César Fernandes Aquino

Composição química e atividade in vitro de três óleos essenciais sobre Colletotrichum gloeosporioides do maracujazeiro

The objective of this study was to evaluate the action of different concentrations of essential oils of three medicinal plants on the mycelial growth, production and conidial germination of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.). We used a completely randomized design, in a 5x3 factorial design, being five concentrations (0 µL mL-1, 1 µL mL-1, 3 µL mL-1, 5 µL mL-1 e 7 µL mL-1) x three oils from Lippia sidoides Cham., Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf. and Ocimum gratissimum L., with four replications. The oils were analyzed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. There was a significant interaction of concentration versus species on all analyzed traits. The essential oil from C. citratus yielded the highest mycelial growth inhibition at all concentrations. The other oils were not differentiated, except at the concentration of 5µL mL-1, in which the oil of L. sidoides was more efficient that the oil of O. gratissimum. In conidial production and germination, the oil of C. citratus was superior to the oil of L. sidoides and O. gratissimum at the concentrations of 1 µL mL-1 and 3 µL mL-1, as it completely inhibited the production and germination of conidia at the concentrations of 3 µL mL-1 and above. The concentrations influenced all the variables, adjusting themselves to the linear model equation. We observed a decrease in the variables, as the concentrations of the oils tested are increased. The essential oils used have antifungal and fungicidal effect.

CARBOHYDRATES, PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY IN PULP AND PEEL OF 15 BANANA CULTIVARS

The aim of this study was to quantify and compare the levels of carbohydrates and phenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity in the pulp and peel of 15 banana cultivars in two ripening stages. Four bunches per cultivar were harvested in the pre-climacteric stage, six fruits were used by sample unit. Fruits were analyzed in the pre-climacteric stage and after ripening. Total, reducing and non-reducing soluble sugars, starch, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity were evaluated. Cultivar and ripening stage influenced all characteristics analyzed. Unripe pulp and peel had small percentage of sugar, but high percentage of starch, especially ‘Terrinha’ and ‘Marmelo’ cultivars. AAB and ABB cultivars presented the highest percentages of starch, when compared to AA and AAA cultivars. For the phenolic compounds, the highest content was observed in ripe peel, followed by ripe pulp and unripe peel and pulp, highlighting ‘Terrinha’ cultivar in all parts and stages evaluated. The antioxidant potential was higher in ripe peel, followed by unripe peel, ripe and unripe pulp. Fruits of Terrinha, Marmelo, Maca, Ouro and Caru-Verde cultivars showed the highest carbohydrate contents, and phenolic compounds or antioxidant activity, justifying future actions in the expansion of planting and consumption of these fruits.

Teores de minerais em polpas e cascas de frutos de cultivares de bananeira

The objective of this work was to determine the dry matter percentage, the mineral content, and the ability to supply minerals, based on dietary reference intake in the pulp and peel of unripe and ripe fruits of 15 banana cultivars. Four bunches were used per cultivar, and six fruits per sample unit. Fresh pulp and peel samples were collected for sulfuric (0.2 g) and nitric perchloric (0.5 g) digestions. The following were determined: in the sulfuric extract, total N by the Kjeldahl method; and, in the nitro perchloric extract, P, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Mn, Fe, Zn, and Se. P was determined by colorimetry, and the other nutrients by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The mineral content in the pulp and peel was expressed based on the average of the two stages. There are differences between banana cultivars regarding the concentration of macro- and micronutrients in the pulp and peel, but not between unripe and ripe fruits. The Terrinha cultivar showed the highest percentage of dry matter in the pulp, and the Marmelo and Maca cultivars in the peel. For N, P, Fe, Zn, and Cu, the peel showed twice the content of the pulp. The content of K and Mn in the peel was approximately four times that of the pulp. The pulp of the Caipira (AAA) cultivar, and the peel of the Prata and Pacovan (AAB) cultivars show the highest mineral contents.

Fenotipagem de alta eficiência para vitamina A em banana utilizando redes neurais artificiais e dados colorimétricos

