We explored the possibility of differentiating Italian wines produced in different regions by means of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. Ten commercial red Aglianico wines were selected from different areas of the Basilicata region in the south of Italy. Some important components of these wines were identified by the assignments of their (1)H and (13)C resonances using one- and two-dimensional homonuclear and heteronuclear NMR experiments. These data were compared with those obtained from 10 Aglianico wines produced in Campania, another southern Italian region. Differences were found among the wines according to their geographical origin and vintage. A fine discrimination of Aglianico wines from Basilicata and Campania was obtained, suggesting that the selected NMR parameters may be a valuable tool for wine authenticity control.

No abstract

Lipoamino acids (LAs) have been isolated from bacterial species and are included among the most important microbial secondary metabolites. Some synthetic LAs are being increasingly used in pharmaceutical applications such as ornithine lipid (OL) which is present in relatively large amounts in some G-ve bacteria. Many Burkholderia spp. produce in vitro secondary metabolites with lipodepsipeptide nature and have showed relevant biological activities and potential practical applications. The purposes of this research were i) to study the antibacterial activity of cell-free culture filtrate of B. gladioli pv. agaricicola strain ICMP 11096; ii) HPLC fractionation and antibacterial evaluation of isolated compounds; iii) Finally, the identification by LC-MS and NMR analysis of the principle bioactive compound produced by the bacterium. Results showed that the cell-free culture filtrate has a promising antibacterial activity against the two studied target microorganisms. In addition, HPLC fractionation demonstrated the presence of five single bioactive compounds produced by the bacterium and their antibacterial activity stated that peak no. 2 is the most bioactive one against B. megaterium and E. coli. Successively, the principal bioactive compound was identified by LC-MS and ¹H NMR as OL with mass spectrum (m/z) 719. This research is considered the first report of isolation and chemical identification of OL compound isolated from B. gladioli pv. agaricicola ICMP 11096.

No abstract

The aim of this pilot study is to evaluate if SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection induce observable metabolic effects in follicular fluid of women who are following in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. The possible impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on fertility and IVF outcome is considered. We have selected for this study: six women vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 infection, five recovered COVID-19 patients, and we used nine healthy women as the control group. At the time of oocytes retrieval from participants in the study, follicular fluids were collected and metabolomic analysis was performed by 1H NMR spectroscopy in combination with multivariate analysis to interpret the spectral data. The search for antibody positivity in the follicular fluid aspirates was also carried out, together with the western blotting analysis of some inflammatory proteins, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), and the free radical scavenger superoxide dismutase 2. Higher levels of Ala and Pro together with lower levels of lipids and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) were found in follicular fluids (FFs) of vaccinated women while lower levels of many metabolites were detected in FFs of recovered COVID patients. Expression level of TNF-α was significantly lower both in recovered COVID-19 patients and vaccinated women in comparison to healthy controls.