

Giacomo Cocetta, from Milan University, Italy, initiated the presentations with the theme "Effects of stresses on the regulation of glucosinolates metabolism in rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia L.)." The glucosinolates are important health promoting compounds with proven pharmaceutical and anti-cancer properties. Among the different plant families, the Brassicaceae are particularly rich in glucosinolates. The effects of pre-harvest and postharvest stresses were studied on the transcriptome and genes related to glucosinolates metabolism. Total RNA was extracted from stressed and control plants and sequenced with a two paired-end Illumina sequencing platform. The genes involved in the glucosinolates biosynthesis, catabolism and regulation were identified from the different libraries and the changes in expression in response to different stresses were reported. From the bioinformatic analysis of transcripts a total of 181 genes involved in the glucosinolate biosynthesis and regulation were identified. According to gene expression profiles observed, it seems that postharvest treatments led to a general induction of the metabolism of indole GSLs rather than GSLs deriving from other amino acids, moreover stresses appeared to stimulate the catabolism of these compounds more than their biosynthesis. The results indicated that the glucosinolate pathways can be regulated by stress applications at both pre- and postharvest stage, enhancing nutritional values of rocket and potentially related species.


And Ana Amaro, from Catholic University, Portugal, finished QUAFETY Session with the presentation entitled "Physiological and phytochemical quality of ready-to-eat rocket leaves as affected by processing, modified atmosphere and storage temperature". Processing and storage conditions are known to affect quality of RTE rocket leaves, with package atmosphere and low temperature as key factors in quality maintenance throughout processing to consumption. In order to generate recommendations to optimize phytochemical preservation of rocket leaves during processing, a nutritional audit of the processing line of a fresh-cut vegetables enterprise was performed. Samples were collected at each step of the production flowchart of RTE rocket-leaves: at rocket leaves reception, after washing and decontamination, after centrifugation and after packaging. Furthermore, the effect of modified atmosphere and temperature conditions during storage on physiological and phytochemical quality of RTE rocket leaves was evaluated and the relative changes determined. Processing, modified atmosphere and storage temperature significantly affected respiration rate, chlorophyll content and phytochemical composition of RTE rocket leaves. The integration of these results contributes to the understanding of the effects of processing and storage conditions on overall quality of RTE vegetables and provide useful information for developing processes aimed at the modulation of nutritional quality and shelf-life extension.
Both Manuela Pintado and Natasha Spadafora introduced the 7th European Short Course on Quality and Safety of Fresh-cut Produce and invited the audience to register and participate in this event.