Correlation of the presence of acrolein with higher alcohols, glycerol, and acidity in cachaças.

Acrolein is a toxic aldehyde that can be present in various beverages, such as cachaça and other distilled spirits from sugarcane. The objective of this work was to detect and quantify acrolein in samples of cachaça produced by different processes in all regions of Brazil and to evaluate the possible routes of formation of this contaminant from the correlation with other secondary compounds present in the beverage using principal component analysis. Approximately 27.0% of the samples analyzed were outside the limit established by Brazilian legislation for this contaminant, with an average acrolein concentration of 14.01 mg 100 mL-1 anhydrous alcohol (aa). In the other samples, the average concentration was 0.97 mg 100 mL-1 aa. After selecting the variables that most closely correlated with the presence of acrolein in beverages, a positive correlation was found with the presence of butan-2-ol, propan-1-ol and volatile acids, and a slight correlation with the presence of phenolic compounds. Therefore, the presence of acrolein in cachaça can be associated with contamination of the fermentation must by bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus, as a result of the chemical degradation and enzymatic conversion of the glycerol produced during fermentation.

Óleo essencial de Lippia gracilis: atividade antioxidante e antimicrobiana contra Clostridium botulinum / Essential oil of Lippia gracilis: antioxidant and antimicrobial activity against Clostridium botulinum

Apesar da utilização dos aditivos nos alimentos, alguns microrganismos, como o Clostridium botulinum ainda causam preocupação. Óleos essenciais são opções de aditivo para a indústria de alimentos, pois podem apresentar atividade antimicrobiana e antioxidante. Diante disso, o objetivo foi extrair o ó leo essencial de Lippia gracilis, caracterizar sua composição química por CG/ EM, avaliar a atividade antioxidante pela redução do radical DPPH e a concentração mínima esporicida (CME) sobreClostridium sporogenes. O óleo essencial é composto majoritariamente pelos monoterpenos carvacrol, p-cimeno e terpineno, e apresentou baixa capacidade de estabilização do radical DPPH, IC50 > 500 μg/ mL. Em relação à ação sobre os endósporos do Clostridium sporogenes, a concentração mínima esporicida foi 1,5% de óleo essencial.