Buglossoides purpureocaerulea is a little-known plant used in the folk tradition for the preparation of a decoction in Sud, Italy, where it is appreciated for its beneficial effects on liver diseases. These properties may be due to the presence of antioxidant compounds. This study presents the phenolic characterisation and the antioxidant activity (AA) of B. purpureocaerulea extracts obtained by decoction, ethanol infusion and ethanol and methanol macerations. Total phenols ranged between 69 and 100mgg(1)dry weight (DW). The main compounds were: rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, lithospermic acid and salvianolic acid C. The extracts showed a good AA, particularly high for the decoction (142283 mu molTEg(1) DW; TE, Trolox equivalent) and ethanol maceration extract (214364 mu molTEg(1) DW) when determined by DPPH and ferric reducing antioxidant power test, respectively.

A filamentous fungus was isolated from Tuber borchii Vitt. fruiting bodies, and it was identified as an Arthrinium phaeospermum (Corda) M.B. Ellis strain, an “endophyte” that forms various associations with healthy leaves, stems, and roots of plants. Molecular analysis confirmed the association of this filamentous fungus with the ascocarps of all collection sites in Salento, Apulia (South Italy). An in vitro symbiosis system between Cistus creticus L. and T. borchii was set up; A. phaeospermum appears to be able to promote mycorrhiza formation in Cistus seedlings, inducing primary root shortening and an increase of secondary roots, similar to the effect of Mycorrhization Helper Bacteria (MHB). Compartmented and uncompartmented bioassays were carried out to investigate the effects of exudates/volatiles released by the truffle-hosted fungus on root architecture; the results showed root shortening in compartmented bioassay suggesting that volatiles released by the fungus alone are sufficient to alter root morphology in early phase of interaction before the mycorrhiza formation. The first evidence for an influence of a truffle-hosted fungus on ectomycorrhizal symbiosis establishment is reported.

In estratti di P. avium cv Ferrovia, si è valutata la composizione quali-quantitativa in antocianine, l’attività antiossidante e quella anti-infiammatoria comparandola con quella di due anti-infiammatori di sintesi, ibuprofen e nimesulide. I risultati hanno mostrato che la cianidina 3-glucoside è il pigmento maggiormente presente; l’attività antiossidante presenta un valore di 48 μmol di trolox/g PF di cui circa il 70% è attribuibile alla presenza delle antocianine. l’attività anti- infiammatoria, espressa come inibizione percentuale dell’attività delle ciclossigenasi, pari al 40% circa è comparabile a quella di ibuprofen 10 μm.

Betacyanin (betanin), total phenolics, vitamin C and antioxidant capacity (by Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays) were investigated in two differently colored cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.) genotypes, one with purple fruit and the other with orange fruit, from the Salento area, in Apulia (South Italy). In order to quantitate betanin in cactus pear fruit extracts (which is difficult by HPLC because of the presence of two isomers, betanin and isobetanin, and the lack of commercial standard with high purity), betanin was purified from Amaranthus retroflexus inflorescence, characterized by the presence of a single isomer. The purple cactus pear variety showed very high betanin content, with higher levels of phenolics, vitamin C, and antioxidant capacity (TEAC) than the orange variety. These findings confirm the potential for exploiting the autochthonous biodiversity of cactus pear fruits. In particular, the purple variety could be an interesting source of colored bioactive compounds which not only have coloring potential, but are also an excellent source of dietary antioxidant components which may have beneficial effects on consumers’ health.

Four ecotypes of pomegranate fruits growing in the salento area were characterized for their content in terms of total phenols, sugars, organic acids, anthocyanins, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. The results showed that in the fruit juice the amount of phenols ranged between 0.8–1.7 g l–1; the content in terms of simple sugars was about 140 g l–1, while the amount of citric and malic acids ranged between 1.4–13.3 and 0.8–7.7 g l–1, respectively. seven anthocyanin pigments were found; these were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively by hplc-dad-ms and identified as delphinidin 3,5-diglucoside, cyanidin 3,5-diglucoside, pelargonidin 3,5-diglucoside, delphinidin 3-glucoside, cyanidin 3-glucoside, pelargonidin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-arabinoside. the antioxidant activity, determined as dpph scavenger and teac, ranged between 17.2 and 39.1% and between 9 and 19 µmol trolox per ml of juice, respectively. All the pomegranate juices showed an anti-inflammatory activity (measured by COX inhibitory assay) which was compared with two commercial anti-inflammatory drugs (Ibuprofen and Nimesulide).

