A metabolomics comparison of plant-based meat and grass-fed meat indicates large nutritional differences despite comparable Nutrition Facts panels.

A new generation of plant-based meat alternatives-formulated to mimic the taste and nutritional composition of red meat-have attracted considerable consumer interest, research attention, and media coverage. This has raised questions of whether plant-based meat alternatives represent proper nutritional replacements to animal meat. The goal of our study was to use untargeted metabolomics to provide an in-depth comparison of the metabolite profiles a popular plant-based meat alternative (n = 18) and grass-fed ground beef (n = 18) matched for serving size (113 g) and fat content (14 g). Despite apparent similarities based on Nutrition Facts panels, our metabolomics analysis found that metabolite abundances between the plant-based meat alternative and grass-fed ground beef differed by 90% (171 out of 190 profiled metabolites; false discovery rate adjusted p < 0.05). Several metabolites were found either exclusively (22 metabolites) or in greater quantities in beef (51 metabolites) (all, p < 0.05). Nutrients such as docosahexaenoic acid (ω-3), niacinamide (vitamin B3), glucosamine, hydroxyproline and the anti-oxidants allantoin, anserine, cysteamine, spermine, and squalene were amongst those only found in beef. Several other metabolites were found exclusively (31 metabolites) or in greater quantities (67 metabolites) in the plant-based meat alternative (all, p < 0.05). Ascorbate (vitamin C), phytosterols, and several phenolic anti-oxidants such as loganin, sulfurol, syringic acid, tyrosol, and vanillic acid were amongst those only found in the plant-based meat alternative. Large differences in metabolites within various nutrient classes (e.g., amino acids, dipeptides, vitamins, phenols, tocopherols, and fatty acids) with physiological, anti-inflammatory, and/or immunomodulatory roles indicate that these products should not be viewed as truly nutritionally interchangeable, but could be viewed as complementary in terms of provided nutrients. The new information we provide is important for making informed decisions by consumers and health professionals. It cannot be determined from our data if either source is healthier to consume.

Characteristics of nutrients removal under partial denitrification initiated by different initial nitrate concentration.

The partial denitrification (PD) is a very promising process developed in the last decade, to study the comprehensive influence of influent carbon to nitrogen (C/N) on the activated sludge system under PD, six sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were operated in parallel at C/N of 2.75, 3.30, 4.13, 5.50, 8.25 and 16.50, the nitrogen removal, phosphorus removal and sludge settleability of PD were investigated. The results showed that PD was observed treating synthetic wastewater in all the six SBRs, and the nitrite accumulation rate (NAR) was highest at C/N of 5.50 (NAR of 82.30%). However, due to the alternate inhibition of NO2--N and free nitrous acid (FNA) produced by a limited carbon source, both the sludge settleability and phosphorus removal deteriorated. The average SVI at C/N of 8.25 was 130% lower than C/N of 3.30, and the average amount of PO43--P released at C/N of 16.5 was 189% higher than C/N of 2.75. Kinetic analysis showed that the denitrification kinetics of PD and complete denitrification were similar, and the nitrite accumulation was caused by the difference between nitrate reduction rate and nitrite reduction rate. Variations of on-line parameters (pH and ORP) revealed that nitrite accumulation could be indicated by judging the nitrate turning point and nitrite turning point on pH and ORP curves, which provided guidance for the setup of PD.

Is sugar extracted from plants less healthy than sugar consumed within plant tissues? The sugar anomaly.

