Publications by authors named "Delfine S"

Article Synopsis
  • Food production in regions with low rainfall, like the Mediterranean, relies heavily on irrigation, making crops such as chicory vital to local diets.
  • A study investigated how moderate drought affects chicory’s photosynthesis, growth, and beneficial compounds like carotenoids and tocopherols, using rainfed conditions in a controlled design.
  • Results showed that while drought reduced chicory's dry mass and photosynthesis, it actually increased carotenoid and tocopherol levels, indicating that moderate drought can enhance the nutritional quality of chicory despite a decrease in yield.
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In 2018 there were over 1.8 million new cases worldwide of colorectal cancer and relapses after clinical treatments. Many studies ascribe the risk of the appearance of this cancer to the Western life style : a sedentary life, obesity, and low -fiber, high -fat diets can promote the onset of disease.

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The aim of this work was to demonstrate that a natural compound, not-toxic to normal cells, has cytotoxic and sensitizing effects on carcinoma cells, with the final goal of combining it with chemotherapeutic drugs to reduce the overall dose. Trigno ecotype (PsT) drupe extract with a nutraceutical activator complex (NAC) made of amino acids, vitamins and mineral salt blends, has shown in vitro anticancer activity. The cytotoxic effect of (PsT + NAC) has been evaluated on human cancer cells, with an initial screening with colorectal, uterine cervical, and bronchoalveolar cells, and a subsequent focus on colon carcinoma cells HCT116 and SW480.

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Pollution by toxic metals, accumulating into soils as result of human activities, is a worldwide major concern in industrial countries. Plants exhibit different degrees of tolerance to heavy metals, as a consequence of their ability to exclude or accumulate them in particular tissues, organs or sub-cellular compartments. Molecular information about cellular processes affected by heavy metals is still largely incomplete.

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Salvia officinalis L. can be found worldwide and its leaves are commonly used as ingredient in food industry. Sage essential oil is applied in the treatment of a range of diseases and has been shown to possess different biological activities.

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Aims: The microbiological and toxicological quality of 51 samples of dried herbs (Melissa officinalis, Salvia officinalis, Malva sylvestris, Matricaria chamomilla, Alchemilla vulgaris and Centaurea cyanus) cultivated in family-managed farms in Molise Region (Italy) was evaluated.

Methods And Results: All the samples were analysed by using conventional methods, and for samples preparation, an alternative Washing and Shaking (WaS) protocol was developed to reduce release of antimicrobial compounds. None of the samples were of unsatisfactory quality with respect to aflatoxin B1, and only three samples from Malva sylvestris exceeded the limit of total aflatoxins according to Recommendation 2004/24/EC.

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Among European Neottieae, Limodorum abortivum is a common Mediterranean orchid. It forms small populations with a patchy distribution in woodlands, and is characterized by much reduced leaves, suggesting a partial mycoheterotrophy. We have investigated both the photosynthetic abilities of L.

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•  The aim of the paper was to determine nitrogen compounds contributing to leaf cell osmoregulation of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) submitted to increasing salt stress. •  Sodium, free amino acids and glycine betaine contents were determined in the last fully expanded leaf of plants stressed by daily irrigation with saline water (0.17 M NaCl).

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Eucalyptus spp. are among the highest isoprene emitting plants. In the Mediterranean area these plants are often cultivated along the seashore and cope with recurrent salt stress.

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Salt accumulation in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) leaves first inhibits photosynthesis by decreasing stomatal and mesophyll conductances to CO2 diffusion and then impairs ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (S. Delfine, A.

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In order to gain some insight into mitochondrial flavin biochemistry, rat liver mitochondria essentially free of lysosomal and microsomal contamination were prepared and their capability to metabolise externally added and endogenous FAD and FMN tested both spectroscopically and via HPLC. The existence of two novel mitochondrial enzymes, namely FAD pyrophosphatase (EC 3.6.

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