Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)

การผลิตโปรตีนไฮโดรไลเสตที่มีกิจกรรมการออกฤทธิ์ต้านออกซิเดชันและปราศจากกลิ่นรสโคลนและกลิ่นควาจากปลาน้ำจืดและปลาทะเล

Thesis (Ph.D. (Food Science and Technology))--Prince of Songkla University, 201

สมบัติการเกิดเจลและการย่อยสลายโปรตีนกล้ามเนื้อปลาเม็ดขนุน (Mulloidichthys martinicus)

Thesis (M.Sc., Food Science and Technology)--Prince of Songkla University, 200

Physico-chemical and gel properties of agar from Gracilaria tenuistipitata from the lake of Songkhla, Thailand

Physico-chemical and gelling properties of agar extracted from Gracilaria tenuistipitata as affected by alkaline pretreatments using NaOH and KOH at various levels (3e7%, w/v) were investigated. Yield of native agar was 17.1%, whilst those of agars pretreated with NaOH and KOH ranged from 23.6% to 26.1%. Agar with alkaline pretreatment generally showed the better gelling property as evidenced by higher gel strength, gelling, melting temperatures and viscosity with coincidentally increased 3,6-anhydrogalactose (3,6-AG) content than did native agar. Additionally, native agar had a higher sulphate content with lower syneresis (P < 0.05) than those with alkaline pretreatment. Regardless of alkaline concentration, NaOH used for pretreatment rendered agar with a higher quality, compared with KOH. Agar (1.5%, w/v) pretreated with 5% NaOH exhibited the highest gel strength (482 g/cm2) with high yield (25.3%). The decrease in total sulphate content and the increase in 3,6-AG content were observed in agar having 5% NaOH pretreatment as determined by FTIR spectroscopy. Finer and more compact network with smaller pores was visualised in gel from agar with 5% NaOH pretreatment. Therefore, the appropriate pretreatment by using 5% NaOH could increase yield and improve the gelling property of agar from G. tenuistipitata harvested from the lake of Songkhla, Thailand

Extraction and Physico–Chemical Characterization of Chitosan from Mantis Shrimp (<i>Oratosquilla nepa</i>) Shell and the Development of Bio-Composite Film with Agarose

Mantis shrimp (Oratosquilla nepa) exoskeleton, a leftover generated after processing, was used as a starting material for chitosan (CS) production. CS was extracted with different deacetylation times (2, 3 and 4 h), termed CS−2, CS−3 and CS−4, respectively, and their characteristics and antimicrobial and film properties with agarose (AG) were investigated. Prolonged deacetylation time increased the degree of deacetylation (DDA: 73.56 ± 0.09–75.56 ± 0.09%), while extraction yield (15.79 ± 0.19–14.13 ± 0.09%), intrinsic viscosity (η: 3.58 ± 0.09–2.97 ± 0.16 dL/g) and average molecular weight (Mν: 1.4 ± 0.05–1.12 ± 0.08 (×106 Da)) decreased (p ν and antimicrobial activity. Therefore, it was chosen for the development of composite films with AG at different ratios (CS−3/AG; 100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 and 0/100). As the proportion of AG increased, the tensile strength (29.96 ± 1.80–89.70 ± 5.08 MPa) of the composite films increased, while thickness (0.056 ± 0.012–0.024 ± 0.001 mm), elongation at break (36.52 ± 1.12–25.32 ± 1.23%) and water vapor permeability (3.56 ± 0.10–1.55 ± 0.02 (×10−7 g m m−2 s−1 Pa−1)) decreased (p < 0.05). Moreover, lightness of the films increased and yellowness decreased. CS−3/AG (50/50) composite film exhibited high mechanical and barrier properties and excellent compatibility according to FTIR and SEM analyses. According to these finding, mantis shrimp exoskeleton could be used to produce CS. The developed bio-composite film based on an appropriate ratio (50/50) of CS−3 and AG has potential for being used as food packaging material

Tyrosinase Inhibitory and Antioxidant Activity of Enzymatic Protein Hydrolysate from Jellyfish (Lobonema smithii)

The optimization of antioxidant and anti-tyrosinase activity during jellyfish hydrolysate preparation was studied using a response surface methodology (RSM) with a face-centered composite design. The influence of the hydrolysis duration and the enzyme concentration on the IC50 of the DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity, ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), the degree of hydrolysis (DH), yield, and the IC50 value of tyrosinase inhibitory activity were determined. The optimum conditions for the production of jellyfish hydrolysate using alcalase (JFAH), flavourzyme (JFFH), or papain (JFPH) were achieved at hydrolysis times of 360, 345, or 360 min, respectively, and at an enzyme concentration of 5.0%. JFFH had the highest antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibitory activity. JFAH, JFFH, and JFPH concentrations of 2.5 mg/mL resulted in HaCaT cells (IC80) having a survival rate of 80%. The amino acid profile of JFFH contained about 43% hydrophobic and 57% hydrophilic amino acids, comprising Gly, Cys, Glx, Asx, which were dominant. The isolation of a peptide fraction from JFFH was carried out using ultrafiltration membranes (10, 3, and 1 kDa) and gel filtration chromatography. Fraction-III (1&ndash;3 kDa) showed the highest antioxidative and tyrosinase inhibitory activity

Impact of different smoke flavors on the quality of hermetically sealed green chili paste (Nam Prik Num)

This research examined how various smoke flavors such as powdered smoke, teak, and longan wood affected the quality of hermetically sealed green chili paste (Nam Prik Num). Teak and longan wood smoking produced a darker green color than the control and smoke powder samples. The smoky aroma had no impact on yield, pH, water release, or chemical composition. However, it did influence moisture content, lightness (L*), redness (a*), yellowness (b*), and water activity (aw) compared to control and smoke-flavored samples. The attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) showed structural changes, control with C-H groups at 2924 cm−1, and smoking introduced –COOR at 1744 cm−1, signifying flavor-induced alterations. The heightened peak hinted at a distinctive smoke aroma, deepening our understanding of molecular transformations. Sample smoke flavor compounds studied using a solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS), included hydrocarbons, alcohol, aldehydes, ketones, esters, acids, and sulfide compounds, with sulfide compounds, alcohol, hydrocarbon, and alcohol compounds as the predominant volatiles. Nam Prik Num with smoke powder scored higher in appearance, color, aroma, taste, and texture than the control. Flavoring with smoke powder is more effective than charcoal grilling for adding smoky taste to Nam Prik Num