Beatrice De Giulio

• Italian National Research Council

The present work aimed to study some biochemical characteristics and in vitro health properties of Lamiaceae (mint, basil, oregano, rosemary, savory, and thyme) honey. The biochemical aspects regarded the polyphenol content and composition of the honey, as well as its amount of vitamin C. The health properties were assessed through the antioxidant...

Our work investigated the antimicrobial and prebiotic properties of basil, mint, oregano, rosemary, savory, and thyme honey. The potential antimicrobial action, assessed against the pathogens Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, evidenced the capacity of the honey to i...

Honey can beneficially act against different human diseases, helping our body to improve its health. The aim of the present study was first to increase knowledge of some biochemical characteristics (amount and composition of polyphenols and volatile organic compounds, vitamin C content) of five Italian legume honeys (alfalfa, astragalus, carob, ind...

Honey is a natural remedy for various health conditions. It exhibits a prebiotic effect on the gut microbiome, including lactobacilli, essential for maintaining gut health and regulating the im-mune system. In addition, monofloral honey can show peculiar therapeutic properties. We in-vestigated some legumes honey’s prebiotic properties and potentia...

In addition to the adoption of proper temperature and relative humidity, the selection of an atmosphere surrounding packaged fresh produce with reduced O2 and/or increased CO2 is one of the most widely used and useful tools to prolong the shelf-life of horticultural crops. However, as O2 and/or CO2 values that might cause injury are strictly relate...

IntroductionAccumulating evidence have shown a significant correlation between urinary volatile organic compounds (VOCs) profile and the manifestation of several physiological and pathological states, including liver diseases. Previous studies have investigated the urinary metabolic signature as a non-invasive tool for the early discrimination betw...

Apple slices (Pinova cv) dried at mild temperature (40 ºC), compared to 65 ºC dried slices, are enriched (up to about 50 %) in polyphenols (e.g., catechin, epicatechin, quercetin 3-glucoside, quercetin derivatives). Chemical (dipping solutions) and physical (packaging) treatments are key in controlling the enzymatic browning of dried apple slices a...

Volatile compounds, quality traits (total phenols and antioxidant capacity) and High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-isolated polyphenols of strawberries, variety Sabrosa, commercially referred to as “Candonga”, harvested at three different times (H1, H2 and H3) and at two different ripening stages, namely half-red (Half-red-H1, Half-red-H...

Volatile and phenolic compounds of four onion landraces (Airola, Alifana, Montoro and Vatolla) cultivated in Campania region (southern Italy) were compared. Overall, 31 volatiles were identified in the four landraces including: sulfur metabolites (19), aldehydes (7), alcohols (2), acids (2) and others (3). Phenolic compounds, assigned using high pe...

Overall 90 volatile compoundswere recognized in well-watered and mild drought-stressed samples of two wild Iranian ecotypes of S. reuterana Boiss., namely S. reuterana A and S. reuterana B, and of S. officinalis L. (control) during the main phenological stages (vegetative, pre-flowering and flowering). In water-stressed S. officinalis the total lev...

The sensory traits of Pecorino di Carmasciano (PdC), an artisanal ewe‐milk cheese produced in Irpinia (Southern Italy), are believed to arise from grazing grass growing on a soil rich in sulphurated compounds. Volatiles of nine PdC samples obtained by solid‐phase microextraction gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry have been compared to those of si...

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), quality attributes (respiration activity, total phenols and antioxidant activity) and olfactory profile by electronic nose of fresh-cut orange and purple Polignano carrots stored in Air or passive modified atmosphere (pMAP) were examined until 14 days of storage. The pMAP storage reduced the respiration rate, pres...

Volatile organic compounds, quality and sensory parameters of four yellow- ('Dorì', 'G3', 'Jintao' and 'Soreli') and two green-fleshed ('Hayward' and 'Summer') kiwifruit cultivars were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed on volatiles, quality and sensory data for the identification of biomarkers of different kiwifruit cultivars. Principal...

Accumulating evidence shows that urinary volatile organic compounds (VOCs) could be perturbed in many physiological and pathological states, including several diseases and different dietary exposures. Few studies investigated the urinary metabolic signature associated to excess body weight and obesity in adult populations, while a different VOCs pr...

The volatile profile of three sweet basil cultivars, “Italico a foglia larga”, “Cammeo” and “Italiano classico”, packaged in air at 4 or 12 °C until 9 days, was monitored by solid phase microextraction with GC–MS. Chilling injury (CI) score and electrolyte leakage were also assessed. In total, 71 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were identified in...

The volatile profile of two hybrids of "Radicchio di Chioggia", Corelli and Botticelli, stored in air or passive modified atmosphere (MAP) during 12days of cold storage, was monitored by solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) GC-MS. Botticelli samples were also subjected to sensory analysis. Totally, 61 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were identifie...

