Luana Bontempo

• Fondazione Edmund Mach - Istituto Agrario San Michele All'Adige

European grasslands are vital carbon (C) sinks, contributing to climate change mitigation. Grazing intensity significantly influences soil C and nitrogen (N) cycles through effects on soil conditions and microbial communities. While heavy grazing is linked to soil C loss and altered N processes, existing studies show conflicting outcomes. This stud...

Stable isotope ratio analysis of carbon (δ13C) and hydrogen (δ2H) in vanillin has become a valuable tool for differentiating natural vanilla from synthetic or biosynthetic alternatives and for tracing its geographical origins. However, increasingly sophisticated fraud techniques necessitate ongoing refinement of analytical methods to ensure accurat...

The growing demand for plant-based beverages has underscored the importance of investigating their volatile profiles, which play a crucial role in sensory perception and consumer acceptance. This is especially true for plant-based milks (PBMs) that have a clear reference model in bovine milk. This study characterises the volatile organic compounds...

Milk from cows grazing on alpine pastures has higher quality than milk from indoor-fed cows, likely due to diet-driven differences in rumen microbiota. We assessed the effects of supplementing alpine herbs—each varying in its content of fiber, protein, and polyphenol—on rumen microbiota via in vitro fermentation, comparing these to a grass hay cont...

The Effect of Thermal Processes on the Organoleptic and Nutraceutical Quality of Tomato Fruit (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Foods 2024, 13, 3678. Abstract: The present study investigated the changes in the organoleptic characteristics, nutraceuti-cals, and antioxidant activity of tomato fruits subjected to different thermal processes: tomato sauce (80...

Plant-based beverages (PBBs) are defined as emulsions obtained from different plant materials like legumes, cereals, pseudo-cereals, seeds, or nuts after the main steps of soaking, filtration, and thermal treatment. Naturally, they represent lactose-free options ideal for consumers with allergies or intolerance, and they possess environmental advan...

Organic and conventional farming systems follow a set of specific rules and consumers usually pay an extra price for organic products, since they are associated with a higher quality. Nuclear magnetic resonance allows the analysis of the metabolome in a fast, non-destructive, and automatic way, with high coverage of chemical families and accurate q...

ive insect larvae were recently proposed for use in laying hens in intensive chicken farming as an innovative form of environmental enrichment. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of laying hen age and feeding with live Black Soldier Fly larvae (BSFL) on egg quality attributes, i.e., chemical composition, fatty acid (FA) profile, and metabolic...

Plant-based beverages (PBBs) are defined as emulsions obtained from different plant materials like legumes, cereals, pseudo-cereals, seeds, or nuts after the main steps of soaking, filtration, and thermal treatment. Naturally, they represent lactose-free options ideal for consumers with allergies or intolerance, and they possess environmental advan...

NMR spectroscopy has been long used for the analysis of cheese products, starting from the simple moisture determination in the 1960s and 70s but the more in-depth studies of these matrices using high resolution magnets have started only at the dawn of the 21st century, and remains a pertinent field of interest up to the present day. Recently, our...

In the present contribution we report our investigation on the relationship between chemical composition and taste, odour and flavour sensory descriptors in honey using O-PLS regression models. Thirty multifloral honey from Trentino region (Italy), produced and collected in 2021, were characterised by NMR, GC-MS and sensory analysis (Check-all-that...

Among the Moscato grapes, Moscato Giallo is a winegrape variety characterised by a high content of free and glycosylated monoterpenoids, which gives wines very intense notes of ripe fruit and flowers. The aromatic bouquet of Moscato Giallo is strongly influenced by the high concentration of linalool, geraniol, linalool oxides, limonene, α-terpineol...

This study evaluated the effect of live black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) supplementation on egg quality. 108 Lohman hens were housed (16-34 weeks age) into 27 cages (9 replicates/treatment, 4 birds/pen), assigned to 3 groups: control (commercial diet) and 2 groups fed commercial diet plus 15% or 30% (on the expected daily feed intake (DFI), as fed b...

Grana Padano (GP) cheese is a renowned PDO Italian cheese whose nutritional characteristics and market price are influenced by the ripening stage. In this work, it was demonstrated that the combined use of untargeted 1H NMR profiling and chemometric analysis can be used as a powerful tool to quantitatively characterize GP ripening and production, f...

