Wood hemicelluloses exert distinct biomechanical contributions to cellulose fibrillar networks.

Hemicelluloses, a family of heterogeneous polysaccharides with complex molecular structures, constitute a fundamental component of lignocellulosic biomass. However, the contribution of each hemicellulose type to the mechanical properties of secondary plant cell walls remains elusive. Here we homogeneously incorporate different combinations of extracted and purified hemicelluloses (xylans and glucomannans) from softwood and hardwood species into self-assembled networks during cellulose biosynthesis in a bacterial model, without altering the morphology and the crystallinity of the cellulose bundles. These composite hydrogels can be therefore envisioned as models of secondary plant cell walls prior to lignification. The incorporated hemicelluloses exhibit both a rigid phase having close interactions with cellulose, together with a flexible phase contributing to the multiscale architecture of the bacterial cellulose hydrogels. The wood hemicelluloses exhibit distinct biomechanical contributions, with glucomannans increasing the elastic modulus in compression, and xylans contributing to a dramatic increase of the elongation at break under tension. These diverging effects cannot be explained solely from the nature of their direct interactions with cellulose, but can be related to the distinct molecular structure of wood xylans and mannans, the multiphase architecture of the hydrogels and the aggregative effects amongst hemicellulose-coated fibrils. Our study contributes to understanding the specific roles of wood xylans and glucomannans in the biomechanical integrity of secondary cell walls in tension and compression and has significance for the development of lignocellulosic materials with controlled assembly and tailored mechanical properties.

Agaricus bisporus and its by-products as a source of valuable extracts and bioactive compounds.

Edible mushrooms constitute an appreciated nutritional source for humans due to their low caloric intake and their high content in carbohydrates, proteins, dietary fibre, phenolic compounds, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. It has been also demonstrated that mushrooms have health-promoting benefits. Cultivation of mushrooms, especially of the most common species Agaricus bisporus, represents an increasingly important food industry in Europe, but with a direct consequence in the increasing amount of by-products from their industrial production. This review focuses on collecting and critically investigating the current data on the bioactive properties of Agaricus bisporus as well as the recent research for the extraction of valuable functional molecules from this species and its by-products obtained after industrial processing. The state of the art regarding the antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-allergenic and dietary compounds will be discussed for novel applications such as nutraceuticals, additives for food or cleaning products.

Antioxidant starch films containing sunflower hull extracts.

This study explores the preparation of antioxidant starch food packaging materials by the incorporation of valuable phenolic compounds extracted from sunflower hulls, which are an abundant by-product from food industry. The phenolic compounds were extracted with aqueous methanol and embedded into starch films. Their effect on starch films was investigated in terms of antioxidant activity, optical, thermal, mechanical, barrier properties and changes in starch molecular structure. The starch molecular structure was affected during thermal processing resulting in a decrease in molar mass, smaller amylopectin molecules and shorter amylose branches. Already 1-2% of extracts were sufficient to produce starch films with high antioxidant capacity. Higher amounts (4-6%) of extract showed the highest antioxidant activity, the lowest oxygen permeability and high stiffness and poor extensibility. The phenolic extracts affected predominantly the mechanical properties, whereas other changes could mainly be correlated to the lower glycerol content which was partially substituted by the extract.

Characterization of a water soluble, hyperbranched arabinogalactan from yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) roots.

Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius Poepp. & Endl.) roots are largely grown in Andean countries and have attracted recent interest due to their antioxidant and prebiotic effects. Yacon is typically consumed as a fruit due to its sweet taste and juiciness. The macromolecular properties of an aqueous extract of yacon are investigated using asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) coupled to UV, multiangle light scattering (MALS) and differential refractive index (dRI) detection. The method allows for determination of molar mass and size over the size distribution. Three major populations were found of which one strongly dominates in concentration. Through collection of fractions from AF4, carbohydrate composition and glycosidic linkage analysis for the dominating population was performed. The results show that the dominating population consists of a highly branched arabinogalactan (type 2) with a molar mass of approximately 1-2·105g/mol, a hydrodynamic radius of approximately 6-10nm and a relatively high apparent density (approx. 70-150kg/m3).