Yacon: benefícios à saúde e aplicações tecnológicas / Yacon: health benefits and technological applications

No início dos anos 90, foi introduzido na cultura Brasileira o plantio da batata yacon, uma raiz tuberosa, que vem despertando grande interesse por parte dos pesquisadores, devido as suas propriedades nutricionais e tecnológicas. Essa raiz caracteriza-se principalmente por ser rica em frutanos e ácidos fenólicos, apresentando efeito prebiótico e antioxidante, respectivamente. Muitos estudos in vivo e in vitro já foram realizados, utilizando este tubérculo e seus derivados, comprovando suas atividades benéficas à saúde, além deter grande potencial na tecnologia do desenvolvimento de novos produtos alimentícios. A presente revisão objetivou agrupar alguns desses estudos, tanto na área da saúde como na da tecnologia de alimentos. O potencial prebiótico, redução do índice glicêmico e a melhora na saúde óssea são os efeitos que se destacam nas pesquisas in vivo. Percebe-se também uma tendência na elaboração de produtos de panificação utilizando-se a farinha de yacon, e os resultados apresentam-se satisfatórios, tanto nas propriedades tecnológicas quanto nas avaliações sensoriais.

In the early nineties was introduced in Brazil the yacon potato planting. This tuberous roots have been attracting interest from researchers due to their nutritional and technological properties.Yacon is its mainly characterized by being rich in fructans and phenolic acids, with prebiotic and antioxidant effects, respectively. Many studies in vivo and in vitro were carried out with yacon and products produced from it, showing its health benefits, besides having great technological potential for developing new food products .This review aimed to outline some of these studies, in both health and food technology. The prebiotic potential, glycemic index reduction and improvement of bone health are the effects that stand out in the in vivo researches. It can be noted a trend for bakery products formulations using yacon flour, and the outcomes were positive for both technological properties as well as for sensory evaluations.

Candida zeylanoides as a new yeast model for lipid metabolism studies: effect of nitrogen sources on fatty acid accumulation.

Lipid homeostasis is well-known in oleaginous yeasts, but there are few non-oleaginous yeast models apart from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We are proposing the non-oleaginous yeast Candida zeylanoides QU 33 as model. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the carbon/nitrogen ratio and the type of nitrogen source upon oil accumulation by this yeast grown on shake flask cultures. The maximum biomass was obtained in yeast extract (2.39 ± 0.19 g/l), followed by peptone (2.24 ± 0.05 g/l), while the highest content of microbial oil (0.35 ± 0.01 g/l) and the maximum lipid yield (15.63%) were achieved with peptone. Oleic acid was the predominant cellular fatty acid in all culture media (>32.23%), followed by linoleic (>15.79%) and palmitic acids (>13.47%). The highest lipid yield using glucose and peptone was obtained at the C/N ratio of 200:1.

Evaluation of the mineral content of infant formulas consumed in Brazil.

The mineral content of 10 commercially available milk-based infant formulas widely consumed in Brazil was investigated. The levels of elements (Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, and Zn) were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry after microwave-assisted wet digestion. The results were compared with the producers' label declarations and levels proposed by the Codex Alimentarius and the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency. The obtained results were in good agreement with certified reference materials, and the relative standard deviation of the measurements was always below 10%, with the exception of Cu (up to 14%). A high degree of variation between the experimental and producers' data was found for trace elements among different brands, with differences as high as 41 and 68% for Cu and Zn, respectively. The content of minerals in the starting formulas was in accordance with levels established by the Codex Alimentarius, with the exception of 1 brand that had a Zn level that was not in agreement with the Codex minimum value. Among follow-up formulas, 2 brands contained levels of Ca and K that were higher than the maximum established by Brazilian standards, and 1 brand contained less than the minimum value recommended for Zn. The guidance upper levels have not been established in the Codex Alimentarius for follow-up formulas, and the maximum value has been established for only 2 of the analyzed minerals. This lack of a standard could be a problem; as shown in the present study, if the Brazilian standard is used, several formulas could be considered out of specification. Despite the limited number of samples evaluated in this work, the levels of some elements were out of specification and special attention by the Brazilian government on the content of minerals in infant formulas is needed.