Propriedades termodinâmicas de adsorção de água e cinética de secagem de subprodutos da industrialização de abacaxi (Ananás comosus L.): casca e cilindro central

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

Efeito da adição de lama vermelha como carga nas propriedades mecânicas de compósitos de poliéster insaturado reforçado com fibra natural de curauá (Ananas erectifolius)

Atualmente, devido à necessidade crescente de materiais de bom desempenho mecânico e devido questões ambientais, busca-se cada vez mais a substituição de fibras sintéticas usadas em compósitos (como a fibra de vidro) por fibras naturais. Uma fibra natural que já vem sendo utilizada pela indústria automobilística é a fibra de Curauá (Ananas erectifolius) e apresenta excelente resistência à tração. Na expectativa de melhorar certas propriedades dos compósitos e de reduzir a quantidade de resina, e desse modo o custo, busca-se também o uso de cargas incorporadas à matriz dos compósitos. Em trabalhos recentes têm-se estudado a lama vermelha (resíduo da indústria da bauxita) como carga devido sua alta disponibilidade e baixo custo, além de ser uma resíduo potencialmente perigoso para o ambiente. O objetivo desse trabalho foi analisar os efeitos da adição de lama vermelha em compósitos de poliéster reforçados com fibras naturais de Curauá (Ananas erectifolius). Os resultados mostraram que a utilização da lama vermelha como carga em proporções volumétricas maiores ou iguais a 20% e fibra de curauá em fração volumétrica de 5% provocou um efeito de reforço significativo.

Extração e Caracterização de Uma Enzima Proteolítica do Curauá (Ananas erectifolius)

Ananas erectifolius (curaua) is a fibrous vegetable that can be found in North and Central West regions of Brazil. It is a bromeliaceae family plant which physico-chemical features provides great potential in the automobilistic industry as a source of fibers. As commonly described in other bromeliaceae species, it contains significant levels of bromelain, of high commercial value and wide range of aplications in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. In this paper, experimental tests were performed to evaluate the extraction of the proteolytic enzymes of the Ananas erectifolius under different pH and temperature conditions to determine in which ones the enzymatic activity would be the maximum for later purification of the bromelain. The two commercially available curaua varieties (white and purple) were used in the experiments and the results showed the same optimal pH of 8,5 for both varieties and different temperatures of 30ºC for the white one, and 10ºC, 20ºC and 35ºC for the purple one.

Die Ananas-Treiberei

Von Emil Hannig

The application of DArTseq technology to pineapple

DArTseq technology is potentially the most appropriate system to discover hundreds of polymorphic genomic loci, scoring thousands of unique genomic-wide DNA fragments in one single experiment, without requiring existing DNA sequence information. The DArT complexity reduction approach in combination with Illumina short read sequencing (Hiseq2000) was applied. To test the application of DArTseq technology in pineapple, a reference population of 13 Ananas genotypes from primitive wild accessions to modern cultivars was used. In a comparison of 3 systems, the combination of restriction enzymes PstI and MseI performed the best producing 18,900 DArT markers and close to 20,000 SNPs. Based on these markers genetic relationships between the samples were identified and a dendrogram was generated. The topography of the tree corresponds with our understanding of the genetic relationships between the genotypes. Importantly, the replicated samples of all genotypes have a dissimilarity of close to 0.0 and occupy the same positions on the tree, confirming high reproducibility of the markers detected. Eventually it is planned that molecular markers will be identified that are associated with resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi (Pc), the most economically important pathogen of pineapple in Australia, as genetic resistance is known to exist within the Ananas. Marker assisted selection can then be utilized in a pineapple breeding program to develop cultivars resistant to Pc.

