0000000000019442
AUTHOR
Ml Gargano
showing 18 related works from this author
The ectomycorrhizal community of Abies nebrodensis: preliminary results
2016
Abies nebrodensis (Lojac.) Mattei is a Critically Endangered forest tree included in Appendix I of the Bern Convention and as a priority species in Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive [1]. In situ and ex situ conservation strategies [2] and, more recently, a LIFE Natura project [3] allowed a marked improvement of health conditions of trees and of seedlings renewal. A first attempt to characterize the ectomycorrhizas of A. nebrodensis was carried out by Venturella & Rambelli [4]. In the frame of the activities of the II National Workshop of Ectomycorrhyza (Palermo, 2015), this paper reports the preliminary investigation carried out on the ectomycorrhyzal community of A. nebrodensis i…
Ethnobotanical knowledge in some rural communities of northern Sicily (Palermo, Italy)
2018
An ethnobotanical study was carried out to document the uses of wild plants among some local communities of Sicily (southern Italy). We recorded 48 taxa belonging to 45 genera included in 32 families. 30 taxa are used as medicinal plants, 22 taxa as food and 9 for handicraft use. In comparison with other ethnobotanical studies carried out in Sicily and other Italian territories, some uses of the plants reported by the local population in the study area are peculiarities. The analysis of data shows that the level of traditional knowledge on use of plants in province of Palermo is poor, highlighting a considerably advanced state of cultural erosion. The results of our investigation confirm th…
Morphological and molecular characterization of distinct species of fungi with potential medicinal interest collected in Sicily
2017
Medicinal mushrooms are very interesting for their pharmacological effects as well as for their nutritional value, antitumor, antiviral, antibacterial activities. Antitumor activities of mushrooms have been extensively investigated due to recent chemotherapeutic application of some drugs derived from natural sources.The aim of this study was the morphological and molecular characterization of nine species of fungi with potential medicinal interest. In particular, we focused our attention on: Bjerkandera adusta (Willd) P. Karst., Ganoderma resinaceum Boud.,Hericium erinaceus (Bull.) Pers., Pleurotus eryngii var elaeoselini Venturella, Zervakis and La Rocca, P. eryngii var. eryngii (DC.) Quél…
New antimicrobial peptides from Tirmania pinoyi and Terfezia boudieri in the struggle against antibiotic resistance
2017
Antibiotic resistance of common pathogenic microorganisms is a topic of great concern that has finally received media attention and entered into the political agenda of world leaders. Drug-resistant bacteria are cause of thousands of deaths worldwide, then there is an urgent need for new antimicrobials, otherwise we risk losing the ability to control effectively the infectious diseases. Such emergence can be faced looking also at not usual source of antimicrobial agents, for example medicinal mushrooms. With the objective to tackle Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens, we focused on two edible desert truffles mushrooms Tirmania pinoyi and Terfezia boudieri as origin of new antimicrobia…
Araucaria columnaris (Araucariaceae) casual alien in Sicily
2021
The first case of spontaneous regeneration of Araucaria columnaris in Europe is reported. Data are given on the taxon and on the Sicilian site where A. columnaris - native to New Caledonia (Australia) - tends to spread autonomously.
Fungi in archaeological areas
2018
The most renowned examples of the prehistoric use of mushrooms are represented by the stone paintings from Saharan aboriginal tribes of North Africa (ca. 9000 BC.) and the rock paintings of religious rituals in Spain (ca. 6000 years ago). The symbols, statues and paintings created by the Mayas and the Aztecs indicate the consumption of psilocybin mushrooms, especially during religious rituals, as a way to communicate with deities. Other tribes originating in Central America were also involved in magic mushrooms use for similar reasons. In northeastern Greece, western Turkey, and Bulgaria, in the regions known in antiquity as Macedonia, Anatolia, and Thrace, numerous megalithic natural rock …
Wood-decay fungi on trees of the city of Palermo (Sicily, Italy)
2020
Nineteen taxa, belonging to 15 genera, included in 12 families of Basidiomycetes were observed on different living trees and stumps. Data on hosts and collection sites are reported together with notes on the causes of wood decay fungi attack and suggestions for solutions.
