The antioxidants in goji berry (Lycium spp.) fruits might confer many health protective benefits by alleviating oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to describe quality traits and the level of potentially bioactive compounds (HPLC fingerprint) and their influence on fruit phytocomplex and antioxidant activity in goji in comparison to the most common fruits. Goji berry was identified as a rich source of antioxidant compounds, with health-promoting properties comparable to other common fruit species.The obtained fingerprint may be useful to better understand the nutraceutical traits of this species recently considered as functional food thanks to its antioxidant properties.

Modern food production is very diverse with high levels of specialisation and complexity. These features inevitably reflect on methods in the application of LCA to food products and agro-systems. System boundaries, functional units, allocation procedures and several other aspects contribute to there being substantial differentiation in the structure of LCA applications in fruit production systems, leading to significantly different results. Indeed, although scientific literature on the topic is recent and not particularly extensive, there are already many different ways of conducting LCAs in orchards. The aim of this paper is to propose a framework for selecting the best parameters for an LCA application in fruit production systems according to the objective of the study. This has been achieved by reviewing the scientific and technical literature on the topic. In particular papers from international journals and conference proceedings have been considered and the review has covered all main aspects for conducting an LCA in fruit production systems. The particular characteristics considered were objectives, system boundaries, the product considered, the functional unit, data origin and the environmental impact assessment method used. A substantial part of the paper is devoted to the modelling of the orchard, as this is key to a reliable application of any impact assessment approach. Rather than merely describing the theoretical model, this paper presents concrete recommendations about how to build the orchard system for LCA application avoiding over or under-estimations of the different orchard stages.

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The increasing interest in healthy and natural foods has raised the attention towards uncommon or unexplored ingredients, such as edible flowers. These products are proven to be a rich source of bioactive compounds, for example, vitamins or polyphenols that play an important role in health promotion and disease prevention. However, plant species with edible flowers are numerous and most of them still need to be studied with this aim. The high species richness of North-Western Italy provides interesting perspectives in the use of wild edible flowers, which are currently underutilized, but can be a valuable food source or food supplement for healthy diets. In this framework, the phytochemical composition of 22 wild edible flowers was analysed and compared with that of four cultivated species (Borago officinalis L., Calendula officinalis L., Tagetes patula L. and Tropaeolum majus L.) to evaluate their potentiality as sources of bioactive compounds. The total polyphenol content (TPC) and antioxidant activity of the fresh flowers were assessed, together with their phenolic profiles and vitamin C content, through spectrophotometric and chromatographic analyses. The evaluated parameters varied widely among species, with Paeonia officinalis L. and Rosa pendulina L. showing the highest values of polyphenols (1,930 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE) · 100 g−1 and 1,774 mg GAE · 100 g−1, respectively), followed by Rosa canina L. (1,397 mg GAE · 100 g−1) and Geranium sylvaticum L. (1,268 mg GAE · 100 g−1). The same species also showed the highest antioxidant activity, measured with three different assays [ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS)]. The phenolic profile differed among the studied species, with Dianthus pavonius Tausch and R. pendulina having the highest sum of detected polyphenols (2,522 mg · 100 g−1 and 2,366 mg · 100 g−1, respectively). Vitamin C was identified in all but two flowers (Allium ursinum L. and B. officinalis) and Primula veris L. had the highest amount (45 mg · 100 g−1). The study showed that wild edible flowers outperformed the cultivated species, except for T. majus, providing new insights for the use of wild edible flowers as sources of bioactive compounds.

Interest in new sources of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds has recently become a major research issue, with the cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) receiving particular attention for its significant amounts of phenolic compounds and vitamins, which exhibit a wide range of biological and pharmacological properties. This study was aimed at increasing knowledge regarding the cornelian cherry in Italy through the analysis of biologically active substances in the locally available genotype "Chieri". Spectrophotometric methods were applied to evaluate antioxidant activity, total anthocyanin content and total polyphenolic content. Identification and quantification of the main phytochemical compounds (polyphenols, monoterpenes, organic acids and vitamin C) was performed via high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a diode array detector. C. mas extracts showed high levels of total soluble solids and low acidity. High amounts of phenolic secondary metabolites were observed, with particular reference to anthocyanins (134.71 mg/100 g), which confer remarkable nutraceutical properties to the analysed samples. These results highlight the potential of C. mas fruits as a good source of natural antioxidants, suggesting their use as a functional food. Future studies should focus on identifying other specific phytochemical compounds and the genetic traits of local varieties in order to improve cornelian cherry cultivars for food and medicine production.

