Rocco Rossano

• Associate professor at University of Basilicata

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant properties of the products derived from the biodegradation of lignin by the ligninolytic enzymes present in an aqueous extract of the mushroom P. eryngii. A mixture obtained after the incubation of lignin for 18 h with P. eryngii extract was tested in vitro for its total polyphenol content, redu...

Polyphenols, the main antioxidants of diet, have shown anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticarcinogenic activities. Here, we compared the effects of four polyphenolic compounds on ROS production and on the levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9, which represent important pathogenetic factors of breast cancer. THP-1 differentiated macr...

Chronic exposure to manganese (Mn) leads to its accumulation in the central nervous system (CNS) and neurotoxicity with not well-known mechanisms. We investigated the involvement of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9 in Mn neurotoxicity in an in vivo model of rats treated through an intraperitoneal injection, for 4 weeks, with 50 mg/kg of MnCl...

The last century has seen an increase in our life expectancy. As a result, various age-related diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), have emerged, representing new challenges to society. Oxidative stress (OS), a condition of redox imbalance resulting from excessive production of reactive oxygen species, represents a common feature tha...

In this study the antioxidant and neuroprotective activity of an enriched polysaccharide fraction (EPF) obtained from the fruiting body of cultivated P. eryngii was evaluated. Proximate composition (moisture, proteins, fat, carbohydrates and ash) was determined using the AOAC procedures. The EPF was extracted by using, in sequence, hot water and al...

Cardiovascular diseases represent the main cause of death. A common feature of cardiovascular disease is thrombosis resulting from intravascular accumulation of fibrin. In the last years, several fibrinolytic enzymes have been discovered in many medicinal or edible mushrooms as potential new antithrombotic agents. This study aimed to compare the fi...

Cancer metastasis is a stage of the disease where therapy is mostly ineffective; hence, the need to find reliable markers of its onset. The metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9, gelatinase B) in its 82 kDa active form, is a good candidate, but here we show that the correspondent little known 65 kDa active MMP-9 isoform, often misrepresented with the other ge...

Isothiocyanates (ITCs), present as glucosinolate precursors in cruciferous vegetables, have shown anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticarcinogenic activities. Here, we compared the effects of three different ITCs on ROS production and on the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9, which represent important pathogenetic factors of...

Muscari comosum L. bulbs are commonly used as food in South Italy and also in folk medicine. By evaluating in vitro antioxidant activity and biological activities of their aqueous and methanol extracts, we shed light on the potential role, including both the nutraceutical and health benefits, of this plant. Total polyphenol content (TPC) and total...

The recent explosive increase in the number of works on gut microbiota has been accompanied by the spread of rather vague or improper definitions, chosen more for common use than for experimental evidence. Among them are those defining the human gut microbiota as an organ of our body or as a commensal. But, is the human gut microbiota an organ or a...

The aim of this study was to estimate the hydrolytic degree and antioxidant activity of purified casein characterised by different haplotypes (αs1‐, β‐ and k‐casein) after in vitro digestion with two different enzymatic systems: pepsin from porcine gastric mucosa (EP) and a crude enzymatic extract from the edible mushroom Pleurotus eryngii. The use...

As food is an active subject and may have anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory effects, dietary habits may modulate the low-grade neuroinflammation associated with chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Food is living matter different from us, but made of our own nature. Therefore, it is at the same time foreign to us (non-self), if not yet digested,...

Neuroinflammation, a hallmark of chronic neurodegenerative disorders, is characterized by sustained glial activation and the generation of an inflammatory loop, through the release of cytokines and other neurotoxic mediators that cause oxidative stress and limit functional repair of brain parenchyma. Dietary antioxidants may protect against neurode...

Compact myelin forms the basis of nerve insulation essential for higher vertebrates. Dozens of myelin membrane bilayers undergo tight stacking, and in the peripheral nervous system, this is partially enabled by myelin protein zero (P0). Consisting of an immunoglobulin (Ig)-like extracellular domain, a single transmembrane helix, and a cytoplasmic e...

Compact myelin forms the basis of nerve insulation essential for higher vertebrates. Dozens of myelin membrane bilayers undergo tight stacking, and in the peripheral nervous system, this is partially enabled by myelin protein zero (P0). Consisting of an immunoglobulin (Ig)-like extracellular domain, a single transmembrane helix, and a cytoplasmic e...

