•Organosulfur compounds of garlic extracts from cloves and stems were investigated.•Plant part, extraction method and mixture affected bioactive content and profile.•High pressure extraction led to ...higher recoveries of hydrophilic compounds.•The highest amounts of lipophilic compounds were detected in macerates.•Garlic extracts represent marketable bioactive-rich herbal preparations.
Garlic-based extracts have been surveyed as healthy promoting supplements in relation to their content of organosulfur compounds. The present study investigated the effect of high pressure extraction and maceration, and four extraction solvents (three hydroalcoholic mixtures and sunflower oil) on the total and relative amounts of the main organosulfur compounds of clove and stem extracts of the Italian ecotype “Aglio Rosso di Sulmona” (Sulmona Red Garlic). Organosulfur compounds were more abundant in cloves than in stem extracts. High pressure extraction led to higher recoveries of hydrophilic compounds than maceration whereas the highest amounts of lipophilic compounds were detected in macerates. A higher alliin-to-allicin conversion ratio was detected in clove, in comparison to stem extracts. Sunflower oil fostered allicin decay to compounds such as ajoenes, vinyldithiins and sulfides. The use of specific extraction methods may lead to standardised grade extracts, both from native raw materials and by-products.
•Analytical and sensory traits of an endive germplasm were evaluated the first time.•Astringency and herbaceous flavour were related to several lactones and phenolics.•Bitterness was related to ...lactucopicrin and kaempferol malonyl glucoside.•Bitterness was significantly and negatively related to overall acceptance.•A balance of different components seemed to determine overall sensory properties.
In the present study, curly endive (Cichorium endivia L. var. crispum) and escarole (Cichorium endivia L. var. latifolium) accessions were investigated for their sensory characters (bitterness, astringency and herbaceous flavour) and acceptance in relation to sesquiterpene lactone and phenolic content. Different facets of the perception of these sensory traits in relation to lactones and phenolics were brought out. Lactucopicrin and kaempferol malonyl glucoside were consistently related to bitterness, astringency and herbaceous flavour perceptions. Overall acceptance was significantly and inversely related mainly to bitterness. The generic statement that sesquiterpene lactones and phenolic compounds are determinants of bitterness and other related sensory characters does not seem to be fully consistent with our data, that indicated how the balance of different compounds affects these traits individually, in a rather complex manner, with a prevailing negative impact of phenolics.
Bitter, astringent, and herbaceous perceptions were significantly affected by variety, with curly endive showing on average higher scores in comparison to escarole, with particular respect to bitterness
•Phenolic profile was assessed in local Italian cardoon and artichoke accessions.•Twelve phenolic compounds were identified by means of HPLC-MS/MS.•Phenolics here identified were mainly mono- or ...dicaffeoylquinic acids.•Some samples shown significant amounts of dicaffeoyl-succynilquinic acids.•A significant variability was assessed within accessions from the same region.
In the present investigation fresh leaf sheaths of locally cultivated cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L. var. altilis DC) populations and artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus L.) edible sprouts from northern and central Italy were analysed for their total and individual phenolic content. Twelve phenolic compounds, belonging to monocaffeoylquinic, dicaffeoylquinic, and dicaffeoyl-succinylquinic acids were identified by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) and quantified by HPLC-diode array detection (DAD). A significant variability was assessed within cardoon accessions cultivated in the same region, with total phenolic content in the range 20,835−27,051, 11,268−31,937, 11,911−30,016, 8853−34,961, 8794−22,628 mg kg−1 of dry matter (DM) in artichoke sprouts, and cardoon stalks from Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Piedmont, and Marche, respectively. Four cardoon samples, one from Emilia-Romagna (Cardo di Cervia), one from Tuscany (Cardo di Lucca), and two from Piedmont (Cardo Gobbo di Nizza Monferrato), showed a total phenolic content higher than 30,000 mg kg−1 DM. The present investigation represents a first contribution to characterise for their phenolic composition Italian cardoon and artichoke populations that still play an important role in local economies and are highly appreciated for their sensory properties.
•Wild species of the Asteraceae family are traditionally used as edible vegetables.•Chicory and other less explored wild species were investigated.•Orbitrap-MS allowed for the identification of ...fifteen sesquiterpene lactones.•Six 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid inositol derivative compounds were also detected.