Currently, there has been a growing interest in fermented foods and plant-based beverages (PBBs) by the consumers because of the benefits they provide to human health or due to restrictions in the diet associated to some pathologies or personal choices. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a versatile technique that presents many advantages for the...

Geographic distribution models of environmentally stable isotopes (the so‐called “isoscapes”) are widely employed in animal ecology, and wildlife forensics and conservation. However, the application of isoscapes is limited to elements and regions for which the spatial patterns have been estimated. Here, we focused on the ubiquitous yet less commonl...

Protected Designation of Origin cheeses are products with high-quality standards that can claim higher prices on the market. For this reason, non-PDO cheeses with lower quality can be mislabeled as PDO or mixed with it for economic gain especially when the product is in a shredded form. Luckily, the production of PDO cheese is subjected to strict p...

Different research works have been carried out over the years to investigate new and reliable systems to test the authenticity of products obtained using organic cultivation methods. Based on a previously proposed integrated approach for discriminating organic from conventional products through the acquisition of isotopic data and other chemical an...

Horticultural products such as fruits and vegetables are an important part of the European food market. For example, in 2019 the EU share of the world market for these goods was 9% or 166 million tons. With ever increasing requirements to food safety, quality, and authenticity as well as competition on the market, more robust and reliable physical...

Sauerkraut is a product derived from malolactic fermentation of cabbage and it is currently the most fermented product in Europe. Some scholars have linked consumption of such foods to increased immune functions, anti-inflammation activity, decreased fasting glycemia and other health beneficiary effects. This multidisciplinary study was focused on...

Improving the fruit quality and prolonging the storage capability are important breeding targets for blueberry fruit. The focus of this study is to discover the metabolomic modifications of blueberry fruits under different storage conditions: regular atmosphere (20 kPa O2, 0.03 kPa CO2) and three controlled atmospheres (1 kPa O2 and 18 kPa CO2, 7 k...

In the last decades, consumers have become increasingly interested in organic products, and they strongly demand reliability in the traceability of the organic products they buy and eat. Several research methods have been developed in the last decades to study inexperienced and reliable systems and to assess the authenticity of products obtained us...

Supplementing the Caciotta-like cheeses with such additives as blackcurrant and Cornelian cherry could improve the food’s health benefactory properties due to increased contents of polyphenols, a class of bioactive compounds. A combination of analytical methods including Folin–Ciocalteu reaction, microbial community determination, organoleptic test...

In the last decades, consumers are increasingly interested in organic products and they strongly demand for reliability of the traceability of the organic products they use to buy and eat. Different researches have been carried out over the years to investigate on new and reliable systems to test the authenticity of products obtained using organic...

Polyphenols are phytochemicals potentially beneficial for human health. By adding polyphenol rich fruits to a product normally poor in these bioactive compounds could therefore improve it nutritionally. In this study, we tested this process with Caciotta-like cheese. However, polyphenols are antimicrobial and therefore potentially disruptive of che...

Introduction Cheeses that are labelled with PDO, or Protected Designation of Origin are regarded as possessing high quality and belong to the higher price segment of the market. It is not surprising that these products are often imitated or mislabelled, thus, development of robust and reliable analytical techniques is required to differ such produ...

Transpiration per unit of leaf area is the end-product of the root-to-leaf water transport within the plant, and it is regulated by a series of morpho-physiological resistances and hierarchical signals. The rate of water transpired sustains a series of processes such as nutrient absorption and leaf evaporative cooling, with stomata being the end-va...

The need to guarantee the geographical origin of food samples has become imperative in recent years due to the increasing amount of food fraud. Stable isotope ratio analysis permits the characterization and origin control of foodstuffs, thanks to its capability to discriminate between products having different geographical origins and derived from...

Geographic distribution models of environmental stable isotopes (so called "isoscapes") are widely employed in animal ecology, wildlife forensics and conservation. However, the application of isoscapes is limited to elements and regions for which the spatial patterns have been estimated. Here, we focused on the ubiquitous yet less commonly used sta...

Citation: Smeti, S.; Camin, F.; Bontempo, L.; Tibaoui, S.; Yagoubi, Y.; Pianezze, S.; Piasentier, E.; Ziller, L.; Atti, N. Fatty Acid and Multi-Isotopic Analysis (C, H, N, O) as a Tool to Differentiate and Valorise the Djebel Lamb from the Mountainous Region of Tunisia. Molecules 2023, 28, 1847. Abstract: The objective of this study was to distingu...

