This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
The microbiota of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheeses plays an essential role in defining their quality and typicity and could be applied to protect these products from counterfeiting. To study the possible role of cheese microbiota in distinguishing Grana Padano (GP) cheese from generical hard cheeses (HC), the microbial structure of 119 GP cheese samples was studied by DNA metabarcoding and DNA metafingerprinting and compared with 49 samples of generical hard cheeses taken from retail. DNA metabarcoding highlighted the presence, as dominant taxa, of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus helveticus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Limosilactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactobacillus spp., and Lactococcus spp. in both GP cheese and HC. Differential multivariate statistical analysis of metataxonomic and metafingerprinting data highlighted significant differences in the Shannon index, bacterial composition, and species abundance within both dominant and subdominant taxa between the two cheese groups. A supervised Neural Network (NN) classification tool, trained by metagenotypic data, was implemented, allowing to correctly classify GP cheese and HC samples. Further implementation and validation to increase the robustness and improve the predictive capacity of the NN classifier will be needed. Nonetheless, the proposed tool opens interesting perspectives in helping protection and valorization of GP and other PDO cheeses.
Miriam Zago; Lia Rossetti; Tommaso Bardelli; Domenico Carminati; Nelson Nazzicari; Giorgio Giraffa. Bacterial Community of Grana Padano PDO Cheese and Generical Hard Cheeses: DNA Metabarcoding and DNA Metafingerprinting Analysis to Assess Similarities and Differences. Foods 2021, 10, 1826 .
AMA StyleMiriam Zago, Lia Rossetti, Tommaso Bardelli, Domenico Carminati, Nelson Nazzicari, Giorgio Giraffa. Bacterial Community of Grana Padano PDO Cheese and Generical Hard Cheeses: DNA Metabarcoding and DNA Metafingerprinting Analysis to Assess Similarities and Differences. Foods. 2021; 10 (8):1826.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMiriam Zago; Lia Rossetti; Tommaso Bardelli; Domenico Carminati; Nelson Nazzicari; Giorgio Giraffa. 2021. "Bacterial Community of Grana Padano PDO Cheese and Generical Hard Cheeses: DNA Metabarcoding and DNA Metafingerprinting Analysis to Assess Similarities and Differences." Foods 10, no. 8: 1826.
In this study, the life cycle assessment (LCA) principle was performed to estimate the environmental impact of three dairy farms that operate using different farming systems, namely, conventional (CON), organic (ORG), and high-quality (HQ) modes. In Italy, the typical style of high-quality (HQ) farming is commonly included in the conventional system but is more strictly regulated by the Decree of the Italian Ministry of Health N° 185/1991. Although the farms are not fully representative of each conduct, they showed intrinsic peculiarities, e.g., the cow-culling rate of each system. This rate requires a quantification as it may be related to loss of income. Allocation criteria were applied to attribute the quantities of pollutants to the co-products: wheat, involved in the congruence and number of cows culled, the latter being undesirable and therefore necessary to quantify. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) highlighted that the no-dairy products significantly mitigated (p < 0.05) some of the impacts’ categories. The allocation of culled cows decreased the impacts of the CON and particularly those of the ORG farms when the mass mode was adopted. HQ showed values similar to the results without allocation. Overall, the objective of identifying a “marker” of undesirable products, estimated by the culling rate, was partially achieved.
Elio Romano; Rocco Roma; Flavio Tidona; Giorgio Giraffa; Andrea Bragaglio. Dairy Farms and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): The Allocation Criterion Useful to Estimate Undesirable Products. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4354 .
AMA StyleElio Romano, Rocco Roma, Flavio Tidona, Giorgio Giraffa, Andrea Bragaglio. Dairy Farms and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): The Allocation Criterion Useful to Estimate Undesirable Products. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (8):4354.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElio Romano; Rocco Roma; Flavio Tidona; Giorgio Giraffa; Andrea Bragaglio. 2021. "Dairy Farms and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): The Allocation Criterion Useful to Estimate Undesirable Products." Sustainability 13, no. 8: 4354.