Many wild species of the Asteraceae family are used as edible leafy vegetables. A distinctive trait characterizing these is the presence of sesquiterpene lactones, responsible of typical bitter taste and putative health-promoting effects against chronic-degenerative diseases. In this study, several edible leafy species of the Asteraceae family have been collected in the wild and characterized for their sesquiterpene lactones and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid inositol derivatives content by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry. The following species were considered: “aspraggine” (Helminthia echioides), “barba di becco” (Tragopogon pratensis), “caccialepre” (Reichardia picroides), “cicoria” (Cichorium intybus), “dente di leone” (Taraxacum officinale), “erba grassella” (Hypochaeris radicata), “grespigno” (Sonchus asper, Sonchus oleraceus), “ragaggiolo” (Chondrilla juncea), “gallina grassa” (Crepis vesicaria), “pie di gallina” (Crepis sancta) and “radicchiello” (Crepis leontodontoides). A database containing retention times and selected m/z ions for the identification of fifteen sesquiterpene lactones and six 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid inositol derivatives was developed. Total sesquiterpene lactone content showed a remarkable variability among species (0.14-140.45 mg kg−1 of dry matter). The highest values were observed in Cichorium samples (94.29-140.45 mg kg−1 dm), that also showed higher lactucine contents. Six 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid derivatives were identified in Taraxacum officinale.
Healthy and tasty: these attributes define edible wild (
Diplotaxis tenuifolia) and salad rocket (
Eruca sativa), for their glucosinolate profile, that was characterised by variation in some key ...components. Ample variability was also detected in other
Diplotaxis, with extremely glucosinolate-rich species, and strongly characterised profiles, revealing likely taxonomic affinities among taxa previously examined by other criteria, and suggesting potentials of exploitation.
Leaf glucosinolates of 42
Diplotaxis and 21
Eruca accessions were studied. Total content ranged from 0.25 to more than 70
g
kg
−1
dry
wt. The 13 clusters, defined on the basis of glucosinolate composition, belonged to two glucosinolate-rich groups, characterised by the prevalence of a single component, and one low-glucosinolate group, with a profile not dominated by any individual component. A sinigrin-rich cluster (
D. ibicensis,
D. berthautii,
D. ilorcitana,
D. siettiana,
D. tenuisiliqua,
D. brevisiliqua, and
D. virgata) and a gluconapin-rich cluster (
D. catholica,
D.siifolia,
D. virgata, and
D. ollivieri) included all the species previously classified in the
nigra phylogenetic lineage.
D. virgata was confirmed to be a critical taxon, with one accession slightly diverging from the others.
D. siifolia subsp.
vicentina was separated from the others in a glucobrassicin-rich cluster.
D. harra, a rather isolated representative of sub-genus
Hesperidium, clustered together
D. assurgens in a sinalbin-rich cluster. Another well defined cluster was represented by
D. brachycarpa (gluconasturtin). The two sub-species of
D. erucoides were well differentiated by their glucosinolate profile. The low glucosinolate species:
D. tenuifolia,
D. viminea,
D. cretacea,
D. muralis (subgenus
Diplotaxis), and
E. vesicaria, all previously included in the
rapa/oleracea lineage, belonged to seven less defined clusters, mainly differing on the presence/absence or the relative abundance of some components (glucoraphanin, glucolepidin, 4-hydroxy-glucobrassicin, 4-phenylbutyl gls, glucoerucin and neoglucobrassicin). The data support previous taxonomic works. Glucosinolate-rich taxa, with well characterised profiles may be suitable for industrial uses, whereas the variability of edible
D. tenuifolia and
E. vesicaria may represent a basis for breeding horticultural types.
► Attitudes of an Italian population towards foods of the Ukrainian migrant communities. ► Highest rates of food neophobia among the elderly and less educated people. ► Willingness to try eastern ...European foods highest among the younger and the well educated groups. ► Interest in specific foods lower in the less educated people, the elderly and the neophobics. ► Information and education are important determinants for the appreciation of new food traditions.
The Russian-speaking communities constituted the most recent flux of migration to Italy: as a consequence, their foods are still little known. This work was aimed at exploring the attitudes of Italians towards eastern European foods.
A structured questionnaire was submitted to a sample Italian population in order to analyze food neophobia, awareness/information about traditional markets of the eastern migrant communities, and the specific interest in 10 selected traditional foods. Food neophobia was higher among the elderly and among the less educated people. The awareness of eastern foods was higher among the elderly, whereas willingness to try was higher among the younger people. Education did not affect awareness, but increased willingness to try. The interest in specific foods was generally lower in the less educated people, the elderly and the neophobics, with differences depending on the nature of foods.
This research indicates some potential for the development of new products, that could arise from an enhanced exchange of knowledge between Italians and Ukrainians and other Russian-speaking communities.
