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Lipophilic antioxidants are essential components, which have been pointed as bioactive beneficial for human health. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of domestic cooking (boiling, steaming) on the main carotenoids (lutein and β-carotene) and tocols in four different green leafy vegetables: Sonchus asper L. Hill, Sonchus oleraceus L., Spinacia oleracea L. and Cichorium intybus L. The total content of the analyzed compounds was determined following the method of alkaline hydrolysis of the matrix and solvent extraction. The leaching of soluble solids after domestic cooking was found to determine a gain in the investigated bioactive compounds in the cooked vegetables, so to cause an apparent content increase in all leafy vegetables, when expressed as mg/100 g dry matter. Considering solid losses, all lipophilic compounds were not affected by boiling, on the contrary, steaming slightly significantly decreased the contents of lutein and β-carotene (on average 20 and 15%, respectively).

Three wild edible plant species belonging to the Asteraceae family, Crepis vesicaria L. (s.l.), Sonchus asper (L.) Hill s.l., and Sonchus oleraceus L., usually consumed in the Mediterranean diet, were tested for their nutritional composition and content of carotenoids, tocols, thiamine and riboflavin. Low amounts of thiamine and riboflavin were found. All species were sources of xanthophylls (violaxanthin, neoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin and β-cryptoxanthin) and carotenes (α-carotene, β-carotene, 9-cis-β-carotene and 13-cis-β-carotene). Lutein accounted for the highest content (about 4mg/100g). They had good tocol amounts, in particularα-tocopherol (about 2–3mg/100g). Taking into account the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) established by the EU Regulation, the analyzed plants can be declared as a source of fiber, vitamin A and E. These data could be useful for database on the nutritional and bioactive compound profile of studied plants and can contribute in promoting their use in functional foods.

Interest in gluten-free grains is increasing, together with major incidences of celiac disease in the last years. Since to date, knowledge of the nutritional and bioactive compounds profile of alternative gluten-free grains is limited, we evaluated the content of water-soluble (thiamine and riboflavin) and liposoluble vitamins, such as carotenoids and tocols (tocopherols and tocotrienols), of gluten-free minor cereals and also of pseudocereals. The analysed samples showed a high content of bioactive compounds, in particular, amaranth, ca&ntilde, ihua and quinoa are good sources of vitamin E, while millet, sorghum and teff (Eragrostis tef, or William&rsquo, s Lovegrass) are good sources of thiamine. Moreover, millet provides a fair amount of carotenoids, and in particular of lutein. These data can provide more information on bioactive compounds in gluten-free grains. The use of these grains can improve the nutritional quality of gluten-free cereal-based products, and could avoid the monotony of the celiac diet.

A simple and rapid analytical method for the determination of lutein content, successfully used for cereal matrices, was evaluated in fruit and vegetables. The method involved the determination of lutein after an alkaline hydrolysis of the sample matrix, followed by extraction with solvents and analysis by normal phase HPLC. The optimized method was simple, precise, and accurate and it was characterized by few steps that could prevent loss of lutein and its degradation. The optimized method was used to evaluate the lutein amounts in several fruit and vegetables. Rich sources of lutein were confirmed to be green vegetables such as parsley, spinach, chicory, chard, broccoli, courgette, and peas, even if in a range of variability. Taking into account the suggested reference values these vegetables can be stated as good sources of lutein.

In order to evaluate the influence of an abrasive pre-treatment and drying at 50 °C, 60 °C, 70 °C of goji fruits (Lycium barbarum L.), changes in colour and carotenoids were studied. An extraction method was modified and adapted to assay the main carotenoid esters and saponified carotenoids of goji berries, before and after treatments. Goji berries were confirmed as a high source of zeaxanthin, with zeaxanthin-dipalmitate at about 2 g/kg dry weight. The reliability of the analytical method was confirmed by the high quantitative recoveries, about 100%, a higher repeatability than reference methods and a good reproducibility (lower than 5%). After drying, significant but small carotenoid losses (15–20%) were observed in both pre-treated and treated samples. The xanthophyll esters confirmed to be more stable than free carotenoids. The drying process significantly modified colour, in both pre-treated and untreated samples, however, pre-treatment reduced drying time and thus better preserved the colour of the goji berries for a drying temperature up to 60 °C. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

Patulin is a mycotoxin produced by Penicillium expansum and a common contaminant of pome fruits and their derived products worldwide. It is considered to be mutagenic, genotoxic, immunotoxic, teratogenic and cytotoxic, and the development of strategies to reduce this contamination is an active field of research. We previously reported that Sporobolomyces sp. is able to degrade patulin and convert it into the breakdown products desoxypatulinic acid and ascladiol, both of which were found to be less toxic than patulin. The specific aim of this study was the evaluation of the triggering of the mechanisms involved in patulin resistance and degradation by Sporobolomyces sp. Cells pre-incubated in the presence of a low patulin concentration showed a higher resistance to patulin toxicity and a faster kinetics of degradation. Similarly, patulin degradation was faster when crude intracellular protein extracts of Sporobolomyces sp. were prepared from cells pre-treated with the mycotoxin, indicating the induction of the mechanisms involved in the resistance and degradation of the mycotoxin by Sporobolomyces sp. This study contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms of patulin resistance and degradation by Sporobolomyces sp., which is an essential prerequisite for developing an industrial approach aiming at the production of patulin-free products.

The efficacy of donkey milk as an alternative to hen's egg white lysozyme in preventing cheese blowing during ripening of Italian Grana cheeses was tested. Indices of proteolysis and lipolysis did not differ between the different cheesemaking processes. All tested products showed good microbiological and sensorial quality.

