Antioxidants profile of small tomato fruits: Effect of irrigation and industrial process

Carotenoids and flavonoids are the main tomatoes antioxidants, having an important role for human health. This study investigates the effects of different water regime and of the industrial processing on the concentration of these compounds in tomato fruits and in tomato products. Two biotypes of Corbarini small tomatoes were cultivated in the Sarno valley (Salerno, Italy) using three different water regimes. A biochemical characterization of the fresh and of the corresponding canned products was performed. Results show that water regime influenced the antioxidant profile of tomato fruits, with marked differences between the two biotypes. Data obtained highlight that water regime markedly influenced the productivity and the quality of the tomatoes. Results also demonstrated that industrial process increased carotenoids content without causing a significant flavonoids degradation.     

Wetlands: conservation's poor cousins

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The aquarium hobby: can sinners become saints in freshwater fish conservation?

The aquarium hobby is popular worldwide, but it has positives and negatives for freshwater fish conservation. The most damaging impacts of the aquarium trade on ecosystems are overharvesting and invasive species. Consequently, many conservationists and academics have the perception that aquarium hobbyists are generally harmful to species conservation. Without overlooking these major drawbacks of the aquarium hobby, we aim to establish common ground between hobbyists and conservationists by correcting some misconceptions and showing the benefits of serious aquarium hobbyists in the conservation of freshwater fishes and their habitats. Our overview illustrates that the aquarium hobby is not insensitive to the pernicious effects of this enduring hobby on natural systems and that serious aquarists and their associations can directly assist and fund scientific research, increase conservation awareness among the general public and even participate in ex situ and in situ conservation programmes for native fish species at national or international levels. Whilst the relationship between conservationists and the aquarium hobby has often been antagonistic in recent years, ultimately most biologists and aquarists share a love of the species they study or maintain, and this common interest could be the basis for a more positive and productive relationship.     

Dietary Supplementation of Oregano and Sage Dried Leaves on Performances and Meat Quality of Rabbits

The aim of this research was to evaluate the dietary supplementation 1% （w/w） of oregano and sage dried leaves on performances and meat quality of broiler rabbits. A feeding trial, which lasted 48 d, was carried out on 105 male Bianca Italiana rabbits randomly divided in seven groups and fed ad libitum. At the end of the trial ten animals per group were slaughtered and samples of dorsal muscle were taken in order to perform laboratory analysis. Mortality rate did not statistically differ between groups. Growth performances of animals fed diets supplemented with aromatic plants were higher （P〈0.05） than those of animals of control group, whereas carcass parameters were not affected by treatments excepting for the slaughter weight that showed the same trend as growth performances. Meat quality traits, oxidative lipid stability and fatty acid proifle were not inlfuenced by aromatic plant supplementation. In conclusion, oregano and sage in form of dried leaves can be used in rabbit without adverse effects on performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality traits.     

Assessment of genetic variation in common bean (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phaseolus vulgaris</Emphasis> L.) from Nebrodi mountains (Sicily,Italy)

This study was carried out to estimate the level of diversity existing within some common bean landraces still cultivated in Nebrodi mountains, North-western area of Sicily. The multidisciplinary approach adopted to reach this goal involved the characterisation of collected material through morphological, biochemical and molecular marker analyses. The nutritional quality of seeds was also investigated in view of the proposition of the best landraces as niche products. Results showed that those bean landraces retain a considerable level of heterogeneity. The use of both biochemical and molecular markers showed that all landraces clustered into two main groups, corresponding to the Andean and Mesoamerican gene pools. Our results suggest that the best strategy for preserving the diversity of common bean from a restricted area such as Nebrodi mountains, necessitates of a deep knowledge of germplasm to avoid the loss of precious genetic resources or, on the contrary, the safeguard of populations genetically redundant.     

Taxonomy and new collections of wild potato species in Central and Southern Peru in 1999

Peru contains about half of the described wild potato taxa, and many of these are not yet preserved in genebanks. This paper reports results of the second of a series of five planned collecting expeditions to Peru. Collections were made in the central Peruvian departments of Ancash, Huancavelica, La Libertad, and Lima, from March 8 to April 25,1999. They follow collections in 1998 in the southern Peruvian departments of Apurimac, Arequipa, Cusco, Moquegua, Puno, and Tacna. We collected 101 germplasm accessions, including first germplasm collections of the following 22Solanum taxa:Solanum amayanum, S. anamatophilum, S. arahuayum (lost in germplasm increase),S. augustii, S. bill- hookeri, S. cantense, S. chavinense, S. chomatophilum var. subnivale, S. chrysoflorum, S. gracilifrons, S. hapalos um, S. huarochiriense, S. hypacrarthrum, S.jalcae, S. moniliforme, S. multiinterruptum f. longipilosum, S. multiinterruptum var. machaytambinum, S. peloquinianum, S. rhombilanceolatum, S. simplicissimum, S. taulisense (lost in germplasm increase), andS. wittmackii. In addition, new collections were made of the under-collected speciesS. hastiforme (three collections). The above taxonomy is that used in planning our expedition, that we compare to a new treatment of Peruvian wild potatoes published by C. Ochoa in 1999. This paper reports the collection and new species identifications of the 1999 collections, and germplasm conservation and survival of the 1998 and 1999 collections. In addition, chromosome counts are provided for 134 accessions from the 1998 and 1999 expeditions, including first reports forS. chomatophilum var. subnivale (2n = 2x = 24),S. megistacrolobum subsp.purpureum (2n = 2x = 24), andS. multiinterruptum var.multiinterruptum f.albiflorum (2n = 2x = 24); we also report the first triploid count of an accession ofS. immite.     

