The Checklist of Sicilian Macrofungi: Second Edition
Approximately 30 years after the publication of the first Sicilian checklist of macrofungi, a new updated version is presented here. The census of macromycetes was carried out through periodic observations in different agricultural and forest ecosystems, in urban areas, in public and private gardens, and in botanical gardens. The 1919 infraspecific taxa included in 508 genera belonging to 152 families were collected in the Sicilian territory. Ectomycorrhizal fungi are the most represented ecological category, followed by saprotrophs on wood, saprotrophs on litter, and terricolous saprotrophs. The interest in this rich group of organisms is evidenced by the nutritional and therapeutic value …
Medicinal Mushrooms: Bioactive Compounds, Use, and Clinical Trials
Medicinal mushrooms have important health benefits and exhibit a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, including antiallergic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, antiviral, cytotoxic, immunomodulating, antidepressive, antihyperlipidemic, antidiabetic, digestive, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, nephroprotective, osteoprotective, and hypotensive activities. The growing interest in mycotherapy requires a strong commitment from the scientific community to expand clinical trials and to propose supplements of safe origin and genetic purity. Bioactive compounds of selected medicinal mushrooms and their effects and mechanisms in in vitro and in vivo clinical stu…
Microbial dynamics in durum wheat kernels during aging
In the present work the microbial dynamics in wheat kernels were evaluated over time. The main aim of this research was to study the resistance of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts associated to unprocessed cereals used for bread making during long term conservation. To this purpose four Triticum durum Desf. genotypes including two modern varieties (Claudio and Simeto) and two Sicilian wheat landraces (Russello and Timilia) were analysed by a combined culture-independent and -dependent microbiological approach after one, two or three years from cultivation and threshing. DNA based MiSeq Illumina technology was applied to reveal the entire bacterial composition of all semolina samples. T…
Insights Into the Cultivable Microbial Ecology of “Manna” Ash Products Extracted From Fraxinus angustifolia (Oleaceae) Trees in Sicily, Italy
Microbial communities characterizing a specific food matrix, generally, strongly contribute to both its composition, and properties for food applications. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the cultivable microbial ecology of Sicilian "Manna" ash products in order to acquire new information on the hygienic quality, shelf-life and potential application of this traditional food. To this purpose, several manna samples belonging to different commercial categories were collected and subjected to the analysis of bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi. Furthermore, an investigation of the sugar content and physicochemical parameters was performed. The results of our study fo…
Forest nurseries and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan: the case of Sicily and Apulia (Italy)
In Italy, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) foresees the planting of ca. 6.6 million trees to establish urban and peri-urban forests in 14 metropolitan cities. This ambitious project requires a significant number of native trees and shrubs, currently unavailable in Italian public and private nurseries. This survey analyzes the state of forest nurseries in two administrative regions of southern Italy, i.e. the “Filici” forest nursery (province of Agrigento, Sicily) and the Gargano Mountain Reclamation Consortium (province of Foggia, Apulia), to evaluate the adequacy of Sicilian and Apulian forest nurseries as potential sources of plant material to meet the requirements of the …
Mycochemicals in wild and cultivated mushrooms: nutrition and health
AbstractThe mushrooms have contributed to the development of active ingredients of fundamental importance in the field of pharmaceutical chemistry as well as of important tools in human and animal health, nutrition, and functional food. This review considers studies on the beneficial effects of medicinal mushrooms on the nutrition and health of humans and farm animals. An overview of the chemical structure and composition of mycochemicals is presented in this review with particular reference to phenolic compounds, triterpenoids and sterols, fatty acids and lipids, polysaccharides, proteins, peptides, and lectins. The nutritional value and chemical composition of wild and cultivated mushroom…
An analysis of botanical studies of vascular plants from Italian wetlands
Wetlands are essential for life on Earth, but at the same time the most threatened environments due to the gradual alterations associated with climate change and human action. The botanical studies on wetland higher plants carried out in Italy from 1950 until today are analysed in this survey. The 1,265 contributions resulting from this study are analysed from a historical, geographical, and content point of view. Most of the scientific contributions were published in the 1980s and 1990s, often by the same research groups and on a local scale. The predominant research theme is the inventory. Most papers are mainly focused on lakes and rivers. The results of this literature survey point to t…
Microbial safety of black summer truffle collected from Sicily and Umbria Regions, Italy
Background: Tuber aestivum Vittad., known as black summer truffle, represents high-value food especially used as garnishment in nouvelle cuisine. The aim of this study was to investigate on the viable microbial populations associated with T. aestivum ascomata collected in different sites of Sicily and one locality of Umbria (Italy).
