Cristiane Vieira Helm

Solid-State Bioconversion of Passion Fruit Waste by White-Rot Fungi for Production of Oxidative and Hydrolytic Enzymes

Yellow passion fruit waste (YPFW) is an abundant food waste in Brazil, rich in carbohydrates. The aim of the present work was to obtain useful oxidative and hydrolytic enzymes. YPFW solid-state cultures were done using the food-grade white-rot fungi Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus pulmonarius, Macrocybe titans, Ganoderma lucidum, and Grifola frondosa. Under the conditions used in this work, the main enzymes produced by the fungi were laccases, pectinases, and aryl-β-d-glycosidases (β-glucosidases, β-xylosidases, and β-galactosidases). Laccases were produced by all fungi, and in this respect, the YPFW was as good as substrate as wheat bran, the most commonly substrate used for white-rot fungi cultivation. M. titans was the best producer of pectinase in YPFW cultures, while P. ostreatus and P. pulmonarius were the best producers of aryl-β-glycosidases in both YPFW and wheat bran cultures.

Assessment of Nano Cellulose from Peach Palm Residue as Potential Food Additive: Part II: Preliminary Studies

High consumption of dietary fibers in the diet is related to the reduction of the risk of non-transmitting of chronic diseases, prevention of the constipation etc. Rich diets in dietary fibers promote beneficial effects for the metabolism. Considering the above and recognizing the multifaceted advantages of nano materials, there have been many attempts in recent times to use the nano materials in the food sector including as food additive. However, whenever new product for human and animal consumption is developed, it has to be tested for their effectiveness regarding improvement in the health of consumers, safety aspects and side effects. However, before it is tried with human beings, normally such materials would be assessed through biological tests on a living organism to understand its effect on health condition of the consumer. Accordingly, based on the authors’ finding reported in a previous paper, this paper presents body weight, biochemical (glucose, cholesterol and lipid profile in blood, analysis of feces) and histological tests carried out with biomass based cellulose nano fibrils prepared by the authors for its possible use as food additive. Preliminary results of the study with mice have clearly brought out potential of these fibers for the said purpose.

Influence of nitrogen sources on the enzymatic activity and grown by Lentinula edodes in biomass Eucalyptus benthamii

Lignocellulose is the most abundant environmental component and a renewable organic resource in soil. There are some filamentous fungi which developed the ability to break down and use cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin as an energy source. The objective of this research was to analyze the effect of three nitrogen resources (ammonium sulfate, saltpetre, soybean) in the holocellulolitic activity of Lentinula edodes EF 50 using as substrate sawdust E. benthamii. An experimental design mixture was applied with repetition in the central point consisting of seven treatments (T) of equal concentrations of nitrogen in ammonium sulfate, potassium nitrate and soybean. The enzymatic activity of avicelase, carboxymetilcellulase, β-glucosidase, xylanases and manganese peroxidase was determined. The humidity, pH, water activity (aw) and qualitative analysis of mycelial growth in 8 times of cultivation were evaluated. The results showed negative effect on enzyme production in treatments with maximum concentration of ammonium sulfate and potassium nitrate. The treatments with cooked soybean flour expressed higher enzymatic activities in times of 3, 6 and 9 days of culture, except in the activity of manganese peroxidase. The highest production was observed in the treatment with ammonium sulfate, and soybean (83.86 UI.L-1) at 20 days of cultivation.

Expression of manganese peroxidase by Lentinula edodes and Lentinula boryana in solid state and submerged system fermentation

The production of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass is referred as a second generation biofuel, whose processing is one of the most promising technologies under development. There are few available studies on the use of enzymes produced by fungi as active for the biodegradation of lignocellulosic biomass. However, the manganese peroxidase (MnP) enzyme presents high potential to degrade lignin and the basidiomycetes are the major producers of this oxidase. Thus, this study aimed at evaluating the ability of fungi Lentinula edodes and Lentinula boryana to produce this enzyme when cultivated in submerged fermentation system (SS) and also in solid-state fermentation system (SSF) containing Eucalyptus benthamii sawdust with or without corn cob meal. In the SS the greatest MnP expression occurred on the 25th day, being of 70 UI.L-1 for L. boryana and of 20 UI.L-1 for L. edodes. In the SSF, the best results were obtained on the 10th day for L. edodes, while for L. boryana it happened between the 20th and the 25th days, despite both species presented values close to 110 UI.L-1. Therefore, the results indicated that the studied fungi express the enzyme of interest and that its production is enhanced when cultivated in solid system.

