Xylo-oligosaccharides from lignocellulosic materials: Chemical structure, health benefits and production by chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis

Currently, there is worldwide interest in the technological use of agro-industrial residues as a renewable source of food and biofuels. Lignocellulosic materials (LCMs) are a rich source of cellulose and hemicellulose. Hemicellulose is rich in xylan, a polysaccharide used to develop technology for producing alcohol, xylose, xylitol and xylo-oligosaccharides (XOSs). The XOSs are unusual oligosaccharides whose main constituent is xylose linked by β 1-4 bonds. The XOS applications described in this paper highlight that they are considered soluble dietary fibers that have prebiotic activity, favoring the improvement of bowel functions and immune function and having antimicrobial and other health benefits. These effects open a new perspective on potential applications for animal production and human consumption. The raw materials that are rich in hemicellulose include sugar cane bagasse, corncobs, rice husks, olive pits, barley straw, tobacco stalk, cotton stalk, sunflower stalk and wheat straw. The XOS-yielding treatments that have been studied include acid hydrolysis, alkaline hydrolysis, auto-hydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis, but the breaking of bonds present in these compounds is relatively difficult and costly, thus limiting the production of XOS. To obviate this limitation, a thorough evaluation of the most convenient methods and the opportunities for innovation in this area is needed. Another challenge is the screening and taxonomy of microorganisms that produce the xylanolytic complex and enzymes and reaction mechanisms involved. Among the standing out microorganisms involved in lignocellulose degradation are Trichoderma harzianum, Cellulosimicrobium cellulans, Penicillium janczewskii, Penicillium echinulatu, Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus awamori. The enzyme complex predominantly comprises endoxylanase and enzymes that remove hemicellulose side groups such as the acetyl group. The complex has low β-xylosidase activities because β-xylosidase stimulates the production of xylose instead of XOS; xylose, in turn, inhibits the enzymes that produce XOS. The enzymatic conversion of xylan in XOS is the preferred route for the food industries because of problems associated with chemical technologies (e.g., acid hydrolysis) due to the release of toxic and undesired products, such as furfural. The improvement of the bioprocess for XOS production and its benefits for several applications are discussed in this study. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Comparing submerged and solid-state fermentation of agro-industrial residues for the production and characterization of lipase by Trichoderma harzianum

Lipase production by Trichoderma harzianum was evaluated in submerged fermentation (SF) and solid-state fermentation (SSF) using a variety of agro-industrial residues. Cultures in SF showed the highest activity (1.4 U/mL) in medium containing 0.5 % (w/v) yeast extract, 1 % (v/v) olive oil and 2.5 C:N ratio. This paper is the first to report lipase production by T. harzianum in SSF. A 1:2 mixture of castor oil cake and sugarcane bagasse supplemented with 1 % (v/w) olive oil showed the best results among the cultures in SSF (4 U/g ds). Lipolytic activity was stable in a slightly acidic to neutral pH, maintaining 50 % activity after 30 min at 50 C. Eighty percent of the activity remained after 1 h in 25 % (v/v) methanol, ethanol, isopropanol or acetone. Activity was observed with vegetable oils (olive, soybean, corn and sunflower) and long-chain triacylglycerols (triolein), confirming the presence of a true lipase. The results of this study are promising because they demonstrate an enzyme with interesting properties for application in catalysis produced by fermentation at low cost. © 2012 Springer-Verlag and the University of Milan.

Decomposition dynamics of soybean residues in two soils of different fertility

The study objective was to evaluate the influence of the addition of soybeans residues on the chemical properties of Eutrudox and Hapludox soils. Soybean leaves and stems were incubated for 0-200 days. The statistical model used was a 5×4 factorial (plantxincubation period) with three replications. Soils without addition of plants were used as controls. Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Soluble Carbon (SC), Total Carbohydrates (TC), Humic Acid (HA), Fulvic Acid (FA) and Humification Rate (HR) were determined. Higher values of chemical attributes (TOC, SC and TC) were found in the Eutrudox soil than in the Hapludox soil and these values increased significantly (p<0.05) after 50 days of incubation in relation to the initial period. The TOC, SC and TC increased in soils amended with soybean plants when compared to controls without plants. HA and FA contents and HR were not affected by the addition of soybean residues. Maximum HA contents were found after 100 days and maximum FA contents and HR were found after 200 days incubation in both soils. It can be concluded that the addition of soybean residues increased the soil chemical properties when compared to the controls. © 2013 Academic Journals Inc.

Fertilisation residues alter leaf scleromorphy in an evergreen savannah shrub (Maprounea brasiliensis, Euphorbiaceae)

In the present study, we examined how residues of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) fertilisers affect leaf anatomical traits in Maprounea brasiliensis (Euphorbiaceae), a typical and dominant cerrado (Brazilian savannah) species adapted to dystrophic soils. We predicted that fertiliser residues would alter qualitative and quantitative aspects of M. brasiliensis leaves and would decrease their scleromorphy. Leaves were sampled from plants that were growing in soils previously fertilised with N, P and Ca and in plants that were growing in soils without fertiliser residues. We measured the thickness of the cuticle, the epidermis of adaxial and abaxial surfaces, thickness of palisade parenchyma and spongy parenchyma, total thickness of the leaf, total area of the midrib and leaf mass per area (LMA). We found that plants under fertiliser residues produced fewer scleromorphic leaves with low LMA, thinner cuticle and epidermis and thicker palisade and spongy parenchyma. They also showed a decrease in the size and area occupied by the leaf midvein. However, plants under fertiliser residues produced similar leaf thickness as did the plants in the control group. Our results showed that residual effects of fertilisation changed structural patterns of a typical species of cerrado. Thus, further studies about fertilisation effects on leaf traits are needed because larger areas of the central cerrado are being occupied for agricultural production. © 2013 CSIRO.

Development of equations to estimate microbial contamination in ruminal incubation residues of forage produced under tropical conditions using 15N as a label1

The objective of this study was to use 15N to label microbial cells to allow development of equations for estimating the microbial contamination in ruminal in situ incubation residues of forage produced under tropical conditions. A total of 24 tropical forages were ruminal incubated in 3 steers at 3 separate times. To determine microbial contamination of the incubated residues, ruminal bacteria were labeled with 15N by continuous intraruminal infusion 60 h before the first incubation and continued until the last day of incubation. Ruminal digesta was collected for the isolation of bacteria before the first infusion of 15N on adaptation period and after the infusion of 15N on collection period. To determine the microbial contamination of CP fractions, restricted models were compared with the full model using the model identity test. A value of the corrected fraction A was estimated from the corresponding noncorrected fraction by this equation: Corrected A fraction (ACPC) = 1.99286 + 0.98256 × A fraction without correction (ACPWC). The corrected fraction B was estimated from the corresponding noncorrected fraction and from CP, NDF, neutral detergent insoluble protein (NDIP), and indigestible NDF (iNDF) using the equation corrected B fraction (BCPC) = -17.2181 - 0.0344 × fraction B without correction (BCPWC) + 0.65433 × CP + 1.03787 × NDF + 2.66010 × NDIP - 0.85979 × iNDF. The corrected degradation rate of B fraction (kd)was estimated using the equation corrected degradation rate of B fraction (kdCPC) = 0.04667 + 0.35139 × degradation rate of B fraction without correction (kdCPWC) + 0.0020 × CP - 0.00055839 × NDF - 0.00336 × NDIP + 0.00075089 × iNDF. This equation was obtained to estimate the contamination using CP of the feeds: %C = 79.21 × (1 - e-0.0555t) × e-0.0874CP. It was concluded that A and B fractions and kd of CP could be highly biased by microbial CP contamination, and therefore these corrected values could be obtained mathematically, replacing the use of microbial markers. The percentage of contamination and the corrected apparent degradability of CP could be obtained from values of CP and time of incubation for each feed, which could reduce cost and labor involved when using 15N. © 2013 American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved.

Stagnant effective thermal conductivity of agro-industrial residues for solid-state fermentation

The stagnant effective thermal conductivities (K0) of sugar cane bagasse (SCB), wheat bran (WB), orange pulp and peel (OPP) and their combination (weight proportion 1:2:2 SCB/OPP/WB) were obtained using the line heat source method. These solid materials were applied to pectinase production via solid-state fermentation. The moisture content ranged from 4 to 80% (w.b.). A conduction mechanism through the porous media was observed, along with conduction through a liquid film and contact thermal resistance between the samples and the probe. K0 was low for intermediate moisture contents and approached the molecular conductivity of water for high moisture contents. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Comparative study of the life cycle assessment of particleboards made of residues from sugarcane bagasse (Saccharum spp.) and pine wood shavings (Pinus elliottii)

This paper presents a research on the environmental impacts of particleboards produced from wastes, based on a comparative Life Cycle Assessment study. The particleboards were manufactured in laboratorial scale from the following residues: sugarcane bagasse (Saccharum spp.) and pine wood shavings (Pinus elliottii). The study was developed following the methodological guidelines of ISO 14040. The functional unit adopted was the m2 of the particleboards produced and the impacts were evaluated by the Environmental Development of Industrial Products method. The results indicated that pine particleboard present the highest environmental impact potential. Our findings suggested that the factors that mostly aggravated the environmental impacts were: the distance between the raw materials and the production site, and formaldehyde emissions (FE). The first is related to the combustion of fossil fuel during the acquisition of raw material, which achieved the values of 2185.94 g/m2 for consumption of non-renewable resources for pine particleboard and 893.53 g/m2 for bagasse particleboard. The second is related to the use of urea-formaldehyde resin, responsible for the FE into the air during production. The FE is accountable for the contamination of approximately 7,800,000.00 m3 of air per m2 of particleboard produced, and was the factor with the greatest impact in human toxicity potential. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emissão de gases de efeito estufa em áreas de sistema semeadura direta com aportes diferenciados de carbono e nitrogênio

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Agricultura) - FCA

Simulação do caminhamento de herbicidas em diferentes tipos e quantidades de palhadas utilizadas no sistema de plantio direto

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Agricultura) - FCA

Procedimento híbrido envolvendo os métodos primal-dual de pontos interiores e branch and bound em problemas multiobjetivo de aproveitamento de resíduos de cana-de-açúcar

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Plantas daninhas, atributos biológicos e elementos-traço em latossolo tratado com lodo de esgoto por treze anos consecutivos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Relação C/N e proporção de fontes nitrogenadas na produtividade de Agaricus blazei Murrill e poder calorífico do composto

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

Avaliação da cultura do milho e da decomposição da palhada submetida à Hormesis

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Energia na Agricultura) - FCA

Tolerância de variedades de cana-de-açúcar a herbicidas aplicados em pós-emergência e efeitos residuais sobre variedades de girassol

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Produção de ligninases por basidiomicetos através de fermentação em estado sólido, caracterização e aplicação das enzimas

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)