Potentiality of application of Yacon (Polymnia sonchifolia) flour on cereal-based products

Orientador: Fernanda Paula CollaresDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de AlimentosResumo: O presente trabalho visou avaliar a aplicação de farinha de Yacon (Polymnia sonchifolia) em produtos à base de cereais como bolo inglês, biscoito tipo "Champurrada" e snacks à base de arroz obtidos por extrusão termoplástica. Para tanto, a incorporação de farinha de Yacon nos snacks e a substituição parcial da farinha de trigo pela farinha de Yacon no bolo e no biscoito foram analisadas quantificando-se a magnitude das mudanças físicas e sensoriais nestes produtos. Para os três estudos, utilizou-se a metodologia de superfície de resposta com um delineamento estatístico do tipo composto central rotacional (com 2 variáveis independentes no caso do bolo e biscoito, e 3 variáveis independentes para o estudo dos snacks). As variáveis independentes no estudo do bolo foram as concentrações de farinha de Yacon e de farinha de linhaça. Já, para o biscoito, as variáveis foram as concentrações de farinha de Yacon e de aveia em flocos. Em se tratando dos snacks, as variáveis foram: umidade da farinha de alimentação; temperatura na 4ª e 5ª zona do extrusor; e teor de farinha de Yacon incorporada. Os bolos e os biscoitos foram analisados quanto à textura e cor instrumental (Hunterlab), densidade da massa, volume específico, além das avaliações sensoriais. Por sua vez, as variáveis dependentes no estudo dos snacks foram: propriedades físico-químicas (textura e cor instrumental, índice de absorção de água e de solubilidade em água, e índice de expansão) e sensoriais. Para o bolo, as superfícies geradas sugeriram que concentrações de farinha de Yacon variando entre 0,0% e 3,45% e teores de farinha de linhaça entre 3,18% e 6,0% resultaram em um produto de menor dureza. Para os parâmetros de cor, com concentrações mínimas de farinha de Yacon e linhaça (0,0% e 3,18%, respectivamente), obteve-se um bolo mais claro, de coloração mais amarelada e a densidade da massa atingiu valores mínimos quando o teor de linhaça foi de 6,0%, sendo que o teor de farinha de Yacon não apresentou influência sobre este parâmetro. No estudo do biscoito, a superfície de resposta indicou que quando a concentração de Yacon foi de 3,45% ou superior, e a de aveia de 6,82%, o parâmetro L* atingiu seu valor máximo. O maior valor de intenção de compra ocorreu para uma concentração de Yacon de 3,45% e de aveia de 1,18% e 6,82%. Dessas observações pode-se inferir que a concentração recomendada de incorporação de farinha de Yacon seria 3,45% e de aveia de 6,82%, considerando a faixa de valores estudada. Os snacks que apresentaram maior expansão foram obtidos a 120ºC, com teor de umidade da matéria-prima igual a 17% e concentração da farinha de Yacon de 12%. As superfícies geradas para os atributos sensoriais textura e intenção de compra, mostraram que o valor máximo para estes dois atributos ocorreram para as mesmas condições de temperatura, umidade da farinha de alimentação e teor de farinha de Yacon que propiciaram o maior índice de expansão. A utilização da farinha de Yacon (Polymnia sonchifolia) como um ingrediente funcional em produtos panificados (bolo e biscoito) e extrudados (snacks de arroz) mostrou-se viável. Os fruto-oligossacarídeos (FOS), objeto central no desenvolvimento de um produto funcional, foram conservados no processamento do Yacon até a obtenção da farinha e permaneceram em concentrações