Olive Seeds Research Articles

Identification and Assessment of the Potential Allergenicity of 7S Vicilins in Olive (Olea europaea L.) Seeds.

Olive seeds, which are a raw material of interest, have been reported to contain 11S seed storage proteins (SSPs). However, the presence of SSPs such as 7S vicilins has not been studied. In this study, following a search in the olive seed transcriptome, 58 sequences corresponding to 7S vicilins were retrieved. A partial sequence was amplified by PCR from olive seed cDNA and subjected to phylogenetic analysis with other sequences. Structural analysis showed that olive 7S vicilin contains 9 α-helixes and 22 β-sheets. Additionally, 3D structural analysis displayed good superimposition with vicilin models generated from Pistacia and Sesamum. In order to assess potential allergenicity, T and B epitopes present in these proteins were identified by bioinformatic approaches. Different motifs were observed among the species, as well as some species-specific motifs. Finally, expression analysis of vicilins was carried out in protein extracts obtained from seeds of different species, including the olive. Noticeable bands were observed for all species in the 15–75 kDa MW interval, which were compatible with vicilins. The reactivity of the extracts to sera from patients allergic to nuts was also analysed. The findings with regard to the potential use of olive seed as food are discussed.

The Impact of Olive Seeds (Olea europaea L.) Powder (OSP) and its Nanoparticles (NOS) on Obese Hyperlipidemic Rats

The Impact of Olive Seeds (Olea europaea L.) Powder (OSP) and its Nanoparticles (NOS) on Obese Hyperlipidemic Rats

Introducing cultivated trees into the wild: Wood pigeons as dispersers of domestic olive seeds

Animals may disperse cultivated trees outside the agricultural land, favoring the naturalization or, even, the invasiveness of domestic plants. However, the ecological and conservation implications of new or unexplored mutualisms between cultivated trees and wild animals are still far from clear. Here, we examine the possible role of an expanding and, locally, overabundant pigeon species (Columba palumbus) as an effective disperser of domestic olive trees (Olea europaea), a widespread cultivated tree, considered a naturalized and invasive species in many areas of the world. By analyzing crop and gizzard content we found that olive fruits were an important food item for pigeons in late winter and spring. A proportion of 40.3% pigeons consumed olive seeds, with an average consumption of 7.8 seeds per pigeon and day. Additionally, most seed sizes (up to 0.7 g) passed undamaged through the gut and were dispersed from cultivated olive orchards to areas covered by protected Mediterranean vegetation, recording minimal dispersal distances of 1.8–7.4 km. Greenhouse experiments showed that seeds dispersed by pigeons significantly favored the germination and establishment in comparison to non-ingested seeds. The ability of pigeons to effectively disperse domestic olive seeds may facilitate the introduction of cultivated olive trees into natural systems, including highly-protected wild olive woodlands. We recommend harvesting ornamental olive trees to reduce both pigeon overpopulation and the spread of artificially selected trees into the natural environment.

Hydrothermal Conversion of Russian Olive Seeds into Crude Bio-oil Using a CaO Catalyst Derived from Waste Mussel Shells

Hydrothermal conversion studies were performed (bio-oil obtained under hydrothermal conditions) using Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia L.) seeds as a waste biomass at different temperatures and different residence times. After the conditions where the highest yield of bio-oil was found, a mussel shell catalyst (which is a source of calcium oxide when calcined at T > 950 °C) was applied for the first time for the hydrothermal conversion of biomass. To compare and evaluate the catalytic performance of the catalyst, the effects of the catalyst on product distributions, elemental contents, and high heating values of products and bio-oil compositions were investigated. The use of the catalyst significantly increased the bio-oil and conversion yields. The bio-oils were analyzed by a gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer (GC–MS). Characterization studies of the catalyst were completed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysi...

Investigation of Tensile and Impact of Composite Materials Reinforced with Natural Materials

This work focuses on studying the effect of Data Seeds (DS) and Olive Seeds (OS) particles on tensile and impact properties of epoxy resin. Olive and dates seeds powder were added to epoxy matrix at weight fraction (0, 8, 13, &18 wt %) with grain size (300, 450 & 600µm). The composite specimens were prepared by Hand-Lay-up technique and cut according to standard test. It's found the higher value of modulus of elasticity and tensile strength happened at (=18 wt %) and grain size (300µm) for specimens reinforced with olive seeds powder, but obtained the lower percentage of elongation at break, impact strength and fracture toughness at this value. Also the mathematical model results show that the weight fraction of powder have higher effect than grain size on properties.

