Francesco Lanuzza

Citrus waste recovery: a new environmentally friendly procedure to obtain animal feed

Citrus juice centrifugation pulp is the semi-solid product obtained from the industrial centrifugation of juices, to obtain a clear juice. This waste causes many economic and environmental problems because of its fermentability. In this paper we describe a method which makes it possible to obtain animal feed from citrus juice centrifugation pulp. To this end, alkaline and/or enzymatic treatments were carried out on the centrifugation pulp. These treatments facilitate pressing and so help to produce a material which, using suitable methods, may be dried. Enzyme treatment proved to be the most efficient of the methods under investigation designed to favour the pressing of the pulp. The product obtained with this method showed excellent digestibility in vitro and its protein content, although not especially high, compared favourably with that of many other agroindustrial waste products currently used as components of animal feed.

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of the biologically active principle hypericin in phytotherapeutic vegetable extracts and alcoholic beverages

Hypericin was determined using an RP C18 (3 microns) column 8.3 x 0.4 cm I.D.), thermostated at 50 degrees C. The separation was achieved with programmed elution using phosphate buffer (pH 7)-methanol (3:7) and watermethanol (3:7) as eluents. Fluorimetric detection was carried out with excitation at 470 nm and emission at 590 nm. The analytical sample was prepared by simple dilution in methanol of the phytotherapeutic extract or of the alcoholic beverage. Hypericin can be rapidly and accurately determined at concentrations down to 0.1 mg/kg without any interferences.

Protective effect of Calamintha officinalis Moench leaves against alcohol-induced gastric mucosa injury in rats. Macroscopic, histologic and phytochemical analysis.

Calamintha officinalis Moench (Lamiaceae) is an aromatic plant used since ancient times for its preservative and medicinal properties. The plant, known as ‘Mentuccia’ in Central Italy, is used in cooking as an aromatizant and to impart aroma and flavour to food. The methanol extract of the leaves was subjected to phytochemical and biological investigations. The extract contains polyphenols, catechic tannins and terpenes and shows radical scavenger activity. By means of HPLC analysis, eriocitrin, eriodyctiol, acacetin, linarin, benzoic acid and some phenolic acids, such as caffeic, chlorogenic, p‐coumaric, were determined. The gastroprotective activity of the extract was investigated using ethanol‐induced ulcer in rats, with sucralfate as a reference drug. Samples of gastric mucosa, stained by PAS and haematoxylin/eosin, were observed by light microscopy. The efficacy of the extract was comparable to that of the reference drug.

Polyphenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Cold-Pressed Seed Oil from Finola Cultivar of Cannabis sativa L.

The aim of this study was to characterize the polyphenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of cold‐pressed seed oil from Finola cultivar of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.). Several methodologies have been employed to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant activity of Finola hempseed oil (FHSO) and both lipophilic (LF) and hydrophilic fractions (HF). The qualitative and quantitative composition of the phenolic fraction of FHSO was performed by HPLC analyses. From the results is evident that FHSO has high antioxidative activity, as measured by DPPH radical (146.76 mmol of TE/100 g oil), inhibited β‐carotene bleaching, quenched a chemically generated peroxyl radical in vitro and showed high ferrous ion chelating activity. Reactivity towards 2,2′‐azino‐bis (3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) radical cation and ferric‐reducing antioxidant power values were 695.2 µmol of TE/100g oil and 3690.6 µmol of TE/100 g oil respectively. FHSO contains a significant amount of phenolic compounds of which 2780.4 mg of quercetin equivalent/100 g of total flavonoids. The whole oil showed higher antioxidant activity compared with LF and HF. Our findings indicate that the significant antioxidant properties shown from Finola seed oil might generally depend on the phenolic compounds, especially flavonoids, such as flavanones, flavonols, flavanols and isoflavones. Copyright

Antiinflammatory and antioxidant activity of Hypericum rumeliacum Boiss. subsp. apollinis (Boiss. & Heldr.) Robson & Strid methanol extract

Plants of the genus Hypericum are widely used in folk medicine for the treatment of gastric ailments (including pectic ulcers), burns, swelling, inflammation, anxiety, as well as for bacterial and viral infections. The aerial parts of Hypericum rumeliacum Boiss. subsp. apollinis (Boiss. & Heldr.) Robson & Strid (Guttiferae), a perennial herb growing wild in Greece, were subjected to biological and phytochemical studies. The H. rumeliacum methanol extract showed, on the DPPH test, antioxidant activity (IC50 = 23.61 µg/mL).