The essential oil extracted from twenty-one plants of Pistacia lentiscus L. growing wild in southern Italy (Salento, Apulia), were investigated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Thirty-eight components, representing more than 75% of the total oil constituents, were identified. The main compounds (with >5% on average) were α-pinene, terpinen-4-ol, δ-cadinene and β-caryophyllene. Four chemotypes were identified: terpinen-4-ol/α-pinene, β-caryophyllene/δ-cadinene/α-pinene, β-myrcene/δ-cadinene and α-pinene. Essential oils showed a radical scavenging activity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; DPPH test) ranging between about 21% and 35%.

Table olives are a common and well-known food in the whole Mediterranean area, produced and consumed in great quantities. Many deepgreen olives can be found on sale in the South of Italy. Sometimes a deep color could be the result of the fraudulent addition of a coloring agent (E141ii, copper chlorophyllins) during the pickling process, in spite of the European Union legislation that does not allow the addition of any colorant to fruits included table olives. The objectives of this study were to use a relatively simple method of detection of E141ii added to table olives, to verify the presence on the Italian market of artificially colored table olives, and to show that also CuSO4 can be employed for table olive re-greening. Compounds with chromatographic and spectral characteristics similar to the ones from the E141ii (Cu chlorin e6, Cu isochlorin e4, Cu pyropheophorbide a) were found in 8 samples out of 16. These results show that the fraudulent addition of colorant to table olives is a quite common practice. More pressing controls and analysis are required to ensure the complete food safety and the compliance with the current law.

In estratti di P. avium cv Ferrovia, si è valutata la composizione quali-quantitativa in antocianine, l’attività antiossidante e quella antiinfiammatoria comparandola anche con quella di due antiinfiammatori di sintesi, ibuprofen e nimesulide. I risultati hanno mostrato che la cianidina 3-glucoside è il pigmento maggiormente presente; l’attività antiossidante presenta un valore di 48 μmol di Trolox/g Pf di cui circa il 70% è attribuibile al presenza delle antocianine. L’attività antiinfiammatoria, espressa come inibizione percentuale dell’attività delle ciclossigenasi, pari al 40% circa è comparabile a quella di ibuprofen 10 μM.

Nine cultivars of winter tomatoes (known as "storage tomatoes" or "old tomatoes") were cultivated in southern Italy and analysed for their content in different antioxidant compounds and for their antioxidant activity (AA). The results obtained show a high variability in the lutein, β-carotene and lycopene contents. The β-carotene content was greater than reported in literature for traditional cultivars and in one case, was higher than that of lycopene. In particular, β-carotene amount ranged between 7.51 and 36.58 mg/kg of fresh weight (FW), while lycopene content varied between 8.98 and 106.44 mg/kg FW. To our knowledge, lutein content was determined the first time in this type of tomatoes and its amount ranged between 1.7 and 5.1 mg/kg FW. Caffeic acid was detected only in two cultivars. Rutin amounts varied between 55.6 and 109.15 mg/kg FW. All the extracts (hydrophilic and lipophilic) showed a good AA; moreover, scavenger activity of the hydrophilic fraction, when evaluated by ABTS, was very high reaching 90%.

The essential oil of 46 spontaneous plants of Calamintha nepeta (L.) Savi subsp. nepeta growing wild in Sud, Italy (Salento, Apulia), were investigated by GC/MS. Fifty-seven components were identified in the oil representing over the 98% of the total oil composition. Four chemotypes were identified: piperitone oxide, piperitenone oxide, piperitone-menthone and pulegone.

