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One of the most difficult issues in the juice industry is to manufacture juices where processing processes minimise the impact on the native characteristics of the fruits. In this study, high-pressure technology was used on whole apple fruits in order to evaluate the effect on the juice production. Two varieties, cv. Limoncella and cv. Pink Lady, were considered. Preliminarily, the fruits were subjected to different pressures, and histological as well as pomological measurements were taken in order to identify the best treatment condition, which was established to be 600 MPa for 3 min. Juice samples were then characterised by measuring the colour, viscosity, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and total phenolic content (TPC). The storage colour stability of the juices for both varieties showed not significant L* values between the untreated and pre-treated fruits. Juices obtained from pre-treated fruits had a viscosity significantly higher than that obtained from untreated ones. Interestingly, the TPC of high-pressure processing (HPP) pre-treated juice resulted in being significantly higher compared to the untreated ones. The HPP pre-treatment can be considered as a commercial application to modulate some quality standards for apple juice production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microalgae show potential as renewable and environmentally friendly fuel resources. Wastewaters (WWs) can be utilized as growth media, reducing the associated cultivation costs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate how organic-rich WWs affect the growth and fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) profile of Chlorella vulgaris. This particular strain exhibits high biomass productivity and can thrive in a wide range of WWs. It also has the ability to shift its metabolism from autotrophic to hetero/mixotrophic. Glycerol can serve as a means to direct metabolism towards lipids production. Consequently, C. vulgaris was cultivated in brewery wastewater (BWW) containing varying concentrations of glycerol under both metabolic conditions. When C. vulgaris was cultivated in a mixotrophic environment, it achieved a notably higher biomass yield compared to heterotrophic cultivation. The highest biomass yield, reaching 1.33 g L-1, was achieved utilizing 2 mL of glycerol in BWW, surpassing the control with 1.08 g L-1. However, when a two-phase metabolism was applied, comprising the ten days of mixotrophy followed by the final five days in heterotrophy (MHB), the biomass yield was slightly lower than that obtained under continuous mixotrophic conditions. Nevertheless, it was still double the biomass obtained in a strictly heterotrophic environment. The FAME profile analysis revealed that, within the considered trophic conditions, the highest content of saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was observed during mixotrophic cultivation with 10 mL of glycerol, mixotrophic cultivation with 4 mL of glycerol, and MHB with 4 mL of glycerol (35.36%wt, 46.89%wt, and 31.60%wt, respectively). An initial examination of the saturated and unsaturated components of the FAME suggests that lipids extracted from C. vulgaris biomass cultivated mixotrophically and heterorophically in BWW could potentially serve as a valuable feedstock for biodiesel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An untargeted Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy-based metabolomics approach was applied as a first attempt to explore the metabolome of pigs treated with antibiotics. The final goal was to investigate the possibility of discriminating between antibiotic-treated (TX group) and untreated pigs (CTRL group), with the further perspective of identifying the authentication tools for antibiotic-free pork supply chains. In particular, 41 samples of pig liver were subjected to a biphasic extraction to recover both the polar and the non-polar metabolites, and the 1H NMR spectroscopy analysis was performed on the two separate extracts. Unsupervised (principal component analysis) and supervised (orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis) multivariate statistical analysis of 1H NMR spectra data in the range 0–9 ppm provided metabolomic fingerprinting useful for the discrimination of pig livers based on the antibiotic treatment to which they were exposed. Moreover, within the signature patterns, significant discriminating metabolites were identified among carbohydrates, choline and derivatives, amino acids and some lipid-class molecules. The encouraging findings of this exploratory study showed the feasibility of the untargeted metabolomic approach as a novel strategy in the authentication framework of pork supply chains and open a new horizon for a more in-depth investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By-products from the fruit supply chain, especially seeds/kernels, have shown great potential to be valorised, due to their high content of macronutrients, such as lipids, protein, and fibre. A mild