Chemical characterization of galactomannans and arabinogalactans from two arabica coffee infusions as affected by the degree of roast

Galactomannans and arabinogalactans compose almost exclusively the polysaccharide fraction of roasted coffee infusions. To increase the knowledge about the effect of the degree of roast (DR) in the amount and chemical structure of the galactomannans and arabinogalactans, two arabica coffees of different geographical origins (Costa Rica and Brazil) were roasted for three degrees of roast (DRs 4.7-5.0, 8.7, and 10% of dry weight loss of green coffee beans, on a dry basis). The high molecular weight material was extracted with hot water and dialyzed (molecular weight cutoff >12 kDa), and the material was separated in three cold-water-soluble fractions by graded addition of ethanol. The degree of polymerization and the degree of branching of the galactomannans decreased with the increase of the DR. As the DR increased, less branched arabinogalactans were extracted. The relative amount of terminally linked arabinosyl residues of the arabinogalactans decreased with the increase in DR, and the terminally linked galactosyl residues increased. Also, the size of the arabinosyl side chains of the arabinogalactans decreased with the increase in DR.     

Pharmaceutical,food potential,and molecular data of Hancornia speciosa Gomes: a systematic review

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Hancornia speciosa Gomes is a fruit and medicinal tree species native to South America, which in Brazil is considered of potential economic value and...     

Impact of fungicide application volume on ASIAN rust control and soybean crop yield

European Journal of Plant Pathology - Multisite fungicides are an anti-resistance strategy to control Phakopsora pachyrhizi. Among the protective fungicides, mancozeb is a fungicide that has been...     

Effects of aluminum on nutrient solution pH and nitrate/ammonium uptake by triticale

Aluminum (Al) plant tolerance has been frequently associated with a pH increase in the rhizosphere. The changes in pH are dependent on plant genotypes and ionic composition and strength of nutrient solutions. This work was performed in order to study in triticale (Triticosecale Wittm.) the association of pH change with nitrogen (N) uptake and growth performance in acid conditions. Three‐day‐old seedlings were treated with Al (185 μM) in solutions having different proportion nitrate/ammonium (NO₃/NH₄), 15/1 and 8/1, but the same total N content. Along the period with Al treatment, several measurements have been made: pH, every day; NO₃ and NH₄ uptake from the solution as well as shoot and root biomass production every two days (five and seven days of plant age). The maximum growth inhibition (30%) of fresh weight was found in roots of plants in the 15/1 (NO/NH,) nutrient solution. The presence of a higher proportion of NH₄ (8/1 solution) had a protective effect on Al damage as shown by less growth inhibition and less reduction in NO₃ uptake. Changes in pH apparently were not relevant for the tolerance. The results suggest that NH₄ fertilization may be useful for alleviating Al toxicity in triticale.     

Predictive value of prepartum serum metabolites for incidence of clinical and subclinical mastitis in grazing primiparous Holstein cows

The aim of this study was to measure changes in biochemical markers in the peripartum period of primiparous Holstein cows diagnosed with subclinical and clinical mastitis. In this study, 37 dairy cows were monitored daily during milking until 60 days postpartum and were categorized according to the occurrence of clinical mastitis (group mastitis (GM), n?=?9) or subclinical mastitis (group subclinical mastitis (GSUB), n?=?10) or absence of symptoms (control group (CG), n?=?18). Blood samples were collected weekly from ?30 to 60 days from calving. Samples were grouped for prepartum (?30 to 0 days from calving), early postpartum (0 to 30 days from calving), and late postpartum (30 to 60 days from calving) periods. Prepartum serum non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentration was higher in GM than in CG (P?<?0.01). In addition, CG had higher prepartum serum glucose concentration than GM (P?=?0.03). In the early postpartum period, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity was lower in CG than in GSUB (P?<?0.05), and in the late postpartum period, AST activity was lower in CG than GSUB and GM (P?=?0.01). Somatic cell count was higher during the early and late postpartum periods for GM and GSUB when compared to CG (P?<?0.01). In this study, primiparous cows with low glucose and higher NEFA in the prepartum were more susceptible for mastitis in the early postpartum, probably due to low immune function associated to a more negative energy balance. In sum, increased prepartum serum NEFA concentration and decreased glucose in primiparous cows were associated with clinical mastitis incidence in the postpartum period.     

Insight into the Mechanism of Coffee Melanoidin Formation Using Modified "in Bean" Models

To study the mechanism of coffee melanoidin formation, green coffee beans were prepared by (1) removal of the hot water extractable components (WECoffee); (2) direct incorporation of sucrose (SucCoffee); and (3) direct incorporation of type II arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPCoffee). As a control of sucrose and AGP incorporation, lyophilized green coffee beans were also immersed in water (control). The original coffee and the four modified "in bean" coffee models were roasted and their chemical characteristics compared. The formation of material not identified as carbohydrates or protein, usually referred to as "unknown material" and related to melanoidins, and the development of the brown color during coffee roasting have distinct origins. Therefore, a new parameter for coffee melanoidin evaluation, named the "melanoidin browning index" (MBI), was introduced to handle simultaneously the two concepts. Sucrose is important for the formation of colored structures but not to the formation of "unknown material". Type II AGPs also increase the brown color of the melanoidins, but did not increase the amount of "unknown material". The green coffee hot water extractable components are essential for coffee melanoidin formation during roasting. The cell wall material was able to generate a large amount of "unknown material". The galactomannans modified by the roasting and the melanoidin populations enriched in galactomannans accounted for 47% of the high molecular weight brown color material, showing that these polysaccharides are very relevant for coffee melanoidin formation.     