Genetic and environmental influences on human responses to odors

Olfaction, the sense of smell, has many important functions in humans. Human responses to odors show substantial individual variation. Olfactory receptor genes have been identified and other genes may also influence olfaction. However, the proportion of phenotypic variation in odor response due to genetic variation remains largely unknown. Little is also known about which genes modify specific responses to odors. This study aimed to elucidate genetic and environmental influences on human responses to odors. Individuals from Finnish families (n=146) and Australian (n=413), British (n=163), Danish (n=336), and Finnish (n=399) twins rated intensity and pleasantness of a set of 12 (families) or 6 (twins) odors and tried to identify the odors. In addition, the participants rated their own sense of smell and annoyance experienced with different environmental odors. The odor stimuli of a commercial smell test (The Brief Smell Identification Test; banana, chocolate, cinnamon, gasoline, lemon, onion, paint thinner, pineapple, rose, smoke, soap, and turpentine) were presented in the family study. Based on the results of the family study and a literature survey, a new set of odor stimuli (androstenone, chocolate, cinnamon, isovaleric acid, lemon, and turpentine) was designed for the twin studies. In the family sample, heritabilities of the traits were estimated and underlying genomic regions were searched using a genome-wide linkage scan. In the pooled twin sample, variation in the measured traits was decomposed into genetic and environmental components using quantitative genetic modeling. In addition, associations between nongenetic factors (e.g., sex, age, and smoking) and olfactory-related traits were explored. Suggestive evidence for a genetic linkage for pleasantness of cinnamon at a locus on chromosome 4q32.3 emerged from the family sample. High heritability for the pleasantness of cinnamon was found in the family but not the twin study. Heritability of perceived intensity of androstenone odor was determined to be ~30% in the twin sample. A strong genetic correlation between perceived intensity and pleasantness of androstenone, in the absence of any environmental correlation, indicated that only the genetic correlation explained the phenotypic correlation between the traits (r=-0.27) and that the traits were influenced by an overlapping set of genes. Self-rated olfactory function appeared to reflect the odor annoyance experienced rather than actual olfactory acuity or genetic involvement. Results from nongenetic analyses supported the speculated superiority of females' olfactory abilities, the age-related diminishing of olfactory acuity, and the influences of experience-dependent factors on odor responses. This was the first study to estimate heritabilities and perform linkage screens for individual odors. A genetic effect was detected for only a few responses to specific odors, suggesting the predominance of environmental effects in odor perceptions.

Efecto de diferentes manejos en calles y banda sobre la cenosis de las malezas, el crecimiento y primer rendimiento del cafeto (Coffea arabica L.)

En el municipio de Masatepe, Departamento de Masaya situado a 11 grados 54 min. Latitud norte y 86 grados 09 min. Longitud-oeste, se realizó un ensayo factorial “sistema de manejo de malezas en cafeto joven” Con el objetivo de determinar la influencia de diferentes sistemas de manejos en la calla y banda sobre la cenosis de las advertencias y sobre el crecimiento, desarrollo y la producción del cafeto. El ensayo se inició en Agosto de 1987 hasta Diciembre de 1989, utilizado Coffea arábica L. var. “Catuai a plena exposición solar: Los factores en estudio fueron; cobertura viva, Cobertura muerta y cultivo de la piña Ananás comosus (L) Merr. Var, “Monte lirio” como manejo en la calle y siete tratamientos en la banda que consisten en diferentes periodos de anhierbamiento utilizando control mecánico con machete mensual. Y después de 2, 4 y 6 meses y controles químicos cada 4 y 6 meses con oxiflurfen +Diuron y un control tradicional utilizado por productores del lugar. La abundancia de las monocotiledóneas en la banda disminuyo en periodos mas de un mes, principalmente en los periodos anieblados 4 y 6 meses de un mes monocotiledóneas en la banda disminuyo en periodos más de un mes , principalmente en los periodos húmedos principalmente los controles mecánicos cas 2, 4 y 6 meses. La mayor dominancia en la calle y banda presentarnos las dicotiledóneas; obteniendo, a mayor biomasa y cobertura total en los tratamientos mecánicos cada 4 y 6 meses. Al finalizar los dos años de estudio, el cultivo de piña supera a los demás métodos significativamente con respecto a las variables: Altura de planta, diámetro de tallo, numero de nudos totales, numero de nudos, con fruto, longuitud de ramas plagiotropas y primer rendimiento: los tratamientos mecánicos cada dos meses, mensual y químico cada seis meses obtiene los mejores resultados al finalizar el periodo de estudio, en cuanto a las variables antes mencionadas: los controles químicos (oxifluerfen + Diuron) cada 4 y 6 meses se mantienen superiores a lo largo de los dos años de estudio a los mecánicos cada 4 y 6 meses.

