Edy Sousa de Brito

Characterization and quantitation of polyphenolic compounds in bark, kernel, leaves, and peel of mango (Mangifera indica L.).

The contents of secondary plant substances in solvent extracts of various byproducts (barks, kernels, peels, and old and young leaves) in a range of Brazilian mango cultivars were identified and quantitated. The results show that the profiles of secondary plant substances such as xanthone C-glycosides, gallotannins, and benzophenones in different byproducts vary greatly but are fairly consistent across cultivars. The free radical scavenging activity of the solvent extracts was evaluated using a high-performance liquid chromatography-based hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase assay and revealed dose-dependent antioxidant capacity in all extracts. Four (mangiferin, penta- O-galloyl-glucoside gallic acid, and methyl gallate) of the major phenolic compounds detected were also evaluated in additional in vitro bioassay systems such as oxygen radical absorbance capacity, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, and ferric reducing ability of plasma. Mangiferin in particular, detected at high concentrations in young leaves (Coite = 172 g/kg), in bark (Momika = 107 g/kg), and in old leaves (Itamaraka = 94 g/kg), shows an exceptionally strong antioxidant capacity.

Chemical composition of Eucalyptus spp. essential oils and their insecticidal effects on Lutzomyia longipalpis.

The chemical composition of essential oils from three species of plants belonging to the Eucalyptus genus was determined and, their insecticidal effects on egg, larva and adult phases of Lutzomyia longipalpis were assessed. The insects were collected in the municipality of Sobral in the State of Ceará, Brazil. Five treatments with different concentrations were performed along with two negative controls, distilled water and Tween 80 (3%), and a positive control, cypermethrin (0.196mg/ml). The tests were carried out in plastic pots internally coated with sterile plaster and filled with a substrate made of rabbit feces and crushed cassava leaves. The eggs, larvae and adults were sprayed with the oils. The hatched larvae were counted for 10 consecutive days and observed until pupation. Insect mortality was observed after 24, 48 and 72h. E. staigeriana oil was the most effective on all three phases of the insect, followed by E. citriodora and E. globulus oils, respectively. The major constituents of the oils were Z-citral and alpha-citral (E. staigeriana), citronellal (E. citriodora) and 1,8-cineole (E. globulus). The Eucalyptus essential oils constitute alternative natural products for the control of L. longipalpis since the median effective concentration (EC(50)) values revealed relevant action as compared with other natural products, some of their chemical constituents are already known for their insecticidal activity and these oils are produced in commercial scale in Brazil.

Antifungal Activity, Toxicity and Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of Coriandrum sativum L. Fruits

The aims of this study were to test the antifungal activity, toxicity and chemical composition of essential oil from C. sativum L. fruits. The essential oil, obtained by hydro-distillation, was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. Linalool was the main constituent (58.22%). The oil was considered bioactive, showing an LC50 value of 23 µg/mL in the Artemia salina lethality test. The antifungal activity was evaluated against Microsporum canis and Candida spp. by the agar-well diffusion method and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) were established by the broth microdilution method. The essential oil induced growth inhibition zones of 28 ± 5.42 and 9.25 ± 0.5 for M. canis and Candida spp. respectively. The MICs and MFCs for M. canis strains ranged from 78 to 620 and 150 to 1,250 µg/mL, and the MICs and MFCs for Candida spp strains ranged from 310 to 620 and 620 to 1,250 µg/mL, respectively. C. sativum essential oil is active in vitro against M. canis and Candida spp. demonstrating good antifungal activity.

REMOÇÃO DE METAIS DE SOLUÇÃO AQUOSA USANDO BAGAÇO DE CAJU

The metal ions removal on cashew bagasse, a low-cost material, has been studied by batch adsorption. The parameters chemical treatment, particle size, biosorbent concentration, and initial pH were studied. In this study the maximum ions removal was obtained on the cashew bagasse treated with 0.1 mol/L NaOH/3 h, at optimum particle size (20-59 mesh), biosorbent concentration (50 g/L) and initial solution pH 5. The kinetic study indicated that the adsorption metal follows pseudo-second order model for a multielementary system and equilibrium time was achieved in 60 min for all metal ions.

Effect of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and air treatments on total phenol and tannin content of cocoa nibs

O sabor do cacau e fortemente influenciado pelos polifenois. Esses compostos sofrem uma serie de transformacoes durante o processamento do cacau dando origem ao sabor caracteristico do cacau. O uso de polifenol oxidase (PPO) exogena mostrou ser util na reducao do teor de polifenois em nibs de cacau. O efeito de uma PPO associada ou nao com ar sobre o teor de fenois totais e taninos foi avaliado. Nibs de cacau foram autoclavados e tratados com PPO ou agua na presenca ou nao de um fluxo de ar por 0,5; 1; 2 e 3 horas. O teor de fenois totais foi reduzido nos tratamentos com PPO ou agua, mas quando associados com ar houve um aumento desses teores. O teor de taninos foi reduzido apenas pelo tratamento com agua e ar.

Antioxidant metabolism during fruit development of different acerola (Malpighia emarginata D.C) clones.