Extracts of Muscari comosum bulbs, a traditional Mediterranean food, were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography for polyphenol content and tested for their activity on free‐radicals and enzymes that might be involved in human health. The extracts revealed the presence of phenolic acids and flavonoids with antioxidant and anti‐inflammat...

Central to the understanding of the relationships between diet, gut microbiota, and vitamins D and A in multiple sclerosis is low-grade inflammation, which is involved in all chronic inflammatory diseases and is influenced by each of the above effectors. We show that food components have either proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory effects and influ...

Brassica phytochemicals exert a broad spectrum of health-promoting activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible beneficial effects of cauliflower leaves powder (CLP)-enriched diet to prevent inflammation and oxidative stress resulting from injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into rabbits. Animals (24 rabbits), were randomly d...

The aim of this work was to assess the influence of nutritional intervention on inflammatory status and wellness in people with multiple sclerosis. To this end, in a seven-month pilot study we investigated the effects of a calorie-restricted, semi-vegetarian diet and administration of vitamin D and other dietary supplements (fish oil, lipoic acid,...

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) is a perennial crop belonging to the Brassicaceae family. Horseradish root is used as a condiment due to its extremely pungent flavour, deriving from the high content of glucosinolates and their breakdown products such as isothiocyanates and other sulfur compounds. Horseradish also has a long history in ethnomedici...

Dietary antioxidants may be useful in counteracting the chronic inflammatory status in neurodegenerative diseases by reducing oxidative stress due to accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, we newly described the efficacy of a number of dietary antioxidants (polyphenols, carotenoids, thiolic compounds, and oligoelements) on vi...

Acybenzolar-S-Methyl (ASM) is a synthetic inducer and a functional analogue of salicylic acid, involved in the mechanism of the systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Different studies performed under controlled environmental parameters have shown that the molecule plays a key role in the control of water stress in tomato. In fact, tomato plants treat...

Acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) is a functional analogue of salicylic acid involved in the mechanism of the systemic acquired resistance (SAR). In our study we assessed the production, in Solanum lycopersicum L., of proteins involved in the defence mechanism induced by ASM treatment, compared with plants infected by Tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia viru...

The question whether dietary habits and lifestyle have influence on the course of multiple sclerosis (MS) is still a matter of debate, and at present, MS therapy is not associated with any information on diet and lifestyle. Here we show that dietary factors and lifestyle may exacerbate or ameliorate MS symptoms by modulating the inflammatory status...

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana Gaertn) is a perennial crop belonging to the Brassicaceae family, widely used as spice in food and as herbal ingredient in ethno-medicine. This study eva-luated the phenolic compounds content, antioxidant capacity and anti-lipase activity of methanol, methanol/water (70/30, v/v) and methanol/water (50/50, v/v) extra...

The novel polyfluorinated thioalkyl-porfirazine 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octakis(1,1,1,2,2,-3,3,4,4-nonafluorohexylthio)-5,10,15,20-21H,23H-porfirazine was synthesized to investigate the fluorine effect on self-aggregation, electrochemical, and spectral properties of this class of tetrapyrrole macrocycles. This compound showed an ordered and quite therm...

A series of novel non-symmetrically substituted mono β-aryl and β-arylethynyl (alkylsulfanyl)porphyrazines and the corresponding Ni(II) complexes have been prepared by the Suzuki–Miyaura and Sonogashira cross-coupling reactions with the aim to investigate substituent effects on their electronic and aggregation properties. Spectroscopic, electrochem...

HFE-hemochromatosis (HH) is an autosomal disease characterized by excessive iron absorption. Homozygotes for H63D variant, and still less H63D heterozygotes, generally do not express HH phenotype. The data collected in our previous study in the province of Matera (Basilicata, Italy) underlined that some H63D carriers showed altered iron metabolism,...

In this article, we review on the current concepts about Nesfatin-1 as a new anti-obesity treatment and evaluate the existing issues in the context of this knowledge and the available literature. The intent is to enable clinicians to know Nesfatin-1 as a new anti-obesity treatment and make rational decisions based on this perspective as possible cl...

In this article, we review on the current concepts about Nesfatin-1 as a new anti-obesity treatment and evaluate the existing issues in the context of this knowledge and the available literature. The intent is to enable clinicians to know Nesfatin-1 as a new anti-obesity treatment and make rational decisions based on this perspective as possible cl...

