Old and environmentally friendly procedures might be
reconsidered in olive debittering as a
green strategy in the production of goods in the interest of nutritional,
pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries from wastes. The recovering
of bergamot albedo from wastes of cosmetic industries has been recently
proposed as a source of statinlike active principles.
Table olives are the
most popular fermented agri-food in Mediterranean countries. Their composition
depends on several factors such as genetics, ripening, processing technologies
and storage. Standard processing technologies affect the physicochemical
features of olive fruits such as color, texture, volatile compounds and phenol
contents and, consequently, the organoleptic and nutritional properties of the
final product. Any processing method aims, in general, at removing the natural
bitterness of the fruit, caused by phenols, especially by the glucosyde known
as oleuropein. Oleuropein and its metabolites have powerful antioxidant
activity both in vivo and in vitro making virgin olive oil a functional food.
This secoiridoid is able to confer resistance to diseases and insect
infestation, and offers antioxidant protection due to the catechol moiety.
It is also accumulated as a defense mechanism against
phytophatogens. In particular, when olive tissues are injured by diseases or by
mechanical damage, a specific enzyme producing highly reactive molecules hydrolyzes oleuropein. The antioxidant
and antimicrobial activities of europe in derivative molecules against herbivores and
insect attacks have been also demonstrated either in plants as well as in vitro
against bacterial strains.
No comments:
Post a Comment