Lactobacillus helveticus carries many properties such as the ability to survive gastrointestinal transit, modulate the host immune response, accumulate biopeptides in milk, and adhere to the epithelial cells that could contribute to improving host health. In this study, the applicability as functional cultures of four L. helveticus strains isolated from Italian hard cheeses was investigated. A preliminary strain characterization showed that the ability to produce folate was generally low while antioxidant, proteolytic, peptidase, and β-galactosidase activities resulted high, although very variable, between strains. When stimulated moDCs were incubated in the presence of live cells, a dose-dependent release of both the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-12p70 and the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, was shown for all the four strains. In the presence of cell-free culture supernatants (postbiotics), a dose-dependent, decrease of IL-12p70 and an increase of IL-10 was generally observed. The immunomodulatory effect took place also in Caciotta-like cheese made with strains SIM12 and SIS16 as bifunctional (i.e., immunomodulant and acidifying) starter cultures, thus confirming tests in culture media. Given that the growth of bacteria in the cheese was not necessary (they were killed by pasteurization), the results indicated that some constituents of non-viable bacteria had immunomodulatory properties. This study adds additional evidence for the positive role of L. helveticus on human health and suggests cheese as a suitable food for delivering candidate strains and modulating their anti-inflammatory properties.
Miriam Zago; Lucia Massimiliano; Barbara Bonvini; Giuseppe Penna; Giorgio Giraffa; Maria Rescigno. Functional characterization and immunomodulatory properties of Lactobacillus helveticus strains isolated from Italian hard cheeses. PLOS ONE 2021, 16, e0245903 .
AMA StyleMiriam Zago, Lucia Massimiliano, Barbara Bonvini, Giuseppe Penna, Giorgio Giraffa, Maria Rescigno. Functional characterization and immunomodulatory properties of Lactobacillus helveticus strains isolated from Italian hard cheeses. PLOS ONE. 2021; 16 (1):e0245903.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMiriam Zago; Lucia Massimiliano; Barbara Bonvini; Giuseppe Penna; Giorgio Giraffa; Maria Rescigno. 2021. "Functional characterization and immunomodulatory properties of Lactobacillus helveticus strains isolated from Italian hard cheeses." PLOS ONE 16, no. 1: e0245903.
The aim of this work was to search for new candidate strains to be included in a culture for Crescenza, a rindless soft cheese, today produced mainly at industrial level using selected starter cultures composed of S. thermophilus. Performance testing was applied to 29 pre-selected strains and a scoring approach was developed to identify the most suitable candidates to be employed in Crescenza cheesemaking. Eight S. thermophilus strains fulfilling most of the desired properties (e.g., high phage resistance, fast acidification rate, no growth below 20 °C, NaCl sensibility, no post acidification at 4 °C) were selected. These strains were grouped in pairs to design different starter culture formulations, which were preliminary tested for the production of Crescenza cheeses at laboratory scale. Two couples of binary cultures (designed Phage rotation 1 and Phage rotation 2) were finally designed and used as starters in pilot scale cheesemaking. The combinations, especially those designed in Phage rotation 1, appeared to be suitable for Crescenza production and showed mutual similarity in terms of strain characteristics, technological performance, and cheese quality. The selection method and ranking approach presented in this work may be adapted to other species of LAB showing traits of industrial interest.
Flavio Tidona; Salvatore Francolino; Roberta Ghiglietti; Francesco Locci; Domenico Carminati; Patrice Laforce; Giorgio Giraffa. Characterization and pre-industrial validation of Streptococcus thermophilus strains to be used as starter cultures for Crescenza, an Italian soft cheese. Food Microbiology 2020, 92, 103599 .
AMA StyleFlavio Tidona, Salvatore Francolino, Roberta Ghiglietti, Francesco Locci, Domenico Carminati, Patrice Laforce, Giorgio Giraffa. Characterization and pre-industrial validation of Streptococcus thermophilus strains to be used as starter cultures for Crescenza, an Italian soft cheese. Food Microbiology. 2020; 92 ():103599.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFlavio Tidona; Salvatore Francolino; Roberta Ghiglietti; Francesco Locci; Domenico Carminati; Patrice Laforce; Giorgio Giraffa. 2020. "Characterization and pre-industrial validation of Streptococcus thermophilus strains to be used as starter cultures for Crescenza, an Italian soft cheese." Food Microbiology 92, no. : 103599.
This work evaluated the effect of recombined skimmed milk (RM), mixed in different ratios (40, 60, and 100%) with fresh cow milk, on the processing technology and quality of Crescenza, an industrial soft cheese of the Italian dairy tradition. Crescenza-type cheeses were produced at a laboratory scale, following the industrial process. Control cheese consisted of Crescenza-type cheese produced with 100% whole fresh milk. Compared to control cheese, the substitution of fresh milk with 60–100% of RM deteriorated the coagulation properties and led to a higher moisture retention, whereas, with 40% of RM, the differences were not statistically significant. Cheeses produced with any concentration of RM, although of acceptable quality, differed significantly in terms of sensory properties from control cheese. The addition of colloidal calcium phosphate, or CaCl2 together with a reduction in the size of the curd at cutting, minimized the differences in composition and sensory properties between cheeses produced with 40% RM and control cheese. This study suggested the applicability of 40% RM to obtain Crescenza-type cheese with suitable quality characteristics. The type of product, the technology, the quality, and quantity of the powders are all key factors to be taken into account for a successful application.
