for their general dairy aptitudes and four strains of L. lactis (MISE36, MISE94, MISE169 and MISE190) showed technological traits relevant to act as starter strains for cheese production.In order to produce a GPP-fortified fresh cheeses, red grape pomaces of Nero D’Avola cultivar were provided by a winemaking factory (Cantine Europa, Petrosino, Italy). Grape pomaces were dried at 54°C for 48 h and milled through a Retsch apparatus to a particle size of 250 μm. The experimental cheese making trials were carried out in a dairy pilot plant (Biopek, Gibellina, Italy) following the protocol of “pressed” cheeses. For each trial 20 L of pasteurised milk was divided into two plastic vats (10 L each) representing two different trials. Both vats were inoculated with the individual starter LAB cultures (100 mL) to reach a final cell density of 107 CFU/mL. One vat represented the control cheese (CC) production. The second vat represented the experimental cheese (EC) that, after curd extraction, was added with 1% (w/w) GPP. The cheeses were sampled after one month of ripening. All lactococci were able to perform the rapid acidification in CC and EC production, showing that polyphenols of GPP did not slow down starter development. Plate counts and RAPD analysis applied to the colonies isolated from the highest dilutions of samples confirmed the dominance of the added strains. A sensory evaluation of the resulting cheeses, indicated the cheeses processed with the addition of GPP were well appreciated by the judges. Analyses are in progress to evaluate the nutraceutical properties of the experimental cheeses. This research has been supported by the grant MISE-2017-NAZ-0228 - CUP: B78I17000260008

Il presente articolo riassume il progetto di valorizzazione della Pagnotta di Piana degli Albanesi attraverso lo sviluppo di un impasto acido ottenuto da batteri lattici selezionati dalle materie prime, al fine di legare la produzione al territorio e permettere di recuperare le note di tipicità. Le farine e le semole rappresentano dei veri e propri habitat microbici, la cui composizione può variare in funzione dell’area geografica e delle condizioni di conservazione. Trattandosi di materie prime che non possono essere trattate termicamente prima della trasformazione, esse trasferiscono i loro microrganismi al prodotto in lavorazione. Pertanto, qualora tali microorganismi esprimano proprietà panarie rappresentano degli utili strumenti per l’esaltazione delle note aromatiche desiderate. Il contributo scientifico riporta le popolazioni lattiche delle materie prime siciliane impiegate nella produzione di pani tipici, la selezione dei batteri lattici e lo scaleup della loro applicazione.

La fermentazione spontanea è un processo biologico incontrollato durante il quale molti lieviti e/o batteri potrebbero aumentare rapidamente in concentrazioni tali incidere negativamente sulla qualità del prodotto finale. A tal proposito, al fine di ottimizzare la crescita di lieviti con buone attitudini enologiche, si utilizza il metodo “pied de cuve”. Questa tecnica enologica è in grado di realizzare in una determinata massa di mosto dal volume ridotto, una fermentazione alcolica con un ceppo di lievito opportunamente inoculato o con ceppi di lieviti indigeni, naturalmente presenti nel mosto. Al fine di valorizzazione ed aumentare la diffusione di pratiche enologiche basate su un ridotto uso di coadiuvanti tecnologici sono state studiate fermentazioni alcoliche spontanee “gestite” in modo tale eliminare e/o ridurre l’uso delle colture microbiche selezionate commerciali. L’attività di ricerca è stata concepita ed eseguita per valutare la biodiversità microbica delle popolazioni di lieviti e dei principali parametri chimico-fisici, relativi a dei processi innovativi di vinificazione dell’Aglianico di Taurasi. Lo scopo finale è stato quello di validare l’applicabilità tecnologica, sia su base microbiologica che chimico-fisica, di un processo di fermentazione spontanea ma “gestito” mediante l’uso della tecnica del pied de cuve fortificato (PdCF). Tale tecnica ha previsto l’addizione di etanolo, mediante l’uso di vino dell’annata precedente, in un mosto appena ottenuto, ovvero un’alcolizzazione di mosto d’uva. Inoltre, con la presente sperimentazione sono stati valutati anche gli effetti della modifica dei parametri di preparazione del PdCF, ovvero grado di alcolizzazione del mosto [1% (v/v) di etanolo] e rapporto di inoculo PdCF del 5%. Il presente lavoro ha fornito una panoramica sull’ecologia microbica dei vini prodotti utilizzando il PdCF, nonché la fermentazione alcolica spontanea associata al metodo pied de cuve utilizzando uve della cultivar Aglianico di Taurasi vinificate su scala aziendale. L’aggiunta di etanolo nel pied de cuve, prima dell’inizio della fermentazione spontanea, ha favorito lo sviluppo e la dominanza dei lieviti di Saccharomyces cerevisiae autoctoni durante l’intero processo di vinificazione. Allo stesso tempo, tutti i principali parametri chimico-fisici enologici hanno raggiunto valori in linea con gli standard che assicurano la produzione di vini di qualità. Il risultato finale del presente studio, ha confermato che il protocollo di vinificazione PdCF all’1,0% (v/v) di etanolo anche se applicato su scala aziendale consente lo svolgimento di una fermentazione alcolica spontanea riducendo il rischio di alterazioni microbiche e/o chimico-fisiche. Tale metodica se applicata su scala industriale nell’intero comparto vitivinicolo legato alla produzione di Aglianico di Avellino consentirà alle cantine di diversificare l’offerta aziendale attraverso la produzione di vini a fermentazione spontanea con una potenziale “impronta” sensoriale legata a distinte caratteristiche di tipicità. Ciò consentirà di soddisfare la crescente domanda di quei consumatori, sempre più numerosi, attenti agli aspetti qualitativi delle produzioni vinicole.

