Autochthonous Italian pomegranate accessions are still underexplored, although they could be an important resource for fresh consumption, processing, and nutraceutical uses. Therefore, it is necessary to characterize the local germplasm to identify genotypes with desirable traits. In this study, six old Italian pomegranate landraces and a commercial cultivar (Dente di Cavallo) were investigated, evaluating their fruit pomological parameters, physicochemical (TSS, pH, TA, and color) characteristics, sugar content, and aromatic profiles (HeadSpace Solid-Phase MicroExtraction (HS-SPME)) coupled with Gas Chromatographyass Spectrometry (GC-MS) of pomegranate juices.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the circular economy framework, hydrosols, by-products of the essential oil industry, are gaining attention for their potential in waste reduction and resource reuse. This study analyzed hydrosols from six edible flowers, investigating their chemical composition (VOC-Hyd) and antibacterial properties alongside volatile organic compounds of fresh flowers (VOC-Fs) and essential oils (EOs). exhibited ketones as major VOC-Fs (62.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe growing interest in functional foods is driven by the exploration of new foods with positive health effects. Pleasant sensory features are essential for consumer acceptance. In this work, we investigated the composition of the bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and aroma profiles of four edible flowers: Duchesne, L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSecondary metabolites play a key role in the communication of the plant organism with the everchanging biotic and abiotic stimuli of its versatile environment [...
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the last years, special attention has been given to the nutritional properties of food, and the edible flowers (EFs) represent an uncommon fresh product to characterise, with the aim to explore new species with peculiar aesthetic and the aromatic features. This work investigated some nutritional properties of eight new EFs, such as A.DC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFoliar fertilisation is known to influence the physiological response of (hop plants), but its effect on the flavour profile of beer still has to be investigated. By comparing the effects of four fertilisation treatments, this study aims at determining whether different foliar fertilisation treatments have a significant impact on hop plants' aromatic quality and that of the beer produced. Hop cones harvested from each experimental treatment were brewed to obtain five single dry-hopped beers, which were subsequently analysed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBee pollen's nutritional and beneficial health properties depend on the botanical origin and storage conditions. Palynological analysis determines the botanical composition of the multiflora and colour fractions. This study aimed to characterize the phytochemical profile and antioxidant activity of Tuscan bee pollen stored at freezing temperature for 2 years to verify the preservation of nutraceutical properties of the multiflora and colour fractions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMechanisms regulating flower senescence are not fully understood in any species and are particularly complex in composite flowers. Dahlia ( Cav.) florets develop sequentially, hence each composite flower head includes florets of different developmental stages as the whole flower head ages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNinety-five rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus Schleid.) genotypes, representing 24 wild populations, collected in different geographical areas in Italy and then cultivated under homogeneous environmental conditions, were characterised for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and three main non-volatile phenolic diterpenes (carnosic acid, carnosol) and acids (rosmarinic acid). Cluster analysis of chemical data highlighted the occurrence of three main groups of populations: one with high levels of verbenone, α-pinene, bornyl acetate, carnosic acid and carnosol, a second one with relatively high levels of camphor and a third one with high levels of 1,8-cineole, β-pinene and sesquiterpenes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEdible flowers (EFs) are currently consumed as fresh products, but their shelf life can be extended by a suitable drying technique, avoiding the loss of visual quality and valuable nutraceutical properties. Willd is a common ornamental bedding plant, and its leaves and flowers are edible. In this work, red flowers were freeze-dried (FD) and hot-air dried (HAD) at different temperatures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(1) Background: The leaves of some plants are reported for their culinary uses, while in edible flowers, they are one of the discarded products in the supply chain. We investigated the volatile profile (VP) and the essential oil (EO) compositions of leaves from 12 Lamiaceae species, of which nine belong to the Mentheae tribe and three to the Ocimeae tribe. (2) Methods: Phytochemical analyses were performed using a GC-MS instrument.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNatural elicitors from macroalgae may affect plant secondary metabolites. Ulvan is a sulfated heteropolysaccharide extracted from green seaweed, acting as both a plant biotic protecting agent, and a plant elicitor, leading to the synthesis of signal molecules. In this work, the aqueous extract of L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEdible flowers are becoming popular as a nutraceutical and functional food that can contribute to human nutrition with high antioxidant molecules and mineral elements. While comparative studies between different flower species have been performed, less is known about the best agronomical practices to increase yield and nutraceutical proprieties of blooms. Silicon stimulates plant resistance against stress and promotes plant growth while non-thermal plasma (NTP) technology has been applied for the disinfection and decontamination of water, as well as for increasing plant production and quality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrogreens are the seedlings of herbs and vegetables which are harvested at the development stage of their two cotyledonary leaves, or sometimes at the emergence of their rudimentary first pair of true leaves. They are functional foods, the consumption of which is steadily increasing due to their high nutritional value. The species of the Brassicaceae family are good sources of bioactive compounds, with a favorable nutritional profile.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study aimed to elucidate the salinity influence on the bioactive metabolites of L. (henna) plants. Young henna plants were cultivated under salinity stress with two NaCl concentrations (75 mM and 150 mM) in controlled environmental conditions and the leaves were investigated to check their adaptative responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEdible flowers are niche horticultural products, routinely used as cooking ingredients in the food industry. Currently, new species are required with the aim of enlarging the number of species with a long shelf-life, healthy nutraceutical compounds, and new fragrance and tastes. Mill, A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEdible flowers are consumed for their appearance, colours, nutritional and healthy properties, but the use is limited by the actual number of the species. Seven edible flowers of the Lamiaceae family (Ocimeae and Mentheae tribes) were investigated: 'Fireball', 'Six Hills Giant', 'Blue Spice', 'Cinnamon', , and 'Hot Lips'. Total soluble sugars, proteins, polyphenols, carotenoids, ascorbic acid and antioxidant activity were detected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVolatilomes emitted from edible flowers of two species of ( (A.Gray) Lint & Epling, and (Kunth) Lint & Epling) and from two hybrids ( 'Arcado Pink' and 'Blue Boa') were investigated using a solid-phase microextraction technique as well as the extraction of its essential oils. Oxygenated monoterpenes were almost always the predominant class (>85%) of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in each sample of , .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the present work, variability of both cytoplasmic and nuclear microsatellite traits was investigated with the aim of characterizing a set of rosemary germplasm resources (). Most of the materials were collected in Italy and France. High-resolution melting curves were compared each other computing their Euclidean distances and estimating the differences within their principal component as a measure of genetic diversity.
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