Ethnobotanical uses in the Ancona district (Marche region, Central Italy).

BACKGROUND: The study is a survey of the traditional uses of plants in the Ancona district, in the Marche region, Central Italy. METHODS: The information derives from ethnobotanical investigations conducted with an open questionnaire among the rural population in three areas of the Ancona district that are representative of the socio-economic and environmental assets of the entire district: the Mount Conero area on the Adriatic coast; the municipality of Osimo, as an inland hilly area; and the 'Gola della Rossa-Frasassi' area, in the Apennines. RESULTS: A total of 120 informants cited 195 species. The ethnobotanical data concern medicinal (122 species), food (119), veterinary (53), superstitious/religious (61), cosmetic (30), domestic (27), dyeing (17), recreational (17), repellent (15), craft (10), and miscellaneous (29) uses, along with inclusion in local sayings and proverbs (25). The species with the greatest number of categories of use here was Sambucus nigra L. Among the other species with the greatest numbers of categories of use, there were Matricharia chamomilla L., Salvia officinalis L., Urtica dioica L., Papaver roheas L., and Rosa canina L. For each use, comparisons with national and regional literature were made. CONCLUSIONS: Some uses are commonly known across the three areas; others are sectoral and are new for the Marche region. The survey increases our present-day knowledge of the traditional local uses of plants in the Marche region, in terms of medicinal and food uses, and of ethnobotanical aspects as a whole, which will allow many of these uses to be preserved in the future.

Impact of thistle rennet from Carlina acanthifolia All. subsp. acanthifolia on bacterial diversity and dynamics of a specialty Italian raw ewes' milk cheese.

Caciofiore della Sibilla is an Italian specialty soft cheese manufactured with Sopravissana raw ewes' milk and thistle rennet prepared with young fresh leaves and stems of Carlina acanthifolia All. subsp. acanthifolia, according to an ancient tradition deeply rooted in the territory of origin (mountainous hinterland of the Marche region, Central Italy). In this study, the impact of thistle rennet on the bacterial dynamics and diversity of Caciofiore della Sibilla cheese was investigated by applying a polyphasic approach based on culture and DNA-based techniques (Illumina sequencing and PCR-DGGE). A control cheese manufactured with the same batch of ewes' raw milk and commercial animal rennet was analyzed in parallel. Overall, a large number of bacterial taxa were identified, including spoilage, environmental and pro-technological bacteria, primarily ascribed to Lactobacillales. Thistle rennet was observed clearly to affect the early bacterial dynamics of Caciofiore della Sibilla cheese with Lactobacillus alimentarius/paralimentarius and Lactobacillus plantarum/paraplantarum/pentosus being detected in the phyllosphere of C. acanthifolia All., thistle rennet and curd obtained with thistle rennet. Other bacterial taxa, hypothetically originating from the vegetable coagulant (Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Leuconostoc mesenteroides/pseudomesenteroides), were exclusively found in Caciofiore della Sibilla cheese by PCR-DGGE. At the end of the maturation period, Illumina sequencing demonstrated that both cheeses were dominated by Lactobacillales; however curd and cheese produced with thistle rennet were co-dominated by Lactobacillus and Leuconostoc, whereas Lactoccous prevailed in curd and cheese produced with commercial animal rennet followed by Lactobacillus. Differences in the bacterial composition between the two cheeses at the end of their maturation period were confirmed by PCR-DGGE analysis.

Yeast and mould dynamics in Caciofiore della Sibilla cheese coagulated with an aqueous extract of Carlina acanthifolia All.

Caciofiore della Sibilla is a speciality ewes' milk cheese traditionally manufactured in a foothill area of the Marche region (Central Italy) with a crude extract of fresh young leaves of Carlina acanthifolia All. subsp. acanthifolia as a coagulating agent. The fungal dynamics and diversity of this speciality cheese were investigated throughout the manufacturing and 20-day ripening process, using a combined PCR-DGGE approach. The fungal biota of a control ewes' milk cheese, manufactured with the same batch of milk coagulated with a commercial animal rennet, was also monitored by PCR-DGGE, in order to investigate the contribution of the peculiar vegetable coagulant to the fungal diversity and dynamics of the cheese. Based on the overall results collected, the raw milk and the dairy environment represented the main sources of fungal contamination, with a marginal or null contribution of thistle rennet to the fungal diversity and dynamics of Caciofiore della Sibilla cheese. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.