The present research work describes the major changes in the antioxidant properties during development of acerola from five different clones. Ripening improved fruit physicochemical quality parameters; however, total vitamin C and total soluble phenols (TSP) contents declined during development, which resulted in a lower total antioxidant activity (TAA). Despite the decline in TSP, at ripening, the anthocyanin and yellow flavonoid content increased and was mainly constituted of cyanidin 3-rhamnoside and quercetin 3-rhamnoside, respectively. The activities of oxygen-scavenging enzymes also decreased with ripening; furthermore, the reduction in vitamin C was inversely correlated to membrane lipid peroxidation, indicating that acerola ripening is characterized by a progressive oxidative stress. Among the studied clones, II47/1, BRS 237, and BRS 236 presented outstanding results for vitamin C, phenols, and antioxidant enzyme activity. If antioxidants were to be used in the food supplement industry, immature green would be the most suitable harvest stage; for the consumers market, fruit should be eaten ripe.

1H NMR spectroscopy and chemometrics evaluation of non-thermal processing of orange juice

This study evaluated the effect of atmospheric cold plasma and ozone treatments on the key compounds (sugars, amino acids and short chain organic acids) in orange juice by NMR and chemometric analysis. The juice was directly and indirectly exposed to atmospheric cold plasma field at 70kV for different treatment time (15, 30, 45 and 60sec). For ozone processing different loads were evaluated. The Principal Component Analysis shown that the groups of compounds are affected differently depending on the processing. The ozone was the processing that more affected the aromatic compounds and atmospheric cold plasma processing affected more the aliphatic compounds. However, these variations did not result in significant changes in orange juice composition as a whole. Thus, NMR data and chemometrics were suitable to follow quality changes in orange juice processing by atmospheric cold plasma and ozone.

Effect of ultrasound followed by high pressure processing on prebiotic cranberry juice.

This work evaluated the effect of high pressure processing (HPP) and ultrasound (US) on the quality of prebiotic cranberry juice fortified with fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS). The juice was subjected to HPP for 5min (450MPa) and to ultrasonic treatment for 5min (600 and 1200W/L) followed by HPP for 5min (450MPa). Chemical analyses were carried out to identify and quantify the anthocyanins, and to quantify FOS, organic acids, instrumental color, soluble solids, pH and antioxidant capacity. Both non-thermal treatments preserved the FOS content maintaining the prebiotic property of the juice. The retention of organic acids was high (>90%) and an increase in anthocyanin content (up to 24%) was observed when ultrasound was followed by HPP. The changes in instrumental color, soluble solids content and pH were negligible. The use of HPP and ultrasound processing has been proven satisfactory to treat prebiotic cranberry juice.

Tracking thermal degradation on passion fruit juice through Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and chemometrics.

Thermal food processing mainly aims to control microorganism in order to extend its shelf life. However, it may induce chemical and nutritional changes in foodstuff. The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) coupled to multivariate analysis was used to evaluate the effect of different thermal processing conditions (85 and 140°C for 4; 15; 30; and 60s) on the passion fruit juice using an Armfield pasteurizer. Through this approach it was possible to identify the changes in the juice composition. The temperature and the time lead to a hydrolysis of the sucrose to glucose and fructose. Additionally, juice submitted to 140°C for 60s results in the degradation of the sucrose and the formation of 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furfural (HMF). Despite no novel chemical marker has been identified, the 1H NMR chemometrics approach may contribute in the choice of the temperature and time to be employed in the juice processing.

Use of a proteolytic enzyme in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) processing

ABSTRACT Protein hydrolysis using an exogenous protease on cocoa nibs was performed to verify the formation of precursors and the effect on cocoa flavour. An experimental design was used to check the influence of temperature (30 to 70 o C) and enzyme : substrate ratio [E/S] (97.5 to 1267.5 U g -1 of protein). The % Degree of Hydrolysis (% DH) was affected mainly by [E/S] leading to a 4-fold increase (from 5 to 20 %) after 6 hours of treatment. During cocoa nibs roasting, there was a greater consumption of hydrolysis compounds in the sample treated with protease as compared to the control, indicating their participation in the Maillard reaction. An increased perception of chocolate flavour and bitter taste was observed in a product formulated with protease treated cocoa. Key words: Cocoa, flavour, protein hydrolysis, processing ∗ Author for correspondence INTRODUCTION Fermented and dried cocoa beans constitute the raw material used by the chocolate industry to produce various different products, which are largely appreciated for their characteristic flavour. During fermentation the pulp surrounding the seeds is metabolized by the microorganisms resulting in a temperature rise and a drop in pH, which are responsible for cotyledon death. During this some other substances such as ethanol, acetic and lactic acids and the formation of flavour precursors, basically peptides, free amino acids and reducing sugars (Reinnecius et al., 1972; Mohr et al., 1976) are also produced. These precursors participate in the Maillard reaction during cocoa roasting, leading to the characteristic chocolate flavour. Proteolysis is very important for cocoa flavour development (Voigt et al., 1994a; 1994b). Amino acids and peptides are produced during fermentation by the combined action of an aspartic endoprotease and a carboxipeptidase. The main substrate for these enzymes is a globulin described as a cocoa vicilin. A specific cocoa aroma was obtained when this globulin was degraded by exogenous proteases and the resulting products were roasted in the presence of reducing sugars (Voigt et al., 1994a; 1994b). However, other cocoa proteins should be considered in flavour precursor formation (Lerceteau et al., 1999). During subsequent roasting, amino acid levels were reduced, but this reduction was not complete and there were different rates of reaction for the distinct amino acid groups (Seiki, 1973; Abeygunasekera and Jansz, 1989).