Određivanje hranjivih, fizikalno-kemijskih i strukturnih svojstava ploda biljke Mauritia flexuosa i njezinih nusproizvoda u svrhu biotehnološkog razvoja održivih proizvoda

Research background. Commercialization of Mauritia flexuosa (buriti) fruits in Brazil is at an early stage. Herein, we evaluate the nutritional value of pulp, peel and endocarp samples from buriti fruits, perform macroscopic and microscopic evaluations and analyze their physicochemical properties. Experimental approach. Size and mass, pH, sugar and protein contents, soluble/insoluble fiber, total titratable acidity and energy value of the samples were analyzed. Mineral profiling was performed by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, and fatty acids and phytosterols were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Samples were also submitted to differential scanning calorimetry coupled to a thermal analyzer, and microstructure, morphology, surface and viscosity were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) with copper radiation. Rheological behavior was also studied. Results and conclusions. Lyophilized pulp had higher nutritional content of minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and energy than in natura pulp. Lyophilized pulp and its by-products showed suitable yields (>17.31%) and low aw, and potassium, manganese and monounsaturated fatty acid contents. Peels showed elevated amounts of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids and phytosterols (β-sitosterol and stigmasterol), and endothermic behavior. The reductions of calcium, magnesium and manganese ranging from 18.5 to 22.7% were observed following the lyophilization. Drying processes generated semi-crystalline powders. Both peels and endocarp contained higher amounts of insoluble fiber and lower contents of sugars. Similar results were obtained by microscopic morphological analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and XRD analysis. Pulp and endocarp exhibited pseudoplastic non-Newtonian behavior, and flow behavior index values were lower than 1, while peels presented dilatant behaviour. Thus, physicochemical and nutritional characterization of pulp and by-products, such as peels and endocarp, are essential to support scientific research and exploration of new sustainable products. Novelty and scientific contribution. Processing and conservation techniques, like lyophilization, maintain the good quality of nutritional contents and bioactive compounds of buriti whole fruits, and can be used to extend their shelf life, preserve alimentary characteristics and provide wider purposes and availability. Such parameters may generate income and food security for local and regional communities.Pozadina istraživanja. Komercijalizacija ploda biljke Mauritia flexuosa (lokalnog naziva buriti) je u Brazilu još u ranoj fazi razvoja. U ovom smo radu ispitali hranjivu vrijednost uzoraka pulpe, kore i endokarpa plodova biljke buriti, proveli makro- i mikroskopske analize te odredili fizikalno-kemijska svojstva plodova. Eksperimentalni pristup. Ispitani su veličina i masa, pH-vrijednost, udjeli šećera i proteina, omjer topljivih i netopljivih vlakana, ukupna titracijska kiselost i energetska vrijednost uzoraka. Sastav mineralnih tvari određen je rendgenskom fluorescentnom spektrometrijom, a masne kiseline i fitosteroli plinskom kromatografijom u kombinaciji s masenom spektrometrijom. Uzorci su također ispitani diferencijalnom pretražnom kalorimetrijom u kombinaciji s toplinskom analizom. Mikrostruktura, morfološka svojstva, površina i viskoznost uzoraka određeni su pretražnom elektronskom mikroskopijom i rendgenskom difrakcijom s bakrom kao izvorom zračenja. Također su istražena i reološka svojstva plodova. Rezultati i zaključci. Liofilizirana pulpa imala je veće udjele mineralnih tvari, proteina, ugljikohidrata i veću energetsku vrijednost od netretirane pulpe. Prinos liofilizirane pulpe i njezinih nusproizvoda bio je zadovoljavajući (>17,31 %), a aktivitet vode te udjeli kalija, mangana i mononezasićenih masnih kiselina bili su niski. Kora ploda imala je veće udjele zasićenih i polinezasićenih masnih kiselina i fitosterola (β-sitosterola i stigmasterola) od pulpe, te je imala endotermna svojstva. Nakon liofilizacije opaženo je smanjenje udjela kalcija, magnezija i mangana, i to od 18,5 do 22,7 %. Sušenjem je dobiven polukristalični prah. Kora i endokarp ploda sadržavali su veće količine netopljivih vlakana i manje udjele šećera. Slični su rezultati dobiveni morfološkom analizom, diferencijalnom pretražnom kalorimetrijom i rendgenskom difrakcijom. Pulpa i endokarp imali su pseudoplastične nenjutonovske značajke, vrijednosti indeksa protjecanja bile su manje od 1, dok je kora imala dilatantna svojstva. Zaklljučeno je da je određivanje fizikalno-kemijskih i hranjivih svojstava pulpe i njezinih nusproizvoda kao što su kora i endokarp nužno za podržavanje ovog znanstvenog istraživanja i razvoja novih održivih proizvoda. Novina i znanstveni doprinos. Postupci obrade i čuvanja hrane, kao što je liofilizacija, omogućuju održavanje kakvoće hranjivih sastojaka i bioaktivnih spojeva plodova biljke buriti, produžuju njihovo vrijeme skladištenja, zadržavaju prehrambene značajke i proširuju njihovu uporabu i dostupnost. Takve značajke proizvoda mogu donijeti prihod i povećati sigurnost hrane u lokalnim i regionalnim zajednicama

