OTIMIZAÇÃO DA EXTRAÇÃO DE COMPOSTOS FENÓLICOS DA CASCA DE MANGA (TOMMY ATKINS) UTILIZANDO PROCESSO ASSISTIDO POR ULTRASSOM

A casca de manga é considerada um resíduo da indústria de alimentos, rico em compostos fenólicos e o ultrassom tem se destacado entre as técnicas tradicionais na extração destes compostos. O principal objetivo deste trabalho é discutir os parâmetros que influenciam na extração de compostos fenólicos da casca de manga por ultrassom. Para esse fim, concentração de álcool etílico (30, 50 e 70%), temperatura (40, 50 e 60 °C) e tempo (30, 40 e 50 minutos) foram avaliados, por meio do planejamento de Box-Behnken. Os resultados mostraram que todas as variáveis avaliadas apresentaram efeito positivo na extração de compostos fenólicos, exceto a interação tempo e a concentração de etanol. A cinética de extração em ultrassom foi realizada na condição otimizada (temperatura de 60 °C por 60 minutos e 50% álcool etílico) e comparada a extração realizada em banho com água, onde verificou-se a eficiência do ultrassom na extração do maior teor de compostos fenólicos da casca de manga. Adicionalmente pode-se verificar que a casca de manga é considerada uma fonte de compostos ativos e a utilização de ultrassom pode auxiliar na maior extração destes compostos.AbstractThe mango peel is considered a waste of the food industry, rich in phenolic compounds and the ultrasound It has excelled between traditional techniques in the extraction of these compounds. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the parameters that influence the extraction of phenolic compounds of ultrasound mango peel. In order to do this, the ethyl alcohol concentration (30, 50 and 70%), temperature (40, 50 and 60 °C) and time (30, 40 and 50 minutes) were evaluated by means of the Box-Behnken planning. The results showed that all variables had a positive effect on the extraction of phenolic compounds, except the interaction between time and the concentration of ethanol. The ultrasound in extraction kinetics was carried out in optimized condition (temperature 60 ºC for 60 minutes and 50% ethanol) and compared the extraction performed in bath with water, which verified the ultrasound efficiency in the higher content extraction phenolic compounds of the mango peel. Additionally it can be seen that the mango peel is considered a source of active compounds and the use of higher ultrasound can aid in extraction of these compounds

Determinação de Ácidos Graxos Livres em Óleos Vegetais por FT-NIR e Calibração Multivariada

Métodos instrumentais têm sido reportados como alternativas aos métodos convencionais comumente aplicados em análise químicas, dentre os quais a espectrometria no infravermelho próximo com transformada de Fourier (FT-NIR) tem superado a técnica convencional fornecendo procedimentos analíticos rápidos, diretos, precisos e não-invasivos. Este trabalho tem como objetivo a aplicação da espectroscopia FT-NIR acoplada à calibração multivariada na determinação do percentual de ácidos graxos livres (AGL) em óleos vegetais. O método analítico desenvolvido utilizou como matriz de calibração misturas de óleo de soja e ácido oléico em proporções de 0,3 a 38,0% (em massa) de ácido oléico. O método de mínimos quadrados parciais (PLS) com espectro derivado (1ª derivada) foi utilizado com sete fatores primários, fornecendo valores de erro médio quadrático de 0,2841 e 0,4613 para as curvas de calibração e predição respectivamente. Dentre as principais aplicações da metodologia desenvolvida está a avaliação do teor de AGL em óleos vegetais com potencialidade na produção de biodiesel

Production of edible films based on pea starch with incorporation of active compounds obtained from the purple araçá (Psidium myrtoides)

The aim of this study was to incorporate the active compounds present in purple araçá (Psidium myrtoides) in pea starch-based films and to verify the influence of different plasticizers (glycerol, sorbitol, and polyethylene glycol 400) on film properties. Films were produced and characterized in relation to visual appearance, active compounds, antimicrobial activity, and mechanical and barrier properties. Pea starch has a high amylose content and a final viscosity of 5371.5 RVU, which contributes to the elaboration of films even without the addition of plasticizers. Purple araçá and pea starch formed films with good water vapor barrier characteristics (0.398 g·mm/m2·h·KPa) and low solubility (33.30%). Among plasticizers, sorbitol promoted a lower permeability to water vapor. The selected formulations, 0%, 20%, and 30% sorbitol, presented a high concentration of phenolic compounds (1194.55, 1115.47, and 1042.10 mg GAE 100 g-1, respectively) and were able to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus. Therefore, films contained the active compounds of purple araçá and potential to be used as food packagingPostprint (published version

Continuous Catalyst-Free Esterification of Oleic Acid in Compressed Ethanol

The esterification of oleic acid in a continuous catalyst-free process using compressed ethanol was investigated in the present study. Experiments were performed in a tubular reactor and variables investigated were temperature, pressure, and oleic acid to ethanol molar ratio for different residence time. Results demonstrated that temperature, in the range of 473 K to 573 K, and pressure had a positive effect on fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) production. In the experimental range investigated, high conversions can be obtained at low ethanol concentrations in the reaction medium and it was observed that oleic acid to ethanol molar ratios greater than 1 : 6 show no significant increase in conversion. Nonnegligible reaction conversions (>90%) were achieved at 573 K, 20 MPa, oleic acid to ethanol molar ratio of 1 : 6, and 20 minutes of residence time

Mapping density, diversity and species-richness of the Amazon tree flora

Using 2.046 botanically-inventoried tree plots across the largest tropical forest on Earth, we mapped tree species-diversity and tree species-richness at 0.1-degree resolution, and investigated drivers for diversity and richness. Using only location, stratified by forest type, as predictor, our spatial model, to the best of our knowledge, provides the most accurate map of tree diversity in Amazonia to date, explaining approximately 70% of the tree diversity and species-richness. Large soil-forest combinations determine a significant percentage of the variation in tree species-richness and tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian forest-plots. We suggest that the size and fragmentation of these systems drive their large-scale diversity patterns and hence local diversity. A model not using location but cumulative water deficit, tree density, and temperature seasonality explains 47% of the tree species-richness in the terra-firme forest in Amazonia. Over large areas across Amazonia, residuals of this relationship are small and poorly spatially structured, suggesting that much of the residual variation may be local. The Guyana Shield area has consistently negative residuals, showing that this area has lower tree species-richness than expected by our models. We provide extensive plot meta-data, including tree density, tree alpha-diversity and tree species-richness results and gridded maps at 0.1-degree resolution

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Unraveling Amazon tree community assembly using Maximum Information Entropy: a quantitative analysis of tropical forest ecology

In a time of rapid global change, the question of what determines patterns in species abundance distribution remains a priority for understanding the complex dynamics of ecosystems. The constrained maximization of information entropy provides a framework for the understanding of such complex systems dynamics by a quantitative analysis of important constraints via predictions using least biased probability distributions. We apply it to over two thousand hectares of Amazonian tree inventories across seven forest types and thirteen functional traits, representing major global axes of plant strategies. Results show that constraints formed by regional relative abundances of genera explain eight times more of local relative abundances than constraints based on directional selection for specific functional traits, although the latter does show clear signals of environmental dependency. These results provide a quantitative insight by inference from large-scale data using cross-disciplinary methods, furthering our understanding of ecological dynamics