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Olive mill wastewater (OMWW) is the result of the production of olive oil causing severe water pollution. In recent years, distinguished growing interest in isolation, testing, and utilization of agricultural waste or other sources of plant tissues rich in polyphenols has been arised. In this study, the evaluation of liquid polyphenols obtained from OMWW as natural bio-chemicals against several fungal pathogens on tomato plants was examined. Different concentrations of liquid formed polyphenol (LFP) at 5, 10, 20, and 30% were tested against 10 fungal pathogens causing plant diseases on tomato plants. After 40 d of application, tomato plants were harvested and plant height, number of flowers, plant fresh weight, root fresh weight, dry plant weight and dry root weight were calculated and LFP has presented encouraging results in protecting plants. Furthermore, the encapsulation of a polyphenol in encapsulating agent may help to slow down the degradation and protection from the frequent watering and runoff due to this action. Therefore, in order of major protection resulting from the use of polyphenol against major diseases classified the following phytopathogenic fungi:Botrytis cinerea,Sclerotinia sclerotiorum,andAscochyta lentis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel concept for olive mill wastewater (OMWW) concentration, involving the combination of open and tight reverse osmosis (RO) membranes in tubular configuration, was studied. The OMWW, prior to RO concentration, was clarified in two successive steps: passing through a coarse rotating finisher and by ceramic microfiltration, in order to remove suspended matter and facilitate the RO concentration. The clarified raw material was then concentrated using the tubular PCI UK AFC40 RO membrane. A parametric study was conducted to investigate the effect of main process parameters on permeation flux. The permeation flux of AFC40 RO membrane was found to reach consistently high values without substantial membrane fouling problems. Furthermore, the parametric study proved that the flux was linearly increased by increasing the transmembrane pressure, and exponentially decreased by increasing the OMWW mass concentration factor. In most cases, the permeation flux increased with increasing flow velocity. The effect of temperature on permeation flux was depended on both transmembrane pressure and flow velocity. The AFC40 permeate content of total dissolved solids (TDS) was approximately 0.6%, which accounts for roughly 15% of the TDS in the initial OMWW solution. The AFC40 permeate was, therefore, further concentrated using the AFC99 PCI UK tight RO membrane, aiming to obtain a permeate suitable for disposal to natural resources, whilst simultaneously reclaiming valuable antioxidants by mixing the two retentates of AFC40 and AFC99 membranes. The results of this study show that the proposed two-stage RO scheme may be potentially applied in a commercial scale and contribute towards processing of OMWW to produce liquid antioxidant and water suitable for disposal to natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commercially available macroporous resin Amberlite FPX66 was evaluated for its capacity to adsorb the polyphenols contained in olive mill wastewater (OMWW). The adsorption was performed in the mode of fixed packed-bed contactor. The effects of OMWW flow rate, temperature, dilution and pH on the resin adsorption capacity were investigated. Polyphenols concentration decreased with time. The pattern of the total polyphenols concentration dependence on time was found to be similar in all cases. The pattern included a very steep section for roughly the first hour of the operation, followed by a second section of decreasing gradient down to a final asymptotic equilibrium limit. Regarding the time required for approaching the equilibrium, this was found to be unaffected by the temperature. On the contrary, the magnitude of the equilibrium concentration was substantially affected by the OMWW temperature presenting an optimum at 40°C. The increase in the OMWW flow rate affected markedly the speed of approaching the equilibrium but not its position. The variation of the total polyphenols concentration with time showed that higher concentrations yielded more rapid kinetics at the initial section, but there was no apparent differentiation of the time required to approach the equilibrium. Acidic pH appeared to be favourable for the adsorption. Finally, a novel modelling approach was developed to simulate the adsorption process kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the production of powder enriched in lactoferrin ( Lf) and immunoglobulin G ( IgG) from untreated feta cheese whey is studied. More specifically, the influence of transmembrane pressure (Δ p) and temperature on flux and separation ability during ultrafiltration combined with continuous diafiltration is investigated. Two different types of membranes were used, a spiral polyvinylidene fluoride ( PVDF) (molecular weight cut-off [ MWCO ∼ 75 kDa) and a set of 18 cylindrical PVDF membranes ( MWCO ∼ 100 kDa). For the production of the whey powder, two drying methods were compared: spray and freeze drying. All combinations lead to powder with high total protein content and with a notable content in these two bioactive proteins. However, cylindrical membranes (at a temperature of 20°C and a transmembrane pressure of 4 bar) in combination with freeze drying resulted in the highest yield from whey into Lf and IgG and excellent sensory