EVALUMION OF THE CHEMICAL PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES AMONG SICILIAN HONEYS

A System to Control the Atmosphere in the Headspace of the Malaxation Machine to Improve the Fatty Acid Composition of Extra Virgin Olive Oils

In recent years, oxygen content regulation during malaxation has been noted as a process parameter. As concluded by many studies, the presence of oxygen during malaxation has a key role in for improving the quality of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) in terms of volatile and phenolic components. There are, however, very few studies of the influence of oxygen in the malaxation machine headspace on the fatty acid composition of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of oxygen in the malaxation machine headspace on Nocellara del Belice EVOO fatty acids. During of the malaxation process, the atmosphere inside the malaxation machine was modified by blowing…

Characterisation of phenolic compounds in Algerian honeys by RP-HPLC coupled to electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Abstract A total of 35 honey samples from different regions of Algeria were studied to determine their phenolic profiles. Phenolic compounds, products of the secondary metabolism of plants, were extracted with amberlite XAD-4 and analysed by liquid chromatography, with diode array detection and electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry in negative ion polarity. By using colorometric assays, Erica honeys showed the highest content of phenolic compounds and flavonoids (245 ± 54 mg GAE/100 g and 29 ± 6 mg QE/100 g, respectively). More than 30 compounds were identified in the honey samples studied including 14 phenolic acids and 16 flavonoids. In general, honey samples showed different chromato…

Properties of New Strawberry Lines Compared with Well-Known Cultivars in Winter Planting System Conditions

In Southern Italy and Sicily, strawberry cultivation is dominated by international cultivars such as ‘Candonga Sabrosa’, ‘Florida Fortuna’, ‘Sabrina’ and ‘Sant Andreas’. The primary objective of our study was to compare the field performance of two experimental lines and four established cultivars in a Sicilian representative strawberry production area. The second objective was to compare the fruits physic-chemical nutraceutical characteristics of these genotypes in response to different postharvest fruit storage temperatures. A supporting genetic analysis, via SSR markers, was also performed in order to establish genotype correlations. Our study confirmed the high result of ‘Florida Fortun…

Effect of kinematic viscosity over the dynamic properties of an extra-virgin olive oil

Previous studies 1,2 have shown that kinematic viscosity values of food oils depend on the presence of added solvents and on the nature of the oil under investigation (e.g., geographical origin and treatments prior to oil production). However, to the best of our knowledge, only one paper 3 dealt with the correlation between viscosity values and relaxation times of simple pure alkyl compounds. Up to now, no papers have been found in literature dealing with viscosity of complex mixtures and their relaxometric properties. In this study, we intended to investigate the effect of kinematic viscosity over the dynamic properties of an extra-virgin olive oil which is known as a very complex mixture …

Dynamics of pistachio oils by proton nuclear magnetic resonance relaxtion dispersion

A number of pistachio oils were selected in order to test the efficacy of nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation dispersion (NMRD) technique in the evaluation of differences among oils (1) obtained from seeds subjected to different thermal desiccation processes, (2) retrieved from seeds belonging to the same cultivar grown in different geographical areas and (3) produced by using seed cultivars sampled in the same geographical region. NMRD measures relaxation rate values which are related to the dynamics of the chemical components of complex food systems. Results not only allowed to relate kinematic viscosity to relaxometry parameters but also were successful in the differentiation among the…