Seed coat tannins and bruchid resistance in stored cowpea seeds

Seeds of wild species and varieties of Vigna were screened for their tannins and α‐amylase inhibitor contents as defensive compounds against cowpea weevil. Seed coats contained condensed tannins that were positively correlated to their colour but not to their resistance against the insect. The α‐amylase inhibitors were present in different amount in cotyledons of all species analysed. Amongst the cultivated lines assayed, Vigna unguiculata TVu 2027, an accession identified as moderately resistant, was found to contain the higher amount of α‐amylase inhibitor. When wild species were considered, V luteola and V vexillata (two resistant species) showed the highest content of α‐amylase inhibitors. In addition, two cultivated accessions (Vita 7 and IT 84E‐1‐108) of cowpea seeds, both classified as susceptible accessions, showing a different degree of bruchid damage in storage, were also analysed. No α‐amylase inhibitory activity was found in cotyledons of undamaged Vita 7 seeds, while the seed coat tannin content was found to be 13 times higher in undamaged Vita 7 seeds than in IT 84E‐1‐108 infested seeds. These latter results support the hypothesis that seed coat tannins must also be considered in biochemical defence mechanisms, which can deter, poison or starve bruchid larvae that feed on cowpea seeds. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Somatic cell nuclear transfer in horses: effect of oocyte morphology, embryo reconstruction method and donor cell type

The objective of the present work was to investigate and clarify the factors affecting the efficiency of somatic cell nuclear transfer (NT) in the horse, including embryo reconstruction, in vitro culture to the blastocyst stage, embryo transfer, pregnancy monitoring and production of offspring. Matured oocytes, with zona pellucida or after zona removal, were fused to cumulus cells, granulosa cells, and fetal and adult fibroblasts, and fused couplets were cultured in vitro. Blastocyst development to Day 8 varied significantly among donor cells (from 1.3% to 16%, P < 0.05). In total, 137 nuclear transfer-embryos were transferred nonsurgically to 58 recipient mares. Pregnancy rate after transfer of NT-embryos derived from adult fibroblasts from three donor animals was 24.3% (9/37 mares transferred corresponding to 9/101 blastocysts transferred), while only 1/18 (5.6%) of NT-blastocysts derived from one fetal cell line gave rise to a pregnancy (corresponding to 1/33 blastocysts transferred). Overall, seven pregnancies were confirmed at 35 days, and two went to term delivering two live foals. One foal died 40 h after birth of acute septicemia while the other foal was healthy and is currently 2 months old. These results indicate that (a) the zona-free method allows high fusion rate and optimal use of equine oocytes, (b) different donor cell cultures have different abilities to support blastocyst development, (c) blastocyst formation rate does not correlate with pregnancy fate and (d) healthy offspring can be obtained by somatic cell nuclear transfer in the horse.     

Process Intensification by Experimental Design Application to Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Phenolic Compounds from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Juglans regia</Emphasis> L.

Microwave-assisted extraction was applied to Juglans regia L. fresh male flowers and unripe walnut seeds to evaluate the total phenolic contents of the extracts as well as the percentage of water-soluble polyphenols. The research was planned using the Design of Experiments technique to investigate the role on the extraction efficiency of different parameters, such as temperature, time and number of microwave heating cycles, together with their possible interactions. Optimization was achieved by applying a Response Surface Methodology comprising a three-factor, two-level, full-factorial Face-Centred Central Composite Design. The two input variables with a significant effect on the recovery of phenols from fresh male flowers were the extraction temperature and the number of microwave cycles. In the case of unripe walnut seeds, a linear two-factor interaction model was selected, with significant interactions occurring between temperature and time, and time and number of microwave cycles. The best experimental conditions were as follows: 100 °C, 6 min, three microwave heating cycles and 22.7 ± 0.2 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g (total phenolic content, PC); energy consumption calculations suggested slightly different conditions: 60 °C, 30 min, three microwave heating cycles and 20.7 ± 0.3 mg GAE/g (TPC).     