Forest ecosystems in the Monti Sicani Park (Sicily)
2022
The authors analysed the forest ecosystems in the Monti Sicani Park (Sicily). In particular, the state of the natural and non-native forests in the Site of Community Interest (SCI ITA040005) - Monte Cammarata, Contrada Salaci, was evaluated in terms of distribution, evolution of forest dynamics and, silvicultural activities. The evolution of vegetation within two different forest plots are analysed and management strategies are proposed. The finding on Mount Cammarata of seedlings of Fagus sylvatica in the undergrowth of a conifer afforestation is noteworthy.
Fungi in archaeological areas
2018
This review include the data concerning the presence of representations of fungi since prehistoric times. Particular attention is paid to their use in magical rituals, in nutrition and as a remedy for certain diseases. The work also examines some examples of megaliths whose shape recalls that of a mushroom, and the role of mushrooms in anthracological studies. Finally, data on the presence of mushrooms, some of them rare, of reforested areas and residual dune systems within the Archaeological Park of Selinunte are reported.
Anti-cancer effects of Pleurotus eryngii var. eryngii: an in vitro and in vivo models focusing on Heat Shock Proteins
2017
Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are highly expressed in a variety of cancer cells and are essential to their survival contributing to tumor cell propagation, metastasis, and protection against apoptosis]. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. The current anti-cancer drugs available in market are not target specific and pose several side-effects and complications in clinical management of various forms of cancer, which highlights the urgent need for novel effective and less-toxic therapeutic approaches. Medicinal mushrooms have emerged as wonderful source of nutraceuticals, anti-oxidants, anticancer, prebiotic, anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, anti-microbial, and anti-diabetic. The ongo…
Macromycetes' diversity in Tunisia
2017
In Tunisia, about 12% of the country area is covered by forests which have favorable climatic factors likely to harbor a high macrofungal biodiversity. However, this valuable bioresource remains understudied especially regarding their distribution, ecology, abundance and diversity. The initiation of the first national inventory of macrofungi in NorthWestern Tunisian forests was published by our group in 2016. The study covered six governorates, sixty seven sites and enabled the identification of one hundred and twenty-three specimens. Abiotic environmental factors such (as bioclimatic stage, rainfall and edaphic conditions) and biotic factors (plant association and nature and density of the…
The Herbarium SAF fungal culture collection as a potential source of nutraceuticals and cultivated mushrooms
2017
Thirty-nine strains of Basidiomycetes belonging to 9 genera of 8 families are kept in the Mycotheca of the Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences of the University of Palermo (Italy). All the isolates are related to medicinal mushrooms and some of them are of great commercial and nutraceutical interest.
Cultivation of some mushrooms species originating from Tunisia and exploration of their valuable metabolites
2017
Mushrooms present interests for consumption as food, as traditional medicine or in bioremediation, due to their nutritional, antioxidant, antimicrobial, therapeutic and enzymatic values. The valorisation of indigenous species of mushrooms requires well characterized collections. Although macrofungi are widespread in Tunisian forests, their diversity and ecology remain generally underexplored which hindered their exploitation. In particular, the in vitro cultivation of the mycelial form could have many advantages: (a) it offers faster growth rates which may have industrial and biotechnological benefits, and (b) will allow better resource management (longer conservation of active forms) and g…
A white Maitake (Grifola frondosa): nutritional value and antibacterial preliminary activity test
2017
Grifola frondosa (Dicks.) Gray (Meripilaceae) is a big size, perennial, infrequent lignicolous basidiomycetes, traditionally known as Maitake. Brown or grayish overlapped caps, with a wavy margin, characterize the sporophore. In the wild, it is usually found at the base of living oak trees but it is also cultivated. G. frondosa is mainly distributed in Japan, Asia, Eastern America, and Europe. In Italy, is infrequent but widely distributed in all regions. Field investigation carried out in autumn 2016 in Sicily (southern Italy) permitted to observe an unusual white G. frondosa growing at the base of a living tree of Quercus pubescens Willd. s.l. Once harvested, the mushroom sample was clean…