Minimally processed beetroot waste as an alternative source to obtain functional ingredients.

Large amounts of waste are generated by the minimally processed vegetables industry, such as those from beetroot processing. The aim of this study was to determine the best method to obtain flour from minimally processed beetroot waste dried at different temperatures, besides producing a colorant from such waste and assessing its stability along 45 days. Beetroot waste dried at 70 °C originates flour with significant antioxidant activity and higher betalain content than flour produced from waste dried at 60 and 80 °C, while chlorination had no impact on the process since microbiological results were consistent for its application. The colorant obtained from beetroot waste showed color stability for 20 days and potential antioxidant activity over the analysis period, thus it can be used as a functional additive to improve nutritional characteristics and appearance of food products. These results are promising since minimally processed beetroot waste can be used as an alternative source of natural and functional ingredients with high antioxidant activity and betalain content.

Bioactive compounds in pindo palm (Butia capitata) juice and in pomace resulting of the extraction process.

BACKGROUND: Pindo palm (Butia capitata, Becc. 1916) is a tropical fruit native to South America and is relatively rich in bioactive compounds. It is often consumed as juice. The aim of this study was, first, to identify the degradation of these compounds by pasteurization and by cold storage (4 °C) of pindo palm juice. Physicochemical properties and concentrations of phenolic compounds, carotenoids and vitamin C have been evaluated on fresh and pasteurized juices. Moreover, another objective was to characterize the nutritional composition and the bioactive compounds of pindo palm pomace, the by-product of juice processing. RESULTS: The results demonstrated a degradation of carotenoids with pasteurization and a degradation of vitamin C with both pasteurization and cold storage of juices. Furthermore, the evaluation of pindo palm pomace showed that it is relatively rich in total phenols (20.06 g gallic acid equivalents kg(-1) dry matter) and in ß-carotene (0.22 g kg(-1) dry matter). CONCLUSION: Thus, from the nutrition viewpoint, it does not seem interesting to pasteurize juice. On the other hand, extraction of carotenoids and phenolic compounds from the pomace appears to be a relevant process.

Evaluation of bioactive compounds, chemical and technological properties of fruits byproducts powder.

Millions of tons of fruit byproducts are discarded globally every day by food processing industries, which represents a considerable loss in terms of nutrients. The goal of this work was to evaluate the physico-chemical, technological, antioxidant properties and characterization of carotenoids for papaya, pineapple, olive byproducts and anthocyanins for blueberry byproducts. The results indicated that these byproducts are good sources of total dietary fiber, especially olive byproducts (53.68%). The powder from papaya byproducts showed the highest values for the technological characteristics of water holding capacity (8.93 g water/g powder) and solubility (59.91%). All of the powders exhibited a good ability to reduce Folin Ciocalteu reagent and a high DPPH radical scavenging capacity, especially the powder from blueberry byproducts, which also exhibited a high level of anthocyanins (2063.4 mg/100 g). The carotenoid content was highest in the papaya powder sample, followed by the pineapple and olive powders. The results of this study indicate the high potential application of these powder byproducts as functional ingredients in food products because they can be considered a good source of antioxidant compounds.

Pharmacoeconomic and antimicrobial stewardship analysis in waste management: Beyond switching drug administration route.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of switch therapy of antimicrobials on cost reduction (pharmacoeconomic analysis) and hospital waste generation by switching from intravenous to oral therapy. This is a cross-sectional, observational, and retrospective study. METHODS: Data from 2019, 2020, and 2021, provided by the clinical pharmacy service of a teaching hospital in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, were analyzed. The variables analyzed were intravenous and oral antimicrobials, frequency, duration of use, and total treatment time according to the institutional protocols. An estimate of the amount of waste not generated from the change of administration route was calculated by weighing the kits using a precision balance in grams. RESULTS: During the analyzed period, 275 switch therapy of antimicrobials were performed, resulting in US$ 55,256.00 of savings. The main antimicrobial classes that underwent changes were cephalosporins (25.1%), penicillins (22.55%), and quinolones (17.45%). Changing from intravenous to oral therapy avoided the generation of 170,631 g of waste, including needles, syringes, infusion bags, equipment, reconstituted solution bottles, and medication. CONCLUSIONS: The change from intravenous to the oral route of antimicrobials is safe for the patient, economically effective, and significantly reduces waste generation.

