Desenvolvimento de barra alimentícia adicionada de café: estudo de marketing

The consumption of snack bars is based especially on the demand for practical and nutritious food. Coffee is highlighted for being appreciated and consumed worldwide, presenting elevated antioxidant activity, in addition to peculiar sensorial attributes. Therefore, it has great potential for use in many formulations. However, the success in the acceptance of a new product also derives from adequate marketing strategies. In this context, the present study aimed at evaluating the feasibility of introducing to the market a snack bar added with coffee, by means of sensorial acceptance and purchase intent of the consumers, in addition to identifying the best concept and the possible market segments. This work was a qualitative, by means of a focus group (content analysis), and quantitative research, by means of sensorial analysis and structures questionnaires (descriptive – frequency distribution, arithmetic mean, crosstabs and t test – and multivariate – cluster and discriminate analysis - statistical techniques). With the results, we showed that the main aspects considered by the consumers regarding the snack bar added with coffee. According to the qualitative evaluation, the consumer prefers packaging with matte colors ranging in the tones related to the coffee grain. The analysis of the quantitative data allows us to infer that the evaluations of the product regarding overall impression, purchase intent, preference and expectation before and after consuming the product are better for packaging containing the information “special coffee flavor – 100% arabic”. Regarding market segment, it was possible to conclude that, of the three extracted groups, the group of “healthy and conscious consumers” was the segment with higher potential for exploitation regarding purchase and consumption of the snack bar added with coffee.

Solubilização de fontes alternativas de potássio pelos ácidos húmicos, cítrico e casca de café

This study was to evaluate the solubility of nepheline syenite rocks and glauconite as alternative sources of K by organic humic acid arrays, citrus and coffee pods at various times from 0 to 180 days of incubation. The experiment was conducted in the fertility laboratory in the Department of Soil Science at the Federal University of Lavras in a completely randomized design with 90 treatments and 3 replications. The treatments were arranged in a factorial arrangement (2 x 3 x 7 + 3), 2 nepheline syenite rocks and glauconite incubated with water and 3 matrix organic humic acid, citric acid and coffee husk in six different incubation times of 0, 7, 15, 30, 75, 120 and 180 days, incubation were performed with the three above-mentioned organic matrix in increasing doses of 0, 1, 2, 5 and 10% humic acids and citric 0, 5, 10 20 and 40% for coffee husk. We evaluated the K2O content by different extractants soluble in 2% citric acid and water all treatments at all incubation times quoted above. Incubation and the application of organic matrix rocks nepheline syenite and generally glauconite provided a significant increase in solubility of K of the rocks studied in this work. Among the organic matrix has been observed that the coffee husk which provided the greatest release of K2O in both rocks mainly into the extractor 2% citric acid showed that the most efficient extraction K2O in all treatments.

Ação antioxidante da água catódica: estudos preliminares em sementes de café

Coffee seeds have limitations regarding to its conservation because of their sensitivity to desiccation and storage behavior. The establishment of a methodology for seed storage is difficult due to its deterioration. Deterioration can enhance the production of reactive oxygen species and cause lethal oxidative damage to plant tissues. The damage caused by harmful levels of free radicals can be softened by the action of endogenous or exogenous antioxidants. Recent research shows new antioxidative protection technologies, being cathodic protection a promising technique with relevant results in other recalcitrant species and even in other living organisms. Thus, the aim of this work was to verify the antioxidant effect of cathodic water in Coffea arabica L. seeds with the purpose of investigating a new technology to improve seed quality. The study was conducted at the Central Seed Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, at the Federal University of Lavras. Coffea arabica L. seeds were used. The study was conducted in two stages, in the first a preliminary analysis of the use of cathodic water was carried out in batches with different levels of quality. In the second it was evaluated the effect of light and of the imbibition period of the seeds in cathodic water. The seeds were immersed in distilled water and in cathodic water for eight distinct soaking periods, in absence and presence of light and then evaluated by physiological tests. It can be concluded that cathodic water can positively influence the physiological performance of the coffee seeds with poor quality, especially when embedded during periods between 4.5 to 7.5 hours in the absence of light.

