Maria L Amodio

Publications (4)2.87 Total impact

• Source

  Available from: Maria Cefola

  Article: Effect of atmosphere composition on the quality of ready-to-use broccoli raab (Brassica rapa L.).

  Maria Cefola, Maria L Amodio, Rosaria Cornacchia, Raffaella Rinaldi, Sebastiano Vanadia, Giancarlo Colelli
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  ABSTRACT: Many leafy brassicas are widely used for ready-to-use salads. Broccoli raab (Brassica rapa L.), also called turnip top, or rapini, is extensively cultivated in southern Italy. The edible portion is made up of the green, immature inflorescences and the stem with its most tender leaves. Recently, interest in this crop has increased among European consumers; moreover, a substantial increase in consumption could come from the ready-to-use product. The effects of four different atmosphere compositions (air, 3% O(2) in nitrogen, 3% O(2) + 10% CO(2) in air, and 10% CO(2) in air) on quality attributes of ready-to-use broccoli raab were studied. Controlled atmosphere affected appearance, composition, respiration rate, weight loss, and presence of off-odours. Storage of broccoli raab florets under low oxygen conditions delayed post-cutting deterioration during storage at 5 degrees C and preserved appearance and typical odour, up to 17 days. Moreover, respiration rate as well as loss of green colour, chlorophyll and vitamin C were also slowed down in this condition. Finally, in this study no effect of controlled atmosphere storage was found on total phenols content and antioxidant activity. Results showed that cold storage in 3% O(2) can be beneficial in order to maintain quality of ready-to-use, broccoli raab for up to 17 days.
  Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 04/2010; 90(5):789-97. · 1.44 Impact Factor
• Article: Screening quality and browning susceptibility of five artichoke cultivars for fresh‐cut processing

  Ana B Cabezas‐Serrano, Maria L Amodio, Rosaria Cornacchia, Raffaella Rinaldi, Giancarlo Colelli
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  ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Artichoke is a rich source of bioactive compounds, mainly phenols, in the Mediterranean diet, but its consumption is limited by the complexity of time-consuming trimming operations. Fresh-cut processing would therefore add convenience to its consumption, even though the severity of post-cutting browning of artichoke pieces is still a major problem. Since susceptibility to browning may vary widely among genotypes, the choice of the cultivar is a very critical step in the fresh-cut process. In this study, five different Italian cultivars (C3, Catanese, Tema, Violetto Foggiano and Violetto Sardo) were screened for their initial quality and composition, and their post-cutting performance during storage at 5 °C and 20 °C.RESULTS: C3 showed the highest phenol content (3.4 g GA kg−1) and antioxidant activity (24.5 mmol L−1 kg−1), but the worst quality in terms of appearance and colour changes, also due to its high PPO activity (62.2 U g−1). Catanese showed the highest vitamin C content (117.7 mg kg−1), the lowest phenol content (1.8 g GA kg−1), and the best post-cutting quality. Tema, Violetto Foggiano and Violetto Sardo showed an intermediate phenol content, the latter showing the lowest appearance score after C3.CONCLUSION: These results confirmed the role of phenols in browning processes of fresh-cut artichokes, giving the first available information on artichoke cultivar suitability to be processed as a fresh-cut product. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry
  Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 09/2009; 89(15):2588 - 2594. · 1.44 Impact Factor
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  Available from: Maria Cefola

  Article: Exposure to 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) delays the effects of ethylene on fresh-cut broccoli raab (Brassica rapa L.)

  Maria Cefola, Maria L. Amodio, Raffaella Rinaldi, Sebastiano Vanadia, Giancarlo Colelli
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  ABSTRACT: Broccoli raab florets were treated with 1 μL L−1 of 1-MCP for 24 h at 20 °C and then stored, together with the untreated control, at 5 °C for 14 days in a humidified air flow and air + 100 μL L−1 of ethylene. Treatment with 1-MCP markedly extended the shelf life, reducing postharvest deterioration, retarding chlorophyll degradation, and delaying visual quality loss and flowering, as was also the case with samples stored in the presence of exogenous ethylene. Untreated broccoli raab florets stored either in air or in air + ethylene showed a significant increase in ammonia during storage, suggesting stressful storage conditions. These results indicate that a 1-MCP treatment could be a good candidate for extending shelf life, maintaining visual quality and reducing loss of quality in broccoli raab florets.
  Postharvest Biology and Technology.
• Article: Suitability of five different potato cultivars (Solanum tuberosum L.) to be processed as fresh-cut products

  Ana B. Cabezas-Serrano, Maria L. Amodio, Rosaria Cornacchia, Raffaella Rinaldi, Giancarlo Colelli
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  ABSTRACT: Five different potato cultivars (‘Agata’, ‘Agria’, ‘Almera’, Marabel’ and ‘Vivaldi’) were cut and stored at two temperatures (5 and 20 °C) for 9 d in order to investigate their browning potential and their suitability to be processed as fresh-cut product on the basis of their initial quality attributes such as color, water content, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activities, total phenolics, ascorbic acid contents, sugar composition and antioxidant activity (AOX). In addition, color changes and general appearance were monitored during storage. ANOVA results showed that the five cultivars were characterized by different initial color and yellow intensity with b* decreasing significantly from ‘Marabel’ (30.6), to ‘Agria’ (28.0), ‘Almera’ (21.6), ‘Vivaldi’ (19.6), and ‘Agata’ (16.5). Initial composition varied widely among cultivars and accounted for the different post-cutting performances. ‘Marabel’ and ‘Agata’ potatoes showed least color changes among the five cultivars, and scored the maximum for appearance when stored at 5 °C, while ‘Marabel’ received the highest score also when stored at 20 °C. ‘Marabel’ showed a relatively low phenol content (32.5 mg GE/100 g fw), low PPO activity (10.02 U/g fw), one of the highest antioxidant activities (18.02 mg TE/100 g fw) and the highest soluble sugar content (2.3 g/100 g fw). ‘Vivaldi’ and ‘Agria’ cultivars showed an intermediate potential in terms of storability and appearance, while ‘Almera’ was the less suitable cultivar to be used as fresh-cut, despite its high content in ascorbic acid (34.8 mg/100 g fw) and high antioxidant activity (23.2 mg TE/100 g fw), also showing one of the highest phenol content (46.1 mg GE/100 g fw) and PPO activity (14.7 U/g fw). A principal component analysis on the chemical and physical attributes showed a high correlation between phenol content, PAL and PPO activity, a* value, and hue angle variation at 5 and 20 °C. Appearance score, and fructose and glucose contents were positively correlated with each other and inversely correlated with hue angle variation. Score, and fructose and glucose contents allowed discrimination between ‘Marabel’ and the other varieties. ‘Marabel’ and ‘Agata’ potatoes were represented by the negative portion of Principal Component 2, while ‘Almera’, ‘Agata’, and ‘Agria’ were located on the positive axis, highly correlated with hue angle variation which was statistically higher for these varieties.
  Postharvest Biology and Technology.