English

Corrosion of aluminum in HCl solutions and its inhibition by aqueous extract of Olive seeds (OS) extract have been reported. The study was carried out using weight loss, hydrogen evolution at 30 and 40°C and the results were supporting by surface examination study (SES) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements at 30°C. Experimental results indicated that the corrosion of aluminum increased with increasing acid concentration and rising temperature. The presence of OS extract inhibit the general and pitting corrosion of aluminum in HCl solutions. This effect was remarkably increased by increasing the concentration of OS extract. The inhibition efficiency increased with rising temperature in the presence of inhibitor, especially at low concentrations. The adsorption of the inhibitor was also found to be spontaneous, chemical and consistent with the assumptions of Langmuir adsorption isotherm.

Evaluating the Efficacy of Olive, Apple and Grape Seed Extracts in Reducing Escherichia coli O157:H7 Contamination on Organic Leafy Greens during the Wash Process

Powdered extracts of apple, olive, and grape seed were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against ＂Escherichia coli＂ O157:H7 during processing and subsequent short-term storage of organic leafy greens. The leafy greens tested were, baby spinach, mature bunched spinach, romaine lettuce, and iceberg lettuce. The organic leafy greens were thoroughly washed and inoculated with a three-strain cocktail of ＂E. coli＂ O157:H7 (6 log CFU ml^(-1)). Antimicrobial treatments of the extracts, prepared in phosphate buffered saline, at 1, 3, and 5% concentrations were used to wash contaminated leafy greens which were then stored for 3 days at 4oC. Surviving ＂E. coli＂ O157:H7 populations were enumerated on days 0, 1, and 3 of storage. Significant reductions (P ＜ 0.05) in pathogen populations were observed in all the leafy greens following treatment with the plant extracts. Between 2.9-5.3 log CFUg^(-1) reductions in ＂E. coli＂ O157:H7 population were observed with all three concentrations (1%, 3% and 5%) of olive extract by day 3, for all the leafy greens. The 5% olive extract treatment reduced the pathogen to undetectable levels by day 0 for romaine lettuce and by day 1 for iceberg lettuce and baby spinach. Apple extract at 5% concentration showed reductions of 3.4 and 3.9 log CFUg^(-1) in iceberg and romaine lettuce, respectively. The 5% grape seed extract reduced ＂E. coli＂ O157:H7 populations by 4.4 logs CFUg^(-1) in romaine lettuce. This study demonstrates the potential of olive, apple and grape seed extracts as antimicrobial wash treatments against ＂E. coli＂ O157:H7 during the processing of organic leafy greens.

A 75-Year-Old Man with New Onset Dyspnea and Haemoptysis

Foreign body aspiration (FBA) is a common life-threatening condition which mostly occurs in children and elderly due to lack of airway protection mechanisms. A 75-year- old man was admitted to our outpatient clinic with complaints of a permanent shortness of breath for approximately 2 months and haemoptysis for two weeks. He had prescribed bronchodilators and levofloxacin with a diagnosis of COPD exacerbation but he didn't experience any relief though he used the medication regularly. He was a water-pipe smoker for 50 years. He reported to swallow 3 olive seeds in a day, after he watched an herbalist which had advised to do so, on a TV program. On presentation, wheezing was heard over the right hemi thorax and crackles were noted at the left base. His chest radiograph showed a suspicious heterogenic density behind the left heart silhouette. Bronchoscopy showed a polypoid lesion on the posterior wall of the left main bronchus, whereas an oval shaped mobile body (olive seed) was observed over the right main bronchus, under the right upper lobe division. The pathological diagnosis of the specimen taken from the polypoid lesion was compatible with active chronic granulation. We removed the olive seed by grasping forceps and the symptoms of the patient dissolved as well as the radiological findings. This is a demonstrative case reminding to consider FBA in elderly with sub acute respiratory symptoms.