Use of a graft of demineralized bone matrix along with TGF-β1 leads to an early bone repair in dogs

Tibia fractures are common in small animal practice. Over the past decade, improvements to animal internal fracture fixation have been developed. TGF-β1 has been shown to be crucial in the development, induction and repair of bone. In present study, we investigate the effect of local application of a graft demineralized bone matrix (DBM) along with TGF-β1 in a model of open osteotomy induced experimentally in dogs. Tibia fracture was brought about by using an open osteotomy model in young male dogs. Fracture repair was evaluated by a histological and biochemical analysis. Collagen content, proteolytic activity and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) expression were analyzed at the end of the study. Radiographic analysis, alkaline phosphatase and hematological evaluation were performed weekly. At the fifth week, there was an improvement and restoration of bone architecture in animals treated with a graft containing TGF-β1 (5 ng/ml) compared with the control and graft groups, as was evidenced by the presence of an early formation of wide callus and bone regeneration. In addition, local application of TGF-β1 led to an increase in collagen and proteolytic activity. More immunopositive osteoclast and mesenchymal cells were found in bone tissue from animals treated with TGF-β1 as compared with the control group. No changes in alkaline phosphatase, hematological and clinical parameters were observed. This study shows that the combined use of DBM along with TGF-β1 is able to improve and accelerate the bone repair.     

Conversion of the mycotoxin patulin to the less toxic desoxypatulinic acid by the biocontrol yeast Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae strain LS11

The infection of stored apples by the fungus Penicillium expansum causes the contamination of fruits and fruit-derived products with the mycotoxin patulin, which is a major issue in food safety. Fungal attack can be prevented by beneficial microorganisms, so-called biocontrol agents. Previous time-course thin layer chromatography analyses showed that the aerobic incubation of patulin with the biocontrol yeast Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae strain LS11 leads to the disappearance of the mycotoxin spot and the parallel emergence of two new spots, one of which disappears over time. In this work, we analyzed the biodegradation of patulin effected by LS11 through HPLC. The more stable of the two compounds was purified and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance as desoxypatulinic acid, whose formation was also quantitated in patulin degradation experiments. After R. kratochvilovae LS11 had been incubated in the presence of (13)C-labeled patulin, label was traced to desoxypatulinic acid, thus proving that this compound derives from the metabolization of patulin by the yeast. Desoxypatulinic acid was much less toxic than patulin to human lymphocytes and, in contrast to patulin, did not react in vitro with the thiol-bearing tripeptide glutathione. The lower toxicity of desoxypatulinic acid is proposed to be a consequence of the hydrolysis of the lactone ring and the loss of functional groups that react with thiol groups. The formation of desoxypatulinic acid from patulin represents a novel biodegradation pathway that is also a detoxification process.     

Simultaneous determination of phenolic compounds and saponins in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) by a liquid chromatography-diode array detection-electrospray ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry methodology

A new liquid chromatography methodology coupled to a diode array detector and a time-of-flight mass spectrometer has been developed for the simultaneous determination of phenolic compounds and saponins in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd). This method has allowed the simultaneous determination of these two families of compounds with the same analytical method for the first time. A fused-core column C18 has been used, and the analysis has been performed in less than 27 min. Both chromatographic and electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry parameters have been optimized to improve the sensitivity and to maximize the number of compounds detected. A validation of the method has also been carried out, and free and bound polar fractions of quinoa have been studied. Twenty-five compounds have been tentatively identified and quantified in the free polar fraction, while five compounds have been tentatively identified and quantified in the bound polar fraction. It is important to highlight that 1-O-galloyl-β-D-glucoside, acacetin, protocatechuic acid 4-O-glucoside, penstebioside, ethyl-m-digallate, (epi)-gallocatechin, and canthoside have been tentatively identified for the first time in quinoa. Free phenolic compounds have been found to be in the range of 2.746-3.803 g/kg of quinoa, while bound phenolic compounds were present in a concentration that varies from 0.139 and 0.164 g/kg. Indeed, saponins have been found to be in a concentration that ranged from 5.6 to 7.5% of the total composition of whole quinoa flour.