Evaluation of antifungal activity of essential oils against potentially mycotoxigenic Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus

The antifungal activity of essential oils of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Apiaceae), ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Zingiberaceae), mint (Mentha piperita L., Lamiaceae) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L., Lamiaceae) was evaluated against mycotoxin producers Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. High Resolution Gas Chromatography was applied to analyze chemical constituents of essential oils. The effect of different concentrations of essential oils was determined by solid medium diffusion assay. Mycelial growth and sporulation were determined for each essential oil at the concentrations established by solid medium diffusion assay. At the fifth, seventh and ninth days the mycelial diameter (Ø mm) and spore production were also determined. FUN-1 staining was performed to assess cell viability after broth macrodilution assay. Trans-anethole, zingiberene, menthol and thymol are the major component of essential oils of fennel, ginger, mint and thyme, respectively. The effective concentrations for fennel, ginger, mint and thyme were 50, 80, 50 and 50% (oil/DMSO; v/v), respectively. The four essential oils analysed in this study showed antifungal effect. Additionally, FUN-1 staining showed to be a suitable method to evaluate cell viability of potential mycotoxigenic fungi A. flavus and A. parasiticus after treatment with essential oils.The authors are grateful to the colleagues from Laboratory of EPAMIG and Microbiology DEB/UFLA and the Micoteca da Universidade do Minho, Center for Biological Engineering, UMINHO for their support to perform this work. A special aknowledgment is also due to the FAPEMIG and MUM-UMINHO for the financial support of bench work and to CAPES for granting the first author with a PhD scholarship

Wild dogs at stake: deforestation threatens the only Amazon endemic canid, the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis)

The persistent high deforestation rate and fragmentation of the Amazon forests are the main threats to their biodiversity. To anticipate and mitigate these threats, it is important to understand and predict how species respond to the rapidly changing landscape. The short-eared dog Atelocynus microtis is the only Amazon-endemic canid and one of the most understudied wild dogs worldwide. We investigated short-eared dog habitat associations on two spatial scales. First, we used the largest record database ever compiled for short-eared dogs in combination with species distribution models to map species habitat suitability, estimate its distribution range and predict shifts in species distribution in response to predicted deforestation across the entire Amazon (regional scale). Second, we used systematic camera trap surveys and occupancy models to investigate how forest cover and forest fragmentation affect the space use of this species in the Southern Brazilian Amazon (local scale). Species distribution models suggested that the short-eared dog potentially occurs over an extensive and continuous area, through most of the Amazon region south of the Amazon River. However, approximately 30% of the short-eared dog's current distribution is expected to be lost or suffer sharp declines in habitat suitability by 2027 (within three generations) due to forest loss. This proportion might reach 40% of the species distribution in unprotected areas and exceed 60% in some interfluves (i.e. portions of land separated by large rivers) of the Amazon basin. Our local-scale analysis indicated that the presence of forest positively affected short-eared dog space use, while the density of forest edges had a negative effect. Beyond shedding light on the ecology of the short-eared dog and refining its distribution range, our results stress that forest loss poses a serious threat to the conservation of the species in a short time frame. Hence, we propose a re-assessment of the short-eared dog's current IUCN Red List status (Near Threatened) based on findings presented here. Our study exemplifies how data can be integrated across sources and modelling procedures to improve our knowledge of relatively understudied species

Kinetics of mass loss of arabica coffee during roasting process

Roasting is one of the most complex coffee processing steps due to simultaneous transfers of heat and mass. During this process, beans lose mass because of fast physical and chemical changes that will set color and flavor of the commercial coffee beverage. Therefore, we aimed at assessing the kinetics of mass loss in commercially roasted coffee beans according to heating throughout the processing. For that, we used samples of 350-g Arabica coffee processed grains with water content of 0.1217 kga kg-1, in addition to a continuous roaster with firing gas. The roaster had initial temperatures of 285, 325, 345 and 380 °C, decreasing during the process up to 255, 285, 305 and 335 °C respectively. Mass loss was calculated by the difference between grain weight before and after roasting. We observed a linear variation directly dependent on roaster temperature. For each temperature during the process was obtained a constant mass loss rate, which was reported by the Arrhenius model with r2 above 0.98. In a roaster in non-isothermal conditions, the required activation energy to start the mass loss in a commercial coffee roasting index was 52.27 kJ mol -1.A torrefação é uma das etapas mais complexa do processamento do café devido à transferência simultânea de calor e massa, em que os grãos perdem massa devido à rapidez das mudanças físicas e químicas, necessárias para produzir a cor e o aroma do café comercial. Assim, objetivou-se com este trabalho determinar a cinética da perda de massa dos grãos de café torrados comercialmente em função da temperatura do processo. Foram usadas amostras de 350 g de grãos beneficiados de café arábica com teor de água de 0,1217 kga kg-1 . Usou-se um torrador com queima de gás constante e temperaturas iniciais de 285; 325; 345 e 380 °C, que diminuíram durante a operação até equilibrar-se em 255; 285; 305 e 335 °C, respectivamente. A perda de massa foi calculada a partir do peso dos grãos antes e depois da torração, sendo observada uma variação linear dependente diretamente da temperatura do torrador. Para cada temperatura do processo, foi obtida uma taxa constante de perda de massa, que foi relacionada pelo modelo de Arrhenius com r2 acima de 0,98. Em condições não isotérmicas do torrador, a energia de ativação necessária para iniciar a perda de massa, em índices de torração comercial do café, foi 52,27 kJ mol-1 .Universidad de Costa Rica/[]/UCR/Costa RicaConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico/[]/CNPq/BrasilCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior/[]/CAPES/ BrasilFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais/[]/FAPEMIG/BrasilUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Agroalimentarias::Centro para Investigaciones en Granos y Semillas (CIGRAS