Bio-diesel può rappresentare una valida alternativa per il diesel e la sua produzione è in relazione alla coltivazione di specie oleaginose. Per ottenere un'elevata produzione di bio-diesel è necessario avere elevate rese in biomassa gli obiettivi del lavoro sono stati: identificare nuove varietà di girasole per la produzione autunnale, esaminare la possibilità di coltivare il cartamo nel Salento. Risultati preliminari hanno evidenziato una buona capacità di germinazione delle varietà di girasole analizzate, sebbene le basse temperature condizionano la crescita, ed inoltre, si è evidenziata una buona crescita delle varietà di cartamo analizzate.

Questo lavoro riporta la caratterizzazione biochimica e la valutazione dell’attività antiossidante di nove accessioni di pomodoro da serbo collezionate nel Sud Salento. I risultati ottenuti hanno evidenziato interessanti quantità di sostanze fenoliche totali, di ß-carotene e licopene. Il contenuto di luteina, valutato per la prima volta in questi pomodori, raggiunge valori di cinque volte superiori rispetto a pomodori tipo cherry assunti come controllo. L’attività antiossidante (test DPPH, espressa in TEAC) della frazione idrofila e lipofila è comparabile con quanto ottenuto da pomodori cherry.3

Heavy metals (HMs), such as copper, zinc, lead, mercury and cadmium, are the most abundant and dangerous inorganic environmental pollutants. Growing pieces of evidence suggest that mycorrhizal fungi can alleviate metal toxicity in plants. In this study, we focused attention on the ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungus Tuber borchii Vitt., which is widespread in Italy and is of great ecological interest because of the mutualistic associations and the advantages it provides to host plants. Seedlings of the Mediterranean shrub Cistus creticus L., mycorrhized and non mycorrhized with the ECM fungus 7: borchii, were treated with HMs (zinc, lead and chromium). HMs induced leaves' chlorosis in non mycorrhized seedlings; while no significant differencewas observed impigmentation of mycorrhized seedlings' leaves. This observation was confirmed by Euclidean Distance of color measurements in L*a*b* units from RGB digital images of leaves. The decrease in leaves pigmentation observed in HM treated non mycorrhized seedlings strongly correlated with a reduced expression of key genes associated with chlorophyll biosynthesis; instead, no significant variation of gene expression was detected in mycorrhized seedlings treated with HMs.

Recently, Xylella fastidiosa was reported in Italy, associated with the "Olive Quick Decline Syndrome". The cv. Leccino exhibits an evident tolerance with a slow disease progression compared with the other cultivars. Between the mechanisms proposed to explain the putative tolerance of some hosts to X. fastidiosa diseases, lignin deposition plays an important role. Analysis of phenolic compounds in healthy and infected Leccino and Cellina di Nardò leaves showed, in the two cultivars, a reduction of hydroxytyrosol glucoside (usually associated with drought and cold stress) and, only in Leccino, an increase of quinic acid, precursor of lignin. To determine if lignin biosynthesis is involved in defence response, we investigated the expression of genes coding for entry-point enzymes in different branches of the phenylpropanoid pathway. In stems of Cellina di Nardò infected plants, Cinnamate-4-Hydroxylase (C4H) and 4-Coumarate:CoA Ligase (4CL) resulted strongly down-regulated, indicating a plant disease response since the inhibition of C4H is reported to promote the accumulation of benzoic acid and salicylic acid as defence signals. Instead, in the cv. Leccino, Cinnamoyl-CoA Reductase (CCR, reported to be strongly induced during the formation of lignin defence response associated) was up-regulated in the stem of infected plants; moreover, Polyphenol oxidase (PPO), coding for an enzyme involved in the hydroxytyrosol biosynthesis, was down-regulated. The quantification of lignin in healthy and infected branches of both cultivars, showed a significant increase of total lignin in infected Leccino compared with the sensitive cultivar; moreover, histochemical observations of stem sections exhibited a different lignin distribution in the sclerenchyma and in the xylem tissue of infected Leccino plants compared to sections of healthy ones. Results suggest a critical role for lignin in X. fastidiosa tolerance of cv. Leccino.