Flavio Tidona; Salvatore Francolino; Roberta Ghiglietti; Francesco Locci; Gianluca Brusa; Marcello Alinovi; Germano Mucchetti; Giorgio Giraffa. Application of Recombined Milk to Produce Crescenza-Type Cheese in Laboratory-Scale Cheesemaking: Implications on Technology and Sensory Properties. Foods 2020, 9, 928 .
AMA StyleFlavio Tidona, Salvatore Francolino, Roberta Ghiglietti, Francesco Locci, Gianluca Brusa, Marcello Alinovi, Germano Mucchetti, Giorgio Giraffa. Application of Recombined Milk to Produce Crescenza-Type Cheese in Laboratory-Scale Cheesemaking: Implications on Technology and Sensory Properties. Foods. 2020; 9 (7):928.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFlavio Tidona; Salvatore Francolino; Roberta Ghiglietti; Francesco Locci; Gianluca Brusa; Marcello Alinovi; Germano Mucchetti; Giorgio Giraffa. 2020. "Application of Recombined Milk to Produce Crescenza-Type Cheese in Laboratory-Scale Cheesemaking: Implications on Technology and Sensory Properties." Foods 9, no. 7: 928.
With the aim to reduce the Na content, hard cheeses manufactured using the same technology as for Grana cheese (Grana-type) were salted using three brines containing different amounts of KCl (K-brines) and compared with control cheeses, salted with marine NaCl. A lower weight loss was observed in cheeses salted with K-brines (K-cheeses), whereas the yield and dry matter did not differ significantly between K-cheeses and controls. After 3 months of ripening (T3), the distribution of the Na cations (Na) was centripetal, with a higher Na concentration in the outer (0–3 cm of depth) layer, whereas the K cations (K) seemed to diffuse into the cheese more rapidly and homogeneously. Starting from the 6th month (T6), the distribution of both Na and K was stabilized through the different cheese layers. The use of the brine with the highest concentration of potassium (53.8% K) enabled us to successfully halve the Na content compared to the controls whereas, with the other brines, the reduction of Na was below 30%. At the end of ripening (T9), all the cheeses were without defects and the partial substitution of Na with K did not impact on the chemical composition, microbiological characteristics and ripening process. The sensory evaluation did not show any difference between K-salted and control cheeses in discriminant analysis.
Flavio Tidona; Marco Bernardi; Salvatore Francolino; Roberta Ghiglietti; Johannes A. Hogenboom; Francesco Locci; Vittorio Zambrini; Domenico Carminati; Giorgio Giraffa. The impact of sodium chloride reduction on Grana-type cheese production and quality. Journal of Dairy Research 2019, 86, 470 -476.
AMA StyleFlavio Tidona, Marco Bernardi, Salvatore Francolino, Roberta Ghiglietti, Johannes A. Hogenboom, Francesco Locci, Vittorio Zambrini, Domenico Carminati, Giorgio Giraffa. The impact of sodium chloride reduction on Grana-type cheese production and quality. Journal of Dairy Research. 2019; 86 (4):470-476.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFlavio Tidona; Marco Bernardi; Salvatore Francolino; Roberta Ghiglietti; Johannes A. Hogenboom; Francesco Locci; Vittorio Zambrini; Domenico Carminati; Giorgio Giraffa. 2019. "The impact of sodium chloride reduction on Grana-type cheese production and quality." Journal of Dairy Research 86, no. 4: 470-476.
Matsoni is a traditional Caucasian fermented milk product, characterised by a lactic acid bacteria (LAB) microbiota. Objectives of the present study were to isolate and identify the LAB of Matsoni samples collected from various Georgian areas and to study their technological characteristics. About 300 LAB from 71 samples of Matsoni were isolated and characterised. The species most representatives were Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus rhamnosus. This study highlighted a high degree of biodiversity and a specific geographical distribution of the dominant LAB present in artisanal Matsoni. Some strains showed technological features useful to design a multistrain starter culture for Matsoni.
