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Effects of boiling and steaming cooking methods were studied on total polyphenols, antioxidant capacity, and biogenic amines of three green bean varieties, purple, yellow, and green. The vegetables gave good values both for antioxidant capacity and for phenolics content, with the purple variety being the richest in healthful components. Both the heat treatments affected the antioxidant properties of these vegetables, with boiling that reduced the initial antioxidant capacity till 30% in the yellow variety, having the same trend for total polyphenols, with the major decrement of 43% in the green variety. On the contrary, biogenic amines significantly increased only after boiling in green and yellow variety, while purple variety did not show any changes in biogenic amines after cooking. The steaming method showed being better cooking approach in order to preserve the antioxidant properties of green beans varieties and to maintain the biogenic amines content at the lowest level.

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The chemical composition of the inflorescences from four Cannabis sativa L. monoecious cultivars (Ferimon, Uso-31, Felina 32 and Fedora 17), recently introduced in the Lazio Region, was monitored over the season from June to September giving indications on their sensorial, pharmaceutical/nutraceutical proprieties. Both untargeted (NMR) and targeted (GC/MS, UHPLC, HPLC-PDA/FD and spectrophotometry) analyses were carried out to identify and quantify compounds of different classes (sugars, organic acids, amino acids, cannabinoids, terpenoids, phenols, tannins, flavonoids and biogenic amines). All cultivars in each harvesting period showed a THC content below the Italian legal limit, although in general THC content increased over the season. Citric acid, malic acid and glucose showed the highest content in the late flowering period, whereas the content of proline drastically decreased after June in all cultivars. Neophytadiene, nerolidol and chlorogenic acid were quantified only in Felina 32 cultivar, characterized also by a very high content of flavonoids, whereas alloaromadendrene and trans-cinnamic acid were detected only in Uso-31 cultivar. Naringenin and naringin were present only in Fedora 17 and Ferimon cultivars, respectively. Moreover, Ferimon had the highest concentration of biogenic amines, especially in July and August. Cadaverine was present in all cultivars but only in September. These results suggest that the chemical composition of Cannabis sativa L. inflorescences depends on the cultivar and on the harvesting period. Producers can use this information as a guide to obtain inflorescences with peculiar chemical characteristics according to the specific use.

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Authentication of a food product is the procedure by which it is verified that the product matches the statements on the label, and that it conforms to what is established by regulations. This testing process includes analysis of the ingredients, determination of the geographical origin, and examination of the production methods. In particular, the use of rapid, effective and reliable analytical methods, when correctly applied to verify the authenticity and the traceability of the product, represents a valuable and irreplaceable tool for the authorities to carry out control functions. Tools and methodologies from scientific innovation and technological evolution can help to quickly locate particularly sophisticated frauds and adulterations. The feeding regime of livestock is a fundamental issue for the properties and safety of animal origin food, but this regime is often hidden from the consumer, making the zootechnical sector more prone to fraudulent practices. This review reports the results recently obtained in authentication of animal origin food by the application of stable-isotope ratio analysis, the most promising analytical technique in this field.

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