Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders which have a severe life-long effect on behavior and social functioning, and which are associated with metabolic abnormalities. Their diagnosis is on the basis of behavioral and developmental signs usually detected before three years of age, and there is no reliable biological marker. The objective of this study was to establish the volatile urinary metabolomic profiles of 24 autistic children and 21 healthy children (control group) to investigate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as potential biomarkers for ASDs. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) using DVB/CAR/PDMS sorbent coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was used to obtain the metabolomic information patterns. Urine samples were analyzed under both acid and alkaline pH, to profile a range of urinary components with different physicochemical properties. Multivariate statistics techniques were applied to bioanalytical data to visualize clusters of cases and to detect the VOCs able to differentiate autistic patients from healthy children. In particular, orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) achieved very good separation between autistic and control groups under both acidic and alkaline pH, identifying discriminating metabolites. Among these, 3-methyl-cyclopentanone, 3-methyl-butanal, 2-methyl-butanal, and hexane under acid conditions, and 2-methyl-pyrazine, 2,3-dimethyl-pyrazine, and isoxazolo under alkaline pH had statistically higher levels in urine samples from autistic children than from the control group. Further investigation with a higher number of patients should be performed to outline the metabolic origins of these variables, define a possible association with ASDs, and verify the usefulness of these variables for early-stage diagnosis. Figure

Foodborne diseases continue to represent an important public health issue. The control of food spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms is achieved mainly by synthetic chemicals, unfortunately associated to several undesirable aspects. The growing requirement for new and safe alternative strategies has resulted in the research of agents from natural sources with antimicrobial properties, such as essential oils (EOs). This study’s purpose was to define the antibacterial profile of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and cloves (Syzygium aromaticum) essential oils against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative important foodborne pathogenic bacteria. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis was performed for EOs’ chemical composition. Qualitative in vitro antimicrobial assays (i.e., agar well diffusion method and disk-volatilization method) allowed for verification of the efficacy of EOs, used individually and in binary combination and both in liquid and vapor phase, against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli food isolates. Minimal inhibitory concentrations and minimal bactericidal concentration values have been used to quantitatively measure the antibacterial activity of EOs, while the fractional inhibitory concentration index has been considered as a predictor of in vitro antibacterial synergistic effects. The microbiological tests suggest that thyme and cloves EOs, rich in bioactive compounds, are able to inhibit the growth of tested foodborne bacteria, especially in vapor phase, also with synergistic effects. Results provide evidence to consider the tested essential oils as promising sources for development of new, broad-spectrum, green food preservatives.

The study is aimed at developing a new cereal-based product, with increased nutritional quality, by using natural fermentation of blends of chestnut and rye flour. In spite of the remarkable similarity, the\ud technological potential of combinations of both flours has never been explored before. Three spontaneous\ud chestnut/rye sourdough fermentations were performed over a period of twelve days with daily\ud back-slopping. Samples taken at all refreshment steps were used for culture-dependent and cultureindependent\ud evaluation of the microbiota present. Dominant species basically overlapped to those\ud associated to sourdoughs strengthened with chestnut flour, such as Pediococcus pentosaceus or Weissella\ud paramesenteroides. Microstructures, evaluated by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy, revealed the\ud presence in chestnut sourdoughs of a distinguishable network surrounding starch granules, while rye\ud flour-added sourdoughs showed a less structured matrix. By gas chromatography coupled to mass\ud spectrometry, 51 volatile organic compounds were identified at 24 h and after prolonged fermentation.\ud Within volatile organic compounds, alcohols, esters, acids, aldehydes and ketones, all well-known\ud flavour compounds in sourdough fermentation, appeared as dominant. The PCA discriminated the\ud sourdoughs into three distinct clusters and highlighted a clear influence of fermentation time on the\ud volatile composition of sourdoughs