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The increased consumption of whole wheat grains and whole wheat products has been associated with reduced risk of developing chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and colon cancer. These beneficial effects have been ascribed to the presence in whole wheat kernels of bioactive compounds which may vary for total content and composition among different wheat species and wheat varieties. In this work we present the profile of hydrophilic and lipophilic bioactive compounds of whole wheat semolina from five durum wheat elite cultivars. Whole semolina samples were analyzed to evaluate the total content and composition of phenolic acids (hydrophilic extract) and the total content and composition of carotenoids, tocopherols and tocotrienols (lipophilic extract). The total phenolic acid content was variable among the cultivars and ranged from 488 ?g/g to 1490 ?g/g whole flour. Among the detected compounds, ferulic acid was the most abundant, followed by sinapic acid and p-coumaric acid. Total carotenoid content varied from 2.64 µg/g whole flour and 4.75 µg/g whole flour and were mostly represented by lutein and zeaxanthin, while ?- e ?-carotene were present in trace amounts. Three different homologues of tocotrienols were detected (?, ? and ?), varying in a range between 18.3 and 28.6 µg/g whole flour, while tocopherols were detected in trace amounts. Duilio and Svevo cultivars, exhibited the highest content of hydrophilic and lipophilic bioactive compounds, respectively, and were selected to test the anti-inflammatory activity of extracts on human intestinal HT-29 cells. Preliminary experiments were carried out in order to assess the highest not cytotoxic concentration of lipophilic and hydrophilic extracts by using MTT test. Both extracts will be used to assess the anti-inflammatory activity on HT-29 cells stimulated by LPS mitogen, by quantification of IL-8. This research shows that whole wheat semolina flours of these five cultivars varied significantly in their contents of bioactive compounds and differences in their anti-inflammatory potential might suggest the possibility that durum wheat varieties could be selected based on potential health benefits.

Recupero di frazioni polifenoliche da acque di vegetazione mediante sistema di filtrazione a membrana; Caratterizzazione chimica mediante HPLC dell' Ultrafiltrato

Olive oil processing industries generate substantial quantities of phenolic-rich by-products, which could be valuable natural sources of antioxidants. This work is focused on the recovery and structural characterisation of antioxidant compounds from olive mill wastewater (OMWW), a polluting by-product of the olive oil production process. Phenolics were extracted from the waste material using a membrane technology coupled to a low-pressure gel filtration chromatography on a Sephadex LH-20. The LH-20 fraction was, in turn, characterized for its phenolic composition by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS analyses. Verbascoside, isoverbascoside, ?-hydroxyverbascoside, ?-hydroxyisoverbascoside, and various oxidized phenolics were identified. Uptake of verbascoside, purified from the LH-20 fraction, by HT-29 human colon carcinoma cell lines, an established model system for studying drug transport properties, was also assayed.

Olive oil production generates large amounts of recalcitrant compounds, the olive oil mill wastewater (OMWW), which represent one of the most contaminating effluents among those produced by the agrofood industries. Nowadays, this view has changed to one that recognizes the waste as a lowcost starting material rich in bioactive compounds, particularly biophenols, that can be extracted and applied as natural antioxidants for the food and pharmaceutical industries. The data reported in this paper indicate that the OMWW extracts, besides low molecular weight antioxidant phenolics such as tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, also contain phenolics with a molecular weight in the range of 600-5000 Da, which exhibit efficient scavenging activities against hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals. This group of phenolics includes, besides verbascoside, isoverbascoside, and an oxidized form of verbascoside, a number of higher molecular weight phenolics arising from oxidative polymerization of hydroxytyrosol and caffeic acid. Overall, these higher molecular weight phenolics prove to be, in some in vitro tests, more efficient scavengers of hydrophilic hydroxyl radicals than hydroxytyrosol, which could be used for industrial applications as natural nontoxic antioxidants.

Olive oil production generates large amounts of recalcitrant compounds, the olive oil mill wastewater (OMWW), which represent one of the most contaminating effluents among those produced by the agrofood industries. Nowadays, this view has changed to one that recognizes the waste as a low-cost starting material rich in bioactive compounds, particularly biophenols, that can be extracted and applied as natural antioxidants for the food and pharmaceutical industries. The data reported in this paper indicate that the OMWW extracts, besides low molecular weight antioxidant phenolics such as tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, also contain phenolics with a molecular weight in the range of 600-5000 Da, which exhibit efficient scavenging activities against hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals. This group of phenolics includes, besides verbascoside, isoverbascoside, and an oxidized form of verbascoside, a number of higher molecular weight phenolics arising from oxidative polymerization of hydroxytyrosol and caffeic acid. Overall, these higher molecular weight phenolics prove to be, in some in vitro tests, more efficient scavengers of hydrophilic hydroxyl radicals than hydroxytyrosol, which could be used for industrial applications as natural nontoxic antioxidants.