Effect on zebrafish neurodevelopment and neuroprotection of a polyphenolic extract olive seeds

To determine the effect of a polyphenolic extract from olive pit on the development of the nervous system as well as its effect on pain induced by the neurotoxin kainic acid, taking the zebrafish as the animal model. We analyse the effect of the extract at the maximum tolerated dose (100 mg/ml of polyphenols) on the cholinergic activity in zebrafish larvae (72 hours post-fertilization). Only fecundated eggs with no abnormalities are used. 6 eggs/bowl are incubated in a 24 bowls microplate in 2 ml of water with DMSO (0.1%) at 26 ± 1º C: a) neurodevelopment: water (control) and 100 mg/ml of extract, as an essay; b) neuroprotection: water and kainic acid (100 μM) (control) and 100 mg/ml of extract (essay). All incubations are in triplicate. After 72 h, incubations are examined and checked for any abnormalities. Larvae are homogenized and acetyl cholinesterase activity and protein concentration in supernatants is quantified. The quantity of protein and the morphologic appreciation is similar in all the essays, showing a standard development. Acetyl cholinesterase in fish larvae, with the polyphenolic extract is 162.2% (SD 44.2) compared to controls (100% of activity) (p < 0.01). Fish larvae treated with kainic acid and polyphenolic acid show 140.1% (SD 22.0) of activity, compared to those only incubated with the neurotoxin (100%) (p < 0.05). Polyphenols extracted from olive pit produce an increase in the cholinergic activity during the larvae neurodevelopment in the zebrafish as well as protection against the neurotoxin kainic acid.

Occurrence of bound 3-monochloropropan-1,2-diol content in commonly consumed foods in Hong Kong analysed by enzymatic hydrolysis and GC-MS detection

The aim of this study was to determine the level of bound 3-monochloropropan-1,2-diol in foodstuffs commonly consumed in Hong Kong, China, by an enzymatic hydrolysis indirect method which proved to be free from interferences. A total of 290 samples were picked up randomly from the local market and analysed. About 73% of these samples were found to contain detectable amounts of bound 3-MCPD. Amongst the 73 food items, bound 3-MCPD was not detected in 13 food items, including extra virgin olive oil, beef ball/salami, beef flank, ham/Chinese ham, nuts, seeds, soy sauce, oyster sauce, butter, yoghurt, cream, cheese and milk. For those found to contain detectable bound 3-MCPD, the content ranged up to 2500 µg kg−1. The highest mean bound 3-MCPD content among the 14 food groups was in biscuits (440 [50–860] µg kg−1), followed by fats and oils (390 [n.d.–2500] µg kg−1), snacks (270 [9–1000] µg kg−1), and Chinese pastry (270 [n.d.–1200] µg kg−1). Among the samples, the highest bound 3-MCPD content was in a grape seed oil (2500 µg kg−1), followed by a walnut flaky pastry (1200 µg kg−1) and a grilled corn (1000 µg kg−1). Basically, the results of this study agreed well with other published results in peer-reviewed journals, except for cheese, cream, ham, nuts and seeds.

Isolation and Determination of Iridoid Glycosides from the Seeds of Osmanthus fragrans by HPLC

Osmanthus fragrans is a traditional economic and ornamental plant in China. Iridoid glycosides are one of the main active ingredients of this plant. The ethanol extract of O. fragrans’ seeds was analyzed by an HPLC method. The HPLC profile allowed the isolation of nuzhenide and GI-3 from O. fragrans’ seeds for the first time. A C18 column was used with a mixture of methanol and water as the mobile phase using a gradient elution technique. Nuzhenide and GI-3 as the major components were used successfully as chemical markers to determine the optimal time of O. fragrans’ seeds for collection. Experimental results show nuzhenide and GI-3 reached the highest level in the last ten days of April, with contents of 6.04 mg (g of dw)−1 and 13.24 mg (g of dw)−1, higher than that of olive seeds. The study showed that O. fragrans’ seeds can serve as a source of iridoid glycosides.

Effect of coconut water on growth of olive embryos cultured in vitro

The experiment was carried out to determine the appropriate dose of coconut water as supplement for in vitro cultivation of zygotic embryos from 19 olive genotypes. The isolated embryos of the olive seeds were immersed on culture medium containing 0 (control), 25, 50, and 100mL L-1 of fresh and sterile coconut water and kept for 45 days under controlled environment. The percentage of germination, shoot length, number of roots, number of leaves and number of internodes were measured for all 19 olive genotypes. The ANOVA of the parameters evaluated showed significant genotypes x doses of coconut water interaction for shoot length, number of leaves and number of internodes and the dose of 100mL L-1 produced the best results overall as indicated by the means of measured parameters. However, the study showed the importance of determining the appropriate dose of coconut water for each genotype under consideration as shown by significant genotype x dose of coconut water interaction effect.

Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles with High Fungicidal Activity from Olive Seed Extract

Silver nanoparticles in the form of silver based chemicals trace back their origin to time immemorial since the dilute forms of silver nitrate were used in place of antibiotics before they dominated the field of medicine. But, it has now become necessary to explore the anti-microbial properties of silver based chemicals again due to the microbes gaining resistance against the wide range of present day antibiotics. The advancements in the field of medicine and technology started to coalesce to combat the adaptability of microbes as they successfully become tolerant to antibiotics and it manifested in the form a current technology, Nanomedicine. Nanomedicine deals about the medicines at a nano scale to rarefy the intensity of medicine to unaffected tissues and reduce the volume of medicine used. In the present context, our attempt is to develop potential anti-microbial particles in the form of silver nanoparticles by using the biological phenomena which we call Green synthesis an eco-friendly approach to conventional chemical synthesis. The enzymatic machinery of the olive seeds has been exploited to produce silver nanoparticles and test their efficacy as antifungal agents before we characterized their physical properties using UV-Vis, TEM, and FTIR analysis. The efficacy of these particles as antagonists on fungal pathogen Aspergillus niger a causative agent of Aspergillosis in human beings and is promising and they have a lot of scope for the purpose and hope the technology leads the next generation of anti-microbials.

Olive Seed Germination and Initial Seedling Vigor as Influenced by Stratification Treatment and the Female Parent

The germination of seeds and the growth of the generated plant are two phases of great importance in an olive breeding program. In this work, three stratification treatments and five cultivars (Hojiblanca, Manzanilla Cacereña, Manzanilla de Sevilla, Toffahi, and Uovo di Piccione) used as female parents in a breeding program for table olive were evaluated along two years to improve germination protocols. The stratification treatments affected seed germination (percent seeds with radicle), radicle length, seedling emergence (percent emerged hypocotyls), and the average time of emergence. The cultivars have shown great variability with respect to the requirements of the seeds and seedling growth performance. None of the treatments with heat application (25 °C) after chill (14 °C) improved the percentage of germinated seeds and seedling emergence in any year compared with the control treatment (30 days at 14 °C). Cultivars such as Manzanilla de Sevilla and Toffahi seem to be a good choice of female progenitors to improve emergence rates and to obtain early vigorous progenies, a character that has been related to a shorter juvenile period of the seedlings. Moreover, in these progenies, a clear lower apical dominance was found from the first stages of seedling growth. The olive fruit and seed traits were also influenced by the female parent. In fact, ‘Hojiblanca’ and ‘Uovo di Piccione’ showed a higher number of empty seed fruits and double seed fruits compared with the other studied cultivars.

Characterization of carboxylate-terminated carbosilane dendrimers and their evaluation as nanoadditives in capillary electrophoresis for vegetable protein profiling

Protein profiles are becoming an important tool to differentiate and classify varieties of several cultivars and to obtain a specific fingerprint for them. The use of protein profiles for these purposes needs to achieve high separation efficiencies to obtain a high number of well resolved peaks. In this work, carbosilane dendrimers with interior carbon–silicon bonds and negatively charged in the dendrimer surface with carboxylic acid as functional groups were employed as nanoadditives to separate soybean and olive seeds proteins. First, these dendrimers were characterized using CE to evaluate their possible impurities. A potentiometric titration was later carried out to determine their pKa values. Afterwards, the characterized dendrimers were used to improve the protein profiles obtained by EKC for vegetable proteins. Different dendrimer generations (G1, G2, and G3) and concentrations (0.01–1% m/v) were tested. The highest dendrimer generation G3 at 0.1% (m/v) allowed observing the best protein profiles for soybean and olive seeds. These results demonstrate that carboxylate-terminated carbosilane dendrimers are attractive nanoadditives in EKC for the effective separation of vegetable proteins.

Agriculture as matchmaker of an unexpected mutualism: Great bustard disperses and enhances emergence of domestic olive seeds

By changing the habitats and altering plant traits, agriculture has severely disrupted many plant–animal mutualisms. Interestingly, however, the intensification of agricultural practices could also facilitate mutualistic relationships between species with naturally mismatching phenotypes. We illustrate the potential of the great bustard (Otis tarda), a large steppe bird, as disperser of domestic olive (Olea europaea) seeds, originally a forest species. In an area of southwestern Spain, 30% of bustard faeces included olive stones (from 1 to 13). Only 1.7% of the bustard-ingested olive seeds were broken. Moreover, using a sowing experiment, we show bustard ingestion enhanced seedling emergence, which reached 8.8%, 3.4% and 0.0% for bustard-ingested, hand-depulped, and control seeds, respectively. As expected for Mediterranean habitats, seedling mortality was very high in the first summer for all seed treatments. In 6 out of 19 non-plowed patches within our study area, we found olive saplings of different ages likely to emerge from bustard-dispersed seeds. Given the large size of domestic olive fruits, bustards are among the few local animals able to disperse their seeds and thus to assist in the forestation of field boundaries and abandoned lands. Paradoxically, because bustards are rather restricted to open habitats, their success in shaping the habitat (i.e., ‘planting’ olive trees) could lead to their own removal from the resulting forested landscape.