In this study, we compared different total protein extraction protocols to achieve highly efficient isolation and purification of total proteins for the specific protein profiling of Oenococcus oeni. The sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis patterns obtained for the different extraction protocols revealed not only a qualitative...

The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) gelatinase A (MMP-2) and gelatinase B (MMP-9) are mediators of brain injury in multiple sclerosis (MS) and valuable biomarkers of disease activity. We applied bidimensional zymography (2-DZ) as an extension of classic monodimensional zymography (1-DZ) to analyse the complete pattern of isoforms and post-translat...

In this article, we review on the current concepts about Nesfatin-1 as a new anti-obesity treatment and evaluate the existing issues in the context of this knowledge and the available literature. The intent is to enable clinicians to know Nesfatin-1 as a new anti obesity treatment and make rational decisions based on this perspective as possible cl...

Lipid transfer protein (LTP, Pru p 3) is the major allergen of peach (Prunus persica), and is in a greater abundance in the peel than in the pulp of the fruit. Peel LTP is more allergenic than pulp LTP, but it is not clear whether this is due to its specific allergenic properties or to its higher concentration. In this study, we have used a new one...

Honey is a sweet and healthy food produced by honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) from flower nectars. Using bidimensional zymography, we have detected the, until now unrevealed, proteolytic activities present in row honey samples. The resulting zymograms were specific for each type of the four unifloral honey under study, and enzymes were identified as...

Crustaceans Munida (fam. Galatheideae, ord. Decapodi) were fished in the Southern Adriatic Sea and their proteolytic activities were characterized and tested for potential application in cheese manufacturing. Enzymes extracted from whole crustaceans, mainly serine proteases, showed high caseinolytic and moderate clotting activities. Analysis by 2D...

Zymographic analysis of Broccoli florets (Brassica oleracea L. var. Italica) revealed the presence of acidic metallo-proteases, serine proteases and cysteine proteases. Under conditions which were denaturing for the other proteases, the study was restricted to cysteine proteases. 2-D zymography, a technique that combines IEF and zymography was used...

We investigated whether polyphenols modulate the expression and activity of the enzymes gelatinases A (MMP-2) and B (MMP-9), involved in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). LPS-activated primary rat astrocytes were treated with the flavonoids quercetin (QRC) and cathechins [green tea extract (GTE)] and the non-flavonoids resveratrol (RSV)...

Proteolytic and peptidase activities were extracted from the hepatopancreas of the crustaceans Munida and characterized by enzymatic assay, 2D zymography and mass spectrometry. Results showed the presence of several isotrypsin-like and isochymotrypsin-like enzymes, aminopeptidases and carboxypeptidases A and B. Six different acidic forms of trypsin...

Cysteine proteinases present in pineapple plants are phytotherapeutical agents with anti-edematous, anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic and fibrinolytic activities. Active components involved have been only partially identified as bromelain, the major proteinase in pineapple fruits.In this work, pineapple fruit extracts were analysed by 2-D zymograp...

Proteinases present in kiwi fruits are potentially allergenic enzymes belonging to the papain family of cysteine proteinases. Actinidin is a prominent kiwi enzyme. The study of kiwi proteinases is important for the follow-up of fruit maturation, a deeper insight in the allergenic properties of individual proteins, and the application of kiwi protei...

Multiple sclerosis is a complex and multifactorial neurological disease, and nutrition is one of the environmental factors possibly involved in its pathogenesis. At present, the role of nutrition is unclear, and MS therapy is not associated to a particular diet. MS clinical trials based on specific diets or dietary supplements are very few and in s...

Streptococcus thermophilus is an important dairy starter used for the manufacture of fermented milks and cheeses. As for many other lactic acid bacteria, its survival during propagation and preservation of starter cultures and its performance in dairy fermentations are significantly affected by its ability to cope with many environmental stresses....

It is now well established that plasma membranes, such as the myelin sheath, are made of different microdomains with different lipid and protein composition. Lipid rafts are made mainly of sphingolipids and cholesterol, whereas the non-raft regions are made mainly of phosphoglycerides. Most myelin proteins may distribute themselves in raft and non-...