enzymatic assisted extraction (EAE) involving the use of a protease was tested to evaluate the feasibility of a cascade approach to fractionate the main fruit by-products components. Protease from Bacillus licheniformis (the enzyme used in the AOAC 991.43 official method for dietary fibre quantification) was used, and besides protein, the conditions of hydrolysis (60 °C, neutral pH, overnight) allowed us to dissolve a portion of soluble fibres, which was then separated from the solubilized peptide fraction through ethanol precipitation. Good protein extraction yields, in the range 35–93%, were obtained. The soluble fibre extraction yield ranged from 1.6% to 71% depending on the by-product, suggesting its applicability only for certain substrates, and it was found to be negatively correlated with the molecular weight of the fibre. The monosaccharide composition of the soluble fibres extracted was also diverse. Galacturonic acid was present in a low amount, indicating that pectin was not efficiently extracted. However, a predominance of arabinose and galactose monomers was detected in many fractions, indicating the isolation of a fruit soluble fibre portion with potential similarity with arabinogalactans and gum arabic, opening up perspectives for technological applications. The residual solid pellet obtained after protease assisted extraction was found to be an excellent fibre-rich substrate, suitable for being subjected to more "hard" processing (e.g., sequential pectin and hemicellulose extraction) with the objective to derive other fractions with potential great added economic value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere represents today one of the most global concern. The inevitable depletion of fossil fuels and the adverse climate changes push the scientific community to seek renewable and sustainable sources of fuel. In this scenario microalgae can be potentially exploited as renewable and environmentally friendly fuel resources. Wastewaters (WW) can be used as culture media reducing the costs associated to their cultivation. Hence, the goal of this study was to examine the effect of an organic rich WW on Chlorella vulgaris growth and fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) profile. This strain shows high biomass productivity thriving in a wide range of WWs and is able to shift its metabolism from autotrophic to hetero/mixotrophic one. Glycerol can be used to convey metabolism towards lipids production. Therefore, C. vulgaris was cultivated in dairy waste (DWW) with different concentrations of glycerol under both metabolisms. When C. vulgaris was cultivated under mixotrophy attained a high biomass yield compared to heterotrophy. The highest biomass yield (1.72 g L-1) was obtained with 10 mL of glycerol in DWW compared to the control (1.08 g L-1). When a two-phase metabolism was adopted, that is the first ten days under mixotrophy followed by the last five days in heterotrophy (MHD), the biomass was almost doubled with 2 mL of glycerol in DWW. FAME profile reveled that compared to the control the highest saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) content were obtained under heterotrophy with 10 mL of glycerol, under MHD with 2 mL and with 4 mL of glycerol (46.73%wt, 41.79%wt, and 30.34%wt, respectively). A preliminary analysis on the saturated and unsaturated components of the FAME suggests that lipids extracted from C. vulgaris biomass cultivated mixotrophically and heterorophically in DWW could represents a feedstock to be exploited for biodiesel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, mainly due to industrialization, has affected all the ecosystems. Current worldwide living standards are still heavily dependent on non-renewable fuels. The inevitable depletion of fossil fuels and the adverse climate changes push the scientific community to seek renewable and sustainable sources of fuel. In this scenario microalgae can be potentially exploited as renewable and environmentally friendly fuel resources. Wastewaters (WW) can be used as culture media minimizing the costs associated to their cultivation. Hence, the goal of this study was to examine the effect of agro-industrial WWs rich in organic nutrients on algal lipid content and fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) profile. For this purpose, the fresh water green algae Chlorella vulgaris was selected. This strain is able to thrive in a wide range of WWs with high biomass productivity and to shift its metabolism from autotrophic to hetero/mixotrophic one. C. vulgaris was cultivated in brewery (BWW), dairy (DWW), oil mill WWs and media supplemented with sugarcane molasses. High biomass yields were obtained when C. vulgaris was cultivated in BWW and DWW (1.76 g L-1 and 1.56 g L-1, respectively) compared to the control and the other WWs. The assessment of FAMEs composition (i.e. level of unsaturation) of algae cultivated under all the investigated conditions demonstrated that the former ones can be viably used as sources for producing biofuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]