Elene Kakabadze; Miriam Zago; Lia Rossetti; Barbara Bonvini; Flavio Tidona; Domenico Carminati; Nina Chanishvili; Giorgio Giraffa. Characterisation of lactic acid bacteria isolated from the Georgian, yoghurt‐like Matsoni. International Journal of Dairy Technology 2019, 1 .
AMA StyleElene Kakabadze, Miriam Zago, Lia Rossetti, Barbara Bonvini, Flavio Tidona, Domenico Carminati, Nina Chanishvili, Giorgio Giraffa. Characterisation of lactic acid bacteria isolated from the Georgian, yoghurt‐like Matsoni. International Journal of Dairy Technology. 2019; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElene Kakabadze; Miriam Zago; Lia Rossetti; Barbara Bonvini; Flavio Tidona; Domenico Carminati; Nina Chanishvili; Giorgio Giraffa. 2019. "Characterisation of lactic acid bacteria isolated from the Georgian, yoghurt‐like Matsoni." International Journal of Dairy Technology , no. : 1.
The aim of this study was to evaluate whether Lactococcus hircilactis and Lactococcus laudensis can be used as starter cultures. To this end, the two lactococci were characterized for traits of technological and functional interest. Tests in milk included growth at 20, 25, 30, and 37 °C, flavor production, antioxidant (AO) activity, folate and exopolysaccharide (EPS) production. At 30 °C, which resulted the best growth temperature for both strains, Lc. hircilactis and Lc. laudensis lowered the pH of the milk to 4.8 and 5.5, respectively, after 24 h of incubation. Sugar and organic acid composition indicated a higher lactose utilization, coupled with a higher lactate accumulation, by Lc. hircilactis, while galactose was completely consumed by both species. Both strains showed a Cit- phenotype after growth in a selective medium containing citrate as the sole carbon source. Nevertheless, a small amount of citrate was used by both lactococci when grown in milk. The two strains were characterized by a different flavor production, showed high AO activity, and produced small amounts of EPS (~30 mg/L). Lactococcus laudensis showed a weak proteolytic activity while Lc. hircilactis was able to accumulate folate at levels four times higher than uninoculated milk. When the two lactococci were tested as starter cultures in small-scale cheesemaking trials, cheeses resulted of satisfying quality and contained amounts of ethanol, acetic acid, diacetyl and acetoin higher than controls, obtained using a commercial culture. The application of Lc. hircilactis and Lc. laudensis as aromatic cultures in cheesemaking is proposed.
Flavio Tidona; Aurora Meucci; Milena Povolo; Valeria Pelizzola; Miriam Zago; Giovanna Contarini; Domenico Carminati; Giorgio Giraffa. Applicability of Lactococcus hircilactis and Lactococcus laudensis as dairy cultures. International Journal of Food Microbiology 2018, 271, 1 -7.
AMA StyleFlavio Tidona, Aurora Meucci, Milena Povolo, Valeria Pelizzola, Miriam Zago, Giovanna Contarini, Domenico Carminati, Giorgio Giraffa. Applicability of Lactococcus hircilactis and Lactococcus laudensis as dairy cultures. International Journal of Food Microbiology. 2018; 271 ():1-7.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFlavio Tidona; Aurora Meucci; Milena Povolo; Valeria Pelizzola; Miriam Zago; Giovanna Contarini; Domenico Carminati; Giorgio Giraffa. 2018. "Applicability of Lactococcus hircilactis and Lactococcus laudensis as dairy cultures." International Journal of Food Microbiology 271, no. : 1-7.
In this study the presence and functionality of phage defence mechanisms in Lactobacillus helveticus ATCC 10386, a strain of dairy origin which is sensitive to ΦLh56, were investigated. After exposure of ATCC 10386 to ΦLh56, the whole-genome sequences of ATCC 10386 and of a phage-resistant derivative (LhM3) were compared. LhM3 showed deletions in the S-layer protein and a higher expression of the genes involved in the restriction/modification (R/M) system. Genetic data were substantiated by measurements of bacteriophage adsorption rates, efficiency of plaquing, cell wall protein size and by gene expression analysis. In LhM3 two phage resistance mechanisms, the inhibition of phage adsorption and the upregulation of Type I R/M genes, take place and explain its resistance to ΦLh56. Although present in both ATCC 10386 and LhM3 genomes, the CRISPR machinery did not seem to play a role in the phage resistance of LhM3. Overall, the natural selection of phage resistant strains resulted successful in detecting variants carrying multiple phage defence mechanisms in L. helveticus. The concurrent presence of multiple phage-resistance systems should provide starter strains with increased fitness and robustness in dairy ecosystems.