Criteria for durum wheat quality are continuously evolving in response to market pressure and consumer's preference. Specific attributes of durum wheat for different end products require more rapid and objective means to grade and classify wheat parcels based on processing potential. A total of 10 durum wheat cultivars were compared for compositional, protein, and starch characteristics. Mean values for the gross composition differed for total protein, gluten, and starch. Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) analysis showed the proteome diversity among the cultivars. As shown by the principal component analysis (PCA) applied to 2DE data of gliadin and glutenin fractions, cultivars differed mainly from the number of proteins and levels of protein expression. As determined by the rapid viscoanalyzer (RVA), swelling power, starch damage, amylose content, and starch pasting properties of 10 cultivars differed significantly. 2DE fingerprinting and amylose content seemed to distinguish specific cultivars being useful tools for selecting suitable durum wheat cultivars for pasta making.

L’obiettivo del presente lavoro è stato quello di valutare l’attività tossica e cancerogena dell’aflatossina B1 (AFLB1) e fumonisina B1 (FB1) utilizzando un biosaggio su uova embrionate di trota iridea (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Dieci aliquote di 200 uova embrionate di trota iridea sono state esposte per un’ora a 10 differenti concentrazioni di AFLB1 e/o FB1; in particolare, tre concentrazioni di AFLB1 (rispettivamente 1, 0,5 e 0,1 ¼g/ml), due concentrazioni di FB1 (50 e 10 ¼g/ml) e 5 concentrazioni di AFLB1+FB1 in associazione (rispettivamente 1+50, 0,5+50, 0,5+10, 0,1+50 e 0,1+10 ¼g/ml). Infine, altre 2 aliquote sono state trattate rispettivamente con soluzione fisiologica ed etanolo (sostanze utilizzata per la solubilizzazione delle micotossine), quali controlli negativi. Dopo 18 mesi le trote sopravvissute sono state sacrificate, sottoposte a necroscopia ed è stato condotto l’esame istopatologico su fegati e reni. La percentuale di sopravvivenza delle trote è stata valutata dopo 1 e 18 mesi dalla schiusa. Dopo un mese dalla schiusa, la miscela AFLB1+FB1 a concentrazione più elevata ha determinato il più basso livello di sopravvivenza (57%), mentre l’esposizione alle singole micotossine non ha causato significative variazioni rispetto ai controlli (80%). Dopo 18 mesi, si è osservata una percentuale di sopravvivenza dose-dipendente per tutti i livelli di micotossine testati. All’esame istopatologico l’esposizione a 0,5 ¼g/ml di AFLB1, in forma singola o combinata, ha determinato lo sviluppo di epatomi con un’incidenza compresa tra l’8 e il 10%, mentre la FB1 non ha mostrato un’attività tossica e “starter” a tutte le concentrazioni testate.

CNR-ISPA develops analyses of food products and compounds with the use of innovative technologies: ?Identification: genes, proteins and metabolites in food products and plants, biosynthesis pathways, biomarkers, DNA arrays and expression profiling, Northern blots, RT-PCR ?Analysis: effects of biocompounds on cell cultures, cell growth and survival, biochemical assays, cell activation /inhibition, Western blots, monitoring changes in cell phenotype, cell-to-cell contact, analysis of gap-junctions using microinjection and confocal microscopy ?Detection: compounds / proteins in food using Protein arrays and antibody chips (enzymes, allergens, protein-protein interaction studies.

Lycopene, a non-provitaminic carotenoid, present in many fruit and vegetables, such as tomatoes and their processed products, has been associated with decreased risk of chronic diseases including cancer. The influence of lycopene on the proliferation of the breast tumour cell line (MCF-7) was tested using MTT and BrdU assays at different time intervals and dose–response. The induction of Gap Junction Intercellular Communication (GJIC) was evaluated by dye-transfer assay using Lucifer Yellow on monolayer cells treated with different lycopene concentrations for 6 to 48 h. The Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of lycopene was of 5 mM, after a 24 h exposure. A prolonged exposure time induced a similar inhibitory effect. Lycopene stimulated the functionality of GJIC at concentrations of 1 mM after 24 h and this effect was dose-dependent. The induction of GJIC by lycopene was confirmed by an increased expression of connexin 43. Collectively, the above data confirm the inhibitor effects of lycopene on MCF-7 cell growth and suggest that lycopene is involved in the modulation of the gap junction intercellular communication in this cell line, as observed for other cancer cell lines.