LOX Gene transcript accumulation in olive (Olea europaea L.) fruits at different stages of maturation: relationship between volatile compounds, environmental factors, and technological treatments for oil extraction.

The quality of olive oil is influenced by genetic and environmental factors and by the maturation state of drupes, but it is equally affected by technological treatments of the process. This work investigates the possible correlation between olive LOX gene transcript accumulation, evaluated in fruits collected at different stages of maturation, and chemical biomarkers of its activity. During olive fruit ripening, the same genotype harvested from two different farms shows a positive linear trend between LOX relative transcript accumulation and the content of volatile compounds present in the olive oil aroma.

Screening of dimethoate in food by isotope dilution and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Crop control is an important issue in both developed and developing countries. An environmentally friendly approach is represented by the so-called Integrated Pest Management (IPM), whereby synthetic pesticides are only applied as a last resort, under the strict control of suitable experts. European and US regulatory authorities, such as the US EPA, are constantly assessing the risks of exposure to the organophosphate (OP) class of pesticides and, among these, specifically dimethoate.

Tandem mass spectrometry in food safety assessment: the determination of phthalates in olive oil.

A gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) method for the detection of six phthalates in olive oil was developed. A gel permeation chromatography (GPC) clean-up step with cyclohexane:dichoromethane 7:3 as mobile phase was employed to remove the high-molecular mass species present in oil. Two ionization methodologies, i.

A metabolomic approach to the evaluation of the origin of extra virgin olive oil: a convenient statistical treatment of mass spectrometric analytical data.

The selection of suitable markers from the secondary metabolism of lipoxygenase, in experimental olive oils produced from drupes harvested in different areas of the Italian Calabria region and of Tunisia, allows an easy discrimination between each cluster of samples. The origin of the foodstuff can be ascertained even when the distances between the production zones are very close to each other as in Calabria. Olive oils produced from irrigated and nonirrigated farms in Tunisia were also clearly distinguishable.