Susceptibility of citrus species to Alternaria alternata, the causal agent of the Alternaria brown spot

Alternaria alternata, the causal agent of Alternaria brown spot (ABS), causes necrosis on leaves, twigs, and fruit, reducing the productivity and quality of fruits. Tangerines and their hybrids are highly susceptible to the disease. Species, hybrids, and cultivars of Citrus from the germplasm bank of the Estacao Experimental de Citricultura de Bebedouro, São Paulo, Brazil, were evaluated in 2004 and 2005 with respect to their resistance to A. alternata, both through natural infection and by inoculation. Detached leaves were also used to demonstrate susceptibility or resistance to the disease. Ten cultivars of Satsumas (Citrus unshiu), and 14 cultivars of Clementine mandarin (C. clementina) did not show any symptoms of the disease in their leaves, either through natural infection or when inoculated in the field. The Burguess SRA-412, Wallent SRA-438, Carvalhais, Ampefy SRA-459, Ananas SRA, and Macaque SRA-426 mandarin hybrids (C. reticulata) did not show symptoms of the disease under natural or artificial infection in the field. Some cultivars of C. deliciosa, C. tangerina, C. erythrosa, and C. temple showed symptoms of the disease, even though no previous record of their susceptibility to Alternaria brown spot had been previously reported. The hybrids Fairchild, Nova, Page, Fortune, and Sunburst were susceptible to the disease. However, Fremont mandarin (a crossing between C. clementina and C. reticulata), Encore (C. nobilis x C. deliciosa), and Fallglo (C. reticulata x C. paradisi) did not show symptoms in field, and few symptoms were verified in detached leaves. These materials are promising for the cultivation of tangerines, and will enable genetic improvement for the development of cultivars resistant to Alternaria brown spot. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Plantas do cerrado brasileiro com atividade contra Mycobacterium fortuitum

Mycobacterium fortuitum is a rapidly-growing species of bacteria, ubiquitous in the environment and related to important human mycobacterioses. It has been isolated from blood, abscesses, the endocardium and surgical and traumatic wounds. This mycobacterium is hard to treat, being recognized in the literature as resistant even to the drugs used in the treatment of tuberculosis. The objective of this study was to screen extracts prepared from plants of the Brazilian cerrado (extended savanna-like belt) with known activity against M. fortuitum, employing the Microplate Alamar Blue Assay (MABA) as the analytical method. Out of 26 extracts tested against M. fortuitum, the nonpolar extract of Quassia amara (in methylene dichloride) gave the best result (MIC 62.5μg/ mL), followed by the nonpolar extracts of Syngonanthus macrolepsis, Davilla elliptica and Turnera ulmifolia, with equal MICs of 125μg/ml. The polar extracts (in ethanol and methanol) obtained from the same plants were considered inactive, since the MIC values determined were above 500μg/mL and not significantly different from those of extracts from other plants, without known activity.

Antimycobacterial activity of some Brazilian indigenous medicinal drinks

Tuberculosis (TB) is a very serious problem worldwide and the increasing number of multiple drugs resistant TB cases makes the search for new anti-TB drugs an urgent need. Indigenous knowledge about the use of native plants to treat illnesses has contributed to the discovery of new medicines. In this study, the antimycobacterial activity of seven medicinal drinks was assessed: Ananas sativus (hydroalcoholic fruit extract), Aristolochia triangularis (aqueous and hydroalcoholic leaf, root and stem extracts), Bromelia antiacantha (hydroalcoholic fruit extract), Stryphnodendron adstringens (hydroalcoholic bark extract), Tabebuia ovellanedae (hydroalcoholic bark extract), Vernonia polyanthes (hydroalcoholic root extract), all used by the Vanuíre indigenous community in the treatment of respiratory diseases. The activity was evaluated by using a time-to-kill assay, in which Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv was cultured on Löwenstein-Jensen medium, after thirty minutes, one, three, six, twelve and twenty-four hours contact of the bacteria with each drink. Within half to one hour contact, the hydroalcoholic drinks of A. triangularis, S. adstringens, T. ovellanedae and V. polyanthes reduced the bacterial growth by 2 orders of magnitude in CFU/mL, and all bacterial growth was absent after three hours contact. In contrast, no mycobactericidal effect was detected in the aqueous extract of A. triangularis or in the hydroalcoholic beverages of A. sativus and B. antiacantha, even after twenty-four hours contact.