Panoramic snapshot of serum soluble mediator interplay in pregnant women with convalescent COVID-19: an exploratory study

IntroductionSARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy can induce changes in the maternal immune response, with effects on pregnancy outcome and offspring. This is a cross-sectional observational study designed to characterize the immunological status of pregnant women with convalescent COVID-19 at distinct pregnancy trimesters. The study focused on providing a clear snapshot of the interplay among serum soluble mediators.MethodsA sample of 141 pregnant women from all prenatal periods (1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters) comprised patients with convalescent SARS-CoV-2 infection at 3-20 weeks after symptoms onset (COVID, n=89) and a control group of pre-pandemic non-infected pregnant women (HC, n=52). Chemokine, pro-inflammatory/regulatory cytokine and growth factor levels were quantified by a high-throughput microbeads array.ResultsIn the HC group, most serum soluble mediators progressively decreased towards the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy, while higher chemokine, cytokine and growth factor levels were observed in the COVID patient group. Serum soluble mediator signatures and heatmap analysis pointed out that the major increase observed in the COVID group related to pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, IL-12, IFN-γ and IL-17). A larger set of biomarkers displayed an increased COVID/HC ratio towards the 2nd (3x increase) and the 3rd (3x to 15x increase) trimesters. Integrative network analysis demonstrated that HC pregnancy evolves with decreasing connectivity between pairs of serum soluble mediators towards the 3rd trimester. Although the COVID group exhibited a similar profile, the number of connections was remarkably lower throughout the pregnancy. Meanwhile, IL-1Ra, IL-10 and GM-CSF presented a preserved number of correlations (≥5 strong correlations in HC and COVID), IL-17, FGF-basic and VEGF lost connectivity throughout the pregnancy. IL-6 and CXCL8 were included in a set of acquired attributes, named COVID-selective (≥5 strong correlations in COVID and <5 in HC) observed at the 3rd pregnancy trimester.Discussion and conclusionFrom an overall perspective, a pronounced increase in serum levels of soluble mediators with decreased network interplay between them demonstrated an imbalanced immune response in convalescent COVID-19 infection during pregnancy that may contribute to the management of, or indeed recovery from, late complications in the post-symptomatic phase of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women

Educomunicação, Transformação Social e Desenvolvimento Sustentável

Esta publicação apresenta os principais trabalhos dos GTs do II Congresso Internacional de Comunicação e Educação nos temas Transformação social, com os artigos que abordam principalmente Educomunicação e/ou Mídia-Educação, no contexto de políticas de diversidade, inclusão e equidade; e, em Desenvolvimento Sustentável os artigos que abordam os avanços da relação comunicação/educação no contexto da educação ambiental e desenvolvimento sustentável