The kinetics of carotenoid and color degradation, as well as furosine formation, were investigated in apricot fruits during convective heating at 50, 60 and 70 °C. Degradation of carotenoids and color, expressed as total color difference (TCD), followed a first and zero order kinetic, respectively. The activation energy (Ea) for carotenoids degradation ranged from 73.7 kJ/mol for 13- cis -β-carotene to 120.7 kJ/mol for lutein, being about 91 kJ/mol for all- trans -β-carotene. Violaxanthin and anteraxanthin were the most susceptible to thermal treatment. The furosine evolution was fitted at zero order kinetic model. The Ea for furosine formation was found to be 83.3 kJ/mol and the Q 10 (temperature coefficient) varied from 1.59 to 4.14 at the temperature ranges 50–60 °C and 60–70 °C, respectively.

This study assessed and compared the physicochemical, microbiological, and sensorial characteristics of Caciocavallo cheeses, made from cow milk and a mixture of cow with ewe or goat milk, during ripening. Different cheese-making trials were carried out on an industrial scale following the standard procedure of pasta filata cheeses, with some modifications. The percentage of the different added milk to cow milk influenced compositional and nutritional characteristics of the innovative products, leading to a satisfactory microbiological and sensorial quality.

In order to gain some insight into mitochondria permeability under water stress, intact coupled mitochondria were isolated from water stress adapted potato cells and investigations were made of certain transport processes including the succinate/malate and ADP/ATP exchanges, the plant mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channel (PmitoKATP) and the plant uncoupling mitochondrial protein (PUMP). The VmaxL values measured for succinate/malate and ADP/ATP carriers, as photometrically investigated, as well as the same values for the PmitoATP and the PUMP were found to increase; this suggested that mitochondria adaptation to water stress can cause an increase in the membrane permeability.

Linoleic acid (LA) and other fatty acids added to respiring durum wheat mitochondria (DWM) were found to cause a remarkable membrane potential (deltaPsi) decrease, as monitored by measuring safranin fluorescence. The rate of deltaPsi decrease showed (i) saturation dependence on LA concentration; (ii) fatty acid specificity; (iii) inhibition by externally added ATP, GDP, GTP and Mg(2+) and (iv) sigmoid dependence upon initial DeltaPsi, thus suggesting the existence of an active plant mitochondrial uncoupling protein (PUMP) in mitochondria from monocotyledonous species (durum wheat, Triticum durum Desf.). Surprisingly, the rate of the linoleate dependent DeltaPsi decrease was found to be activated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) (hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anion) and, moreover, linoleate proved to lower the mitochondrial generation of superoxide anion. These results suggest that ROS can activate PUMP, thus protecting the cell against mitochondrial ROS production.

"Carotenoids are natural compounds whose nutritional importance comes from the provitamin A activity of some of them and their protection against several serious human disorders. The degradation of carotenoids was investigated during apricot drying by microwave and convective hot-air at 60 and 70 A degrees C. Seven carotenoids were identified: antheraxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, beta-cryptoxanthin, 13-cis-beta-carotene, all-trans-beta-carotene and 9-cis-beta-carotene; among these, all-trans-beta-carotene was found to be about 50 % of total carotenoids. First-order kinetic models were found to better describe all-trans-beta-carotene reduction during drying, with a degradation rate constant (k(1)) that increased two folds when temperatures increased by 10 A degrees C, in both methods. No differences were found in k(1) between apricots dried by hot air at 70 A degrees C (k(1) = 0.0340 h(-1)) and by microwave at 60 A degrees C. The evolution of total carotenoids (117.1 mg\/kg on dry basis) during drying highlighted a wider decrease (about 50 %) when microwave heating was employed, for both set temperatures. Antheraxantin was found to be the carotenoid most susceptible to heat, disappearing at 6 h during both trials with microwave as well as during convective hot-air at 70 A degrees C. For this reason, antheraxanthin could be a useful marker for the evaluation of thermal damage due to the drying process. Also the degree of isomerization of all-trans-beta-carotene could be a useful marker for the evaluation of the drying process."

In order to have a deeper insight into the retinol isomerization phenomenon, in this work different milk samples have been analysed for their content of trans retinol and its cis-isomers, by means of reliable HPLC techniques. Levels of the different isomers and the degree of retinol isomerization (13-cis/all-trans ratio, %) have been monitored during milk storage at different temperatures and after addition of specific microorganisms. In raw milk stored at 4°C for 96 h the degree of retinol isomerization shifted from 1·1 to 2·3%, while in raw milk stored at 22°C for 24 h it increased from 1·1 to 12·7%. Among microorganisms tested in pasteurized milk, the most active in causing an increment in the 13-cis/all-trans ratio (%), from 3·4 to 33·4% in 8 h, was Streptococcus thermophilus. The results obtained demonstrated a relationship between microbial evolution and retinol isomerization. Therefore, the determination of retinol isomers is of importance not only for a more precise evaluation of vitamin A activity but also for the evaluation of the microbiological quality of milk.

In this study, we investigated the metabolite permeability of isolated coupled Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondria. The occurrence of a fumarate/malate antiporter activity was shown. The activity differs from that of the dicarboxylate carrier (which catalyses the succinate/malate antiport) in (a) kinetics (Km and Vmax values are about 27 microM and 22 nmol min(-1) mg protein(-1) and 70 microM and 4 nmol min(-1) mg protein(-1), respectively), (b) sensitivity to inhibitors, (c) Ki for the competitive inhibitor phenylsuccinate and (d) pH profiles.