There are dilemmas in the minds of consumers with respect to sugar consumption - they would like to consume sugars for sweetness, but in a healthy (and perhaps guilt free!) way. In a sense, consumers believe that if sugar does not appear as an ingredient on the product label, but is intrinsic in the food (and will appear as a nutrient), it is 'good'. As an ingredient, however, it is viewed as a 'bad chemical' associated with tooth decay and obesity. The reality is that unless processing induced modifications have occurred, the sugar molecule within a plant tissue is the same molecule structure as present in purified sugar. The same calorific value. However, there is an argument that humans eat too refined food and that if sugars were eaten in their natural context (e.g. within a fruit), their presence and concentration would be in harmony (where different nutrients complement and balance the sugar concentration) with the human body. This reflects the process of eating, satiety, presence of other nutrients (including water) and the associated impact of the indigestible components of plant foods on the transit/nutrient bioavailability control and thus benefits through the gut. The authors explore these issues in this article and seek to provide a scientific basis to different sides of the argument - sugar is good or bad depending on how (in which format and how much/how concentrated) it is consumed. More importantly perhaps, how should sugar consumption - an important nutrient - be managed to optimize the benefits but reduce the disadvantages? © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Low Doses of Cuscuta reflexa Extract Act as Natural Biostimulants to Improve the Germination Vigor, Growth, and Grain Yield of Wheat Grown under Water Stress: Photosynthetic Pigments, Antioxidative Defense Mechanisms, and Nutrient Acquisition.

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of Cuscuta reflexa extract (CRE) on the activities of germination enzymes, seed germination vigor, biomass production, physio-biochemical attributes, and seed yield of water-stressed wheat plants. Different levels of CRE (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50%), including water soaking, were used as seed priming. Water stress negatively affected the seed germination, germination enzyme activities, growth, yield, and different physio-biochemical attributes of wheat plants. Low doses of CRE (10, 20, and 30%) ameliorated the adverse effects of water stress on seed germination attributes, and activities of germination enzymes, but negative impacts were recorded at higher doses (40 and 50%) of CRE. Water-stressed wheat plants grown from seeds pre-treated with low doses of CRE also showed better growth and yield as compared with non-treated ones, and that was associated with an improvement in water relations, photosynthetic pigments, nutrient acquisition, reduced lipid peroxidation, and better antioxidative defense mechanisms. The maximum increase in seed yield was 14.77 and 12.32%, found in plants grown from seeds treated with 20% and 10% CRE, respectively. In conclusion, it is suggested that using low doses of CRE as seed priming can contribute to better wheat yield under water stress, especially in semi-arid and arid areas.

Microalgae Cultivation Using Screened Liquid Dairy Manure Applying Different Folds of Dilution: Nutrient Reduction Analysis with Emphasis on Phosphorus Removal.

A number of dairies in southern Idaho employed stationary inclined screens to separate large solid particles out of liquid dairy manure. In this way, the total solid content of the liquid dairy manure can drop about 20%. Solids in dairy wastewater cause high turbidities, which could block the incident light, a key factor in the microalgae cultivation process using wastewaters as culture media. In this study, screened liquid dairy manure was used as the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris culture media. The aim was to optimize the dilution folds for the best growth of Chlorella vulgaris and nutrients' reduction with a special focus on phosphorus removal and recovery. Four folds of dilution, designated as 5*, 10*, 15*, 20*, were applied to the liquid dairy manure to alleviate hindrance of the high turbidity together with the high ammonium. Microalgal cultivation removed a significant amount of turbidity and major nutrients. For differently diluted liquid dairy manures, although the initial turbidities varied a lot, the final removal rates were not significantly different, falling in the range of 88.11-91.73%. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the 5-fold diluted liquid dairy manure dropped from 6700 to 1200 mg/L, corresponding to a removal rate of 79.81%. For the 10-fold, 15-fold, and 20-fold diluted manures, Chlorella removed around 67-69% of the initial CODs. Total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) was removed at rates ranging from 70.84 to 73.99% from the four differently diluted liquid dairy manures without significant differences. NH4-N was removed most efficiently by 88.92% from the 20-fold diluted liquid dairy manure, and the least at 68.65% from the 5-fold diluted one. Although the original total phosphorus (TP) concentrations were distinctive for each group, the TP removal rates stayed in the range of 52.16 to 65.22%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analysis of the precipitates harvested from the microalgal cultivation suggested possible phosphate precipitate forms. The chelation of Ca or Mg cations by dissolved organic matter (DOM) under alkaline conditions caused by microalgae cultivation could explain the unsatisfactory phosphorus removals observed in this study.

