Effects of the halophytes Tecticornia indica and Suaeda fruticosa on soil enzyme activities in a Mediterranean Sabkha.

In the present work, we studied the effectiveness of the predominant halophytes of Soliman sabkha (Tecticornia indica and Suaeda fruticosa) to promote soil biological activities and ecosystem productivity. Soil Arylsulphatese ARY, beta-glucosidase beta-GLU, phosphatase PHO, invertase INV, urease URE, and dehydogenase DES activities in Extra- and Intra-tuft halophytes and plant productivity were assessed. Results revealed a high increase of microbial community and ARY, beta-GLU, PHO, INV URE and DES activities (+298%, +400%, +800%, +350%, +320%, +25% and +759%, respectively) in Intra-tuft rhizosphere as compared to Extra-tuft one, which is likely due to the significant decrease of salinity in the rhizosphere of Tecticornia indica and Suaeda fruticosa.

Quality, stability and radical scavenging activity of olive oils after Chétoui olives (Olea europaea L.) storage under modified atmospheres.

At the industrial scale, the major source of olive oil deterioration is the poor handling of the raw material during the time separating harvesting from processing. The objective of this work was to verify the effect of modified atmospheres and cold storage in relation to quality parameters of the extracted oils. Olives (cv Chétoui) intended for oil extraction, were stored for 21 days at two different temperatures (ambient temperature 14 ± 2 °C and 5 °C) and under two different modified atmospheres 21% O₂ - 0% CO₂ and 2% O₂ - 5% CO₂.

Triacylglycerols composition and volatile compounds of virgin olive oil from Chemlali cultivar: comparison among different planting densities.

The present study focused on the comparison the chemical composition of virgin olive oil samples obtained from fruits of the main Tunisian olive cultivar (Chemlali) grown in four planting densities (156, 100, 69, and 51 trees ha(-1)). Despite the variability in the triacylglycerols and volatile compounds composition, the quality indices (free fatty acids, peroxide value, and spectrophotometric indices K(232) and K(270)) all of the virgin olive oils samples studied met the commercial standards. Decanal was the major constituent, accounting for about 30% of the whole volatiles.

Characterisation and quantification of phenolic compounds of extra-virgin olive oils according to their geographical origin by a rapid and resolutive LC-ESI-TOF MS method.

The phenolic compounds present in seven samples of olive fruits were analysed by a rapid and resolutive LC-ESI-TOF MS method. All samples were collected during the normal picking period for olive oil production, in central and south Tunisia, and were obtained from the Oueslati variety cultivated in different olive growing areas. In the Tunisian samples, 22 compounds have been characterised by LC-ESI-TOF MS analysis.

Municipal solid waste compost application improves productivity, polyphenol content, and antioxidant capacity of Mesembryanthemum edule.

Organic wastes were successfully used as soil amendment to improve agrosystems productivity. Yet, the effectiveness of this practice to enhance plant antioxidant capacities has received little attention. Here, we assess the effect of municipal solid waste (MSW) compost (at 40 t ha(-1)) on growth, polyphenol contents and antioxidant activities of Mesembryanthemum edule.