Citation: Smeti, S.; Camin, F.; Bontempo, L.; Tibaoui, S.; Yagoubi, Y.; Pianezze, S.; Piasentier, E.; Ziller, L.; Atti, N. Fatty Acid and Multi-Isotopic Analysis (C, H, N, O) as a Tool to Differentiate and Valorise the Djebel Lamb from the Mountainous Region of Tunisia. Molecules 2023, 28, 1847. Abstract: The objective of this study was to distingu...

Introduction In this study, we supplemented models of Caciotta-like cheese with blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum) and Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), as they have a high content of polyphenols, known as phytochemicals associated with health benefits. We evaluated the microbial composition, organoleptic aspects, total phenolic content, and chemical composi...

While the demand for Spirulina dietary supplements continues to grow, product inspection in terms of authenticity and safety remains limited. This study used the stable isotope ratios of light elements (C, N, S, H, and O) and the elemental composition to characterize Spirulina dietary supplements available on the Slovenian market. Forty-six samples...

Stable hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur (HCNOS) isotope compositions expressed as isotope-delta values are typically reported relative to international standards such as Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW), Vienna Peedee belemnite (VPDB) or Vienna Cañon Diablo Troilite (VCDT). These international standards are chosen by convention...

Sauerkraut is a traditionally fermented cabbage, and recent evidence suggests that it has beneficial properties for human health. In this work, a multi-disciplinary approach was employed to characterize the fermentation process and gut health-promoting properties of locally produced, organic sauerkraut from two distinct producers, SK1 and SK2. 16S...

Grana Padano PDO cheese is one of the most renowned Italian cheeses, thanks to its high quality and nutritional value [1]. Its aging can vary from 9 to over 20 months, and, as the aging increases, so does the price, because during storage the organoleptic characteristics can improve, giving the product a strong flavor. To prevent the mislabeling of...

As product mislabeling in wine industry remains a significant problem in the recent years, leading to significant losses in sales, employment, and revenue for this important component of food industry. Therefore, effective control measures require the assistance of the more advanced and precise analytical techniques for wine authentication to root...

In recent years, the interest of consumers in high-quality food products has been increased remarkably. One of the most imitated products is the Grana Padano PDO cheese, one of the most renowned Italian cheeses. Grana Padano PDO cheese can be mislabeled regarding its aging, because the quality and consequently the price of the cheese increases acco...

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is a high‐quality product that has become one of the stars in the food fraud context in recent years. EVOO can encounter different types of fraud, from adulteration with cheaper oils to mislabeling, and for this reason, the assessment of its authenticity and traceability can be challenging. There are several officially...

PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) cheeses are products recognized as having higher quality and therefore can claim higher prices on the market. For this reason, in the last years there has been a flourishing of similar products that try to imitate PDO hard cheeses since when the cheese is sold in grated or shredded form, easy economic gain can...

In this study, Italian industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) intended for food use was isotopically characterized for the first time. The stable isotope ratios of five bioelements were analyzed in different parts of the plant (i.e., roots, stems, inflorescences, and seeds) sampled in eight different regions of Italy, and in five hemp seed oils. The...

Epidermal Patterning Factor Like 9 (EPFL9), also known as STOMAGEN, is a cysteine-rich peptide that induces stomata formation in vascular plants, acting antagonistically to other epidermal patterning factors (EPF1, EPF2). In grapevine there are two EPFL9 genes, EPFL9-1 and EPFL9-2 sharing 82% identity at protein level in the mature functional C-ter...

Recent times have witnessed an upsurge of interest in hemp and hemp-derived products, as driven by the scientific findings specific to the pharmacological properties of Cannabis sativa L. and its constituents. There has been evidence that the terpene profile, along with the cannabinoid content, produces in humans the effects associated with differe...

Fatty acids (FAs) metabolism in animals represents an important field of study since they influence the quality and the properties of the meat. The aim of this study is to assess the possibility to discriminate the diets of cows in different animal compartments and to study the fate of dietary FAs in the bovine organism, using carbon isotopic ratio...

In this work, the impact of terroir, cultivar, seasonality, and farming systems on functional traits of tomato was hierarchically investigated. Untargeted metabolomics, antioxidant capacity, colorimetric assays, and enzyme inhibition were determined. The total phenolic and carotenoid contents significantly varied between growing years, whereas an i...