satisfatórias, de modo a suprir a ingestão nutricional de acordo com padrões difundidos na literaturaAbstract: This study aimed at evaluating the application of yacon (Polymnia sonchifolia) flour in cereal-based products such as pound cake, "Champurrada" type biscuits and rice-based snacks produced by a thermoplastic extrusion process. Thus the effect of incorporating yacon flour into the snacks and the partial substitution of wheat flour by yacon flour in the cake and biscuit were analysed, quantifying the magnitude of the physical and sensory changes in these products. Response surface methodology was used in the three studies, with a rotatable central-composite experimental design (with 2 independent variables for the cake and biscuit, and 3 independent variables for the snacks). The independent variables for the cake study were the yacon flour and flaxseed flour concentrations, and for the biscuit, the yacon flour and oat flake concentrations. For the snacks, the variables were: moisture content of the feed flour; temperature in the 4th and 5th extruder zones; and amount of yacon flour incorporated. The cakes and biscuits were analysed for instrumental texture and colour (Hunterlab), dough density and specific volume, as well as the sensory analyses. On the other hand the dependent variables for the snacks were: the physical (instrumental texture and colour, water solubility index, water absorption index and expansion ratio) and sensory properties. For the cake, the surfaces generated suggested that concentrations of yacon flour between 0.0% and 3.45% and of flaxseed flour between 3.18% and 6.0% resulted in a cake with reduced hardness. For the colour parameters, the minimum yacon and flaxseed flour concentrations (0.0% and 3.18%, respectively), produced lighter coloured cakes with a yellowish colour. The dough density reached minimum values when the concentration of flaxseed was 6.0%, whilst the yacon flour concentration showed no influence on this parameter. In the biscuit study, the response surface indicated that when the yacon flour concentration was 3.45% or above and that of the oat flakes 6.82%, the L* parameter reached its maximum value. The highest value for purchasing intention was obtained with a Yacon flour concentration of 3.45% and an oats concentration between 1.18% and 6.82%. These observations inferred that the recommended concentrations for the yacon flour and oat flakes would be 3.45% and 6.82%, respectively, considering the range of values studied. The most expanded snacks were obtained under the following conditions: 17% moisture content in the feed flour, a temperature of 120ºC and the incorporation of 12% yacon flour. The surfaces generated for the sensory attributes of texture and purchasing intention, showed that the maximum values for these two attributes were obtained under the same conditions of temperature, feed flour moisture content and yacon flour incorporation that propitiated the greatest expansion values. The use of yacon flour (Polymnia sonchifolia) as a functional ingredient in bakery products (cake and biscuit) and extruded products (rice snacks) was shown to be viable. The fructooligosaccharides (FOS), central object of the development of a functional product, were conserved during the processing of the yacon to obtain the flour, remaining in satisfactory concentrations, sufficient to supply the recommended values for ingestion according to standards divulged in the literatureMestradoMestre em Tecnologia de Alimento

