Spatial Variability of Soil Organic Matter and Cation Exchange Capacity in an Oxisol under Different Land Uses

ABSTRACT

Soil properties may exhibit large spatial variability. Frequently this variability is auto-correlated at a certain scale. In addition to soil-forming factors, soil management, land cover, and agricultural system may affect the spatial variability of agricultural soils. Soil organic matter (OM) is an important soil property contributing toward soil fertility and a key attribute in assessing soil quality. Increasing soil OM increases cation exchange capacity (CEC) and enhances soil fertility. We analyzed the impact of land use on the spatial variability of OM and CEC in a tropical soil, an Oxisol, within São Paulo state, Brazil. Land uses were prairie, maize, and mango. Soil samples were taken at 0–10 and 10–20 cm depths at 84 points within 1-ha plots, i.e., 100 m × 100 m. Statistical variability was higher for soil OM than for CEC. The mango plot contained the highest soil OM, whereas prairie the lowest. Also, soil OM and CEC were significantly related at all land use treatments and depths studied. All soil OM data sets and most of the CEC data sets (with two exceptions) exhibited spatial dependence. When spatial variability was present, the semivariograms showed a nugget effect plus a spherical or an exponential structure. Patterns of soil OM and CEC spatial variability (i.e., model type, ranges of spatial dependence, and nugget effects) were different between land uses and soil depths. In general, CEC exhibited a lower spatial autocorrelation and a weaker spatial structure than soil OM. Moreover, soil OM displayed a higher autocorrelation and was more strongly structured at the 0–10 cm depth than at the 10–20 cm depth. Interpolation by kriging or inverse distance weighting (IDW) allowed to illustrate how the spatial variability of soil OM and CEC differed due to land cover and sampling depth. Modeling and mapping the spatial distribution of soil OM and CEC provided a framework for spatially implicit comparisons of these soil properties, which may be useful for practical applications.     

Does the Intensity of Anisakis Infection Affect the Quality of Hake Muscle?

The distribution of Anisakis larvae in fresh caught hake was studied, and the influence of three infection levels of the viscera (low, medium, high) on quality changes of deep frozen muscle was followed over 220 days. Differences in quality were attributed more to the size of the individuals than to the infection degree of the three groups. The removal of belly flaps diminished the risk of consumers’ infection and sensitization as prevalence and intensity was reduced to 75.6 and 5.9%, respectively. Allergens were detected after 220 days frozen storage, which represents a risk for consumers already allergic to Anisakis.     

The Feasibility of Increasing Lipid Extraction in Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Waste by Proteolysis

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of increasing lipid extraction in tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) waste using different enzymes and to minimize the periods of hydrolysis to evaluate the performance of the lipid fractions. When processing waste tilapia, commercial enzymes were added that were composed of neutrase and alcalase acting at different hydrolysis times to produce the best yields. The treatment proved feasible for obtaining the protein hydrolysates. The type of enzyme and the hydrolysis time determined the degree of fractionation. The enzymes performed well, and the highest efficiency occurred within 2 h of hydrolysis. By fractionating, the obtained by-products can be applied in the preparation of feed, as the lipid fraction treatments yielded significant amounts of polyunsaturated fats and suitable n-6/n-3 ratios.     

Antigenotoxic Effects of Piquiá (Caryocar villosum) in Multiple Rat Organs

This study investigated the in vivo genotoxicity of piquiá pulp (Caryocar villosum) and its potential antigenotoxicity on doxorubicin (DXR)-induced DNA damage by comet assay and micronucleus test. In addition, the phytochemicals present in piquiá pulp were determined. Piquiá fruit pulp (75, 150 or 300?mg/kg b.w.) was administered by gavage to Wistar rats for 14?days, and the animals received an injection of saline or DXR (15?mg/kg b.w., i.p.) 24 h before they were euthanized. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of carotenoids; phenolic compounds, including flavonoids; tannins and α-tocopherol in piquiá pulp. No statistically significant differences were observed in the evaluated parameters, demonstrating the absence of cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of piquiá pulp at all tested doses. In liver, kidney, cardiac and bone marrow cells, piquiá significantly reduced the DNA damage induced by DXR. Our results showed that the lowest piquiá dose caused the largest decrease in DNA damage and the highest dose caused the smallest decrease, demonstrating an inverse dose-response of piquiá pulp. Furthermore, we observed a difference in the potential antigenotoxic effects in several tissues. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that piquiá pulp was not genotoxic and inhibited the genotoxicity induced by DXR, but some of the protective effects that were observed depended on the doses and experimental conditions. Therefore, further investigations are needed to clarify how piquiá pulp positively affects human health.     

Phenolic Constituents of the Chilean Herbal Tea Fabiana imbricata R. et P.

??Pichi?? or ??pichi romero?? (Fabiana imbricata R. et. P., Solanaceae) is a Chilean plant used as a tea in the Andean regions of Chile and Argentina. A very simple and direct method was developed for the qualitative analysis of polyphenols in the tea by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The phenolic constituents identified in the teas were chlorogenic acid (3-O-caffeoylquinic acid), p-hydroxyacetophenone, scopoletin and quercetin derivatives. The glycosides were mainly glucosides from p-hydroxyacetophenone and scopoletin while di- and tri-glycosides from quercetin were the main flavonoids. The content of the main phenolic compounds in the teas (g/100?g lyophilized infusion) was 0.8?C1.9?% for scopoletin, 0.4?C6.2?% for p-hydroxyacetophenone and 2.1?C4.3?% for rutin, respectively. The health-promoting properties reported for this herbal tea can be associated with the presence of several phenolics with known antioxidant, diuretic and antiinflammatory activity.