 Methods: The ripe ascomata of black summer truffles were collected from Central Italy. Cell densities of spoilage bacteria, fecal indicators, potential pathogens, yeasts, and molds were analyzed. Statistical analysis was conducted with XLSTAT software.
 Results: The microbiological counts of truffles ranged between 6.00 and 9.63 log Colony Forming Uni…
Functional bread supplemented with Pleurotus eryngii powder: A potential new food for human health
The purpose of this study was to develop functional breads with powdered Pleurotus eryngii. The breads were produced applying the traditional Italian style sourdough technology. P. eryngii powder was added to flour of tender wheat varieties (Grano Dei Miracoli, Inalettabile, Mentana, Gentilrosso, Ardito and a mix of Rieti, Verna, and Mentana) or semolina of durum wheat landrace (Saragolla) and subjected to sourdough fermentation. Sourdough inoculum was produced with selected strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) belonging to the species Levilactobacillus brevis, Weissella cibaria and Leuconostoc citreum. The addition of Pleurotus powdered (PP) (10% w/w) did not influence the fermentation pr…
Preliminary Investigation of Biogenic Amines in Type I Sourdoughs Produced at Home and Bakery Level
During a survey for isolating sourdough lactic acid bacteria (LAB), 20 dough samples produced at the bakery level (BL) or home-made (HM) were collected. An enzyme-based colorimetric method revealed a total biogenic amines (BAs) concentration in the range 41.4–251.8 ppm for six (three BL and three HM) sourdoughs characterised by unpleasant odours. Eight BAs generally investigated in foods were identified and quantified from these six samples by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS). Only one HM sample contained almost all analysed BAs. Tryptamine was exclusively detected in HM sourdoughs (0.71–24.1 ppm). Putrescine, tryptamine, …
Evolution of lactic acid bacterial populations during lysine fortification of sourdough breads by addition of pistachio powder
Food fortification is a current practise to increase the bioavailability of certain nutrients. In this study, 5% (w/w) pistachio powder was added to tender wheat flour or durum wheat semolina to evaluate its contribution to augment the amount of lysine in bread. Bread production was carried out by sourdough technology using a selected 3-species lactic acid bacterial (LAB) starter culture (Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis PON100336, Leuconostoc citreum PON10079 and Weissella cibaria PON10030). In order to determine the influence of pistachio powder on the evolution of LAB, sourdough bread productions were compared with control trials obtained from flour or semolina and evaluated for the develo…
Untargeted Metabolomics Used to Describe the Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Effects of Extracts from Pleurotus spp. Mycelium Grown in Different Culture Media
Pleurotus species isolated in vitro were studied to determine the effect of different media on their production of secondary metabolites, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activity. The different metabolites among Pleurotus samples covered a total of 58 pathways. Comparisons were made between the metabolic profiles of Pleurotus spp. mycelia grown in two substrates: Potato-dextrose-agar-PDA, used as control (S1), and PDA enriched with 0.5 % of wheat straw (S2). The main finding was that the metabolic pathways are strongly influenced by the chemical composition of the growth substrate. The antibacterial effects were particularly evident against Escherichia coli, whereas Arthroderma curreyi (CCF …
Survey of antibiotic resistance of Pseudomonas isolated from fresh cut red chicory (Cichorium intybus L., Asteraceae)
The present work was carried out to investigate the safety aspects of minimally processed red chicory (Cichorium intybus L., family Asteraceae) regarding the antibiotic resistance of Pseudomonas Migula, 1894 populations (Bacteria Pseudomonadaceae). The Pseudomonas strains tested for their characteristics were previously isolated from experimental monovarietal salads prepared with two different processes, a classic ready-to-eat (RTE) process and a process with entire leaves, and stored under refrigeration (4 °C) up to 15 days from production. Due to their dominance over the microbial community, Pseudomonas strains were better characterised for their undesirable features that might be exerted…
Supplementary material 1 from: Barone G, Cirlincione F, Di Gristina E, Domina G, Gianguzzi L, Mirabile G, Naselli-Flores L, Raimondo FM, Venturella G (2022) An analysis of botanical studies of vascular plants from Italian wetlands. Italian Botanist 14: 45-60. https://doi.org/10.3897/italianbotanist.14.95072
List of data references on botanical studies of higher plants in Italian wetlands