"Zero trans" fat pan bread : study of the effet of different fats and oil on the technological quality of breads

Orientador: Caroline Joy SteelTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de AlimentosResumo: A interesterificação é uma ferramenta fundamental para o desenvolvimento de gorduras "zero trans"; entretanto, comparada ao processo de hidrogenação, esta apresenta limitações, sobretudo no desenvolvimento de gorduras para uso em panificação. De acordo com a literatura, na produção de pão de forma, a gordura exerce diversas funções, como a lubrificação e o aumento da extensibilidade da massa, e o aumento do volume e do sabor do pão. A gordura afeta a textura, mantendo os pães macios por mais tempo; isto se deve possivelmente à sua interação com o amido da farinha, retardando o processo de retrogradação e, assim, estendendo a vida de prateleira do pão. O objetivo deste trabalho foi aplicar a tecnologia de Redes Neurais Artificiais (RNA) na formulação de gorduras "zero trans" à base de óleo de soja e gorduras interesterificadas de soja para facilitar o processo de formulação por blending, específicas para produtos de panificação, e determinar a influência das mesmas na qualidade dos pães de forma e nas interações entre as gorduras e o amido da farinha. Para tanto, foram produzidos pré-misturas e pães de forma com a adição de 4% de gordura. Como padrões, foram utilizadas gorduras comerciais, hidrogenada (GHS) e low trans (GLT), além de óleo de soja (OLS). Também foram utilizados os blends de gordura formulados através da RNA (BL1, BL2, BL3 e BL4). Para efeito de controle, foi produzido um pão sem adição de gordura (C). A análise farinográfica mostrou que a absorção de água (ABS) da farinha de trigo pura (59,0%) foi em média 6,5% maior que a das pré-misturas adicionadas de gordura. O tempo de desenvolvimento (Td) foi menor para as amostras GHS, GLT e BL4. A extensografia mostrou que, dentre todas as amostras, a BL4 foi a mais resistente (980 UE) e a menos extensível (114 mm). Isto provavelmente ocorreu devido ao menor teor de óleo de soja em sua constituição (54%), o que pode ter contribuído para uma massa de maior consistência. A análise dos pães produzidos revelou que apenas os volumes específicos das amostras OLS (3,46 mL/g) e BL4 (4,07 mL/g) diferiram significativamente entre si. A análise de firmeza dos pães mostrou que ao longo da estocagem houve diferença significativa entre a firmeza dos pães com gordura e a amostra controle (1005,75 gf), sendo este valor 13% superior ao da amostra GHS - a mais firme dentre os pães com adição de gordura. A uniformidade do miolo foi maior com a utilização de gordura. Nos pães controle (C), a porosidade (26,73%) foi quase 3 vezes superior ao das amostras com a adição dos blends. Os miolos dos pães BL1, BL2, BL3 e BL4 apresentaram alvéolos pequenos e espalhados mais uniformemente, quando comparados aos pães C, GHS, GLT e OLS. Quanto à umidade, os pães com gordura apresentaram um menor teor em relação ao da amostra controle (35%), pois as suas massas absorveram menos água durante a mistura. A análise térmica através de DSC sugeriu um efeito da gordura sobre o envelhecimento dos pães, uma vez que as variações de entalpia de retrogradação foram menores para os pães com gorduras. Os blends de gordura desenvolvidos usando a RNA e aqui utilizados, além do baixo teor de ácidos graxos trans (1,18% em média), apresentaram-se viáveis para aplicação em panificação, sobretudo o BL4Abstract: Interesterification is a fundamental tool in the development of "zero trans" fats; however, when compared to the hydrogenation process, it presents limitations, especially when developing shortenings for bakery products. According to literature, in the production of pan bread, fat has several functions, such as lubrication and an increase in dough extensibility, and an increase in bread volume and flavor. Fat affects texture, maintaining breads soft for a longer period of time; this is possibly due to its interaction with starch in flour, retarding the retrogradation process and, thus, extending bread shelf-life. The aim of this study was to apply Artificial Neural Network (ANN) technology in the formulation of "zero trans" fats based on soybean oil and soybean interesterified fats to ease the formulation process through blending, for use in bakery products, and determine their influence on the quality of pan bread and on their interaction with starch in flour. For this, pre-mixes and breads with the addition of 4% fat were produced. As standards, commercial fats (hydrogenated soybean fat ¿ GHS and low trans fat ¿ GLT) were used, as well as soybean oil (OLS). The fat blends formulated using the ANN (BL1, BL2, BL3 e BL4) were also used. As control (C), bread without fat addition was prepared. The farinographic analysis showed that water absorption (ABS) of pure wheat flour (59.0%) was in average 6.5% higher than that of the pre-mixes of flour and fats. Dough development time (Td) was lower for the samples GHS, GLT and BL4. The extensographic analysis showed that, amongst all samples, BL4 showed the highest resistance to extension (980 EU) and the lowest extensibility (114 mm). This probably occurred due to the lower soybean oil content in its constitution (54%) that could have contributed to a more consistent dough. The analysis of the breads produced revealed that only the specific volumes of the samples OLS (3.46 mL/g) and BL4 (4.07 mL/g) differed significantly. Firmness analysis of breads showed that throughout the storage period studied there was a significant difference between the firmness of the breads with fats and the control sample (1005.75 gf), being this value 13% higher than that of GHS ¿ the firmest amongst samples with fat. Crumb uniformity was greater with the use of fat. In the control breads (C), porosity (26.73%) was almost 3 times greater than that of the samples with the addition of the blends. The crumbs of breads BL1, BL2, BL3 and BL4 presented small and more uniformly distributed alveoli, when compared to breads C, GHS, GLT and OLS. As to moisture content, breads with fat presented lower values when compared to the control sample (35%), as their doughs absorbed less water during mixing. Thermal analysis through DSC suggested an effect of fat on bread staling, once retrogradation enthalpy changes were lower for breads with fats. The fat blends developed using the ANN and used in this study, as well as having a low trans fatty acid content (1.18% in average), showed feasibility for application in pan bread, especially BL4DoutoradoTecnologia de AlimentosDoutor em Tecnologia de Alimento

Unmasking Snake Venom of Bothrops leucurus: Purification and Pharmacological and Structural Characterization of New PL Bleu TX-III

