A Study of the Toxic Effect of Plant Extracts against (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae).

The meadow spittlebug (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae) is distributed in several habitats worldwide and has been recently recognized as the main vector of subsp. . This bacterium has been associated with olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS) in the Salento Peninsula (Italy) and is responsible for extensive desiccation and die-off of olive trees.

Enhanced Bioactivity of Pomegranate Peel Extract following Controlled Release from CaCO Nanocrystals.

Pomegranate peel extract is rich of interesting bioactive chemicals, principally phenolic compounds, which have shown antimicrobial, anticancer, and antioxidative properties. The aim of this work was to improve extract' bioactivity through the adsorption on calcium carbonate nanocrystals. Nanocrystals revealed as efficient tools for extract adsorption reaching 50% of loading efficiency.

¹H NMR and Multivariate Analysis for Geographic Characterization of Commercial Extra Virgin Olive Oil: A Possible Correlation with Climate Data.

¹H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis has been applied in order to investigate metabolomic profiles of more than 200 extravirgin olive oils (EVOOs) collected in a period of over four years (2009-2012) from different geographic areas. In particular, commercially blended EVOO samples originating from different Italian regions (Tuscany, Sicily and Apulia), as well as European (Spain and Portugal) and non-European (Tunisia, Turkey, Chile and Australia) countries. Multivariate statistical analysis (Principal Component Analisys (PCA) and Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA)) applied on the NMR data revealed the existence of marked differences between Italian (in particular from Tuscany, Sicily and Apulia regions) and foreign (in particular Tunisian) EVOO samples.