Salinity is one of the oldest and most serious environmental problems in the world. The increasingly widespread salinization of soils and water resources represents a growing threat to agriculture around the world. A strategy to cope with this problem is to cultivate salt-tolerant crops and, therefore, it is necessary to identify plant species that are naturally adapted to high-salinity conditions. In this review, we focus our attention on some plant species that can be considered among the most representative halophytes of the Mediterranean region; they can be potential resources, such as new or relatively new vegetable crops, to produce raw or minimally processed (or ready-to-eat) products, considering their nutritional properties and nutraceuticals. The main biological and agronomic characteristics of these species and the potential health risks due to mycotoxigenic fungi have been analyzed and summarized in a dedicated section. The objective of this review is to illustrate the main biological and agronomical characteristics of the most common halophytic species in the Mediterranean area, which could expand the range of leafy vegetables on the market.

The recent growing interest in lactose intolerance has resulted in the proliferation of lactose-free products by food manufacturing companies. Since updated papers about lactose and its uses are missing, the main purpose of this review is to investigate this sugar comprehensively. Firstly, its chemical and physical characteristics were studied, following its employment in the food and drug industries. The positive and negative health-related effects of lactose are reported, focusing on the condition of lactose intolerance, for which an adequate lactose-free diet has to be followed to avoid symptoms that impairs quality of life. Considering that EU legislation on lactose-free product labelling is still controversial, suitable options for producing and identifying lactose-free products are suggested, in order to meet lactose-intolerant people’s needs.

Flaxseed has been recently studied for the formulation of healthy functional foods that are also useful for the prevention of chronic diseases. In this context, the production of sourdough bread fortified with different percentages of flaxseed cake was performed and the interactions among the bioactive compounds derived from both sourdough and flaxseed cake were investigated. The organoleptic properties as well as nutraceutical and chemical characteristics regarding pH, ethanol, lactic and acetic acid content, fatty acids profile, the concentration of total polyphenols, antioxidant capacity, and aroma volatile organic compounds were determined to evaluate the efficacy of leavening in the different matrices in comparison with the traditional bread. The results obtained demonstrated that flaxseed cake-enriched sourdough bread can represent a potential vehicle for bioactive compounds with the possibility of obtaining high-quality products with improved nutritional profiles and desired health attributes. Furthermore, the bread obtained with the addition of 7.5% of flaxseed cake was individuated as the best formulation to produce sourdough bread fortified with flaxseed cake by the overlap between three series of information coming from physical-chemical, nutritional, and sensorial analyses. In conclusion, in the operating conditions adopted, the use of flaxseed cake could represent a viable alternative for the production of fortified bread based on sourdough technology.

Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) is becoming more and more important in the health food market as a functional food, since its seeds and oil represent a rich source of bioactive compounds. Its chemical composition is strongly correlated with, and dependent on, genetic characteristics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the variation in seed yield, oil content, fatty acid composition and secondary metabolite profiles between a low-linolenic linseed variety, belonging to the Solin-type group (Solal), and a high-linolenic traditional one (Bethune), cultivated, both as spring crops, in open field conditions of Central Italy. The achieved results pointed out the different behavior of the two varieties in terms of growth cycle, oil content, and some important yield components, such as capsule number per plant and thousand seed weight. There were also significant differences in seed composition regarding total phenols, total flavonoids, antioxidant activities as well as in carotenoid, tocopherol, and tocotrienol profiles between the two varieties. In particular, Solal was characterized by the greatest contents of oil, phenols, flavonoids, α- and δ- tocotrienol, together with the highest antioxidant activity. Bethune, on the contrary, showed the highest amounts of carotenoids (lutein and β-carotene). These results indicate a clear effect of the genetic characteristics on the biosynthesis of these secondary metabolites and, consequently, on the related antioxidant activity. Our findings suggest that the mutation process, responsible for the selection of the low-linolenic cultivar, is able to modify the biosynthetic pathways of carotenoids and phenolics.

This research aimed to study the effects of packaging and storage temperature on the shelf-life of an extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) as it can occur in most points of sale. The evolution of the chemical and sensory characteristics of an EVOO, initially stored in stainless steel silos under nitrogen at 12-18 °C, was evaluated after packaging. Tinplate tin (TT) and greenish glass (GG), the most used packaging containers, and temperatures of 6 and 26 °C were taken into consideration. After 125 days from packaging all the samples maintained clearness, green and yellow reflections and the positive sensory notes of bitterness and pungency of the starting EVOO. Shelf-life of EVOO was significantly affected by different storage conditions: oil samples stored in GG at 6 °C preserved for the most part the positive attributes, whereas those stored in TT at 26 °C showed a significant presence of the rancid flavor due to oxidative processes. Moreover, samples stored in GG at 6 °C maintained the highest bitterness intensity and did not show defects at the end of the storage period. The results suggest that storage in GG at a low temperature could represent a promising storage condition to slow-down the oil degradation during market storage.