The winemaking industry produces large volumes of waste and by-products, among these, pomace is an important source of bioactive molecules like polyphenols, dietary fiber, unsaturated fatty acids, etc. Only small amount of this by-product is recycled thus potentially resulting in an environmental problem. Over the last years, the evaluation of grape pomace flour as functional alternative ingredient and its recovery into value-added food products have attracted great interest. In this study fortified pasta was prepared through the replacement of durum wheat semolina with 5 % of pomace flour from one white grape cultivar (Fiano) and two red grape cultivars (Aglianico and Lambrusco). Fortified uncooked and cooked pasta samples were characterized by bioactive molecule content and profile. High Performance Liquid Chromatography analysis of both soluble and bound phenols, tocochromanols and carotenoids were performed. In uncooked pasta fortified with both white and red grape pomace significantly increased the soluble phenolic molecules content while the content of bound phenols increases slightly in pasta added with red grape pomace only. During cooking process, the bound phenols were lost, while soluble phenols showed a net increase both in control and fortified pasta samples. Moreover cooked fortified pasta showed a higher soluble phenolic content than the control. Both tocochromanols and carotenoids showed a net increase in uncooked pasta added with either white grape pomace or red grape pomace. In the cooked samples, tocochromanol and carotenoid content slightly decreased; despite the losses, cooked pasta still presented a significative higher content of these molecules with respect to the control. These results show that pasta fortified with Fiano, Aglianico and Lambrusco grape pomace flour could represent a food product enriched with functional molecules and a potential technological alternative for the food industry by-products re-use.

Microbial resistance inhibition is increasingly focused on the use of plant extracts and their phytochemicals as candidates for targeting virulence factors. Here, we report on the chemical composition and virulence inhibition potential of both polar (PF) and non-polar fractions (NPF) of the underground parts of three common Iris species (I. confusa, I. pseudacorus and I. germanica). The anti-haemolytic and biofilm inhibition potentials of the aforementioned Iris species on methicillin resistant and sensitive (MRSA and MSSA) S. aureus bacterial strains were explored. I. pseudacorus PF exhibited the most potent effect against S. aureus haemolytic activity. Intriguingly, all the tested fractions from all species, except I. pseudacorus NPF, have no significant inhibition on the biofilm formation of MRSA and MSSA. Metabolite profiling of the investigated species revealed ninety and forty-five metabolites detected in the PFs and NPFs, respectively. Nigricin-type, tectorigenin-type isoflavonids and xanthones allowed the discrimonation of I. pseudacorus underground parts PF from the other species, highlighting the importance of those metabolites in exerting its promising activity. On the other hand, triterpene acids, iridals, triacylglycerols, ceramides, and acid represented the metabolites detected in highest abundance in I. pseudacorus NPF.

First isolated in 219 via hydrodynamic cavitation of waste orange peel (WOP) directly on semi-industrial scale (30 kg of WOP in 120 L water) [1] and subsequently also from waste lemon [2] and grapefruit [3] peel, IntegroPectin is the name we gave to a new citrus pectin series derived from (organically grown) fruit biowaste derived from citrus juice industrial production via hydrodynamic cavitation.

Rich in adsorbed citrus terpenes [4] and citrus flavonoids [5] concentrated at the surface of the pectic polysaccharide after freeze drying the aqueous solution after cavitation, these pectins have a different structure in comparison to commercial citrus pectin, and distinctly higher biological activity. For instance, lemon and grapefruit IntegroPectin share a powerful abtibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative ubiquitous pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Pesudomonas aeruginosa [3], with grapefruit IntegroPectin being bactericidal (and not only bacteriostatic) for both strains at low concentration. Conventionally extracted citrus pectin has antioxidant activity [6], but the antioxidant activity of lemon IntegroPectin measured by its ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) exceeding 122.000 μmol TE/100g [2], amounts to 60% of the most powerful natural antioxidant extract known so far, namely freeze-dried olive mill waste water which has ORAC of 201,100 μmol TE/100g.

Lemon IntegroPectin, furthermore, is a powerful mito- and neuroprotective agent [7], whereas grapefruit IntegroPectin is also an antiproliferative and neuroprotective substance [8], properties which are entirely absent in commercial citrus pectin. In this lecture we will present the latest outcomes of an intense research activity carried out in collaboration with researchers based at Palermo’s University and Palermo’s CNR. The conclusions are of significant relevance to food scientists and food industry practitioners since pectin is now the third most important in terms of market value (and by far the most versatile) hydrocolloid used by the food industry [9].

References

[1] F. Meneguzzo, C. Brunetti, A. Fidalgo, R. Ciriminna, R. Delisi, L. Albanese, F. Zabini, A. Gori, L. Beatriz dos Santos Nascimento, A. De Carlo, F. Ferrini, L. M. Ilharco, M. Pagliaro, Real-scale integral valorization of waste orange peel via hydrodynamic cavitation, Processes 2019, 7, 581. doi:10.3390/pr7090581

[2] D. Nuzzo, L. Cristaldi, M. Sciortino, L. Albanese, A. Scurria, F. Zabini, C. Lino, M. Pagliaro, F. Meneguzzo, M. Di Carlo, R. Ciriminna, Exceptional antioxidant, non-cytotoxic activity of integral lemon pectin from hydrodynamic cavitation, ChemistrySelect 2020, 5, 5066. doi:10.1002/slct.202000375