Selective pressurized hot water extraction of nutritious macro-nutrients vs. micro-nutrients in Moringa oleifera leaves-a chemometric approach.

Moringa oleifera leaves are widely used in traditional medicine as a food supplement because they are high in essential and nutritious content. Pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE), which is a green approach, was used for the recovery of the macro-nutrient and micro-nutrient elements from dried leaf powder of Moringa oleifera. In this study, response surface methodology was applied to assess the influence of temperature (50-200 °C) and time (5-60 min) on the extractability pattern of macro-nutrient and micro-nutrient elements from the leaves of Moringa oleifera when processed by PHWE. The quantification of macro-nutrient elements such as Ca, K and Mg and micro-nutrient elements like Al, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni and Zn from the leaves was determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Obtained results revealed that the extraction of macro-nutrient elements from the Moringa oleifera leaves was enhanced by increasing the extraction time more than the extraction temperature. On the contrary, the amounts of extractable micro-nutrient elements were increased by increasing the extraction temperature. Hence, the recovery for macro-nutrient elements ranged from 88 to 98% while for micro-nutrients it ranged from 21 to 46%. This implies that macro-nutrient elements are extracted with relatively high selectivity in relation to micro-nutrient elements in Moringa dried leaf powder using the PHWE technique.

Understanding the biochemical characteristics of struvite bio-mineralising microorganisms and their future in nutrient recovery.

The biochemical properties of selected microorganisms (Bacillus pumilus, Brevibacterium antiquum, Myxococcus xanthus, Halobacterium salinarum and Idiomarina loihiensis), known for their ability to produce struvite through biomineralisation, were investigated. All five microorganisms grew at mesophilic temperature ranges (22-34 °C), produced urease (except I. loihiensis) and used bovine serum albumin as a carbon source. I. loihiensis was characterised as a facultative anaerobe able to use O2 and NO3 as an electron acceptor. A growth rate of 0.15 1/h was estimated for I. loihiensis at pH 8.0 and NaCl 3.5% w/v. The growth rates for the other microorganisms tested were 0.14-0.43 1/h at pH 7-7.3 and NaCl ≤1% w/v. All the microorganisms produced struvite, as identified by morphological and X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD) analysis, under aerobic conditions. The biological struvite yield was between 1.5 and 1.7 g/L of media, the ortho-phosphate removal and recovery were 55-76% and 46-54%, respectively, the Mg2+ removal and recovery was 92-98% and 83-95%, respectively. Large crystals (>300 µm) were observed, with coffin-lid and long-bar shapes being the dominant morphology of biological struvite crystals. The characterisation of the biochemical properties of the studied microorganisms is critical for reactor and process design, as well as operational conditions, to promote phosphorus recovery from waste streams.

Performance enhancement by adding ferrous to a combined modified University of Cape Town and post-anoxic/aerobic-membrane bioreactor.

The removal of nutrients in a combined modified University of Cape Town and post-anoxic/aerobic-membrane bioreactor (UCT-A/MBR) was investigated. Denitrifying phosphorus removal (DPR) and nitrate-dependent anaerobic ferrous oxidation (NAFO) were applied to enhance the nutrient removal performances. The results showed that NAFO with the addition of Fe(II) and DPR could promote nitrogen and phosphorus removal. The total nitrogen removal efficiency gradually increased from 71.05 ±â€¯2.00% to 73.84 ±â€¯1.74% and 75.70 ±â€¯1.47% with no Fe(II) addition, addition to the post-anoxic tank, and addition to the anoxic tank, and the total phosphorus removal efficiency increased from 89.37 ±â€¯1.91% to 95.21 ±â€¯0.85% and 96.01 ±â€¯1.10%, respectively. Gene sequencing was conducted, and Saprospiraceae was determined to be the dominant DPR-related bacteria, with its abundance increasing from 16.31% to 22.45% after Fe(II) addition. Additionally, the proportion of the NAFO-related bacteria Azospira increased from 0.58% to 1.91% after Fe(II) addition. The microbial succession caused by the addition of Fe(II) may have resulted in the enhanced removal performance.