Pre-treatment of eucalypts biomass towards enzymatic saccharification

Background There are a few possible ways to produce ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass, for instance, thermochemical and acid hydrolysis. However, enzymatic hydrolysis of carbohydrates is considered the greenest process for saccharification, followed by sugar fermentation into ethanol. The main challenge of the enzymatic saccharification process is that cellulose is not exposed to the enzyme action in the lignin matrix. The cellulose molecules are arranged in semi-crystalline nanofibrils immersed in lignin matrix with hemicelluloses (polyoses) and extractives between them acting as coupling agents. These nanofibrils are placed together to form helical microfibrils inside the cell wall. Thus, a pre-treatment is necessary to make room for the enzymes to reach the cellulose fibril surfaces in order for the whole process to become economically feasible. There are many pre-treatments proposed in specialized literature, but their efficiencies are dependent on the biomass composition [1-4]. Moreover, these treatments have to address some constraints such as the recyclability of the chemicals used, low consumption of energy, and sustainability concerns. We devised a future possibility of a cellulose pulp mill to be transformed into a biorefinary, where besides cellulose pulp, ethanol could also be produced. In the Brazilian pulp mill industry, the process most commonly used is the Kraft process, so the digestion with green and white liquors can be adapted for pre-treatment towards enzymatic saccharification. Also, the industry had already tackled recycling of the black liquor – obtained after wood chips digestion –, recuperating thermal energy by burning lignin and recovering the green liquor. This work is part of our research to evaluate some modifications on the green liquor digestion towards enzymatic saccharification. We evaluated efficiencies of some pre-treatments with green liquor through enzymatic hydrolysis for holocellulose saccharification.

Nanotechnology applied to improve functionality in food

Abstract Functional foods are one of new trends for the food industry and nanotechnology can be useful for enrichment of food or parts of the food with natural bioactive compounds. Besides the introduction of nutraceuticals into food, nanotechnology may allow the protection of the functional compounds against degradation, and, furthermore, improve their bioavailability. Nanocapsules of biomacromolecules can be employed for entrapment of sensitive hydrophobic nutraceuticals with partial protection against photochemical degradation to enrich food products without modifying sensory properties. Insoluble fibers from plants can be employed to improve intestinal tract and decrease cholesterol and sugar absorption into blood. Besides, nanoparticles or nanofibers would be useful for jellification or emulsions, which have great potential for beverage applications associated with delivery of bioactives. However, some nanomaterials, mainly inorganic crystalline ones, may have toxic effects in the body and proper steps should be taken before recommending them for industrial applications. There are many processes for obtaining nanomaterials, which may belong to either bottom-up and top-down approach. This chapter focuses on some of these aspects along with some perspectives.

Improving enzymatic saccharification of Eucalyptus grandis branches by ozone pretreatment

Ozonolysis is potentially an effective method for pretreating lignocellulosic biomass to improve the production of fermentable sugars via enzymatic hydrolysis. The eliminated branches from eucalyptus trees can represent a production of around 30 million m3 of lignocellulosic material annually only in Brazil. Attempts of developing strategies for a rational use of this biomass are, thus, welcome. In this study, Eucalyptus grandis branches were pretreated with ozone in an attempt to increase enzymatic saccharification. Ozonolysis resulted in the degradation of lignin with negligible losses of cellulose and small losses of hemicellulose. Reduction in the lignin content from 26.63 to 9.53% already resulted in the maximal improvement of the saccharification yield (from 20 to 68%). The results indicate that ozone pretreatment can be a promising way of increasing the enzymatic digestibility of eucalyptus sawdust from eliminated branches of trees for its conversion into fermentable sugars.