Miriam Zago; Luigi Orrù; Lia Rossetti; Antonella Lamontanara; Maria Emanuela Fornasari; Barbara Bonvini; Aurora Meucci; Domenico Carminati; Luigi Cattivelli; Giorgio Giraffa. Survey on the phage resistance mechanisms displayed by a dairy Lactobacillus helveticus strain. Food Microbiology 2017, 66, 110 -116.
AMA StyleMiriam Zago, Luigi Orrù, Lia Rossetti, Antonella Lamontanara, Maria Emanuela Fornasari, Barbara Bonvini, Aurora Meucci, Domenico Carminati, Luigi Cattivelli, Giorgio Giraffa. Survey on the phage resistance mechanisms displayed by a dairy Lactobacillus helveticus strain. Food Microbiology. 2017; 66 ():110-116.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMiriam Zago; Luigi Orrù; Lia Rossetti; Antonella Lamontanara; Maria Emanuela Fornasari; Barbara Bonvini; Aurora Meucci; Domenico Carminati; Luigi Cattivelli; Giorgio Giraffa. 2017. "Survey on the phage resistance mechanisms displayed by a dairy Lactobacillus helveticus strain." Food Microbiology 66, no. : 110-116.
In this study, we aimed to investigate some functional characteristics and the immunomodulatory properties of three strains of Lactobacillus plantarum of dairy origin which, in a previous screening, showed to be candidate probiotics. Genome sequencing and comparative genomics, which confirmed the presence of genes involved in folate and riboflavin production and in the immune response of dendritic cells (DCs), prompted us to investigate the ability of the three strains to accumulate the two vitamins and their immunomodulation properties. The ability of the three strains to release antioxidant components in milk was also investigated. Small amounts of folate and riboflavin were produced by the three strains, while they showed a good antioxidant capacity in milk with FRAP method. The immune response experiments well correlated with the presence of candidate genes influencing in DCs cytokine response to L. plantarum. Specifically, the amounts of secreted cytokins by DCs after stimulation with cells of Lp790, Lp813 and Lp998 resulted pro-inflammatory whereas stimulation with culture supernatants (postbiotics) inhibited the release of interleukin (IL)-12p70 and increased the release of the anti-inflammatory IL-10 cytokine. This study adds further evidence on the importance of L. plantarum in human health. Understanding how probiotics (or postbiotics) work in preclinical models can allow a rational choice of the different strains for clinical and/or commercial use.
M. Zago; E. Scaltriti; B. Bonvini; M.E. Fornasari; G. Penna; L. Massimiliano; D. Carminati; M. Rescigno; G. Giraffa. Genomic diversity and immunomodulatory activity of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from dairy products. Beneficial Microbes 2017, 8, 597 -604.
AMA StyleM. Zago, E. Scaltriti, B. Bonvini, M.E. Fornasari, G. Penna, L. Massimiliano, D. Carminati, M. Rescigno, G. Giraffa. Genomic diversity and immunomodulatory activity of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from dairy products. Beneficial Microbes. 2017; 8 (4):597-604.
Chicago/Turabian StyleM. Zago; E. Scaltriti; B. Bonvini; M.E. Fornasari; G. Penna; L. Massimiliano; D. Carminati; M. Rescigno; G. Giraffa. 2017. "Genomic diversity and immunomodulatory activity of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from dairy products." Beneficial Microbes 8, no. 4: 597-604.
G. Giraffa; L. Rossetti; G. Mucchetti; F. Addeo; E. Neviani. Influence of the Temperature Gradient on the Growth of Thermophilic Lactobacilli Used as Natural Starters in Grana Cheese. Journal of Dairy Science 1998, 81, 31 -36.
AMA StyleG. Giraffa, L. Rossetti, G. Mucchetti, F. Addeo, E. Neviani. Influence of the Temperature Gradient on the Growth of Thermophilic Lactobacilli Used as Natural Starters in Grana Cheese. Journal of Dairy Science. 1998; 81 (1):31-36.
Chicago/Turabian StyleG. Giraffa; L. Rossetti; G. Mucchetti; F. Addeo; E. Neviani. 1998. "Influence of the Temperature Gradient on the Growth of Thermophilic Lactobacilli Used as Natural Starters in Grana Cheese." Journal of Dairy Science 81, no. 1: 31-36.