Profile of phenolic compounds in jabuticaba (Myrciaria sp.) a potential functional ingredient.

Phenolic compounds have attracted a lot of attention due to their benefits to human health. Jabuticaba (Myrciaria sp.) fruit has been described as an excellent source of these compounds, while Jabuticaba leaf, considered as plant residue, has shown functional effects. The present study aimed to characterize the phenolic profile in two different leaves extracts (hydroalcoholic ethanol and butanol) of Myrciaria sp. by UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MSE. A total of 40 phenolic compounds were tentatively identified. Jabuticaba leaf extracts presented a rich and diversified composition of phenolic compounds, especially flavonoids, being ellagic acid, quercetin 3-O-glucoside, gallocatechin, and epigallocatechin the most abundant in butanol extracts. Very distinct phenolic profiles were obtained depending on the the solvent indicating that specific preparations can be obtained from the jabuticaba leaf depending on the desired application. This work emphasized the potential of this residue vegetable to be used as a functional ingredient.

Enzymes produced by solid state fermentation of agro-industrial by-products release ferulic acid in bioprocessed whole-wheat breads.

Solid-state fermentation (SSF) presents low cost and the possibility of adding value to waste by generating products rich in enzymes. The production of enzymes by SSF and its application in bakery have been previously reported separately in the literature. However, very few studies combine both approaches to evaluate the feasibility of applying enzymes produced by SSF to bread processing. The objective of this study was to use cocoa bean shell (CBS), wheat bran (WB) and brewer's spent grain (BSG) for enzyme production by SSF, and to evaluate their addition in breads. Three breads were produced: control bread (CB), bioprocessed bread added with fermented wheat bran (WBB) and bioprocessed bread added with fermented BSG (BSGB). Feruloyl esterase highest activities were 1,730 mU/g for WB fermented for 24 h and 1,128 mU/g for BSG fermented for 72 h. Xylanase highest activities were 547.9 U/g for BSG fermented for 48 h and 868.1 U/g for WB fermented for 72 h. CBS showed the lowest enzymatic activities. Bioprocessing breads with fermented WB and BSG led to an increase in soluble ferulic acid of 159% and 198%, respectively. The combination of SSF enzyme production and bread enzymatic bioprocessing strategies proved to be an effective green option for the valorization of agro-industrial by-products and the production of breads with enhanced ferulic acid content.

Patent Landscape on Structured Lipids Produced by Enzyme Technology.

BACKGROUND: Lipid modification results in several benefits for the food industry, biotechnology advances and human health. Customizing bioactive lipids is very appealing because it improves the product's nutritional quality. Lipases are sustainable biocatalysts that can be reused, show selectivity towards substrates and reactions occur in mild conditions. OBJECTIVES: We aimed at systematically searching for patents deposited worldwide, that approached the production of structured lipids by using lipases as biocatalysts. METHOD: A patent-search strategy was set up in Questel-Orbit and the search strategy adopted was based on the combination of specific keywords in the title/abstract of the documents, encompassing thoroughly the search scope. We revised all patents relating structured lipids produced by enzyme reactions and provided an overview of the main objectives of the patents describing it, as well as a view of the principal depositors, years of publication and principal countries of deposit, as a mean to access the technological landscape on the subject. RESULTS: Forty-four documents, published over the last 34 years, were retrieved. Nine main patents' objectives were found, and the two major groups are: SL with bioactive properties and/or with fatty acids (FA) esterified at specific triacylglycerol positions and SL analogous of natural lipids. China, Japan and USA were the three main patent depositors. CONCLUSION: Although the number of patents retrieved was relatively low, this review indicates that SL production aiming at improvements in nutritional/health and/or physical attributes for food enhancement is a new field, and technological interest and innovation have been increasing over the last ten years.

Constitutive expression of the ileS-2 gene responsible for high-level mupirocin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus.

Mupirocin is a topical antimicrobial agent that is used for the treatment of skin and postoperative wound infections, and the prevention of nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). However, the prevalence of mupirocin resistance in S. aureus, particularly in MRSA, has increased. High-level mupirocin resistance, with MICs >or=512 microg ml(-1), is mediated by the ileS-2 gene, which is located on conjugative plasmids. In the present study, we investigated whether mupirocin influences the expression of the ileS-2 gene responsible for high-level mupirocin resistance, and we present some evidence that this gene is not upregulated but constitutively expressed in S. aureus.

Lipase production by solid-state fermentation in fixed-bed bioreactors

O fungo Penicillium simplicissimum se mostrou, em trabalhos anteriores, um ótimo produtor de lipase por fermentação no estado sólido, quando cultivado em biorreatores do tipo bandeja, utilizando a torta de babaçu como meio de cultura. Com o objetivo de aumentar a produtividade e possibilitar uma ampliação de escala, foi investigado, no presente trabalho, o emprego de biorreatores de leito fixo com aeração forçada. Os biorreatores utilizados tinham 4 cm de diâmetro interno e 14 cm de altura útil. Empregando-se planejamento estatístico de experimentos como ferramenta, foram avaliadas as influências da temperatura e da vazão de ar sobre a produção de lipase nestes biorreatores. Os resultados obtidos permitiram ajustar um modelo empírico, o qual indicou que maiores atividades lipásicas são alcançadas para temperaturas mais baixas e vazões de ar mais altas. A atividade lipásica máxima (26,4 U/g) foi obtida para temperatura de 27°C e vazão de ar de 0,8 L/min.