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Resveratrol (RSV) is a naturally occurring polyphenolic phytoalexin with beneficial effects on human health, including the treatment and prevention of ulcerative colitis and cancer. This work proposes the formulation and characterization of new nanoparticles (NPs) for the specific colon delivery of RSV. RSV was encapsulated in zein (Z) NPs, coated by a hydrophilic pectin (P) shell to significantly increase the dissolution rate of RSV in aqueous environments. Since the dissolved drug was strongly degraded in a simulated gastrointestinal tract, the ZP-NPs were coated with Eudragit S 100. The coated particles, even if aggregated, had a spherical morphology with diameters in the 100–200 nm range. Release studies of RSV from the ZP coated NPs evidenced their potential ability to induce a specific colon delivery of this drug so that this formulation can be proposed to enrich natural food products to enhance their preventive and therapeutic effects in the lower GI tract.

A preliminary investigation on 20 Aglianico del Vulture commercial wines from the Basilicata region proved the existence of a significant variability in total antioxidant capacity which can exert a potential impact on wine quality. Nineteen Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains were tested in Aglianico del Vulture on pilot scale fermentation and the experimental wines obtained were evaluated for the antioxidant capacity, ethanol and total polyphenols. At the ninth day of fermentation the experimental wines had an antioxidant capacity, measured by photochemiluminescence, between 2.88 and 6.25 mM of ascorbic acid equivalent, ethanol concentration, measured by GC, between 5.49% and 10.99% and total polyphenols, determined by Folin Ciocalteau reagent, from 1153 to 1867 mg catechins/l. After 12 days the total antioxidant capacity was increased in most wines but decreased in some wines. These results, statistically analysed by principal component analysis, revealed a significant influence of S. cerevisiae strain on total antioxidant capacity and total polyphenols content of wine.

A rapid and efficient analytical method for the determination of glycerol in wines is described. This method utilizes high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) plates coupled with an automated multiple development system with an elution gradient based on acetonitrile–acetone–hexane on silica gel layers. The absence of clean-up procedures, sometimes only centrifugation, makes this method suitable also for the large-scale control of alcoholic beverages. In particular the capacity of different wine yeast species (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Kloeckera apiculata and Saccharomycodes ludwigii) to produce glycerol was determined. Generally, the strains of S. cerevisiae produced elevated amounts of glycerol together with Z. bailii, whereas K. apiculata strains formed the lowest amounts of glycerol, exhibiting also a great strain variability.

Two wine strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, characterized by a different degree of copper resistance, were tested in grape must fermentation in the presence of different copper concentrations. The sensitive strain SN9 was strongly affected by copper concentration (32 ppm, (32 mg/l)), whereas the resistant strain SN41 exhibited a good growth activity in presence of 32 ppm of copper and only a reduced activity in presence of 320 ppm. The different strain fermentation performance in response to the copper addition corresponded to a different capability to accumulate copper inside the cells. Both strains exhibited the capacity to reduce the copper content in the final product, eventhough a significantly greater reducing activity was exerted by the resistant strain SN41, which was able to reduce by 90% the copper concentration in the final product and to accumulate the metal in great concentrations in the cells. As high concentrations of copper can be responsible for wine alterations, the selection of S. cerevisiae strains possessing high copper resistance and the ability to reduce the copper content of wine has a great technological interest, in particular for the fermentation of biological products. From the results obtained, the technique proposed is not only suitable for the assay of copper residues in must, wine and yeast cells, but it also offers the advantage of easy sample preparation and low detection limit in the ppb (μg/l) range.

The (R)/(S) ratios of acetoin were always higher in wines obtained by Saccharomyces cerevisiae than in those obtained by Kloeckera apiculata. A significantly different behaviour was determined between the two species as regards contents and ratios of 2,3-butanediols: S. cerevisiae produced more (R,R)-2,3-butanediol (about 80%), whereas K. apiculata produced more meso-form (about 90%).