Salvia spp. are used throughout the world both for food and pharmaceutical purposes. In this study, a method involving headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was developed, to establish the volatiles profile of dried leaves of four Iranian Salvia spp.: Salvia officinalis L., Salvia leriifolia Benth,...

Recently, the interest in functional foods is increased dramatically thanks to some scientific evidences demonstrating that, regardless of their nutritional value, some foods components beneficially influence several functions of the body, making them "functional" for the prevention and treatment of degenerative diseases, such as type 2 diabetes an...

Bovine lactoferrin (bLf) is a multifunctional glycoprotein that plays an important role in innate immunity against infections, including influenza. Here we have dissected bLf into its C- and N-lobes and show that inhibition of influenza virus hemagglutination and cell infection is entirely attributable to the C-lobe and that all major virus subtype...

Triacylglycerols (TAG) are the most important group of compounds present in vegetable oils. These biomolecules, determining the physical, chemical and nutritional properties of the oils, are considered to be good fingerprints for quality and authenticity control. Therefore, TAGs characterization is a very important task in edible oil field, which h...

Recent EU directives and regulations for quality control and authentication of food products have prompted the development of new methods for large-scale tests to ensure the protection of consumers. In view of this, an innovative method based on MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry has been developed and successfully applied to fish authentication. Highly s...

We analyzed the autologous NK cell interaction with gliadin-presenting dendritic cells. Gliadin is the known Ag priming the celiac disease (CD) pathogenesis. We demonstrate that gliadin prevents immature dendritic cells (iDCs) elimination by NK cells. Furthermore, cooperation between human NK cells-iDCs and T cells increases IFN-gamma production of...

High-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy (400-600 MHz) was applied to the quantitative analysis of hydroperoxide decomposition products in thermally oxidized oils. Different oils (olive, sunflower and soybean) were heated in a thermostatic bath (180°C for 360 min). Proton NMR quantitative aldehyde analysis (n-alkanals...

In the present paper, the effect of cryo-protective sugars on the survival rate of different strains of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspbulgaricus, Streptococcus salivarius subsp.thermophilus), after freezing or freeze-drying procedures, was compared. The cells were incubated at 4°C in 32% final...

Enteropathy in coeliac disease (CD) is sustained by a gliadin specific Th1 response. Interleukin (IL)-10 can downregulate Th1 immune responses. We investigated the ability of recombinant human (rh) IL-10 to suppress gliadin induced Th1 response. IL-10 RNA transcripts were analysed by competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in du...

Bovine lactoferrin catalyzes the hydrolysis of synthetic substrates (i.e., Z-aminoacyl-7-amido-4-methylcoumarin). Values of Km and kcat for the bovine lactoferrin catalyzed hydrolysis of Z-Phe-Arg-7-amido-4-methylcoumarin are 50 microM and 0.03 s(-1), respectively, the optimum pH value is 7.5 at 25 degrees C. The bovine lactoferrin substrate specif...

Celiac disease is a permanent immune-mediated food intolerance triggered by ingestion of wheat gliadins in genetically susceptible individuals. It has been reported that tissue transglutaminase plays an important role in the onset of celiac disease by converting specific glutamine residues within gliadin fragments into glutamic acid residues. This...

The use of trehalose as osmodrying agent in a double process for apple drying was evaluated. The ascorbic acid and polyphenol total content, the antioxidant activity, and the changes of colour were the considered parameters. The data confirm the usefulness of such a treatment and suggest a more consistent use of this sugar in the food industry in o...

Ion trap mass spectrometry has been shown to be particularly suitable for the structural analysis of high molecular weight peptides directly fragmented in the mass analyser without needing further sub-digestion reactions. Here we report the advantages of using multi-stage ion trap mass spectrometry in the structural characterisation of haemoglobin...

"Soppressata Molisana" (a typical Southern Italy fermented sausage) was produced by traditional means, that is without starter addition, or by using a strain of Ladobacillus sakei previously isolated during the ripening of home-style salami and selected on the basis of its high acidification rate. During the first 10 days of ripening of inoculated...

The mucosal lesion present in coeliac disease is an immune-mediated injury triggered by gliadin and restricted by a particular assortment of major histocompatibility complex genes. In view of this, an immunomodulatory approach that induces tolerance to this antigen appears to be a possible alternative to a strict gluten-free diet in treating coelia...

Bovine lactoferrin (BLf) is an iron binding protein folded in two lobes, N- and C-lobes. In this study we have reported the inhibitory activity towards herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in vitro infection of BLf tryptic digested N- and C-lobes in comparison with the whole protein. The N-lobe and C-lobe exerted an anti-herpesvirus activity 50- and...

The reaction products of epichlorohydrin with human alpha- and beta- globins, obtained through in vitro incubation of these compounds and red blood cells, were determined by using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem mass spe...