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[Display omitted] • The composition of Golden Tomato (GT) juice was characterized in terms of phytonutrients. • GT juice modulates brain impairment induced by Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). • GT juice restores anxiety-like behaviour, reactivity and declarative memory in MetS. • GT juice reduces MAPK-ERK and re-establishes PI3K/Akt signalling in specific brain areas. "Golden" tomato (GT) plays a protective role in metabolic dysfunction induced by High-Fat Diet (HFD). Our aim is to characterize the phytonutrient composition of the juice and explore the influence of GT, orally administered for one month, on cognitive impairment associated with Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) in male rats. We investigated reactivity, stress response and memory, together with brain neurotrophic/inflammatory signaling. Our data showed that HFD-induced functional modifications were ameliorated by GT nutritional supplementation. In particular, the behavioural reactivity improved in HFD/GT rats, that also showed a better performance in tests measuring anxiety and anhedonia. Furthermore, GT consumption rescued the declarative memory impairment. Lastly, GT supplementation counteracted HFD-induced brain alterations in PI3K\Akt and MAPK/ERK signalling pathways. In conclusion, this study provides evidence of the importance of food supplementation with GT in the protection from neuroinflammation and cognitive alterations associated with MetS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The “antioxidant power” of a food is an expression of its capability both to defend the human organism from the action of the free radicals and to prevent degenerative disorders deriving from persistent oxidative stress. Purpose of this study is to analyse the antioxidant capacity (measured by means of the crocin bleaching method) of several samples of Sicilian red wines and to evaluate their dependency on the vintage and on the grape variety. Finally, the correlation between the single flavonoids compounds and the antioxidant capacity has been investigated. The analyses show that the antioxidant properties of red wine appear to be unequally influenced by the vintages for the different cultivars and that the correlation between antioxidant capacity and the total phenolic contents is weak. The latter can be explained by the fact that the wine’s antioxidant properties are influenced differently by each polyphenolic molecule. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]