With the diffusion of commercial apple varieties since the second half of the last century, hundreds of different local cultivars rapidly disappeared from orchards in Italy, and the particular quality attributes of these fruits are still at risk of being lost today. The aim of this research was to use sensory, nutritional and genetic techniques in order to define the overall quality of fruits from ancient apple cultivars grown in Northern Italy. Cluster analysis arranged the 10 genotypes into five groups; in most cases, the analyzed cultivars demonstrated higher sensory and nutritional qualities than the control (Golden Delicious cv). The cultivars showed higher values of total polyphenolic compounds and a stronger antioxidant activity. The vitamin C content also differed from the control. The sensory analysis, performed by the Fruit Tasters Italian Organization, was an effective characterization tool and genetic analysis further helped to characterize the identity of these interesting cultivars. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe characterization and valorization of old apple cultivars are essential to avoid loss of potentially useful germplasm. The reduction of biodiversity of cultivars found in agriculture could lead to problems such as higher susceptibility to widespread outbreaks of plant diseases and pests, and at the same time, the loss of precious source of nutrients. The conservation of apple biodiversity is valuable in order to maintain the gene pool of the species and to introduce superior quality traits into apple-breeding programs.bs_bs_banner Journal of Food Quality

Purpose Several scientific papers and technical reports have discussed the role of green public procurement in the food sector. Different strategies for the restoration sector have been identified. However, there is not yet a common understanding of which policies could be the most efficient in reducing the global warming potential of the public restoration service. This paper assesses a set of procurement policies, ranking them according to their potential to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of public catering. Methods Eleven relevant green public procurement policies were identified from the literature. These are discussed in the context of a case study of the school catering service in the city of Turin (Italy). Initially, a life cycle approach is applied to a baseline scenario of the collective restoration system of the city, to quantify the quantity of greenhouse gases produced by the entire catering service (including all stages from the production of food to the management of waste from kitchens and canteens). Afterwards, the 11 policies were applied to the baseline scenario so that the potential improvement achieved by each policy could be quantified. Results and discussion The baseline scenario resulted in 1.67 kgCO 2 eq per average meal. The production of food dominates the global warming potential of the full service, being responsible for about 78% of the greenhouse gas emissions. Among the selected policies, a change in diet was the most effective (leading to a 32% reduction of the CO 2 eq emissions), followed by the adoption of improved food production practices (11% reduction) and the purchasing of certified green electricity (6% reduction). Conclusions The proposed method allows the assessment of procurement policies in the catering service by applying a simplified life cycle approach that considers all the stages of the process. Public authorities and other stakeholders could benefit from basing their decisions upon scientific evidence and avoiding the prioritisation of policies based on personal opinions or weak evidence. Uncertainties and areas for improvement in the method have been also identified for future investigation.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) establish mutualistic symbiotic associations with plant roots and act as biofertilizers by enhancing plant nutrient and water uptake. Moreover, AMF colonization may influence the biosynthesis of plant bioactive compounds in medicinal and aromatic plants. There is limited information on AMF associations with Crocus sativus L. (saffron) roots and their effect on crop performances and spice quality. In the present work we verified the efficiency of root mycorrhization in potted conditions, then we evaluated the yield and quality of the saffron produced in two Alpine sites during two cultivation cycles with the application of AMF. Two inocula were applied, either a single-species (Rhizophagus intraradices) or a multi-species mixture (R. intraradices and Funneliformis mosseae). The trial conducted in potted conditions confirmed that both AMF commercial inocula established symbiotic relationships with saffron roots. The multi-species inoculation yielded the highest content of arbuscules in colonized portions of the root (100%), while the single-species was slightly less (82.9%) and no AMF were recorded in untreated control corms. In open-field conditions, AMF colonization of the root systems, flower production, and saffron yields were monitored, and bioactive compounds contents and antioxidant activity in the dried spice were analysed using spectrophotometry and high performance liquid chromatography. Overall, the saffron produced was high quality (ISO category) and had high contents of bioactive compounds, with very high total polyphenol content and elevated antioxidant activity. The use of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbionts as biostimulants positively affected saffron cultivation, improving the crop performances and the content of important nutraceutical compounds. In particular, the inoculum composed by R. intraradices and F. mosseae increased flower production and the saffron yield. R. intraradices alone enhanced the spice antioxidant activity and the content of bioactive compounds such as picrocrocin, crocin II, and quercitrin. Since saffron is the world’s highest priced spice, the increases in yield and quality obtained using AMF suggests that farms in marginal areas such as alpine sites can increase profitability by inoculating saffron fields with arbuscular mycorrhiza.