characteristics. Practical Applications Whey powder enriched in the multifunctional proteins lactoferrin and immunoglobulin G have very large potential both as nutrition additives and for pharmaceutical purposes. The systematic study of the parameters affecting all unit operations involved leads to the most efficient and cheapest production. In order to achieve this, the methodology was kept as simple and low cost as possible. This way, a strong tool could be created for the utilization of the cheese-making by-product whey, which still causes large environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present work was to investigate the potential prebiotic action of Goji berry powder on selected probiotic bacteria grown in a nutritive synthetic substrate and in simulated gastric and intestinal juices. Different probiotic strains of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus were grown in these substrates with or without the addition of encapsulated goji berry extracts of different polysaccharide and polyphenol contents. The results proved that the addition of the extracts promoted the proliferation of probiotic strains and, in particular, increased the number of bacterial colonies of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (Bb12), Bifidobacterium longum (Bb46), and Lactobacillus casei by 2, 0.26, and 1.34 (log cfu/mL), respectively. Furthermore, the prebiotic effect seems to be correlated to Goji berry polysaccharides and/or polyphenols, higher contents of which (under the tested concentrations) could increase the stress tolerance of B. lactis and B. longum in a simulated gastrointestinal environment. According to the findings of the present research, it can be suggested that the Goji berry encapsulated extracts could be used as prebiotic additives in food or nutraceuticals, in order to stimulate growth or protect the viability of probiotic strains of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the content composition and antioxidant activity of goji berry fruits from two species (Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense) were assessed. The total carbohydrate and phenolic contents were evaluated using attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FT-IR) spectroscopy, while the antioxidant activity of fruits was examined with two in vitro methods, which are based on the scavenging activity of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethyl-benzthiazoline-sulfonic acid) (ABTS•+) free radicals. The fatty-acid profile was determined using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results of this study indicate that the fruits of L. barbarum present higher concentrations in carbohydrates and phenolics than L. chinense Mill. fruits. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity based on the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) measurements of DPPH• and ABTS•+ free-radical scavenging was higher in L. barbarum than L. chinense Mill. Also, the GCMS analysis confirms the high levels of linoleic, palmitic, and oleic acids contained in the fruits of both species. Finally, the results of this study clearly show that the concentration of bioactive and antioxidant molecules is higher in L. barbarum than in L. chinense fruits, which was also confirmed by ATR-FT-IR measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the antioxidant effects of a feed supplemented with polyphenolic additives from olive mill wastewater (OMW) on lambs., Materials and Methods: Lambs received breast milk until the postnatal period, and then they were divided into two groups and received control and OMW feed for 55 days. Redox biomarkers were measured in blood and tissues at days 15, 42 and 70 after feeding., Results: Feed supplemented with OMW reduced thiobarbituric acid reactive species and protein carbonyls and increased total antioxidant capacity, glutathione and catalase activity in both blood and tissues., Conclusion: The administration of OMW-containing feed reinforced the antioxidant defense of lambs, which may improve their wellbeing and productivity. Additionally, this exploitation of OMW may solve problems of environmental pollution in areas with olive oil industries., (Copyright© 2018, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Background/aim: A previous study revealed the improvement of redox status in blood and tissues of young piglets (ablactation period), that consumed feed containing polyphenolic additives from byproducts of processed olive mill wastewater (OMWW). The polyphenolic additives strengthened the antioxidant defense of the piglets. Herein we analyzed the fatty acid (FA) composition of these animals in various tissues., Materials and Methods: The steps followed during the analysis were: Preparation and isolation of byproducts containing polyphenolic compounds from OMWW processing, silage and piglet feed preparation, blood and tissue collection, fatty acid methyl esters synthesis and GC/MS analysis., Results: The young piglets, that consumed feed containing polyphenolic additives from byproducts of processed OMWW, were found to have a decreased ω6/ω3 ratio, compared to samples of the control group. For example, in the quadriceps tissue the control group has a ω6/ω3 ratio of 10.1, while in the polyphenolic group this ratio was decreased to 2.93. Regarding the ratio of UFA/SFA, no significant differences were observed. Finally, the polyphenolic group exhibited almost in all tissues lower values of the ratio of PUFA/MUFA than the control group., (Copyright © 2016 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.)