Percorrer por autor "Ceccanti, Costanza"
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- Differences in the phenolic composition and nutraceutical properties of freeze dried and oven-dried wild and domesticated samples of Sanguisorba minor ScopPublication . Ceccanti, Costanza; Finimundy, Tiane C.; Heleno, Sandrina A.; Pires, Tânia C.S.; Calhelha, Ricardo C.; Guidi, Lucia; Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R.; Barros, LillianRecent studies have dealt about the phenolic compounds and the nutraceutical properties of Sanguisorba minor Scop and about the possibility of their domestication to standardise the plant production. However, it is also known that the storage conditions can affect the bioactive compounds present in plants. Thus, wild (W) and domesticated (F1, F2, F3) S. minor samples were exposed to different drying methods (oven-drying at 60 °C until constant weight named OD or freeze-drying until constant weight named FD) and studied for their content in phenolic compounds, antioxidant, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory properties. In general, OD samples showed the highest nutraceutical properties and the highest content in phenolic compounds. The most abundant phenolic compounds in both drying methods were kaempferol-3-O-glucoside and caffeoyl ester, with some differences between wild and domesticated samples. Wild samples showed higher antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity than domesticated ones, except for the OD F3 and FD F2 samples that reported cytotoxicity against HeLa cells. This study provides important information to choose the most adequate methodology to retain phenolic compounds and nutraceutical properties of S. minor species. Further researches are necessary to standardise the domestication of the studied wild species and verify the highest efficiency of the OD method.
- Enrichment of fresh egg pasta with antioxidant extracts obtained from wild Italian Plantago coronopus L. and Cichorium intybus L. and quality characterisation of the fresh end productPublication . Ceccanti, Costanza; Finimundy, Tiane C.; Melgar Castañeda, Bruno; Pereira, Carla; Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R.; Barros, LillianConsumers are increasingly aware of the strong relationship between diet and health status and, for this reason, they have changed food preferences and have increasingly oriented towards functional foods. Indeed, functional foods represent new "enhanced" foods with healing-pharmaceutical characteristics. These plants leaves are used salad ingredients in France and Italy and are well known for being rich in phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties (Saybel, Rendyuk, Dargaeva, et al., 2020). The great interest in phenolics as food ingredients is that they are used as anti-diabetic, antioxidant, antibacterial, anti inflammatory, diuretic, digestive, and protector of other different diseases (Pereira, Custódio, Rodrigues, et al., 2017). Therefore, this work aimed to apply a functional ingredient obtained from wild edible plants in pasta food product. Bioactive compounds and nutraceutical qualities (radical scavenging activity, inhibition of lipid peroxidation and antihaemolytic activity) were evaluated. A pasta-making procedure was performed using different P. coronopus and C. intybus extract concentrations and different drying times to research the pasta-making procedure’s optimisation. The phenolic compounds were identified and quantified by LC DAD-ESI/MSn, with results expressed in mg/g extract. According to the obtained results, twenty-six phenolic compounds were identified. Cichoric acid (36 ± 2 mg/g) was the most abundant in C. intybus, followed by 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (14.1 ± 0.1 mg/g), while in P. coronopus, verbascoside (151 ± 6 mg/g) was the most abundant compound. Flavonoid rearranged with different glycosidic molecules were found in the enriched pasta, i.e., apigenin-O-glucuronide, kaempferol-O-malonyl-hexoside, and kaempferol-O glucuronide. A strong interaction between the plant extract concentration and the drying time was demonstrated. These results indicated that plant extracts could be used as a functional food ingrediente due to the significant antioxidant capacity and phenolic profile preserved after the incorporation process in typical pasta. Relevant factors have already been established, given that implementation of an experimental design provides more expansive knowledge.
- Nutritional value of wild and domesticated Sanguisorba minor Scop. plantPublication . Ceccanti, Costanza; Finimundy, Tiane C.; Barros, LillianSanguisorba minor Scop. is a wild edible species distributed in the Mediterranean area and present in numerous traditional food recipes. In the present study, the assessment of nutritional value (ash, carbohydrates, fat, proteins, energy, free sugars, organic acids, tocopherols, fatty acid composition, and minerals) of wild and domesticated S. minor plants was performed. Results showed an increase in ash, protein, fat, organic acid, and a-tocopherol content after the plant's domestication. Retention of free sugars, especially sucrose, was observed from wild plants to domesticated ones. However, the cultivated plants reported a higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids than saturated molecules, and both wild collection and domestication maintained a low ?6/?3 ratio, confirming the role of this species in the prevention of oxidative and inflammatory processes. This aspect is also suggested by the high a-tocopherol content, a vitamin known for its ability to scavenge free-radical species. Nevertheless, a high oxalic acid content was found in domesticated plants. However, the management of fertilization in open field cultivation can be robust in terms of organic acid and mineral (e.g., calcium) content. Indeed, the most representative macrominerals found in domesticated plants were Ca and Mg. The present study suggests a possible introduction of S. minor species in the human diet as a functional food or ingredient by virtue of its high nutritional properties and contents. Moreover, the management of fertilization and domestication might be a solution to maintain/enhance the nutritional profile of this wild species.
- Sequential steps of the incorporation of bioactive plant extracts from wild Italian Plantago coronopus L. and Cichorium intybus L. leaves in fresh egg pastaPublication . Ceccanti, Costanza; Finimundy, Tiane C.; Melgar Castañeda, Bruno; Pereira, Carla; Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R.; Barros, LillianThe application of bioactive extracts from Cichorium intybus L. and Plantago coronopus L. species were incorporated as a functional ingredient in fresh egg pasta (Fettuccine). In that sense, a pasta making procedure was accessed using different concentrations of the plant extracts (0.25–0.63 mg/g), drying times (20–420 min) and drying temperatures (40–90 ◦C; only for P. coronopus enriched pasta), to screen an optimal factor selection in the pasta making procedure and to enhance the bioactive properties of the final product. In the chemical characterisation of the plant extracts, twenty-five phenolic compounds were tentatively identified (twenty compounds belonging to phenolic acid and phenylpropanoid classes and five belonging to the flavonoid sub-class) and a strong synergy between the plant extract concentration and the drying time was showed. The analysed antioxidant properties were enhanced by the phenolic compounds of the extracts and a new functional food with higher bioactive quality was developed.
- Vertical farming: new trends, products, and production approachesPublication . Pinela, José; Dias, Maria Inês; Ceccanti, Costanza; Martin, MichaelThe text contextualizes increasing urbanization, climate change, and the limitation of natural resources as factors driving the adoption of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems. It highlights the potential of vertical farming to optimize the use of water, energy, and space, reduce supply chains and transport-related emissions, and enable greater control over the nutritional quality and safety of food. The editorial also addresses technical, economic, and regulatory challenges, emphasizing the need for technological innovation, integration with public policies, and assessment of economic feasibility. Overall, the work positions vertical farming as a complementary solution to conventional agriculture, playing a relevant role in the transition toward more sustainable urban agri-food systems.