Persone PhD CandidatesXXXVIII ciclo Silvia D'Agostino

XXXVIII ciclo Silvia D'Agostino

2nd year

Curriculum: Food Science and Technology

Supervisor: Prof. Bruno Zanoni

Email: silvia.dagostino@unifi.it

Office address: Via Donizetti, 6 - 50144 Firenze

Mobile phone:  

Profile

Silvia D’Agostino holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences and a Master’s degree in Food Science and Nutrition from University of Florence, Italy. Her studies currently focus on by-products from food industries, mainly plant wastes such as pomegranate peels. Aim of the research is to recover and re-use the by-products through innovative strategies in a second type of production, applying the concept of circular economy. The main goals of her research are to extract the matrices to obtain bioactive compounds, in particular polysaccharides and polyphenols, while keeping the process environmentally and economically sustainable.  After enhancement of the technological and nutraceutical characteristics of the extract, different applications in the food sector are also tested to develop new products with improved properties. Ongoing application of the extract is as additive for winemaking.

Research interests and PhD project

Key words of the research are: pomegranate peel, polysaccharides, tannins, circular economy, wine, extraction

Papers

• Cecchi, L.; Breschi, C.; Guerrini, L.; D’Agostino, S.; Parenti, A.; Mulinacci, N.; Zanoni, B. Towards an index of damage of olive paste during virgin olive oil extraction: The role of β-OH-acteoside diastereomers for risk assessment of the fusty/muddy sediment sensory defect, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 2024, 131, 106203, ISSN 0889-1575, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2024.106203.
• Breschi, C.; D’Agostino, S.; Meneguzzo, F.; Zabini, F.; Chini, J.; Lovatti, L.; Tagliavento, L.; Guerrini, L.; Bellumori, M.; Cecchi, L.; Zanoni, B. Can a Fraction of Flour and Sugar Be Replaced with Fruit By-Product Extracts in a Gluten-Free and Vegan Cookie Recipe? Molecules 2024, 29, 1102. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29051102.
• D’Agostino, S.; Cecchi, L.; Khatib, M.; Domizio, P.; Zoccatelli, G.; Civa, V.; Mainente, F.; Breschi, C.; Ugolini, T.; Meneguzzo, F.; et al. ¹H-NMR, HPSEC-RID, and HPAEC-PAD Characterization of Polysaccharides Extracted by Hydrodynamic Cavitation from Apple and Pomegranate By-Products for Their Valorization: A Focus on Pectin. Processes 2024, 12, 2113. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12102113

Conference talks and seminars

• Oral presentation at RETASTE: Rethink Food Resources, Losses, and Waste 4^th International Conference, Heraklion, Greece, September 25-27, 2024NRF-765: Fermentation of pomegranate by-product to recover tannins and reduce polysaccharides for oenological application. Silvia D’Agostino, Mohamad Khatib, Lorenzo Cecchi, Valentina canuti, Paola Domizio, Francesco Maioli, Nadia Mulinacci