Exponential and stationary phase cells of 56 strains of the dairy Streptococcus species S. thermophilus, S. macedonicus and S. salivarius, were exposed to acid, osmotic, oxidative and heat stresses to investigate the diversity of their responses. Three strains of dairy related streptococci, Lactococcus lactis ATCC11454, Enterococcus faecium DSM2047...

In order to identify potential alternative sources of urease for the removal of urea from alcoholic beverages, 205 strains of lactic acid bacteria belonging to 27 different species were screened for urease production. Only Streptococcus thermophilus produced urease. Cell permeabilization with toluene allowed to increase activity significantly. Opti...

We investigated whether polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), which might be a useful complementary therapy among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), are able to modulate matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) production in microglial cultures. MMPs are myelinotoxic factors. Primary cultures of rat microglia were treated with different doses of omega-3 (o...

A rapid method for characterizing proteolysis in different cheese varieties was developed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF-MS). pH 4.6-soluble extracts of different cheese varieties were sub-fractionated using ethanol and 70% ethanol-soluble extracts were analyzed using MALDI-ToF-MS. Samp...

Histamine content in fish may increase by decarboxylation of free histidine to values that can be toxic, if storage conditions are not well controlled. We have studied the influence of storage temperature and time of freezing on histamine formation in the anchovy, Engraulis encrasicholus (L., 1758), for which little information is available. Analys...

Miniature (20 g) Cheddar-type cheeses were manufactured using enzymes extracted from the crustacean Munida or chymosin as coagulant. Cheeses were ripened at 8 degrees C and samples were collected for analysis after 2, 6 and 12 weeks. Proteolysis was assessed by urea-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, which showed that cheeses manufactured with the...

Deep-water fish are becoming an interesting object of studies and research due to the development of deep fishery activities. This paper analyses the chemical composition and nutritional value of the fish species Mora moro (Risso, 1810) inhabiting deep Mediterranean waters. The fatty acid profile and the principal water-soluble proteins present in...

In the present study we used two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix-associated laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry to verify whether the protein expression of sea bass sperm was affected by the cryopreservation procedure. The protein profiles differed between fresh and frozen-thawed...

In the present study, individuals of the crustaceans Munida have been investigated as a possible source of enzymes to be used in cheese making as an alternative to calf rennet. The crustaceans were blended and the extracts were filtered and tested for their proteolytic activity and milk clotting capability. The optimal values of pH and temperature...

R-Phycoerythrin (R-PE) is a protein acting as a photosynthetic accessory pigment in red algae (Rodophyta). This protein has gained importance in many biotechnological applications in food science, immunodiagnostic, therapy, cosmetics, protein and cell labelling, and analytical processes. In this paper we report on a new, one step procedure for the...

The influence of diet and age of kid goats was determined on the total clotting activity, content of milk clotting enzymes (chymosin and pepsin) and lipolytic and esterase activities of home-made rennet paste from three different groups of kids. Both chymosin and lipolytic activities were higher in rennet pastes obtained from kids that only suckled...

In this work, the possibility of using a simple and quick method was tested for determining transglutaminase activity on casein using a spectrophotometric assay. The enzyme activity was estimated on the basis of the decrease of o-phthaldialdehyde reactive ε-amino groups of lysine following the formation of isopeptide bonds. The lysine residues invo...

The recovery of cheese-whey proteins and lactose represents an important task both in environmental and in food sciences. Optimization of whey processing requires the quantitative separation of whey proteins from lactose, lower costs, harmless environmental impact, flexibility in protein recovery, and adaptability of the process to type and amount...

An extracellular, constitutive, and nonglucose repressed β-glucosidase from a yeast strain of Debaryomyces hansenii was purified and immobilized using a one-step procedure on hydroxyapatite (HTP). Analysis of purified enzyme gave two bands both on SDS gel electrophoresis, native gel electrophoresis, and capillary electrophoresis. The two bands on S...

A new procedure is described for the assay of nisin in milk by using capillary zonal electrophoresis. Since nisin assay in milk and in other matrices is hampered by its adsorption to both the protein and lipid milk fractions, a simple extraction procedure was devised to remove caseins and lipids, which interfere with nisin detection. An excellent l...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a multifactorial disease and its treatment can be based on different strategies. We are presently approaching the MS problem at three different levels: (1) Developing new carrier systems for the targeted delivery of therapeutical and diagnostic agents to the sites of inflammation at the blood brain barrier (BBB); (2) Modu...