Antimicrobial membrane cellulose acetate containing ionic liquid and metal nanoparticles.

Stable metallic Au(0), Ag(0) and Pt(0) nanoparticle-containing membrane films (20 microm thickness) were obtained by combining irregularly shaped nanoparticles of monomodal size distributions (11 +/- 1.5 nm Au(0), 8.9 +/- 2.1 nm Ag(0) and 2.8 +/- 0.4 nm Pt(0)) in the ionic liquid (IL) 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide (BMI x (NTf)2) with a syrup of cellulose acetate (CA) in acetone. The presence of small and stable Au(0), Ag(0) or Pt(0) nanoparticles induced an augmentation in the CA/IL film surface areas. The addition of the IL to the membrane resulted in an increase of its elasticity and a decrease in its tenacity and toughness, whereas its stress at break was not influenced. High antimicrobial activity was observed in membranes containing Au(0), Ag(0) and Pt(0) metal concentrations as low as 1 mg of metal per 5 g of CA. The CA/IL/nanoparticle combination enhanced the activity and durability of the metal nanoparticles and provided greater antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria.

Genetic mapping of semi-polar metabolites in pepper fruits (Capsicum sp.): towards unravelling the molecular regulation of flavonoid quantitative trait loci.

Untargeted LCMS profiling of semi-polar metabolites followed by metabolite quantitative trait locus (mQTL) analysis was performed in ripe pepper fruits of 113 F2 plants derived from a cross between Capsicum annuum AC1979 (no. 19) and Capsicum chinense No. 4661 Selection (no. 18). The parental accessions were selected based on their variation in fruit morphological characteristics and fruit content of some target phytonutrients. Clear segregation of fruit colour and fruit metabolite profiles was observed in the F2 population. The F2 plants formed three clusters based on their metabolite profiles. Of the total of 542 metabolites, 52 could be annotated, including a range of flavonoids, such as flavone C-glycosides, flavonol O-glycosides and naringenin chalcone, as well as several phenylpropanoids, a capsaicin analogue, fatty acid derivatives and amino acid derivatives. Interval mapping revealed 279 mQTLs in total. Two mQTL hotspots were found on chromosome 9. These two chromosomal regions regulated the relative levels of 35 and 103 metabolites, respectively. Analysis also revealed an mQTL for a capsaicin analogue, located on chromosome 7. Confirmation of flavonoid mQTLs using a set of six flavonoid candidate gene markers and their corresponding expression data (expression QTLs) indicated the Ca-MYB12 transcription factor gene on chromosome 1 and the gene encoding flavone synthase (FS-2) on chromosome 6 as likely causative genes determining the variation in naringenin chalcone and flavone C-glycosides, respectively, in this population. The combination of large-scale metabolite profiling and QTL analysis provided valuable insight into the genomic regions and genes important for the production of (secondary) metabolites in pepper fruit. This will impact breeding strategies aimed at optimising the content of specific metabolites in pepper fruit.

Evidence for an association of TP53 codon 72 polymorphism with breast cancer risk.

BACKGROUND: A common Arg/Pro polymorphism at codon 72 of the TP53 gene has been investigated as a risk factor for cancer in different populations. So far, the results have been controversial. Our purpose was to investigate the association of this polymorphism with breast carcinoma in women from Southern Brazil, a high-risk area for breast cancer. METHODS: Blood samples collected from 118 women with primary breast carcinoma and from 202 female blood donors were analyzed through polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and DNA sequencing. RESULTS: The relative frequency of each allele was 0.75 for Arg and 0.25 for Pro in patients with cancer, and 0.62 for Arg and 0.38 for Pro in normal controls (P < 0.001). The Arg/Arg genotype was significantly associated with an increased risk for breast cancer (OR 2.9; 95% CI 1.43-3.6; P < 0.002). No correlation between the genotype distribution and specific prognostic predictors for the disease outcome was observed. DISCUSSION: TP53 codon 72 polymorphism might be implicated in breast carcinogenesis, with the Arg/Arg genotype being associated with an increased susceptibility for this malignancy.