A Comprehensive Review on Chemical and Pharmacological Potential of Viola betonicifolia: A Plant with Multiple Benefits.

Viola betonicifolia (Violaceae) is commonly recognized as "Banafsha" and widely distributed throughout the globe. This plant is of great interest because of its traditional, pharmacological uses. This review mainly emphases on morphology, nutritional composition, and several therapeutic uses, along with pharmacological properties of different parts of this multipurpose plant. Different vegetative parts of this plant (roots, leaves, petioles, and flowers) contained a good profile of essential micro- and macronutrients and are rich source of fat, protein, carbohydrates, and vitamin C. The plant is well known for its pharmacological properties, e.g., antioxidant, antihelminthic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and has been reported in the treatment of various neurological diseases. This plant is of high economic value. The plant has potential role in cosmetic industry. This review suggests that V. betonicifolia is a promising source of pharmaceutical agents. This plant is also of significance as ornamental plant, however further studies needed to explore its phytoconstituents and their pharmacological potential. Furthermore, clinical studies are needed to use this plant for benefits of human beings.

Achieving deep-level nutrient removal via combined denitrifying phosphorus removal and simultaneous partial nitrification-endogenous denitrification process in a single-sludge sequencing batch reactor.

The feasibility of coupling denitrifying phosphorus removal (DPR) with simultaneous partial nitrification-endogenous denitrification (SPNED) was investigated in a single-sludge sequencing batch reactor for deep-level nutrient removal from municipal and nitrate wastewaters. After 160-day operation, the DPR process simultaneously reduced most PO43--P and NO3--N anoxically, and the SPNED process achieved further total nitrogen (TN) removal at low dissolved oxygen condition with TN removal efficiency of 90.8%. The effluent NH4+-N, PO43--P and TN concentrations were 1.0, 0.1 and 7.2 mg/L, respectively. Microbial analysis revealed that Dechloromonas (6.7%) dominated DPR process, whereas the gradually enriched Nitrosomonas (4.5%) and Candidatus Competibacter (6.8%) conducted SPNED process accompanied with sharply eliminated Nitrospirae (1.4%). Based on these findings, a novel strategy was proposed to achieve further nutrient removal in conventional treatment through integrating the DPR-SPNED process. As a result, ∼100% of extra carbon and ∼10% of oxygen consumptions would be reduced with satisfactory effluent quality.

Effect of ultrasonic and ball-milling treatment on cell wall, nutrients, and antioxidant capacity of rose (Rosa rugosa) bee pollen, and identification of bioactive components.

BACKGROUND: Bee pollen has been regarded as a complete nutritional human dietary supplement but its nutrient absorption and biological effects may be restricted by the complex pollen wall. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of ultrasonic and ball-milling treatment on the release of nutritional components and on in vitro and in vivo antioxidant effects of rose (Rosa rugosa) bee pollen. RESULTS: Bee pollen walls were broken to varying degrees, nutrients were released, and in vitro and in vivo antioxidant effects of bee pollen were improved. The scavenging effects of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazolone-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radicals, and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) were improved. In aging mice, wall-breaking treatment led to better organ recovery, enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) effects, and malondialdehyde (MDA) reduction. Eight compounds of rose bee pollen ethanol extract, including isorhamnetin 3-O-diglucoside and N', N″, N‴-dicaffeoyl p-coumaroyl spermidine were identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS) assay. CONCLUSION: This study showed that ultrasonic treatment had greater wall-disruption effects of bee pollen on nutrient release and antioxidant effect promotion. In conclusion, rose bee pollen, with wall-breaking treatments, may have potential value as an ingredient in functional food processing. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Comparison of monoculture and mixed culture (Scenedesmus obliquus and wild algae) for C, N, and P removal and lipid production.