Bleu TX-III was isolated from Bothrops leucurus snake venom on one-step analytical chromatography reverse phase HPLC, was homogeneous on SDS-PAGE, and was confirmed by Q-Tof Ultima API ESI/MS (TOF MS mode) mass spectrometry in 14243.8 Da. Multiple alignments of Bleu TX-III show high degree of homology with basic PLA2 myotoxins from other Bothrops venoms. Our studies on local and systemic myotoxicity “in vivo” reveal that Bleu TX-III is myotoxin with local but not systemic action due to the decrease in the plasmatic CK levels when Bleu TX-III is administrated by intravenous route in mice (dose 1 and 5 μg). And at a dose of 20 μg myotoxin behaves like a local and systemic action. Bleu TX-III induced moderate marked paw edema, evidencing the local increase in vascular permeability. The inflammatory events induced in the mice (I.M.) were investigated. The increase in the levels of IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α was observed in the plasma. It is concluded that Bleu TX-III induces inflammatory events in this model. The enzymatic phospholipid hydrolysis may be relevant to these phenomena. Bothrops leucurus venom is still not extensively explored, and the knowledge of its toxins separately through the study of structure/function will contribute for a better understanding of its action mechanism

Starches from non - conventional sources to improve the technological characteristics of pound cake

This study evaluated and compared the effect of the utilization of five different non-conventional starches (chickpea, common bean, Peruvian carrot, sweet potato and white bean) and four different commercial starches (cassava, corn, potato and rice) in pound cake. Common bean starch, followed by Peruvian carrot starch were the non-conventional starch sources that showed tendency to improve the technological quality of pound cake, mainly in relation to corn starch, the most common commercial source. With these sources, the batters presented lower specific gravity and the cakes presented higher specific volume, lighter color, lower crumb moisture reduction during the storage period, and better texture attributes during all the cake shelf-life. Moreover, common bean starch provided higher scores in the cake sensory evaluation; especially for grain and texture attributes (moisture, tenderness and softness). Chickpea and white bean starches were more similar to corn starch in pound cake application

Fats from chemically interesterified high-oleic sunflower oil and fully hydrogenated palm oil.

Chemical interesterification of different lipid materials has considerable potential for the production of a wide variety of special fats with improved functional and nutritional properties. The present study aimed to evaluate the chemical interesterification of blends of high-oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) and fully hydrogenated palm oil (FHPO) in the ratios (% w/w) of 80:20, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50. The blends were characterized in triacylglycerol composition, melting point, solid fat content and crystallization behavior, and some applications in food products were suggested. The interesterification altered the solid fat content, melting point and crystallization isotherm of the samples, after the levels of trisaturated triacylglycerols decreased and disaturated–monounsaturated and monosaturated– diunsaturated triacylglycerol contents increased, due to the randomization of fatty acids. The modification in the triacylglycerol composition promoted greater miscibility between the HOSO and FHPO fractions, creating new application possibilities for the food industry

Update on the profile of the EUSTAR cohort: an analysis of the EULAR Scleroderma Trials and Research group database

Objectives Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare disease requiring multicentre collaboration to reveal comprehensive details of disease-related causes for morbidity and mortality.Methods The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) group initiated a database to prospectively gather key data of patients with SSc using a minimal essential dataset that was reorganised in 2008 introducing new items. Baseline visit data of patients who were registered between 2004 and 2011 were analysed using descriptive statistics.Results In June 2011, 7655 patients (2838 with diffuse cutaneous (dc) and 4481 with limited cutaneous (lc) SSc who fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology diagnostic criteria had been registered in 174 centres, mainly European. The most prominent hallmarks of disease were Raynaud's phenomenon (96.3%), antinuclear antibodies (93.4%) and a typical capillaroscopic pattern (90.9%). Scleroderma was more common on fingers and hands than on any other part of the skin. Proton pump inhibitors (65.2%), calcium channel blockers (52.7%), and corticosteroids (45.3%) were most often prescribed. Among the immunosuppressant agents, cyclophosphamide was used more often in dcSSc than in lcSSc.Conclusions The EUSTAR database provides an abundance of information on the true clinical face of SSc that will be helpful in improving the classification of SSc and its subsets and for developing more specific therapeutic recommendations