Avaliando as aproximações usadas no ensino de Físico-Química

The approaches are part of the everyday of the Physical Chemistry. In many didactic books in the area of Chemistry, the approaches are validated starting from qualitative and not quantitative approaches. We elaborated some examples that allow evaluating the quantitative impact of the approaches, being considered the mistake tolerated for the approximate calculation. The estimate of the error in the approaches should serve as guide to establish the validity of the calculation, which use them. Thus, the shortcut that represents a calculation approached to substitute accurate calculations; it can be used without it loses of quality in the results, besides indicating, as they are valid the adopted criterions

Constituintes químicos de Philodendron imbe Schott

The chemical composition of the ethanolic extract of the leaves and roots from Philodendron imbe Schott was investigated. The main constituents isolated the leaves were beta-sitosterol one polyprenoid hexaprenol, and 6beta-hydroxy-stigmast-4-en-3-one, a steroid, not yet reported in the Philodendron gender. A mixture of constituents, namely, ethyl myristoleate, alpha-bisabolol, ethyl isopalmitate, 3-octadecenyl-phenol and the major component ethyl palmitate, were isolated from the roots. Structure elucidation of these secondary metabolites was accomplished by spectrometric analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR experiments such as ¹H, ¹H and ¹H,13C-COSY

In Vitro and Ex Vivo Chemopreventive Action of Mauritia flexuosa Products

Mauritia flexuosa (Arecaceae), known as “Buriti,” is a Brazilian palm tree with high economic potential for local communities. Herein, we investigated the phytochemistry profile and antioxidant potential of M. flexuosa fruits and determined the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds. Peels revealed upper values for phenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, tannins, and ascorbic acid when compared to the pulps and endocarps. All samples showed capacity to scavenger free radicals (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 mg/mL) but peels presented higher scavenger action in all methods explored. Phenolic compounds identified by HPLC displayed reduced bioaccessibility after in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion for pulp (38.7%), peel (18.7%), and endocarp (22.3%) extracts (P<0.05). Buriti fruits also protected rat blood cells against lysis induced by peroxyl radicals. We demonstrated the promising chemopreventive potentialities of M. flexuosa fruits and their by-products and peels with higher quantities of bioactive compounds and phenolic substances before and after in vitro bioaccessibility investigation. In Brazil, these parts are discarded or underused, mainly as feed for ruminant animals. Consequently, it is extremely important to explore nutritional characteristics of these by-products for human/livestock foods and to install biofriendly techniques and sustainable biotechnology handling of natural resources

Garcinielliptone FC, a polyisoprenylated benzophenone from <i>Platonia insignis</i> Mart., promotes vasorelaxant effect on rat mesenteric artery

<div><p>Polyisoprenylated benzophenones represent a group of chemical compounds commonly identified in Clusiaceae species and are responsible for a large amount of biological activities. In this work, the vasorelaxant effect induced by garcinielliptone FC (GFC) isolated from <i>Platonia insignis</i> Mart. (Clusiaceae), a monotype species from <i>Platonia</i> genus, was investigated. GFC promoted an endothelium-independent vasorelaxation on phenylephrine (PHE, 10^− 5 mol L^− 1)-induced vasoconstriction, but not on KCl (80 mmol L^− 1)-induced vasoconstriction, on rat superior mesenteric artery rings. In addition, a concentration-dependent decrease of PHE- or serotonin-induced cumulative concentration–response curves was observed for GFC, and a slight decrease of pD₂ value on CaCl₂-induced vasoconstriction. In a Ca²⁺-free medium, GFC interfered in calcium mobilisation from PHE (10^− 5 mol L^− 1)-sensitive intracellular stores. GFC-induced vasorelaxant effect is probably mediated by a dual effect on mobilisation of calcium intracellular stores and attenuation of transmembrane calcium influx.</p></div