This study compared the efficiency of nutrient removal and lipid accumulation by a monoculture of Scenedesmus obliquus and mixed cultures of microalgae. The highest removal efficiencies of ammonium (99.2%), phosphate (91.2%), and total organic carbon (83.6%) occurred in the monoculture. All the mixed cultures were dominated by S. quadricauda; in some mixed cultures, the proportions of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and C. microsphaera reached > 20%. The lipid content and lipid production in the monoculture were 15.9% and 52.3 mg kg-1, respectively, significantly higher than those in all the mixed cultures of microalgae. In all the mixed cultures, the proportion of palmitic acid was > 50%. The results suggest that the monoculture had advantages over the mixed culture of microalgae in terms of nutrient removal and lipid production.

Improvement of nutrients removal from domestic wastewater by activated-sludge encapsulation with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA).

Conventional activated-sludge (AS) technologies are deficient for nutrient removal because they require specific floc characteristics. Therefore, the encapsulated AS with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) will favor floc's formation that removes nutrients. The applied method was based on monitoring the removal of organic matter and nutrients (NH4+, NO3-, NO2-, PO43-) from synthetic domestic wastewater using laboratory-scale AS. The experimental reactors were operated at 8 h as optimized Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT). The sludge characteristics evaluation was carried out through the Sludge Volumetric Index (SVI), Food/Microorganism ratio (F/M), and Mixed Liquor Volatile Suspended Solids (MLVSS). Other specific floc characteristics, such as zeta potential and effective diameter were also evaluated. The results showed that the encapsulated AS with PVA favors nitrogen and phosphorous removal up to 35% but it did not improve organic matter removal. In addition, encapsulated AS with PVA has the characteristics of filamentous sludge (F/M: 0.7 g COD g-1 MLVSS d-1) with good settleability conditions (SVI: 43 mL g-1 MLSVS h-1) and low zeta potential (ZP: -0.9 mV), which favors its separation from the liquid phase. In conclusion, the encapsulation of AS with PVA improves nutrient removal by improving floc characteristics.

Hydrochars produced with by-products from the sucroenergetic industry: a study of extractor solutions on nutrient and organic carbon release.

Hydrothermal carbonization transforms biomass into value-added material called hydrochar. The release of nutrients (P, N, Ca, Mg, and K) and organic carbon (TOC) from hydrochar in different extractive solutions was investigated in this study. Two sets of hydrochar were produced: (i) hydrochar prepared from sugarcane bagasse and vinasse mixture (BV-HC) and (ii) hydrochar prepared by the addition of H3PO4 to this mixture (BVA-HC). Both hydrochar types released significative amounts of nutrient and organic carbon, mainly Ca (5.0 mg g-1) in the mixture (KCl, K2SO4, NaOH, 1:1:1) extractive solution and TOC (72.6 mg g-1) in the NaOH extractive solution, for BV-HC. Nutrient release was influenced by pH and ionic strength. The release of P, Ca, and Mg was affected by the presence of insoluble phosphate phases in BVA-HC. The release of nutrients P, N, Ca, Mg, and K and organic carbon demonstrated that hydrochar has potential for soil application purposes.

Nutrient removal in an algal membrane photobioreactor: effects of wastewater composition and light/dark cycle.