[3] A. Presentato, E. Piacenza, A. Scurria, L. Albanese, F. Zabini, F. Meneguzzo, D. Nuzzo, M. Pagliaro, D. Chillura Martino, R. Alduina, R. Ciriminna, A new water-soluble bactericidal agent for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative bacterial strains, Antibiotics 2020, 9, 586. doi:10.3390/antibiotics9090586

[4] A. Scurria, M. Sciortino, A. Presentato, C. Lino, E. Piacenza, L. Albanese, F. Zabini, F. Meneguzzo, D. Nuzzo, M. Pagliaro, D.F. Chillura Martino, R. Alduina, G. Avellone, R. Ciriminna, Volatile compounds of lemon and grapefruit IntegroPectin, Molecules 2021, 26, 51. doi:10.3390/molecules26010051

[5] A. Scurria, M. Sciortino, L. Albanese, D. Nuzzo, F. Zabini, F. Meneguzzo, R. Alduina, A. Presentato, M. Pagliaro, G.Avellone, R. Ciriminna, Flavonoids in lemon and grapefruit IntegroPectin, Preprints 2021, 2021020620. doi:10.20944/preprints202102.0620.v1

[6] S.T. Minzanova, V.F. Mironov, D.M. Arkhipova, A.V. Khabibullina, L.G. Mironova, Y.M. Zakirova, V.A. Milyukov, Biological activity and pharmacological application of pectic polysaccharides: a review, Polymers 2018, 10, 1407. doi:10.3390/polym10121407

[7] D. Nuzzo, P. Picone, C. Giardina, M. Scordino, G. Mudò, M. Pagliaro, A. Scurria, F. Meneguzzo, L. M. Ilharco, A. Fidalgo, A. Presentato, R. Alduina, R. Ciriminna, V. Di Liberto, New neuroprotective effect of lemon IntegroPectin on neuronal cellular model, Antioxidants 2021, 10, 669. doi:10.3390/antiox10050669

[8] D. Nuzzo, M. Scordino, A. Scurria, C. Giardina, F. Giordano, F. Meneguzzo, G. Mudò, M. Pagliaro, P. Picone, A. Attanzio, S. Raimondo, R. Ciriminna, V. Di Liberto Neuroprotective, antioxidant and antiproliferative activity of grapefruit IntegroPectin on SH-SY5Y cells, bioRxiv 2021, 07.21.453202. doi:10.1101/2021.07.21.453202

[9] D. Seisun, N. Zalesny, Strides in food texture and hydrocolloids, Food Hydrocoll. 2021, 117, 106575. doi:10.1016/j.foodhyd.2020.106575

The amount of plastic waste is continuously increasing being a threat for the environment. Food packaging is the largest source of single-use plastic materials and the majority ends up in landfill/recycling facilities, with some ending up in the environment and the oceans. Plastic recycling is growing significantly to mitigate this problem being key for the sustainability of packaging. However, plastic containers made of recycled materials may contain contaminants from their previous life, collecting system and/or recycling process which may cause a potential threat to consumers’ health, being very important the authentication/characterization of recycled material. A novel non-targeted approach based on static-headspace gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (SHS-GC-MS) has been developed to determine volatile organic fingerprint of plastic packages both virgin and containing different percentages of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET). A MS database including 160 volatile organic compounds present in plastic materials according to the literature was created. Among those compounds, seventeen substances were detected and identified by comparing their mass spectra with those of MS database libraries. The combination of the dataset obtained by SHS-GC-MS and the application of chemometrics demonstrated to be a useful tool for the discrimination between virgin and different recycled percentage PET samples as well as for the quantification of recycled plastic content in the PET samples. This analytical tool helps to avoid potential frauds in the recycling plastic field.

Polyphenols are molecules with strong biological activity, which are the bearers of apple resistance to plant diseases, as well as to abiotic stress from various sources. Moreover, it has been shown that apple cultivars with higher content of polyphenols are more resistant to plant diseases. Some of the biological activities of polyphenols are antiphlogistic, antimutagenic and antioxidant activity. In addition to the above, some polyphenols such as chlorogenic acid, phloridzin and quercetin showed potent antimicrobial and antifungal activities by targeting intracellular processes in microorganisms or inducing irreversible permeability changes in cell membrane. Based on that, this study aimed to detect, quantify, and compare the amounts of chlorogenic acid, phloridzin, and quercetin in ten Croatian traditional and five conventional apple cultivars by high- performance liquid chromatography with diode- array detector. Total phenolic acids, dihydrochalcones and flavonols were also determined. The results showed that Croatian traditional apple cultivars had significantly higher amounts of the investigated compounds compared to conventional apple cultivars. The highest amount of chlorogenic acid (30.29 ± 0.34 mg/100 g DW), phloridzin (3.12 ± 0.01 mg/100 g DW) and quercetin (11.68 ± 0.09 mg/100 g DW) had ‘Božičnica’, ‘Mašanka’ and ‘Petrovnjača’, respectively. The highest contents of the total phenolic acids, dihydrochalcones and flavonols were detected in ‘Božićnica’ (31,94 ± 0.65 mg/100 g DW), ‘Mašanka’ (3,52 ± 0,52 mg/100 g DW) and ‘Fuji’ (19.11 ± 0,56 mg/100 g DW), respectively. The main flavonol detected in ‘Fuji’ was quercetin-3-rutinoside. These results present the beginning of the research on the resistance of Croatian traditional apple cultivars to plant diseases funded by the Croatian Science Foundation (UIP-2020-02-8461).