Stomata control CO2 uptake for photosynthesis and water loss through transpiration, thus playing a key role in leaf thermoregulation, water-use efficiency (iWUE) and plant productivity. In this work, we investigated the relationship between several leaf traits and hypothesized that stomatal behavior to fast (i.e. minutes) environmental changes co-d...

An accurate analysis of the composition of stable isotopes is today an increasingly important requirement in various fields of science (from the environmental to the medical field). Since 2004, the year of its introduction on the market, Liquid Chromatography coupled with Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (LC-IRMS) has expanded the applications possi...

The gargantuan sizes of food markets represents a constant challenge to control agencies. With the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in force, and with the ever-increasing diversity of food products, such as dairy products (in particular, cheese) robust and reliable analytical methods are required. Of many analytical techniques used for this pu...

The carbon stable isotope ratio (δ13C) is a valuable chemical parameter in the investigation of the geographic origin, quality, and authenticity of foods. The aim of this study is the evaluation of the feasibility of 13C-NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectroscopy to determine the carbon stable isotope ratio, at natural abundance, of small organi...

Naturally occurring stable isotope ratios in animal tissues allow estimation of species trophic position and ecological niche. Measuring multiple isotopes of migratory species along flyway bottlenecks offers the opportunity to sample multiple populations and species whose tissues carry information at continental scales. We measured δ 2 H, δ 18 O, δ...

With wine fraud, being a widespread problem, the need for more sophisticated and precise analytical methods of its detection remains ever persistent. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been widely used for analysis of wine in recent years, but wine musts were much less studied; in fact, only one paper dealt with the NMR spectra of ac...

Naturally occurring stable isotope ratios in animal tissues allow estimation of species trophic position and ecological niche. Measuring multiple isotopes of migratory species along flyway bottlenecks offers the opportunity to sample multiple populations and species whose tissues carry information at continental scales.We measured δ2H, δ18O, δ13C,...

Stable isotope ratio analysis has been widely used for traceability and authenticity purposes in relation to various food commodities, but only in a limited number of herb and spice species. This study explored the stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ³⁴S, δ¹⁸O, and δ²H) of 119 herbs and spices belon...

Honey is one of the most valuable sweeteners consumed by humans all over the world. Consequently, it is often a target for adulteration through the addition of different sugar syrups during or after honey production, resulting in a reduction in its nutritive value. For the first time, this study analyzes honey samples of various botanical species c...

Entomophagy, or the act of eating insects, has been practiced since ancient times, but it started to gain more popularity, especially in Western countries, only recently. As sustainability is one of the current emerging themes, the inclusion of insects in our diet is a valid alternative that might help reduce the amount of water and land used for l...

Umbrian tobacco of the Virginia Bright variety is one of the most appreciated tobaccos in Europe, and one characterized by an excellent yield. In recent years, the Umbria region and local producers have invested in introducing novel practices (for production and processing) focused on environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Due to this,...

Wine authentication is vital in identifying malpractice and fraud, and various physical and chemical analytical techniques have been employed for this purpose. Besides wet chemistry, these include chromatography, isotopic ratio mass spectrometry, optical spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, which have been applied in rec...

An international project developed, quality-tested, and measured isotope-delta values of 10 new food matrix reference materials (RMs) for hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur stable isotope-ratio measurements to support food authenticity testing and food provenance verification. These new RMs, USGS82 to USGS91, will enable users to normal...

White truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico) is a typical product of some Italian regions, and due to its organoleptic properties it is of high economic value. To date, there is no available information, on the elemental and isotopic composition of this product. For the first time the characteristic value ranges of the stable isotope ratios of the bio-eleme...

The Mediterranean diet is promoted as one of the healthiest and closely linked to socioecological practices, knowledge and traditions, promoting sustainable food production, and linking geographical origin with food quality and ecosystem services. Consumer adherence to this dietary pattern drives increased consumption of authentic “premium” foods,...

Until now, there has been a lack of analytical methods that can reliably verify the authenticity of organically grown plants and derived organic food products. In this study, stable isotope ratio analysis of hydrogen (H, δ2H), carbon (C, δ13C), nitrogen (N, δ15N), oxygen (O, δ18O) and sulfur (S, δ34S) was conducted along the tomato passata producti...

