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The present research represents a further contribution to the available literature about the analytical composition of primitive wheats, including the complete range of relevant bioactives and lesser investigated species. The data do not support an overall superiority of primitive forms, but evidenced interesting, potentially exploitable, between- and within-species variability.

A new CZE method was developed and compared with HPLC for the determination of (E)-10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA) in royal jelly (RJ) samples of different geographical origin. The results obtained with the CZE method were highly correlated with those of HPLC (p < 0.01). Under optimized conditions, CZE employed minimal amounts of 50 mM tetraborate buffer as BGE, without the addition of organic solvents, EOF or pH modifiers. The CZE method showed a wide linear response range (0.006-0.808 mg 10-HDA/mL), a good sensitivity (LOD and LOQ were 0.002 and 0.004 mg/mL, respectively) and a satisfactory instrumental repeatability with respect to migration time and peak area (RSD% less than 1.0 and 2.0% on migration time for intra- and interday assay, respectively and less than 2.0 and for 4.0% on peak area for intra- and interday assay, respectively). The 10-HDA content in RJ ranged from 0.8 to 3.2 g/100 g of RJ and a significant difference (p < 0.05) was found between the Italian and extra-European average values: 2.5 and 1.6 g/100 g of RJ, respectively, according to the CZE data. The possibility of application of CZE for routine analyses on RJ and RJ based products to verify their authenticity is highlighted here.

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This paper represented the first cross-country comparison of local kale accessions with respect to bioactive compound amounts. Both geographic origin and growing environment appeared to be remarkable and discriminating factors in determining bioactive levels in leafy kales, with possible effects on their health-promoting and sensorial attributes.

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Royal jelly (RJ) is a beehive product that has gained a significant scientific and commercial interest due to its healthy properties. In the present study, lipid content, fatty acid profile and phytosterol amount were determined in eight local and four commercial pure RJ samples. A mixture of diethyl ether/isopropanol 50/1 (v/v) was chosen to extract fat matter from RJ. Lipid amounts ranged from 2.3 and 7.2 % and from 2.0 to 3.2 % of the fresh product in local and commercial RJ, respectively. Fourteen fatty acids and three phytosterols were identified. About 70 % of the total fatty acids consisted of (E)-10-hydroxy-2-decenoic and 10-hydroxydecanoic acid. No significant difference was observed between local and commercial samples in regards to the relative amount of individual fatty acids. Sterols were in the range 179-701 and 329-1,097 mg kg -1 of fat in local and commercial RJ, respectively. A significant difference (p B 0.05) was observed within RJ types in regards to the 24-methylenecholesterol fraction, amounting to 77 and 67 % of identified sterols in local and commercial products, respectively.

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