Speeding up the Extraction of Mushroom Polysaccharides

Non-digestible polysaccharides from edible mushrooms may have immunomodulatory properties. Therefore, the availability of mushroom polysaccharides is relevant for research or industrial purposes, as polysaccharides may be used as functional food ingredients. Recently, a method using successive extractions to obtain mushroom polysaccharides was developed, but it is time-consuming. As a way to enable a fast and efficient extraction, a set of improvements was proposed, allowing for obtaining water-soluble polysaccharides in half the time of the original method. Similar yield, composition, molecular weight, homogeneity and conformation of polysaccharides obtained demonstrated that the optimised method could be explored as a fast and efficient way to obtain water-soluble non-digestible polysaccharides from mushrooms.     

Assessment of quality and production process of a non‐alcoholic stout beer using reverse osmosis

The market for low‐alcohol and non‐alcoholic beer has been increasing owing to factors such as health concerns, calorie content, strict traffic laws and religion, among others. Beer presents some good nutritional characteristics such as B‐complex vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, fibre, protein and carbohydrates. The availability of non‐alcoholic products is still very low in Brazil and worldwide. This study produced four samples of non‐alcoholic dark beer derived from a Foreign Extra Stout beer style with 6.6% v/v alcohol using the process of reverse osmosis. The membrane filtration processes showed that the fouling rate coefficient increases with time and permeate volume while the flow decreases. The values of colour, bitterness, pH, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity were maintained close to the parameters of the standard beer (counter test) when the reverse osmosis process was conducted with a diluted sample at a temperature of 20 °C. Copyright © 2016 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

Phenolic extracts of cachaça aged in different woods and quantifying antioxidant activity and antifungal properties

The antioxidant and antifungal activities of the phenolic compounds in different alcoholic extracts of aged cachaça were evaluated. The physico‐chemical analyses were performed in the Laboratório de Qualidade de Aguardente of the Universidade Federal de Lavras according to the methods of the Ministério Agricultura Pecuária e abastecimento. Total phenol content was determined by the Folin–Ciocalteu method, quantification of these compounds was performed by HPLC and antioxidant activities were determined by methods involving inhibition of the DPPH (1,1‐diphenyl‐2 picrylhydrazyl) radical, the β‐carotene/linoleic acid system, ABTS (2,2 azinobis‐[3‐ethyl‐6‐benzothiazolinesulfonic acid]) radical, reducing power and thiobarbituric acid. Determination of antifungal activity was accomplished through the technique of dissemination in discs using Aspergillus carbonarius, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium commune and Penicillium cladosporoides fungi at the Laboratório de Micologia de Alimentos. The values obtained for the phenolic compounds ranged from 0.41 to 9.69 mg L^?1; syringaldehyde, vanillic acid and gallic acid were predominant. A satisfactory antioxidant activity was observed in all of the tests with the alcoholic extracts. A moderate activity against P. commune and P. cladosporoides, but no inhibition of the growth of A. carbonarius, A. niger or A. flavus was observed. Copyright © 2016 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

Membrane‐Filtered Olive Mill Wastewater: Quality Assessment of the Dried Phenolic‐Rich Fraction

A current trend in olive mill wastewater (OMWW) management is to not only decrease environmental pollution but also to extract and utilize valuable by‐products. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to explore different techniques for drying a phenolic‐rich membrane filtration fraction of OMWW and compare the techniques in terms of the dried product quality and feasibility of the process. The OMWW from 2 (3‐phase and 2‐phase) California mills was subjected to a 2‐step membrane filtration process using a novel vibratory system. The reverse osmosis retentate (RO‐R) is a phenolic‐rich coproduct stream, and the reverse osmosis permeate is a near‐pure water stream that could be recycled into the milling process. Spray‐, freeze‐, and infrared‐drying were applied to obtain solid material from the RO‐R. Drying of the RO‐R was made possible only with addition of 10% maltodextrin as a carrier. The total soluble phenolics in dried RO‐R were in the range 0.15 to 0.58 mg gallic acid equivalents/g of dry weight for 2‐phase RO‐R, and 1.38 to 2.17 mg gallic acid equivalents/g of dry weight for the 3‐phase RO‐R. Spray‐dried RO‐R from 3‐phase OMWW showed remarkable antioxidant activity. Protocatechuic acid, tyrosol, vanillic acid, and p‐coumaric acid were quantified in all dried RO‐R, whereas 3‐hydroxytyrosol was found in 3‐phase dried RO‐R. This combination of separation and drying technologies helps to add value and shelf‐stability to an olive oil by‐product and increase environmental sustainability of its production.     

