Optimization of total carotenoids extraction from pequi pulp (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.) using a mixture planning method/ Otimização da extração de carotenoides totais da polpa de pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.) usando método de planejamento de misturas

The pequi is a native fruit of the Brazilian Savanna and the consumption of its carotenoid-rich pulp has been associated with several health benefits. However, there are considerable differences in carotenoid content reported for this fruit, mainly due to the diversity of extraction methods used in the recovery of these compounds from pequi pulp. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of different organic solvents and mixtures in the extraction of total carotenoids from pequi pulp. For the carotenoids extraction, pure solvents and the mixtures of acetone, ethyl alcohol and petroleum ether were used. The mixture planning was used to determine the proportions of the solvents in each treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first study to identify that the most efficient treatment for total carotenoid extraction from pequi pulp is pure petroleum ether solvent (234.40 μg/g). In contrast, ethyl alcohol was the solvent that extracted the lowest concentration of total carotenoids (124.03 μg/g). Pure acetone, one of the most used solvents in the extraction of carotenoids from pequi, showed intermediate efficiency (166.07 μg/g). Thus, pure petroleum ether is the solvent recommended for total carotenoid extraction, mainly in the samples rich in carotenoid and lipids, such as pequi pulp

Tensores polares e modelos de eletronegatividade para os hidretos do grupo IV e fluorosilanos

Orientador: Roy E. BrunsDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de QuimicaMestrad

Tensores polares atomicos e energias das camadas internas

Orientador: Roy Edward BrunsTese (doutorado) - Univerdade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de QuimicaDoutorad

Earwax metabolomics: An innovative pilot metabolic profiling study for assessing metabolic changes in ewes during periparturition period.

Important metabolic changes occur during transition period of late pregnancy and early lactation to meet increasing energy demands of the growing fetus and for milk production. The aim of this investigation is to present an innovative and non-invasive tool using ewe earwax sample analysis to assess the metabolic profile in ewes during late pregnancy and early lactation. In this work, earwax samples were collected from 28 healthy Brazilian Santa Inês ewes divided into 3 sub-groups: 9 non-pregnant ewes, 6 pregnant ewes in the last 30 days of gestation, and 13 lactating ewes ≤ 30 days postpartum. Then, a range of metabolites including volatile organic compounds (VOC), amino acids (AA), and minerals were profiled and quantified in the samples by applying headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, high performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry, and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry, respectively. As evident in our results, significant changes were observed in the metabolite profile of earwax between the studied groups where a remarkable elevation was detected in the levels of non-esterified fatty acids, alcohols, ketones, and hydroxy urea in the VOC profile of samples obtained from pregnant and lactating ewes. Meanwhile, a significant decrease was detected in the levels of 9 minerals and 14 AA including essential AA (leucine, phenyl alanine, lysine, isoleucine, threonine, valine), conditionally essential AA (arginine, glycine, tyrosine, proline, serine), and a non-essential AA (alanine). Multivariate analysis using robust principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis was successfully applied to discriminate the three study groups using the variations of metabolites in the two stress states (pregnancy and lactation) from the healthy non-stress condition. The innovative developed method was successful in evaluating pre- and post-parturient metabolic changes using earwax and can in the future be applied to recognize markers for diagnosis, prevention, and intervention of pregnancy complications in ewes

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) numbering in Fig 1, its CAS No., and retention times (Rt).

<p>Volatile organic compounds (VOC) numbering in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0183538#pone.0183538.g001" target="_blank">Fig 1</a>, its CAS No., and retention times (Rt).</p

Box-plot diagrams showing autoscaled concentrations of 84 volatile organic compounds (VOC) in earwax of Santa Inês sheep: a) Healthy non-pregnant ewes (HNP), b) Healthy pregnant ewes (HP), and c) Healthy lactating ewes (HL).

<p>Unfilled circles (○) represent statistically suspected outliers and filled circles (•) are statistical outliers. VOC numbering is according to <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0183538#pone.0183538.t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a>.</p