Natural Biofilms in Freshwater Ecosystem: Indicators of the Presence of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Hydrophobic organic compounds are common in the environment, especially in water bodies like rivers and lakes. Generally, due to their physico-chemical characteristics, mainly to hydrophobicity, these compounds are adsorbed by suspended material or other compartments which provide compatibility. Thus, compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are rapidly adsorbed onto suspended material or even naturally occurring biofilms in water bodies. Biofilms can be defined as complex structures with cells and aggregates of cells. The extracellular polymers present empty spaces that can be filled by water. The biofilm is a sessile microbial community with several kinds of organisms such as bacteria, protozoa, fungi, algae, and extracellular polymeric substances, which may be found on almost any surface exposed to water. Here, biofilms were used to monitor the presence of PAHs in the Barigui River in Curitiba, Brazil. For the measurements and collection of representative microcoenoses, a biofilm sampling device was designed consisting of six glass plates installed in an open polyvinyl chloride pipe of 30?cm diameter and 60?cm length. The sampling device was exposed in the Barigui River for 2?weeks campaigns. The formed biofilm was treated and chemical analysis was performed for PAHs determination. The results showed that biofilms can trap most of the PAHs, especially those with high K _ow values (octanol?Cwater partition coefficient). Four campaigns were conducted. The total PAHs concentration ranged from 11,204.34?±?560.12 to 45,846.90?±?2,290.45?ng/g. According to the isomers ratio, the main source of PAHs in the first and second campaign was of pyrolytic origin, in other words, the PAHs were by-products from burning of light-refined oil products (gasoline and diesel oil). Meanwhile, the other campaigns revealed that the main source is of petrogenic origin. However, the possibility of both sources is not discarded considering the scenario studied and the records of sediments samples. Most of the investigations carried out focused on the loading of river sediments and suspended solids, but the biofilms might detect the amount that could be taken up by benthic organisms, for instance.     

Exploitation of Marine-Derived Robust Biological Molecules to Manage Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Naturally occurring biological entities with extractable and tunable structural and functional characteristics, along with therapeutic attributes, are of supreme interest for strengthening the twenty-first-century biomedical settings. Irrespective of ongoing technological and clinical advancement, traditional medicinal practices to address and manage inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are inefficient and the effect of the administered therapeutic cues is limited. The reasonable immune response or invasion should also be circumvented for successful clinical translation of engineered cues as highly efficient and robust bioactive entities. In this context, research is underway worldwide, and researchers have redirected or regained their interests in valorizing the naturally occurring biological entities/resources, for example, algal biome so-called “treasure of untouched or underexploited sources”. Algal biome from the marine environment is an immense source of excellence that has also been demonstrated as a source of bioactive compounds with unique chemical, structural, and functional features. Moreover, the molecular modeling and synthesis of new drugs based on marine-derived therapeutic and biological cues can show greater efficacy and specificity for the therapeutics. Herein, an effort has been made to cover the existing literature gap on the exploitation of naturally occurring biological entities/resources to address and efficiently manage IBD. Following a brief background study, a focus was given to design characteristics, performance evaluation of engineered cues, and point-of-care IBD therapeutics of diverse bioactive compounds from the algal biome. Noteworthy potentialities of marine-derived biologically active compounds have also been spotlighted to underlying the impact role of bio-active elements with the related pathways. The current review is also focused on the applied standpoint and clinical translation of marine-derived bioactive compounds. Furthermore, a detailed overview of clinical applications and future perspectives are also given in this review.     

Spirulina meal has acted as a strong feeding attractant for Litopenaeus vannamei at a very low dietary inclusion level

The present work aimed at studying the growth performance and feeding preference of Litopenaeus vannamei juveniles fed on diets supplemented or not with Spirulina meal. Litopenaeus vannamei juveniles (3.89 ± 0.25 g) were stocked for 72 days in 28 round 500‐L tanks at 44 shrimp/tank (77 juveniles/m²). The diets were supplemented with 0.5% of a commercial feed attractant (C25 and C50) or with Spirulina meal (S25 and S50). In C25/S25 and C50/S50 there were reductions of 25% and 50% in fishmeal inclusion level respectively. In a further study, two feeding trays with different diets were allowed to shrimp at the same moment and they were located in opposite walls of the tank. The feed remains in each feeding tray were collected and weighted to calculate the dry feed remains. The weekly growth rate of shrimp fed on S25 (0.89 ± 0.03 g) was not significantly different from those fed on C25 (0.89 ± 0.01 g). The attractiveness experiment showed that S25 was preferred significantly more by shrimp than C25. In conclusion, Spirulina meal added at 0.5% in a complete diet for L. vannamei juveniles, with 14% of Peruvian fishmeal, has proved itself as a nutritionally efficient feeding attractant.