Food fortification is a current practise to increase the bioavailability of certain nutrients. In this study, 5% (w/w) pistachio powder was added to tender wheat flour or durum wheat semolina to evaluate its contribution to augment the amount of lysine in bread. Bread production was carried out by sourdough technology using a selected 3-species lactic acid bacterial (LAB) starter culture (Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis PON100336, Leuconostoc citreum PON10079 and Weissella cibaria PON10030). In order to determine the influence of pistachio powder on the evolution of LAB, sourdough bread productions were compared with control trials obtained from flour or semolina and evaluated for the development of the main microbial groups by plate counts. All sourdoughs were subjected to a long-time fermentation (21 h) and showed levels of LAB around 109 CFU/g, indicating the suitability of pistachio powder for lactic fermentation. Yeasts were also detected, in particular in semolina trials. MySeq Illumina technology was applied to investigate the bacterial composition of sourdoughs evidencing a different distribution of LAB species among the trials with Lactobacillus as being the major bacterial group in almost all sourdoughs, except that produced from flour supplemented with pistachio powder which displayed Weissella as dominant group. Physicochemical parameters were comparable among the trials. After baking, pistachio powder was found not to influence the height of the breads, but pistachio breads were more firm than control breads. Colour of the breads, as well as void fraction and cell density, were influenced by pistachio powder. The amount of lysine increased consistently thanks to pistachio supplementation which also determined a higher presence of o-xylene, p-cymene and limonene and the appearance of alpha-pinene and 1-octen-3-ol in the final breads. Sensory tests showed a higher appreciation of the judges towards the breads produced from flour and semolina supplemented with pistachio powder rather than control breads.

The irrigation of olive orchards is commonly applied to produce table olives with optimal size. No data have been published on the microbiological quality of drupes from irrigated olive groves during fermentation. The trials T100 and T50 (receiving a water amount equivalent to 100 % and 50 % of the required amount, respectively) and control T0 (rainfed trial) were monitored during two consecutive years. The results showed a significant increase of equatorial diameter and flesh:pit ratio of irrigated drupes. The decrease of pH and the numbers of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) registered for the irrigated trials during the fermentation were more consistent than those displayed by control T0. Lactobacillus pentosus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus coryniformis, and Pediococcus pentosaceus for LAB and Candida boidinii, Candida diddensiae, and Wickerhamomyces anomalus for yeasts were isolated at the highest concentrations. The global sensory acceptance was better for irrigated trials than control T0. The statistical multivariate analysis showed that the effect of irrigation was independent of the seasonal variability and it clearly distinguished the T100 and T50 trials from rainfed control. Irrigation improves significantly the quality of table olives. Interestingly, all explorative multivariate analyses showed low dissimilarity between irrigated trials; thus, the thesis T50 represents an effective approach to save water in olive orchards without compromising the quality of table olives.