Rotulagem como mecanismo de compartilhamento de informações com agentes da cadeia produtiva do café

The Agroindustrial System coffee after decades of state regulation has become a decentralized economic activity. This situation compelled most of the actors in the production chain to resort to self r egulatory systems offered by certification agencies, which have specific criteria and procedures. However the diversity criteria of the agencies do not offer resources able to ensure efficient management of the governance structure. There is a need to reduce the asymmetry of information, which is possible through the sharing of data compatible with the production tracking feature. This work is supported in this contextualized problem, based on Transaction Cost Theory and the use of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. The first part of the work seeks to know the procedures required by leading regulatory agencies in Brazil, with perspective to emphasize the similarities and compatibilities between them, which was reached after analysis of standards and comparison of similarities. Next is registered the operation and the coffee traceability of the structure, in order to identify, through observation, documental and bibliographical analysis, the systems in place and traceable information in line with the recommendations of the coffee certification. Finally, he sought to create a labeling model that allows to generate and share information about the product from the field to the sale for consumption. The information obtained in the previous steps were the basis for data collection with the production chain agents through a structured questionnaire administered to 618 agents of the production chain, whose answers were treated by multivariate methods of statistical analysis. The results showed that actors in the chain are in favor of inclusion and sharing information related to rural production and economic and environmental data. This knowledge enabled develop a labeling model where the information sharing agents is an efficient mechanism to mitigate the governance problems identified.

Inovação do método MIA-QSAR: aplicação para doenças tropicais negligenciadas

Multivariate image analysis applied to the quantitative structure-activity relationships (MIA-QSAR) is a 2D QSAR technique that has been presenting promising outcomes for the development of new drug candidates, due to its simplicity, rapidity and low cost. In this way, the present study aims at introducing, consolidating and improving the new dimensions named aug-MIA-QSAR and aug-MIA-QSARcolor, as well as applying them to the study of neglected diseases, in order to obtain new drug targets using chemico-biological interpretation of the MIA molecular descriptors. Four compound data sets with experimental bioactivities against Chagas disease, malaria, dengue and schistosomiasis were evaluated using three approaches: MIA-QSARt, aug-MIA-QSAR and aug-MIA-QSARcolor. In general, representations of atoms as spheres with different colors and sizes proportional to the corresponding van der Waals radii (aug-MIA approaches) improved the predictive ability and interpretability in all data sets. The use of colors proportional to the Pauling´s electronegativity showed that MIA descriptors are capable of identifying periodic properties relevant for the studied activity. Finally, solid colors instead of spotlighted atoms allowed a correct identification of atoms by means of pixel values in the studies for malaria, dengue and schistosomiasis, which were, subsequently, useful for the chemical interpretation related to the bioactivity. It can be inferred that semicarbazones and thiosemicarbazones derivative with a tri-substituted ring in R1 group and a trifluoro methyl group in the R 3 position instead of a chlorine antitripanossoma resulted in higher activity. The antimalarial activity of quinolon-4(1H)imines can be improved if: 1) R1 and R2 are electron donor groups, 2) R3 has long aminoalkyl chains, and 3) R4 possesses substituents with big atomic volume. In the study for dengue, it was found that tetrapeptides with unbranched small size amino acids in the A1 and A4 positions can increase the substrate affinity (Km) to the NS3 protein, and when in A1 and A2 positions, the substrate cleavage rate (kcat). On the other hand, acidic amino acids in the A2 and A4 positions were found to be related with low substrate affinity to the NS3 protein and when present in A1, with low substrate cleavage rate. Finally, the presence of metoxy substituents in R1 (or R2) and R5 in the neolignan backbone can favor their antischistosomal activity.