Separation of alkanes in Citrus essential oils by on-line coupled high-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution gas chromatography

The development of gas chromatography (GC) and especially high-resolution GC (HRGC) has made it possible to study essential oils in depth. The high resolving power of capillary columns has allowed separations of the many components present, but the great complexity of the matrices often requires the use of different stationary phases and the use of mass spectrometry (MS) in order to identify the components accurately. Sometimes not even MS is able to identify all the components because similar components give similar fractionation patterns, e.g., as happens with sesquiterpenes’. The recently developed coupling of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with HRGC has been a great help towards improving our knowledge of the composition of essential oils ‘g3 because it is possible to use simultaneously the high , separating power of HPLC and HRGC to separate the numerous components which are present. The components are first separated by HPLC into relatively small volume of eluate which can be introduced on-line into the gas chromatograph, thus avoiding too much handling of the sample, which can lead to errors. The alkanes in Citrus essential oils have not been studied much up to now4-‘. On-line HPLC-HRGC with concurrent solvent evaporation’-” has been used in our research to study the alkane fraction of cold-pressed Citrus essential oils. The HPLC eluate is injected into the gas chromalograph by using the concurrent solvent evaporation technique. The temperature of the GC column is maintained at a higher value than boiling point of the HPLC eluent, taking into account both the composition of the eluent and the inlet pressure of carrier gas”*r2.

Studies About the Utilization of Citrus Wastes in View of Environment Protection

The increasing needs to protect environment require a correct management of wastes, including agro industry wastes deriving from citrus processing. These industries produce in the world an amount of wastes estimated in about 14 million t every year. This chapter concerns the utilisation of citrus industry wastes as peels and refining pulps of the juices. From these wastes it is possible to obtain products employed in the alimentary and pharmaceutical industries, as pectin, mucilage, flavonoids and feed for animals. In particular, lemon peels are mostly utilized in order to obtain good quality pectin, instead orange peels and juice pulp are used for production of fodders. From lemon juice pulp it is possible to draw mucilage and flavonoids. Furthermore citrus wastes may be treated and valued in order to obtain derivatives utilizable as source of energy, that are bioethanol and biogas obtained by fermentation and other materials useful by physical treatments. Therefore, the procedures described appear attractive in economic terms adding value to this waste and beneficial to the environment reducing the microbiological contamination too.

A Technical and Ecomonic Suervey of Technologies for Recycling Exhausted Lead-Acid Battery

In this paper the Italian situation related to the regulation, the collection and the quantity of the exhausted lead acid batteries was examined. In 1998 Italian lead production was 210,000 tons, 90,000 of which derived from the recycling industry; this quantity was equal to 33% of the national requirement that is around 270,000 tons yearly. The quantity of exhausted lead-acid batteries collected in 1999 was 166,500 tons, equal to 95% of the total collected. The technologies of recycling allowed us to recover almost all the materials employed for their manufacture; in addition to lead, polypropylene and PVC were also recovered. In this paper the commonly used technologies of lead recovery, based on two processes: the pyrometallurgical and the electrochemical were examined from a technological, economic and environmental impact point of view. Both processes showed advantages and disadvantages, even if a general evaluation was difficult. In a global evaluation, taking into consideration the materials to recycle, the relationship between costs and benefits and the environmental implications, the available data allowed us to identify the pyrometallurgical process as that with the highest efficiency.

Antioxidant phytochemicals of Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. cladodes with potential anti-spasmodic activity

Background: Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) (L.) Mill. (Cactaceae), a plant widespread in dry regions of the world, shows interesting biological activities (cicatrizant, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, and hypolipidemic) and is widely used in traditional medicine. Objectives: Phytochemical analysis and antispasmodic effect of wild OFI cladodes were carried out. Material and Methods: Polyphenols and Vitamin E occurrence, in antioxidant pool of OFI cladodes, were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. The antispasmodic effect of OFI cladodes was assessed in isolated rabbit smooth muscle tissues. The experiments were carried out with preparations of rabbit jejunum and uterus with the spontaneous contractile activity, to evaluate the effect of cumulative concentrations of the extract on basal tone, amplitude, and frequency of contractions. Results: Catechin, quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin and chlorogenic, ferulic, and p-coumaric acid were identified. α -, β -, and γ -tocopherols have been highlighted and α -tocopherol is the major component. OFI cladodes contain significant amount of polyphenols and tocopherols that are effective radical scavengers and inhibited ethanol 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl formation by 50%. OFI cladodes caused a light inhibition of amplitude and frequency of spontaneous contractions and a marked decrease in muscle basal tone of rabbit jejunum preparations. On spontaneously contracting uterus preparations, the addition of increasing concentrations of cladode extract caused uterine muscle relaxation. Conclusion: The contraction of smooth muscle preparations depends on an increase in cytoplasmic free calcium ion concentration, which activates the contractile elements. The flavonoids may suppress the contractility of smooth myocytes, by an inhibition of availability of Ca2+ for muscle contraction. Abbreviations used: OFI: Opuntia ficus-indica, DPPH: Ethanol 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl.