Antibacterial activity of oregano essential oil against foodborne pathogens

Purpose: This paper aims to evaluate in vitro antibacterial activity of oregano essential oil against foodborne pathogens as a starting point for the use of spice as a natural preservative in food. Design/methodology/approach: Disc and well-diffusion assays were performed to investigate antibacterial activity of oregano essential oil against six bacteria strains: Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella Typhimurium. Three concentrations of oregano essential oil were employed: 1.0 percent, 2.0 percent and 5.0 percent. Bacterial growth inhibition was determinate as the diameter of the inhibition zones. Findings: Oregano essential oil showed antibacterial activity against spoilage microorganisms, at different concentrations, except for P. aeruginosa. There was a significant difference between methodologies only for the microorganism S. aureus. The results provided evidence of the existence of significant differences among the concentrations of oregano essential oil for each microorganism evaluated. Research limitations/implications: Although the research for this paper involved only oregano essential oil, it provided a starting-point for further investigations concerning spices as natural preservatives for food systems. Practical implications: Disc and well-assays were found to be simple and reproducible practical methods. Other spices, their essential oil and extracts might be researched against other micro-organisms. Furthermore, in situ studies need to be performed to evaluate possible interactions between essential oils and compounds naturally present in food against microbial strains. Social implications: The imminent adoption of measures to reduce the use of additives in foods and the reduction on using such compounds. Originality/value: This study provides insights that suggest a promising exploratory development of food natural preservative against spoilage microorganisms in food systems by the use of oregano essential oil. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Perdas de nutrientes e matéria orgânica por erosão em entressulcos em argissolo com resíduos de cana-de-açúcar

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudo da interação entre amido de mandioca e gomas e efeito de sua aplicação em bebida láctea fermentada

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Temperamento, desempenho e qualidade da carne de bovinos cruzados abatidos jovens

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Produtos alternativos com atividade fungitóxica sobre patógenos da videira para quebra da dormência de gemas

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Etnoconhecimento do peixe-boi amazônico (Trichechus inunguis): uso tradicional por ribeirinhos na Reserva Extrativista Tapajós Arapiuns e Floresta Nacional do Tapajós, Pará

A atividade de caça é praticada por populações rurais da Amazônia, sendo utilizada tanto para fins de subsistência, como comercial. Esta prática faz com que o amazônida adquira conhecimento sobre o ambiente e as espécies autóctones, interagindo de forma direta com a natureza. O peixe-boi amazônico (Trichechus inunguis) é um animal tradicionalmente utilizado por ribeirinhos, mesmo estando protegido por Lei desde 1967. Diante do exposto, este trabalho teve dois objetivos principais: 1- analisar o uso do peixe-boi amazônico na Reserva Extrativista Tapajós Arapiuns (RESEX T/A) e na Floresta Nacional do Tapajós (FLONA do Tapajós), segundo o conhecimento dos ribeirinhos; 2- caracterizar o nível de organização social das comunidades como forma de identificar a viabilidade para a implantação de alternativas sustentáveis de produção animal. Para isso realizaram-se duas expedições às margens dos rios Tapajós (2002) e rio Arapiuns (2003) (Pará - Brasil) nos limites das Unidades de Conservação (UCs) citadas acima. Foram utilizados questionários pré-elaborados e realizadas 189 entrevistas. A atividade principal dos ribeirinhos entrevistados na duas UCs foi a agricultura (n=103 ribeirinhos). Segundo os relatos, são avistados um ou dois peixes-boi, durante a época de cheia e neste mesmo período a fêmea é vista com o filhote. Este animal é visto tanto no rio Tapajós (41,57%, n= 74) como nos lagos da região (47,19%, n= 84), diferente do que foi observado nas comunidades do rio Arapiuns cujos relatos indicam um avistamento maior no rio (56,56%, n=56) do que nos lagos (30,3%, n=30). Quarenta e nove ribeirinhos das UCs estudadas admitiram já terem caçado o peixe-boi, sendo que somente na RESEX T/A 46,34% (n= 19) caçaram para subsistência, enquanto que na FLONA do Tapajós 50% (n= 4) dos casos foi para o comércio e 37,5% (n= 3) foi para a subsistência. Mas é oportuno ressaltar que o número de caçadores da FLONA do Tapajós (n=8) foi pequeno para se afirmar um padrão de uso do T. inunguis. Nestas UCs 92,59% (n= 175) dos caçadores sabiam da proibição da caça. Sendo que em 46,33% (n= 101) das respostas esta informação foi obtida por meio do IBAMA. Em relação aos utensílios de caça, o arpão foi o mais utilizado. O uso mais comum foi como alimento, sendo identificado no animal três tipos diferentes de carne, de acordo com a visão dos ribeirinhos. Na medicina tradicional a banha foi empregada sobretudo nos casos de reumatismo 22,75% (n= 43). As UCs possuem juntas aproximadamente 26 mil habitantes, oferecer alternativas sustentáveis de alimento, trabalho e renda poderiam melhorar a realidade adversa das comunidades. Há um histórico de luta pelo direito a terra e melhoria da qualidade de vida nas UCs, 86,77% das comunidades da RESEX T/A fazem parte de associações, e na FLONA do Tapajós 68%. Em ambas houveram experiências com projetos comunitários, embora existam ainda limitações em algumas comunidades, como a falta de assistência técnica contínua e de maior engajamento por parte dos moradores, estes fatores representam uma limitação importante para a implementação de atividades produtivas dentro do contexto do desenvolvimento sustentável.

Desempenho técnico e econômico da produção de milho e sorgo para silagem e soja em sucessão em sistema irrigado de integração lavoura-pecuária no cerrado

Pós-graduação em Agronomia - FEIS

Manejo do lodo de esgoto e nitrogênio mineral na fertilidade do solo ao longo do tempo

The use of sewage sludge is a practice highly promising for the development of sustainable agricultural systems. The objective of this study was to assess the improvement in soil fertility management strategies on different sewage sludge and mineral nitrogen after seven application of this residue. The experiment was carried at the Sao Manuel Experimental Farm belonging to the faculty of Agronomic Sciences of UNESP, Botucatu, located in the county of Sao Manuel. It was adopted the experimental design in a randomized blocks consisting of six treatments and five repetitions defined as follows: T0 - without nitrogen fertilizer, T1 - mineral fertilizer nitrogen according to the crop needs, T2 - 50% nitrogen from sewage sludge and 50% in the form of chemical fertilizer, T3 - 100% of nitrogen recommended by the culture, from sewage sludge, T4 - 150% of nitrogen recommended by the culture, from sewage sludge and T5 - 200% of the nitrogen from the sewage sludge. It has done seven application of sewage sludge in crop ( year 1 - sunflower, year 2 sunflower, year 3 - oats and bean, year 4 - triticale and sunflower, year 5 - wheat) and the first three applications were treated with sewage sludge and the other applications were composted sludge. In the depth 0-20 cm, the sewage sludge promoted an increase in levels of organic matter, P, S, H+Al, CEC and decreased in soil pH. In the depth of 20 to 40 cm the sewage sludge promoted a decrease in pH and increase in soil organic matter, P, H+Al, K, Ca, SB, CEC and S. Mineral N influence the increase in the depth S of 20-40 cm.

The Genetic Architecture of Climatic Adaptation of Tropical Cattle

Adaptation of global food systems to climate change is essential to feed the world. Tropical cattle production, a mainstay of profitability for farmers in the developing world, is dominated by heat, lack of water, poor quality feedstuffs, parasites, and tropical diseases. In these systems European cattle suffer significant stock loss, and the cross breeding of taurine x indicine cattle is unpredictable due to the dilution of adaptation to heat and tropical diseases. We explored the genetic architecture of ten traits of tropical cattle production using genome wide association studies of 4,662 animals varying from 0% to 100% indicine. We show that nine of the ten have genetic architectures that include genes of major effect, and in one case, a single location that accounted for more than 71% of the genetic variation. One genetic region in particular had effects on parasite resistance, yearling weight, body condition score, coat colour and penile sheath score. This region, extending 20 Mb on BTA5, appeared to be under genetic selection possibly through maintenance of haplotypes by breeders. We found that the amount of genetic variation and the genetic correlations between traits did not depend upon the degree of indicine content in the animals. Climate change is expected to expand some conditions of the tropics to more temperate environments, which may impact negatively on global livestock health and production. Our results point to several important genes that have large effects on adaptation that could be introduced into more temperate cattle without detrimental effects on productivity.

PHYSICAL QUALITY OF AN OXISOL UNDER NO-TILLAGE AND CONVENTIONAL TILLAGE

The understanding and quantification of the impact of tillage systems in their physical quality are fundamental in the development of sustainable agricultural systems. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of an Oxisol under conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage system (NT), through different physical indicators. The management systems were: CT and NT for seven or eight consecutive years (medium textured soil) and CT and NT by nine and ten consecutive years (clay soil). Were determined, at the layers 0-0.10, 0.10-0.20; 0.20-0.30 m, soil resistance to penetration, total soil porosity, macroporosity and microporosity, soil water retention, S index, soil bulk density, maximum density and relative bulk density. Was observed great variation of soil resistance to penetration throughout the soybean and corn cycles, with its highest values were found in the surface layers. The NT showed greater resistance to penetration. Among the management systems, the results against indicators of soil physical quality were similar.

Eficiência do uso da água e parâmetros nutricionais na cultura da rúcula submetida a diferentes condições de estresse hídrico

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Irrigação e Drenagem) - FCA

Selenate and selenite on yield and agronomic biofortification with selenium in rice

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of doses of selenate and selenite on rice (Oryza sativa) biofortification with Se, as well the influence of these forms of Se in the levels of P, S, Fe, and Zn in grains. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, in pots with 4 dm(3) of a sandy clay loam Latosol, with medium texture, in a 5x2 factorial arrangement with five doses of Se (0, 0.75, 1.50, 3.0, and 6.0 mg dm(-3)) and two forms of Se (selenate and selenite). Selenate provided greater efficiency of root uptake of Se, plant-use efficiency, translocation from roots to shoots, and content of this element in rice grains. The application of Se during fertilization influences the levels of P, S, and Zn, but does not affect those of Fe in rice grains.

Growth and nitrogen fixation in soybean treated with doses of composted sewage sludge

The use of sewage sludge is a highly promising practice for the development of sustainable agricultural systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate doses of sewage sludge composted with and without Rhizobium inoculation in leaf N content, nodule number, nodule dry weight and plant during flowering. The experiment was conducted in the greenhouse of the Department of Soil Science and Natural Resources College of Agricultural Sciences of Botucatu, using as substrate used in vessels of 30 liters a Red Yelow Latosol sandy texture with experimental design adopted was randomized blocks constituted for 10 treatments and five doses of composted sewage sludge (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 t ha(-1)) with or without inoculation Bradyrhizobium japonic with three replications. There was an increase in the number and dry weight of nodules and shoot dry mass of soybeans due to the increase of the dose of sludge up to a dose of 20 t ha(-1) and after this dose there was a decrease of these parameters. At a dose of 10 t ha(-1) sludge compost inoculated seeds showed higher for foliar concentrations of N and number of nodules compared with uninoculated seeds. At a dose of 30 t ha(-1) inoculated seeds were higher compared to uninoculated in all parameters.