Graesiella emersonii was cultivated in an osmotic membrane photobioreactor (OMPBR) for nutrients removal from synthetic wastewater in continuous mode. At 1.5 days of hydraulic retention time and under continuous illumination, the microalgae removed nitrogen (N) completely at influent NH4+-N concentrations of 4-16 mg/L, with removal rates of 3.03-12.1 mg/L-day. Phosphorus (P) removal in the OMPBR was through biological assimilation as well as membrane rejection, but PO43--P assimilation by microalgae could be improved at higher NH4+-N concentrations. Microalgae biomass composition was affected by N/P ratio in wastewater, and a higher N/P ratio resulted in higher P accumulation in the biomass. The OMPBR accumulated about 0.35 g/L biomass after 12 days of operation under continuous illumination. However, OMPBR operation under 12 h light/12 h dark cycle lowered biomass productivity by 60%, which resulted in 20% decrease in NH4+-N removal and nearly threefold increase in PO43--P accumulation in the OMPBR. Prolonged dark phase also affected carbohydrate accumulation in biomass, although its effects on lipid and protein accumulation were negligible. The microalgae also exhibited high tendency to aggregate and settle, which could be attributed to reduction in cell surface charge and enrichment of soluble algal products in the OMPBR. Due to a relatively shorter operating period, membrane biofouling and salt accumulation did not influence the permeate flux significantly. These results improve the understanding of the effects of N/P ratio and light/dark cycle on biomass accumulation and nutrients removal in the OMPBR.

Single-stage denitrifying phosphorus removal biofilter utilizing intracellular carbon source for advanced nutrient removal and phosphorus recovery.

Advanced nutrient removal of municipal wastewater has insufficient carbon source, and resource recovery is neglected. In this study, a single-stage biofilter based on denitrifying phosphorus removal (DPR) was proposed for advanced nutrient removal and phosphorus recovery, which was operated under alternating anoxic/anaerobic mode with no extracellular carbon source in anoxic period. The results showed that the biofilter achieved efficient and stable performance with low carbon consumption (C/N ≈ 3.7). The average removal efficiency of NO3--N, TN and PO43--P were 74.81%, 71.08% and 91.15%, respectively. DPR primarily occurred in the middle of the filtration bed and nutrient removal was driven by intracellular polymers, which was the main carbon source. High-throughput sequencing indicated that Dechloromonas was enriched and contributed to DPR while Zoogloea was responsible for endogenous denitrification. Denitrifying polyphosphate accumulating organisms and endogenous denitrifiers synergistically enhanced the nutrient removal capacity. The study further provides research perspectives for improving nutrient removal.

Performance of a novel photobioreactor for nutrient removal from piggery biogas slurry: Operation parameters, microbial diversity and nutrient recovery potential.

Photobioreactor is deemed to be one of limiting factors for the commercial application of wastewater treatment based on microalgae cultivation. In this study, a novel Flat-Plate Continuous Open Photobioreactor (FPCO-PBR) was developed to treat piggery biogas slurry. The operation parameters, microbial stability and nutrient recovery potential of FPCO-PBR were investigated. Results showed that the appropriate influent mode for FPCO-PBR was multi-point or spraying mode. The optimal hydraulic retention time and interval time for biomass harvesting of FPCO-PBR were both 2 d. Nitrogen and phosphorus recovery rate were 30 mg L-1 d-1 and 7 mg L-1 d-1 respectively under optimal operating parameters. Microbial diversity remained relatively stable in FPCO-PBR. Biomass production rate of FPCO-PBR was 0.47 g L-1 d-1 under optimal operating parameters. The revenue generated from biomass was estimated to be 15.06 $ kg-1, which means that treating one ton of wastewater can generate $ 7.08 in revenue.

Auto-flocculation through cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris in seafood wastewater discharge: Influence of culture conditions on microalgae growth and nutrient removal.

Nowadays, the pretreatment of wastewater prior to discharge is very important in various industries as the wastewater without any treatment contains high organic pollution loads that would pollute the receiving waterbody and potentially cause eutrophication and oxygen depletion to aquatic life. The reuse of seafood wastewater discharge in microalgae cultivation offers beneficial purposes such as reduced processing cost for wastewater treatment, replenishing ground water basin as well as financial savings for microalgae cultivation. In this paper, the cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris with an initial concentration of 0.01 ± 0.001 g⋅L-1 using seafood sewage discharge under sunlight and fluorescent illumination was investigated in laboratory-scale without adjusting mineral nutrients and pH. The ability of nutrient removal under different lighting conditions, the metabolism of C. vulgaris and new medium as well as the occurrence of auto-flocculation of microalgae biomass were evaluated for 14 days. The results showed that different illumination sources did not influence the microalgae growth, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) significantly. However, the total nitrogen (total-N) and total phosphorus (total-P) contents of microalgae were sensitive to the illumination mode. The amount of COD, BOD, total-N and total-P were decreased by 88%, 81%, 95%, and 83% under sunlight mode and 81%, 74%, 79%, and 72% under fluorescent illumination, respectively. Furthermore, microalgae were auto-flocculated at the final days of cultivation with maximum biomass concentration of 0.49 ± 0.01 g⋅L-1, and the pH value had increased to pH 9.8 ± 0.1 under sunlight illumination.

