Search results for "prunus"
showing 10 items of 141 documents
Kinetics of carotenoids degradation and furosine formation in dried apricots (Prunus armeniaca L.)
2017
Abstract The kinetics of carotenoid and color degradation, as well as furosine formation, were investigated in apricot fruits during convective heating at 50, 60 and 70 °C. Degradation of carotenoids and color, expressed as total color difference (TCD), followed a first and zero order kinetic, respectively. The activation energy (Ea) for carotenoids degradation ranged from 73.7 kJ/mol for 13- cis -β-carotene to 120.7 kJ/mol for lutein, being about 91 kJ/mol for all- trans -β-carotene. Violaxanthin and anteraxanthin were the most susceptible to thermal treatment. The furosine evolution was fitted at zero order kinetic model. The Ea for furosine formation was found to be 83.3 kJ/mol and the Q…
Effects of total dietary polyphenols on plasma nitric oxide and blood pressure in a high cardiovascular risk cohort. The PREDIMED randomized trial
2014
© 2014 Elsevier B.V. Background and aim: Hypertension is one of the main cardiovascular risk factors in the elderly. The aims of this work were to evaluate if a one-year intervention with two Mediterranean diets (Med-diet) could decrease blood pressure (BP) due to a high polyphenol consumption, and if the decrease in BP was mediated by plasma nitric oxide (NO) production. Methods and results: An intervention substudy of 200 participants at high cardiovascular risk was carried out within the PREDIMED trial. They were randomly assigned to a low-fat control diet or to two Med-diets, one supplemented with extra virgin olive oil (Med-EVOO) and the other with nuts (Med-nuts). Anthropometrics and …
A critical approach to the toxic metal ion removal by hazelnut and almond shells
2018
The adsorption capacity of ground hazelnut (HS) and almond (AS) shells towards Pb(II) and Cd(II) has been studied at pH = 5, in NaNO3 and NaCl ionic media, in the ionic strength range 0.05-0.5 mol L-1. Kinetic and equilibrium experiments were carried out by using the Differential Pulse Anodic Stripping Voltammetry technique to check the amount of the metal ion removed by HS and AS materials. Different kinetic and equilibrium equations were used to fit experimental data and a statistical study was done to establish the suitable model for the data fitting. A speciation study of the metal ions in solution was also done in order to evaluate the influence of the ionic medium on the adsorption pr…
New selections of Prunus persica for low chill Mediterranean climate areas
2016
In the late 1990s, CREA and the University of Palermo initiated a peach-breeding program in order to select new genotypes suitable for the fruit growing areas of southern Italy. These regions are generally characterized by short, mild winters and long, hot, dry summers. International cultivars grown in continental environments often have problems related to climatic limitations, such as the failure to satisfy the winter chill requirements. About 40 different peach and nectarine cultivars with different fruit characteristics (size, skin over colour, flesh firmness, sugar content, titratable acidity, absence of split-pit) were used as parents in a breeding program by CREA. The best selections…
Metagenomic Survey of the Highly Polyphagous Anastrepha ludens Developing in Ancestral and Exotic Hosts Reveals the Lack of a Stable Microbiota in La…
2021
We studied the microbiota of a highly polyphagous insect, Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae), developing in six of its hosts, including two ancestral (Casimiroa edulis and C. greggii), three exotic (Mangifera indica cv. Ataulfo, Prunus persica cv. Criollo, and Citrus x aurantium) and one occasional host (Capsicum pubescens cv. Manzano), that is only used when extreme drought conditions limit fruiting by the common hosts. One of the exotic hosts (“criollo” peach) is rife with polyphenols and the occasional host with capsaicinoids exerting high fitness costs on the larvae. We pursued the following questions: (1) How is the microbial composition of the larval food related to the composit…
Authentication of Alicante’s Mountain cherries protected designation of origin by their mineral profile
2011
Abstract Chemometric analysis of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) data was employed to verify the origin of cherry samples of different areas of Spain: Aragon, Caceres, Castellon, Huesca and Alicante’s Mountain Protected Geographic Indication (PGI). The ability of multivariate analysis methods, such as discriminant analysis (DA), was used to achieve cherry classification from their mineral content. The study was performed using 22 variables (concentrations of Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr, Ti and Te) and 23 variables (concentrations of Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr…
The coat protein of prunus necrotic ringspot virus specifically binds to and regulates the conformation of its genomic RNA
2003
AbstractBinding of coat protein (CP) to the 3′ nontranslated region (3′-NTR) of viral RNAs is a crucial requirement to establish the infection of Alfamo- and Ilarviruses. In vitro binding properties of the Prunus necrotic ringspot ilarvirus (PNRSV) CP to the 3′-NTR of its genomic RNA using purified E. coli- expressed CP and different synthetic peptides corresponding to a 26-residue sequence near the N-terminus were investigated by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. PNRSV CP bound to, at least, three different sites existing on the 3′-NTR. Moreover, the N-terminal region between amino acid residues 25 to 50 of the protein could function as an independent RNA-binding domain. Single exchan…
Investigation on the pollen morphology of traditional cultivars of Prunus species in Sicily
2012
In this study pollen grains of 13 cultivars and 3 rootstocks belonging to 5 species (<em>P. armeniaca</em>, <em>P. domestica</em>, <em>P. dulcis</em>, <em>P. persica</em>, <em>P. avium</em>) of the genus <em>Prunus </em>collected from North-East Sicily were examined for the micromorphological characterization through the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The length of polar axis (<em>P</em>) and the equatorial diameter (<em>E</em>) of grain, <em>P/E </em>ratio, the length of colpi (<em>C</em>), diameter of perforations (<em>DP</em>) and the number of perforat…
Mutational analysis of the RNA-binding domain of the Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) movement protein reveals its requirement for cell-to-cell…
2005
AbstractThe movement protein (MP) of Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) is required for cell-to-cell movement. MP subcellular localization studies using a GFP fusion protein revealed highly punctate structures between neighboring cells, believed to represent plasmodesmata. Deletion of the RNA-binding domain (RBD) of PNRSV MP abolishes the cell-to-cell movement. A mutational analysis on this RBD was performed in order to identify in vivo the features that govern viral transport. Loss of positive charges prevented the cell-to-cell movement even though all mutants showed a similar accumulation level in protoplasts to those observed with the wild-type (wt) MP. Synthetic peptides representin…
Short seed-dispersal distances and low seedling recruitment in farmland populations of bird-dispersed cherry trees
2012
Summary In Central Europe, many plant populations are patchily distributed in human-modified landscapes and depend on animal vectors for seed dispersal. To predict seed-dispersal distances and locations of seeds of wild cherry trees (Prunus avium L.) in forest and farmland habitats in a human-modified landscape, we integrate movement data and seed regurgitation times of the Common Blackbird (Turdus merula L.) in a simulation model. We performed feeding trials with Common Blackbirds and wild cherries to determine the distribution of regurgitation times. We captured 32 male blackbirds and equipped them with radio tags to follow their movements in forest and farmland habitats. To simulate the …