Lycopene is the main carotenoid in tomatoes and it has been hypothesised to be responsible for reducing the risk of some cancers and heart disease. The cooking of tomatoes with olive oil is a characteristic combination in the Southern Mediterranean diet. Previous studies have shown that the absorption of lycopene is greater from processed tomatoes than fresh tomatoes, since the processing break...

The inferior olive is the sole source of the climbing fiber system; one of the two major afferent systems of the cerebellum, however, its exact role remains unknown. A longstanding hypothesis is that the inferior olive with its unique intrinsic rhythmic firing properties mediates motor timing. However, direct evidence linking the inferior olive to timing behavior has been difficult to demonstra...

The performance of olive oil during intermittent frying of potato slices and cod fillets was compared to those of selected vegetable oils (corn, oliveresidue and 50/50 mixture of olive and corn oils) using conditions resembling those used in home food preparations. The main scope of this study was to decide what is the best substitute for olive oil in home frying applications. Free fatty acid c...

Osteoarthritis is a major cause of morbidity among the elderly worldwide. It is a disease characterized by localized inflammation of the joint and destruction of cartilage, leading to loss of function. Impaired chondrocyte repair mechanisms, due to inflammation, oxidative stress and autophagy, play important roles in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. Olive and its derivatives, which possess a...

Herein, we report a portable electrochemical biosensor based on butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) immobilized on carbon black (CB)-modified screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) for the detection of organophosphorous pesticides in olive oil. The BChE/CB-SPE biosensor was developed to detect paraoxon in standard solutions as well as in olive oil samples previously treated with the QuEChERS method to extra...

This study evaluated the effect of foliar biostimulants on fruit quality of adult 'Valencia' orange and 'Biancolilla' olive trees. Half of the selected orange and olive trees were sprayed twice before harvest with the SUNRED® commercial mix containing phenylalanine, methionine, mono-saccharides and oxylipins from plant extracts as well as potassium salts and urea. Orange and olive yields and fr...

Olive oil is considered to be one of the most healthy dietary fats. However, several types of olive oils are present in the market. A key question for the consumer is: What of the olive oils is the best when concerning nutritional purposes? With the data available at present, the answer is: the Virgin Olive Oil (VOO), rich in phenolic compounds. On November 2011, the European Food Safety Author...

Olive husks, typical solid by-products from the olive oil industry, were selected to carry out anaerobic digestion tests. Before digestion, olive husks were subjected to ultrasonic or thermal pretreatments in order to release the organic matter into solution. Both sonication and thermal pretreatment allowed to solubilize the particulate matter with 22% and 72% increase in soluble organics of ol...

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is an evergreen tree traditionally cultivated in the Mediterranean basin where plants undergo, to some degree, stress due to unfavourable environmental conditions. Water deficit, freezing, salinity and air pollution are a few of the stress factors restricting growth, so that olive productivity at the end of the growing season expresses only a fraction of the plant’s gen...

olive mill by-products could be composted and applied to olive orchard soils. these practices solve the problem of these wastes disposal and reduce the need for chemical fertilizers. therefore, the aims of this research were: (i) proposing ‘on-farm’ composting process of different olive mill waste mixtures; (ii) investigating the chemical, physical, and microbiological characteristics of produc...