Análise química da folha d de abacaxizeiro cv. smooth cayenne antes e após a indução floral em função de doses e parcelamentos de nitrogênio

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Características sócio-demográficas e epidemiológicas da tuberculose: avaliação etnobotânica e da atividade antimicobacteriana das plantas utilizadas por uma comunidade indígena

Pós-graduação em Biociências e Biotecnologia Aplicadas à Farmácia - FCFAR

Avaliação de desempenho de fibras lignocelulósicas na sorção de óleos diesel e biodiesel

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Avaliação in vitro da atividade antimicrobiana de extratos vegetais sobre microrganismos relacionados à lesão de mucosite oral

A mucosite oral é a complicação oral mais freqüente nos pacientes sob quimioterapia e/ou radioterapia. Vários microrganismos podem estar presentes nesta lesão o que dificulta o seu tratamento. A propriedade antimicrobiana de plantas tem sido estudada com o intuito de confirmar cientificamente sua ação, e o possível potencial no controle de doenças infecciosas, principalmente devido ao aumento de microrganismos resistentes aos antimicrobianos conhecidos. O estudo teve por objetivo observar a ação inibidora de extratos das plantas Arrabidaea chica, Bryophyllum calycinum, Mansoa alliacea, Azadirachta indica, Senna alata, Vatairea guianensis, Vismia guianensis, Ananas erectifolius, Psidium guajava, Euterpe oleracea e Symphonia globulifera sobre cepas de microrganismos frequentemente envolvidos em lesões de mucosite oral, tais como, Streptococcus mitis (ATCC 903), Streptococcus sanguis (ATCC 10557), Streptococcus mutans (ATCC 25175), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027), Candida albicans (ATCC 40175), Candida krusei (ATCC 40147) e Candida parapsilosis (ATCC 40038). A avaliação da atividade antimicrobiana e a determinação da Concentração Inibitória Mínima (CIM) foram realizadas através do método de disco-difusão em meio sólido. Os extratos brutos das plantas foram testados nas concentrações de 500, 250, 125, 62,50, 31,25 e 15,62 mg/ml utilizando como solvente o Dimetil-Sulfóxido (DMSO). Os extratos de anani e de pirarucu foram os que apresentaram maior espectro de ação, inibindo o crescimento de sete microrganismos dentre os oito testados. As menores CIM foram obtidas com os extratos de anani, lacre e mata pasto. O extrato de anani foi o mais ativo tendo demonstrado boa atividade antimicrobiana (CIM abaixo de 100 mg/mL) contra sete microrganismos (S. aureus, C. albicans, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, S. mitis. S. sanguis e S. mutans, sendo inativo apenas para P. aeruginosa). O extrato de lacre demonstrou boa atividade frente a cinco microrganismos. Mata pasto teve boa atividade contra S. aureus, S. mitis e C. albicans. P. aeruginosa foi o microrganismo mais resistente sendo suscetível apenas para os extratos de pariri e pirarucu. Dentre os extratos avaliados, apenas o curauá não apresentou atividade sobre nenhum dos microrganismos testados. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram a capacidade antimicrobiana dos produtos vegetais testados. Entretanto, estudos futuros são necessários para esclarecer os seus mecanismos de ações e as possíveis interações com as drogas antimicrobianas, visando seu aproveitamento na terapêutica de doenças infecciosas.

Fibras naturais: características químicas e potenciais aplicações

This study has as objective determining the chemical properties that serve as the basis for potential scientific and technological applications of seven species of fibrous plants cultivated in Brazil, which are: Banana” (Musa spp.), “Coco” (Cocos nucifera), Curauá (Ananas erectifolius), Fique (Furcraea andina), Piteira” (Furcraea gigantea), Sisal(Agave sisalana) and “Taboa” (Typha domingensis). The tests for determining the percent dry completely, extractives soluble in cold water, in hot water, in sodium hydroxide 1% and in ethanol-toluene, and the percentages of ash, hydrophobicity, lignin, holocellulose and cellulose were performed at the Department of Environmental Sciences, Agronomy College (FCA) of UNESP – Botucatu, São Paulo State. It also presents a literature review about these fibers and their potential applications. Differences between the results obtained and those found by other authors are possibly explained by variations on the origin of plant material, the harvest season, the climate and soil where they were grown. However, the results and the methodology used, serve as a basis for further studies with natural fibers