Effects of gibberellic acid on Tifton 85 bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) in constructed wetland systems.

This study aimed to evaluate 1) the influence of gibberellic acid (GA3) in the development of Tifton 85 bermudagrass grown in constructed wetland systems (CWs) and 2) the plant's capacity to remove nutrients and sodium from synthetic municipal wastewater (SMW). The experiment was carried out in Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and consisted of foliar applications of GA3 set in randomized blocks design, with four replicates and 6 treatments as following: NC (control with plants); 0 µM GA3; N1: 5 µM GA3; N2: 25 µM GA3; N3: 50 and N4: 100 µM GA3 per CWs, NC* (control with no plants): 0 µM GA3. The study was conducted over two crop cycles in the spring 2016. The parameters used to evaluate the performance of the Tifton 85 bermudagrass were its plant height, productivity, chlorophyll measurement, number of internodes, nutrients and Na removals. Chemical analyses of the effluents were conducted. In response to the application of GA3, the increase in height of Tifton 85 bermudagrass in the first crop cycle was higher than the increase in height in the second crop cycle. The decrease in plant growth in response to GA3 in the second crop cycle may be linked to the age of the plant tissue and climatic conditions. The greater growth of the plants cultivated in the CWs allows a more efficient removal of pollutants, using simple management and low cost. The results suggest that applying 50 µM of GA3 to the development of Tifton 85 bermudagrass provides higher dry matter yield and removal of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sodium for the first crop cycle in CWs. However, in the second crop cycle, the application of GA3 had no effect on dry matter production and nutrient removal by Tifton 85 bermudagrass in CWs.

Byproduct Generated During the Elaboration Process of Isotonic Beverage as a Natural Source of Bioactive Compounds.

Agro-industrial byproducts are considered good sources of macronutrients and phytochemicals. Fruit and vegetable residues (FVR), obtained after the production of an isotonic beverage, have previously been characterized containing 80% insoluble dietary fibers from total fibers (48.4%), 26% available carbohydrates, 9.5% proteins and 5% lipids. Nevertheless, fruit and vegetables provide phytochemicals which have been related to human health such as phenolic compounds. The loss of specific compounds over the production process is related to their partitioning between fruit and vegetables and byproducts. However, phenolic profile of FVR remains unknown. This work is focused on the evaluation of FVR as a natural source of these bioactive compounds. For this purpose, pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) has been proposed as extraction technique for recovering phenolic compounds from FVR. The experimental variables were temperature and percentage of solvent (ethanol and water). Phenolic compounds extracts were characterized by UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS and a discussion about phenolic and macronutrient interactions was established. Globally, 88 compounds were tentatively identified: phenolic acids (28), flavonoids (32), and other polyphenols (28). The PLE conditions applied yielded different breaking matrix-analyte interactions leading to an increase in the number of compounds. The highest phenolic acids content was achieved with high temperature while lower temperatures were more efficient in extracting flavonoid. By establishing the phenolics profile in food byproducts such as FVR, it is possible to more effectively apply these byproducts as nutraceutical, food or pharmaceutical ingredients. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Flow diagram of bioactive compounds recovering from isotonic beverage byproduct is proposed using pressurized liquid extraction. The plant-bioactives mechanism relies on fruit and vegetable byproducts changes under different extraction conditions. The obtained extracts can most effectively be applied as nutraceuticals or as ingredients in food or pharmaceutical inputs.