Fullerene-Enhanced Accumulation of p,p'-DDE in Agricultural Crop Species

The effect of C(60) fullerene exposure on the accumulation of dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE; DDT metabolite) by Cucurbita pepo L. (zucchini), Glycine max L. (soybean), and Solanum lycopersicum L. (tomato) was determined. The plants were grown in 125 mL jars of vermiculite amended with 0 or 40 mg of C(60) fullerenes. Prior to planting, the jars were amended with 40 mL solution containing 100 ng/mL of p,p'-DDE with 0 or 100 mg/L humic acid. During three weeks of growth, plants were watered with the same p,p'-DDE containing solutions. Total shoot p,p'-DDE levels in nonfullerene exposed tomato, soybean, and zucchini were 26.9, 131, and 675 ng, respectively; total root DDE content for the three plants was 402, 5970, and 5830 ng, respectively. Fullerenes increased the shoot p,p'-DDE content of zucchini by 29%; contaminant levels in soybean shoots were decreased by 48% but tomato shoot content was unaffected. The root and total plant p,p'-DDE content of all three species was significantly increased by fullerene exposure; enhanced contaminant uptake ranged from 30 to 65%. Humic acid, regardless of fullerene presence or plant type, significantly decreased the p,p'-DDE uptake. Fullerenes were detected in the roots of all plants but were not detected in plant shoots in the initial study. In a follow up study with zucchini designed to maximize biomass for extraction, over half the analyzed stems contained fullerenes at 60.5 to 4490 ng/g. These findings show that the carbon-based nanomaterials may significantly alter the accumulation and potentially the toxicity of cocontaminants in agricultural systems.     

Assessment of transduction of Escherichia coli Stx2-encoding phage in dairy process conditions

In the environment, bacteriophages are regarded as natural vector for the transmission of Shiga-toxin genes among Shiga-toxin Escherichia coli strains. The possibility of transduction has been noticed in intestinal tract of various animals but experimental observations on this phenomenon in food processes are lacking. To investigate the transduction in milk at different temperature profiles and cell concentrations, an experimental plan including two different Stx₂-phages (?GV2412 and ?L34), induced respectively from E. coli O157:H7 181181/2 and E. coli O157:H7 EC34, and two recipient E. coli strains (CNCTC 6896, WG5) was performed. The donor strains were generated by lysogenization of CNCTC 6896 with ?GV2412 and ?L34 respectively. Spectinomycin resistance gene (aadA) was inserted into stx₂ operon in order to select transduced cells. Transductants were never observed at 4 °C up to 24 h, whereas after a treatment at 37 °C for 2 h and at 25 °C for 22 h they were detected in 67% of the trials with a ratio of transduction varying from 1.13 10^− 6 to 7.87 10^− 8. A treatment at 48 °C for 2 h followed by a second step at 25 °C for 22 h showed an occurrence of transduction events in only 19% of cases with a ratio of transduction varying from 2.22 10^− 7 to 2.67 10^− 8. The generation of transductants and the spontaneous induction of phages in milk were not affected by initial or final concentration of the donor or recipient strains. The results show that transduction phenomenon occurs when the cells are metabolically active and it does not take place at low temperatures. Therefore, the maintenance of the chilling chain proved to be a main factor to prevent the spread of Stx-genes in dairy processes.