Banana is one of the most consumed fruits in Brazil and an important source of minerals, vitamins and carbohydrates for human diet. The characterization of banana superior genotypes allows identifying those with nutritional quality for cultivation and to integrate genetic improvement programs. However, identification and quantification of the provitamin carotenoids are hampered by the instruments and reagents cost for chemical analyzes, and it may become unworkable if the number of samples to be analyzed is high. Thus, the objective was to verify the potential of indirect phenotyping of the vitamin A content in banana through artificial neural networks (ANNs) using colorimetric data. Fifteen banana cultivars with four replications were evaluated, totaling 60 samples. BASIC AREA Article High-efficiency phenotyping for vitamin A in banana using artificial neural networks and colorimetric data César Fernandes Aquino1*, Luiz Carlos Chamhum Salomão1, Alcinei Mistico Azevedo2 1. Universidade Federal de Viçosa Departamento de Fitotecnia Viçosa (MG), Brazil. 2. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Instituto de Ciências Agrárias Montes Claros (MG), Brazil. *Corresponding author: cesarfernandesaquino@yahoo.com.br Received: Oct. 2, 2015 – Accepted: Dec. 17, 2015 For each sample, colorimetric data were obtained and the vitamin A content was estimated in the ripe banana pulp. For the prediction of the vitamin A content by colorimetric data, multilayer perceptron ANNs were used. Ten network architectures were tested with a single hidden layer. The network selected by the best fit (least mean square error) had four neurons in the hidden layer, enabling high efficiency in prediction of vitamin A (r2 = 0.98). The colorimetric parameters a* and Hue angle were the most important in this study. High-scale indirect phenotyping of vitamin A by ANNs on banana pulp is possible and feasible.Banana is one of the most consumed fruits in Brazil and an important source of minerals, vitamins and carbohydrates for human diet. The characterization of banana superior genotypes allows identifying those with nutritional quality for cultivation and to integrate genetic improvement programs. However, identification and quantification of the provitamin carotenoids are hampered by the instruments and reagents cost for chemical analyzes, and it may become unworkable if the number of samples to be analyzed is high. Thus, the objective was to verify the potential of indirect phenotyping of the vitamin A content in banana through artificial neural networks (ANNs) using colorimetric data. Fifteen banana cultivars with four replications were evaluated, totaling 60 samples. For each sample, colorimetric data were obtained and the vitamin A content was estimated in the ripe banana pulp. For the prediction of the vitamin A content by colorimetric data, multilayer perceptron ANNs were used. Ten network architectures were tested with a single hidden layer. The network selected by the best fit (least mean square error) had four neurons in the hidden layer, enabling high efficiency in prediction of vitamin A (r2 = 0.98). The colorimetric parameters a* and Hue angle were the most important in this study. High-scale indirect phenotyping of vitamin A by ANNs on banana pulp is possible and feasible.

Jabuticaba—Myrciaria spp.

Abstract The term “jabuticaba” refers to several species of Myrciaria genus, originating from the south and southeast regions of Brazil, and Myrciaria jaboticaba is the most cultivated. A peculiar feature of these species is the fruiting directly in the main trunk and branches of tree, which makes fruit harvest difficult in the highest branches. This factor, combined with the long juvenile period of the plant and the rapid deterioration of the fruit, limits the commercial expansion of culture. The fruit is a black color berry, whose development occurs in less than two months. The pulp is rich in sugars, especially fructose, and the peel is abundant in phenolic compounds, especially anthocyanins, which give high antioxidant capacity to the fruit. However, knowledge about the fruit physiology and biochemistry is still very limited. Besides fresh consumption, the fruit is utilized in the manufacture of wine, jellies, nectar, and flour, besides presenting phytotherapeutic indications.

CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ‘IMPROVED SUNRISE SOLO LINE 72-12’ PAPAYA FRUITS SUBMITTED TO DIFFERENT MECHANICAL DAMAGE

Objetivou-se avaliar algumas alteracoes no metabolismo dos frutos do mamoeiro submetidos aos danos de impacto, abrasao e compressao. Os danos foram provocados em duas areas de 15 cm2 cada, em posicoes diametralmente opostas, na regiao equatorial de mamoes ‘Improved Sunrise Solo Line 72/12’ no estadio 3 de amadurecimento (frutos com 25 a 40% da area superficial da casca amarela). Apos os danos, os frutos foram armazenados a 15 ± 1 oC e 85 ± 5% de UR, sendo as amostragens feitas em intervalos de dois dias para avaliacao de indice de cor da casca, incidencia de podridoes, perda de massa fresca, vazamento de solutos, firmeza da polpa, teor de solidos soluveis e atividade das enzimas pectinametilesterase e poligalacturonase. A taxa respiratoria foi avaliada nos intervalos de 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 e 72 horas apos os danos. Os resultados evidenciaram os efeitos depreciativos dos danos mecânicos na qualidade final e tambem no tempo de vida de prateleira dos mamoes. Os frutos mecanicamente danificados anteciparam o amadurecimento, apresentando indices de cor da casca maiores do que os dos frutos controle. O dano por abrasao foi o que provocou efeitos mais drasticos, por apresentar, no final do periodo avaliado, perda de massa media e vazamento de solutos 27% e 18,7%, respectivamente, maiores do que nos frutos controle. Alem disso, os frutos submetidos a esse dano apresentaram uma maior taxa respiratoria e tambem maior incidencia de podridoes. A atividade das enzimas pectinametilesterase e poligalacturonase nao foi alterada de forma consistente em funcao dos danos. Da mesma forma, nao se observou diferencas no teor de solidos soluveis.