A nutritional analysis of juices of ora-pro-nobis’s leaves and stalks

A elaboracao de bebidas mistas permite obter novos sabores, texturas, melhorias de cor e associacao entre os componentes nutricionais. Com isso, uma bebida formulada com suco de laranja e folhas de hortalica nao-convencional traz vantagens, principalmente para consumidores que desejam beneficiar-se de produtos naturais, ricos em nutrientes e sabor diferenciado. Pereskia aculeata e uma hortalica nao-convencional utilizada como complemento alimentar devido ao elevado teor de proteinas e ausencia de toxicidade nas folhas. Assim, objetivou-se estudar a composicao bromatologica de sucos de laranja lima e folhas e caules de Pereskia aculeata, visando identificar e quantificar os nutrientes e minerais presentes. Foram testados quatro tipos de sucos: suco natural de laranja lima (0%); acrescido de farinha de folhas secas (5%); acrescido de farinha de folhas+caules secos (5%); acrescido de folhas frescas (4 folhas), sendo realizadas as analises: umidade, cinzas, proteinas, fibras, lipideos, em base umida (g 100 g-1). Concluiu-se que os sucos preparados com farinha de folhas secas de Pereskia aculeata apresentaram maior teor de proteinas; porem sucos preparados com farinha de folhas+caules secos mostraram melhor teor de fibras, enquanto o suco natural apresentou os menores valores caloricos totais. No entanto, tanto o suco de laranja lima com farinha de folhas secas e o com folhas frescas apresentaram resultados satisfatorios para os minerais fosforo, sodio, potassio, magnesio, calcio, cobre, ferro e manganes. Desta forma, os sucos de laranja lima preparados com farinha de folhas secas e frescas de Pereskia aculeata, devido as boas qualidades nutricionais, sao os mais indicados para o consumo.

Decolorization of textile industry wastewater in solid state fermentation with Peach-Palm (Bactris gasipaes) residue

In this work we have assessed the decolorization of textile effluents throughout their treatment in a solid-state fermentation (SSF) system. SSF assays were conducted with peach-palm (Bactris gasipaes) residue using the white rot fungus Ganoderma lucidum EF 31. The influence of the dye concentration and of the amounts of peach-palm residue and liquid phase on both the discoloration efficiency and enzyme production was studied. According to our results, independently of experimental conditions employed, laccase was the main ligninolytic enzyme produced by G. lucidum. The highest laccase activity was obtained at very low effluent concentrations, suggesting the existence of an inhibitory effect of higher concentrations on fungal metabolism. The highest percentage of color removal was reached when 10 grams of peach palm residue was moistened with 60 mL of the final effluent. In control tests carried out with the synthetic dye Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR) decolorization efficiencies about 20% higher than that achieved with the industrial effluent were achieved. The adsorption of RBBR on peach-palm residue was also investigated. Equilibrium tests showed that the adsorption of this dye followed both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Hence, our experimental results indicate that peach-palm residue is suitable substrate for both laccase production and color removal in industrial effluents.

Nutritional analysis of cupcakes base meal of leaves and stems of ora-pro-nobis (Pereskia aculeata)

Food and nutrition are basic requirements for the ascension and protection of human health. However, food education is a slow process. Therefore, the use of unconventional vegetables as food, such as Pereskia aculeata, a cactaceae rich in essential proteins and used to fight against malnutrition is encouraged. The objectives of this study were to determine the bromatological composition of cupcakes made of leaves and stems of Pereskia aculeata, as well as to characterize the nutrients and minerals present therein. Four recipes were tested: natural cupcake; with dry leaves flour; with leaf+stem flour; and with fresh leaves. The levels of moisture, ashes, proteins, dietary fibers, lipids, total carbohydrates, total caloric value, and minerals were determined. Cupcakes made with Pereskia aculeata flour are a consuming alternative with excellent nutritional value. Cupcakes prepared with dry leaf flour presented high protein content and those with leaf meal + stem presented a higher dietary fiber content. However, both presented satisfactory results for the phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, copper, and zinc minerals. Therefore, the cupcakes with dry leaf flour and leaves+stem, due to their nutritional qualities, are the most suitable option for consumption.