Biomass in the manufacture of industrial products—the use of proteins and amino acids

The depletion in fossil feedstocks, increasing oil prices, and the ecological problems associated with CO2 emissions are forcing the development of alternative resources for energy, transport fuels, and chemicals: the replacement of fossil resources with CO2 neutral biomass. Allied with this, the conversion of crude oil products utilizes primary products (ethylene, etc.) and their conversion to either materials or (functional) chemicals with the aid of co-reagents such as ammonia and various process steps to introduce functionalities such as -NH2 into the simple structures of the primary products. Conversely, many products found in biomass often contain functionalities. Therefore, it is attractive to exploit this to bypass the use, and preparation of, co-reagents as well as eliminating various process steps by utilizing suitable biomass-based precursors for the production of chemicals. It is the aim of this mini-review to describe the scope of the possibilities to generate current functionalized chemical materials using amino acids from biomass instead of fossil resources, thereby taking advantage of the biomass structure in a more efficient way than solely utilizing biomass for the production of fuels or electricity

Microwave-assisted digestion of β-lactoglobulin by pronase, α-chymotrypsin and pepsin

The effects of microwave irradiation (MWI) on kinetic parameters for pronase, α-chymotrypsin and pepsin hydrolysis of bovine β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg) were evaluated. The experiments were performed under MWI or conventional heat (CH) at 40 °C. The initial velocity (V0) of peptide bonds cleavage was measured by o-phthaldialdehyde method; the peptide profile was analysed by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Higher catalytic effectiveness (Kcat Km -1) values were obtained in the pronase and α-chymotrypsin digestions performed under MWI (7793 and 2073 min-1 mM-1, respectively) in comparison with the values in the respective CH digestions (1802 and 941 min-1 mM-1, respectively). The Michaelis-Menten constant (Km) for either enzyme was reduced under MWI. Pepsin showed very low activity on β-Lg at pH 4.0 regardless of the heating procedure used. For two enzymes, pronase and α-chymotrypsin, differences in SDS-PAGE profiles were obtained due to the MWI applied during the enzymatic hydrolysis. The combined enzyme/MWI treatments could have a relevant application in the development of β-Lg hydrolysates. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The “Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología” through the Project No AGL2000-1497 supported this work.Peer Reviewe

Microwave-assisted retting and optimization of the process through chemical composition analysis of the matrix

Pre-soaked flax stems were subjected to microwave assisted retting at different power levels and the effectiveness of microwave assisted retting was studied through the analysis of chemical compounds presented in the retted flax fibers processed from the stems. Response surface statistical design was used for this study with JMP\uae 10 software. Chemical analyses were performed by gravimetric methods to find out percentage of compounds. Cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and pectin concentrations and the sugar content in the solution obtained after the treatment were subjected to analysis. Cellulose percentage in the fiber was increased significantly (p<0.0001) with the increase of microwave power at various soaking levels, which proved the release of cellulosic fiber with the application of microwave energy during retting. Hemicellulose, lignin and pectin concentrations decreased significantly after microwave-assisted retting which explained higher degree of retting after the treatment. This study noted change in chemical composition of the fibers, which can be used as a tool to estimate the effectiveness of microwave-assisted retting and the results could lead to optimization of the process. \ua9 2013 Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

The Canadian Society for Bioengineering La Société Canadienne de Génie Agroalimentaire et de Bioingénierie EXTRACTION OF GINSENOSIDES FROM AMERICAN GINSENG (PANAX QUINQUEFOLIUM L.) ROOT WITH DIFFERENT EXTRACTION METHODS AND CHROMATOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF THE

Abstract: Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) was compared with room temperature extraction (RTE) and reflux temperature extraction (RFX) on the extraction of ginsenosides from fresh American ginseng root. Extraction times of 5, 10, 30 and 60 min were investigated. An 86 -300% increase in extraction rate was observed by raised temperature. The use of microwave energy instead of hotplate heating in the extraction resulted in a 31 -96% increase in extraction rate with the exception of ginsenoside Re

Metabolic profiling and factor analysis to discriminate quantitative resistance in wheat cultivars against fusarium head blight

Metabolic profiles of spikelets of wheat cultivars, Roblin and Sumai3, respectively, susceptible and resistant to fusarium head blight (FHB) were analyzed using GC/MS to develop a technology to discriminate resistance. More than 700 peaks were detected and a total of 55 compounds were tentatively identified, of which 49 were induced/up-regulated following pathogen inoculation, including 23 in Roblin and 26 in Sumai3. However, only five metabolites were significantly different both between cultivars and inoculations. Metahydroxycinnamic acid, though was detected in all four treatments, exhibited a six-fold increase in abundance in Sumai3 following pathogen inoculation, with no corresponding change in Roblin. The abundance of myo-inositol in Sumai3 was higher than that in Roblin, and in both the abundance increased following pathogen inoculation. The compounds common to all treatments were subjected to factor analysis to identify groups of compounds, based on significant factor-loadings, associated with susceptibility or resistance against FHB. The treatment involving pathogen-inoculation of the resistant cv. Sumai3 was associated with the highest scores for the first and second factors that can be used for the discrimination of resistance against FHB. The first factor was associated with higher abundances of several fatty acids and aromatic compounds, while the second factor was associated with metabolites such as p- and m-coumaric acids, myo-inositol and other sugars, and malonic acid. The treatments involving pathogen-inoculation had higher factor scores for the third factor than the water inoculated, the highest being for the susceptible cultivar Roblin, and may be useful in explaining susceptibility/pathogenesis. The third factor had positive correlation with metabolites from different groups, mostly amino acids, fatty acids, and aromatics. The various compounds detected in this study are discussed, in terms of their possible roles in plant defense against pathogen-stress, their metabolic pathways of synthesis, and their potential application for screening cultivars of wheat for resistance to FHB.H. Hamzehzarghani, A.C. Kushalappa, Y. Dionb, S. Rioux, A. Comeau, V. Yaylayan, W.D. Marshall and D.E. Matherhttp://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/622932/description#descriptio