Gli studi presentati nella pubblicazione sono stati realizzati nell’ambito dei progetti di sperimentazione e ricerca “Miglioramento dei sistemi d’irrigazione e delle tecniche colturali” (2015-2018) finanziato da AIPO Verona (Associazione interregionale produttori olivicoli) e “Innovazione e Ricerca per l’olio dell’Alto Garda Trentino” (2017-2019) d...

Casein δ34S of 725 samples of cheese from all over the world were measured using IRMS. δ34S alone made it possible to establish characteristic ranges of values for two types of Italian cheese (Grana Padano PDO and Parmigiano Reggiano PDO) and also for the different regions and provinces of both the Grana Padano PDO and the Parmigiano PDO zones. Mor...

Stable isotope analysis of the major bioelements (δ2H, δ13C, δ15N, δ18O, δ34S), considered for the first time as a whole, was used to attempt a geographical characterization of red garlic (Allium sativum L.) cultivated throughout different Italian territories (Abruzzo, Lazio and Sicily). Up to now, no official methods are available to determine the...

Mozzarella di Bufala Campana (MBC) is a PDO cheese produced from whole buffalo milk in specific regions of southern Italy. Due to the high price and the limited amount of buffalo milk, MBC is potentially subject to mislabelling. Stable isotope ratio analysis combined with elemental analysis is one powerful technique for detecting the authenticity o...

Chymosin is a protease that curdles the milk casein. Animal rennet was the first discovered source of chymosin and its use is mandatory for the production of PDO cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano. Of the alternatives, fermentation-produced chymosin is the most competitive because it functions in a similar way, but is much cheaper...

Understanding spatial linkages between areas used by migratory animals during the annual cycle is fundamental to their conservation. Stable isotope measurements of animal tissues can be a valuable tool in understanding spatial connectivity and migration phenology of migratory wildlife. We inferred natal origins of two migratory passerines, European...

European law requires a designation of origin for virgin and extra virgin olive oils (at least in terms of EU/non-EU provenance). Stable isotope ratios have been successfully applied to determine the geographical origin of olive oils, but never to distinguish EU and non-EU oils. In this study ²H/¹H, ¹³C/¹²C and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios were analysed in bulk...

Knowledge on whereabouts within the annual cycle of migratory species is prerequisite for many aspects in ecology and biological conservation. Spatial assignments of stable isotopes archived in tissues allows for later inference on sites where the specific tissue had been grown. It has been rarely tested whether spatial assignments match directly t...

Predicted moult origin/overwintering regions for two individual barn swallows based on isotope assignment for three isotopes δ2H, δ13C and δ15N and geolocation. 75% Kernel density estimates are shown in red. a) Example of best geographical overlap. b) Example of least overlap. (TIFF)

Food forensics is a multi-disciplinary science involving advanced analytical techniques, plant and animal metabolism, and sophisticated data interpretation tools. This book explains how plants, and in turn animals eating those plants, assimilate stable isotopes and trace elements from their environments. It provides extensive reviews of the use of...

Multielement isotope ratio was assessed in fat and defatted (protein) fillet of 130 rainbow trout, reared with feed incorporating a high or low fish content in 20 Italian farms, focusing on two northern Italian regions (Friuli Venezia Giulia and Trentino). The aim was to investigate the ability of isotopic analysis to trace the geographical origin...

To date the stable isotope ratios of berries have never been extensively explored. In this work the H, C, N and O isotopic ratios of 190 samples of different soft fruits (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and currants) produced in a northern Italian region and at two sites in Romania and Poland collected over three harvest years...

Fatty acids are the most abundant biomolecules in olive oil. In this study, we describe the analytical method developed to measure the δ¹³C, and for the first time, the δ²H values of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) extracted from olive oil triglycerides, after base-catalysed transesterification with methanol. The extracted FAMEs are analysed using...

Rationale: No study has investigated the variations of stable isotope ratios (SIRs) of bioelements within a Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) cheese and few studies have focused on the dietary background of animals. For traceability purposes, it is important to know how and whether these issues affect SIRs in a PDO cheese. Methods: Thirty-s...

Background Consumers are increasingly interested in the provenance of the foods and European laws require protection against the mislabelling of premium foods. Methods for testing authenticity require robust analytical techniques that can be utilised by the various regulatory authorities. Of the many techniques, the most widely-used method is stabl...