Optimisation and characterisation of various extraction conditions of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity in olive seeds

This study was conducted to optimise the extraction conditions of phenolic compounds to evaluate antioxidant extraction parameters and to identify the major free and bound phenolic compounds in olive seeds. The results obtained using methanol as an extraction solvent for olive seeds indicated that the optimised total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were obtained at an extraction time of 12 h, an extraction temperature of 70°C and an extraction cycle of three stages. The correlation coefficient between total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities was positive (R 2 = 0.83). The major finding is that the predominant phenolic compounds in olive seeds were present in free form. However, a small percentage of the bound phenolic compounds was found in olive seeds compared to that of the free phenolic compounds. This study recommends that olive seeds with optimised extraction conditions (i.e. optimised correlation between phenolic compound contents and antioxidant activities) can be used as potential food additive candidates in functional, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries.

Hierarchical structures based on natural carbons and zeolites

Hierarchical porous structures have been widely synthesised to provide the most beneficial flow and surface area characteristics for a range of liquid and gas phase processes. We present three novel hierarchical porous structures based on carbonised olive seeds, coconut shells and coconut fibres coupled with zeolite Y. The structures are synthesised using a new seeding technique based around milling commercially available zeolite Y to provide nano-seeds for the growth step. The efficacy of the structures for the removal of ionic cobalt and arsenic contaminants is demonstrated with complete arsenic removal at simulated pollution levels. In addition, the vitrification of the structures to completely encapsulate cobalt ions, allowing no detectable release, is also described. All steps of the synthesis are tailored to produce the most economically viable materials using inexpensive starting materials and replacing, costly, colloidal seeds of zeolite Y with ball milled replacements.

Secoiridoids in olive seed: characterization of nüzhenide and 11-methyl oleosides by liquid chromatography with diode array and mass spectrometry

The seed extracts of olive tree cultivars were analyzed by reverse phase HPLC with diode array detection and mass spectrometry. HPLC hyphenation with mass spectrometry (ESI source) in both polarity modes enabled the identification in olive seeds of nuzhenide and nuzhenide 11-methyl oleoside, among other 11-methyl oleosides, by means of MS n . The methods used allowed us to obtain olive seed profiles of phenolic components and to conclude that they are mainly secoiridoids. The quantification of detected phenolic secoiridoids was also achieved using ultraviolet detection (λ = 240 nm) which enabled comparison of the samples. Nuzhenide and nuzhenide 11-methyl oleoside were the major components detected in olive seeds of all the cultivars studied, but variations in individual components of olive seeds were verified among the cultivars. The results also support the existence of di and tri(11-methyl oleosides) of nuzhenide.

IN VITRO GERMINATION OF STONELESS SEEDS AND ISOLATED EMBRYOS OF 14 SICILIAN CULTIVARS OF OLEA EUROPAEA L.

Olive seeds are characterized by an orthodox behaviour and exhibit a state of dormancy caused by different factors such as the hard covering structures (sclerified endocarp) and the inhibitory germination substances contained both in the teguments and in the endosperm and within the embryo. For these reasons, olive seed germination percentages and rates are usually low. To speed up olive seedling development can be very advantageous in breeding programmes as well as in rootstock production for grafting of hard-to-root cultivars. In this study, the in vitro germination potential of stoneless seeds (seeds without the sclerified endocarp) without teguments and of excised embryos of fourteen Sicilian olive cultivars was evaluated. For the in vitro germination of excised embryos, three different media (presence/absence of plant growth regulators, different carbon source concentrations) have been evaluated. Differences in the seed and in isolated embryo germination percentages due to culture media were recorded. In vitro germination of isolated embryos can be a useful method for increasing the efficiency of germination. In fact, according to these results, embryo culture can increase the efficiency and shorten the time for starting initial progeny evaluation of olive breeding programmes.