Nanofiltration of polysaccharides from Agaricus subrufescens.

A simplified submerged airlift cultivation was established for the production of biomass from Agaricus subrufescens. In this work, soluble polysaccharides extracted from fungal mycelium, fruiting bodies, and the residual culture media were concentrated by nanofiltration. Total and high molar mass polysaccharides and soluble solids were determined in the concentrate for the three extracts. Additionally, the permeate flow, the influences of temperature and pressure, and the resistance to the permeate flow during filtration were also evaluated. Ayield of 5.5 g/L of biomass with 35%glucose conversion was obtained when 0.5 g/L of initial inoculum was employed. Average specific speed of growth was 0.4/day, with biomass productivity of about 0.76 g/(L day). Nanofiltration has yielded polysaccharide increases of 85, 82, and 92% in the extracts from fruiting bodies, mycelium, and liquid media, respectively. A reduction in the permeate flow was observed during filtration, and it was compensated by higher pressures and temperatures. The higher resistance to the permeate flux was caused by polarization due to concentration (polarized gel layer), reaching values of 88% for the culture media. Maximal resistance caused by the membrane reached values of 40% for the extract from the fruiting bodies. On the other hand, resistance caused by fouling was responsible for less than 3.5%. In conclusion, nanofiltration is efficient to concentrate these functional compounds extracted from A. subrufescens and can, therefore, be applied in different biotechnological areas.

Composição química e digestibilidade ruminal in situ da forragem de quatro espécies do gênero Brachiaria / Chemical composition and in situ ruminal degradability of four Brachiaria species

Avaliaram-se a composição química e a cinética da digestibilidade ruminal in situ da matéria seca (MS), proteína bruta (PB) e fibra em detergente neutro (FDN) da forragem de quatro espécies de Brachiaria, com 56 dias de crescimento, coletadas por corte manual. Foram utilizadas três vacas mestiças Holandês x Zebu, fistuladas no rúmen. Foram observados teores de 21,0; 21,1; 20,5 e 19,6 por cento de MS; 7,5; 6,4; 6,8 e 7,0 por cento de PB; e 66,8; 70,1; 73,4 e 63,9 por cento de FDN, respectivamente, para B. brizantha, B. decumbens, B. humidicola e B. ruziziensis. O maior valor nutricional foi da B. ruziziensis, que apresentou as mais elevadas taxas de degradação e degradabilidades efetivas (DE) da MS e da PB, e o menor teor de FDN associado à maior taxa de degradação desse nutriente. A forragem de pior qualidade nutricional foi B. humidicola, com menores valores de DE da MS e PB e maiores concentrações das frações fibrosas e indigestíveis.

The chemical composition and the ruminal in situ degradability of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) of four species of Brachiaria were evaluated. The forages were harvested at 56 days of growth. Three rumen-fistulated crossbred Holstein × Zebu cows were used. The chemical composition of B. brizantha, B. decumbens, B. ruziziensis, and B. humidicola forages were, respectively: 21.0, 21.1, 20.5, and 19.6 percent for DM; 7.5, 6.4, 6.8, and 7.0 percent for CP; and 66.8, 70.1, 73.4, and 63.9 percent for NDF. B. ruziziensis presented the best nutritional value among the Brachiaria species, as indicated by the highest effective degradability (ED) and ruminal degradation rates of both DM and CP. B. ruziziensis also showed the highest NDF ruminal degradation rate and the lowest NDF concentration. In contrast, B. humidicola showed the worst nutritional composition, as indicated by the lowest DM and CP ED values and the highest content of indigestible and fibrous fractions.