Isolation and characterization of the flour and starch of plantain bananas (Musa paradisiaca)

Plantain bananas of the variety Terra (Musa paradisiaca) may have industrial value due to their high starch content. In this research, the flour and starch of such unripe fruit were isolated and their chemical, physicochemical, and structural characteristics were determined. Banana flour and starch had a dry basis yield of 50.6 and 28.5%, and an average granule size of 31.7 and 47.3?mu m, respectively. Both raw materials revealed a C-type pattern and high gelatinization temperatures. The peak viscosity was greater for flour (378.0 RVU) than for starch (252.6 RVU), although the final viscosity was lower. At temperatures above 65 degrees C, the swelling power of banana flour was lower than that of starch, while the solubility of flour was greater than that of starch at all temperatures. Furthermore, the presence of other components in banana flour influenced its physicochemical properties. In general, the flour and starch processed from unripe bananas have numerous possible uses as ingredients in food systems and for other industrial purposes.

Processi di biorefining per l'estrazione di secondary chemical building blocks da sottoprotti dell'agro-industria

Phenol and cresols represent a good example of primary chemical building blocks of which 2.8 million tons are currently produced in Europe each year. Currently, these primary phenolic building blocks are produced by refining processes from fossil hydrocarbons: 5% of the world-wide production comes from coal (which contains 0.2% of phenols) through the distillation of the tar residue after the production of coke, while 95% of current world production of phenol is produced by the distillation and cracking of crude oil. In nature phenolic compounds are present in terrestrial higher plants and ferns in several different chemical structures while they are essentially absent in lower organisms and in animals. Biomass (which contain 3-8% of phenols) represents a substantial source of secondary chemical building blocks presently underexploited. These phenolic derivatives are currently used in tens thousand of tons to produce high cost products such as food additives and flavours (i.e. vanillin), fine chemicals (i.e. non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen or flurbiprofen) and polymers (i.e. poly p-vinylphenol, a photosensitive polymer for electronic and optoelectronic applications). European agrifood waste represents a low cost abundant raw material (250 millions tons per year) which does not subtract land use and processing resources from necessary sustainable food production. The class of phenolic compounds is essentially constituted by simple phenols, phenolic acids, hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, flavonoids and lignans. As in the case of coke production, the removal of the phenolic contents from biomass upgrades also the residual biomass. Focusing on the phenolic component of agrifood wastes, huge processing and marketing opportunities open since phenols are used as chemical intermediates for a large number of applications, ranging from pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, food ingredients etc. Following this approach we developed a biorefining process to recover the phenolic fraction of wheat bran based on enzymatic commercial biocatalysts in completely water based process, and polymeric resins with the aim of substituting secondary chemical building blocks with the same compounds naturally present in biomass. We characterized several industrial enzymatic product for their ability to hydrolize the different molecular features that are present in wheat bran cell walls structures, focusing on the hydrolysis of polysaccharidic chains and phenolics cross links. This industrial biocatalysts were tested on wheat bran and the optimized process allowed to liquefy up to the 60 % of the treated matter. The enzymatic treatment was also able to solubilise up to the 30 % of the alkali extractable ferulic acid. An extraction process of the phenolic fraction of the hydrolyzed wheat bran based on an adsorbtion/desorption process on styrene-polyvinyl benzene weak cation-exchange resin Amberlite IRA 95 was developed. The efficiency of the resin was tested on different model system containing ferulic acid and the adsorption and desorption working parameters optimized for the crude enzymatic hydrolyzed wheat bran. The extraction process developed had an overall yield of the 82% and allowed to obtain concentrated extracts containing up to 3000 ppm of ferulic acid. The crude enzymatic hydrolyzed wheat bran and the concentrated extract were finally used as substrate in a bioconversion process of ferulic acid into vanillin through resting cells fermentation. The bioconversion process had a yields in vanillin of 60-70% within 5-6 hours of fermentation. Our findings are the first step on the way to demonstrating the economical feasibility for the recovery of biophenols from agrifood wastes through a whole crop approach in a sustainable biorefining process.