Characterization and fatty acids profile of the oils from Amazon nuts and walnuts: Characterization and fatty acids profile of the oilseeds

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to characterize oils extracted from Bertholletia excelsa, Lecythis pisonis, Dipteryx lacunifera, Carya illinoensis and Juglans regia, regarding their characterization and fatty acid profile. Design/methodology/approach: The oils were extracted from oilseeds by cold pressing and physico-chemical characterization was performed by using standard methods for oils and fats. The oxidative stability and fatty acid profile also were determined. Findings: According to the results, the physico-chemical properties of oils from nuts and walnuts were comparable to those of good quality conventional oils. The oil seeds are a good source of unsaturated fatty acids, especially oleic and linoleic acids. Research limitations/implications: Implies the identification of fatty acid profile and physico-chemical properties of oils extracted from nuts and walnuts, and to prevent certain types of diseases. Originality/value: The paper identifies a new source of essential fatty acids extracted from oilseeds. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

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.

Physico-chemical characterization of seed oils extracted from oranges (Citrus sinensis)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Glycerol: Production, consumption, prices, characterization and new trends in combustion

The demand for petroleum has been rising rapidly due to increasing industrialization and modernization. This economic development has led to a huge demand for energy, most of which is derived from fossil fuel. However, the limited reserve of fossil fuel has led many researchers to look for alternative fuels which can be produced from renewable feedstock. Increasing fossil fuel prices have prompted the global oil industry to look at biodiesel, which is from renewable energy sources. Biodiesel is produced from animal fats and vegetable oils and has become more attractive because it is more environmentally friendly and is obtained from renewable sources. Glycerol is the main by-product of biodiesel production; about 10% of the weight of biodiesel is generated in glycerol. The large amount of glycerol generated may become an environmental problem, since it cannot be disposed of in the environment. In this paper, an attempt has been made to review the different approaches and techniques used to produce glycerol (hydrolysis, transesterification, refining crude glycerol). The world biodiesel/glycerol production and consumption market, the current world glycerin and glycerol prices as well as the news trends for the use of glycerol mainly in Brazil market are analyzed. The technological production and physicochemical properties of glycerol are described, as is the characterization of crude glycerol obtained from different seed oil feedstock. Finally, a simple way to use glycerol in large amounts is combustion, which is an advantageous method as it does not require any purification. However, the combustion process of crude glycerol is not easy and there are technological difficulties. The news and mainly research about the combustion of glycerol was also addressed in this review. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Morphologic characterization of spiked pepper's germplasm

Pimenta-de-macaco é uma espécie que possui propriedades que permitem o desenvolvimento de defensivos agrícolas naturais e medicamentos, apresentando, portanto, grande potencial de uso pela humanidade. Com o objetivo de determinar a variabilidade fenotípica, foram estudadas 41 matrizes amostradas nos Estados do Pará e Amazonas. Utilizou-se análises de componentes principais e critério de Jolliffe para descarte de variáveis, subsidiado pela correlação de Pearson. Foram necessários sete componentes para explicar 80% da variação. O rendimento de óleo essencial e o número de folhas por ramo foram sugeridos para descarte por serem as características que menos contribuíram para a variação total. A dispersão gráfica 3D formou um grupo relativamente homogêneo e contínuo, permitindo identificar um par divergente: PA-020 (Marabá-PA) e PA-035 (Santa Isabel-PA). Concluiu-se que os caracteres analisados possuem variabilidade potencialmente capaz de discriminar as matrizes, com 83,3% de tais caracteres podendo ser utilizados para este objetivo. Os genótipos divergentes, identificados na análise gráfica 3D, podem ser usados em programas de melhoramento para obtenção de genótipos superiores. A comparação com os dados moleculares, previamente existentes, de alguns desses genótipos permite concluir, também, que a caracterização molecular, apesar de apresentar certo grau de concordância com a caracterização morfológica, teve maior poder discriminatório, utilizando um menor número de genótipos e procedências, identificando grupos dissimilares e genótipos divergentes, embora analisado por método estatístico multivariado diferente.

Characterization of mesenchymal stem cells derived from equine adipose tissue

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

Isolation and characterization of equine peripheral blood-derived multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells

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

Characterization of the chemical composition of the essential oils from Annona emarginata (Schltdl.) H. Rainer 'terra-fria' and Annona squamosa L.

O objetivo do presente estudo foi caracterizar a composição química do óleo essencial das folhas de Annona emarginata (Schltdl.) H. Rainer 'terra-fria' e Annona squamosa L. As espécies foram cultivadas em casa de vegetação, com aplicação semanal de solução nutritiva até completar 18 meses, quando se realizaram a colheita e a secagem das folhas para a extração do óleo essencial, analisado por cromatografia gasosa acoplada à espectrometria de massas, para estudo dos perfis químicos. Onze substâncias majoritárias foram encontradas no óleo essencial de A. emarginata: (E)-cariofileno-29,29%; (Z)-cariofileno-16,86%; γ-muroleno-7,54%; α-pineno-13,86%; tricicleno-10,04%. No óleo de A. squamosa, 10 substâncias foram detectadas, entre elas: (E)-cariofileno-28.71%; (Z)-cariofileno-14,46%; α-humuleno-4,41%; canfeno-18,10%; α-pineno-7,37%, e β-pineno-8,71%; longifoleno-5,64%; majoritárias. (E)-cariofileno; (Z)-cariofileno; α-humuleno; canfeno; α-pineno, e β-pineno foram as seis substâncias comuns às duas espécies.

Microstructural and electrochemical characterization of friction stir welded duplex stainless steels

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Characterization of Chemically Induced Ovarian Carcinomas in an Ethanol-Preferring Rat Model: Influence of Long-Term Melatonin Treatment

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

Production and characterization of lipases and immobilization of whole cell of the thermophilic Thermomucor indicae seudaticae N31 for transesterification reaction

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Design and Characterization of Silicone and Surfactant Based Systems for Topical Drug Delivery

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

Partial purification, immobilization and preliminary biochemical characterization of lipases from Rhizomucor pusillus

Lipases have important applications in biotechnological processes, motivating us to produce, purify, immobilize and perform a biochemical characterization of the lipase from Rhizomucor pusillus. The fungus was cultivated by solid state fermentation producing lipolytic activity of about 0.5 U/mL(4U/g). A partial purification by gel filtration chromatography in Se-phacryl S-100 allowed obtaining a yield of about 85% and a purification factor of 5.7. Our results revealed that the purified enzyme is very stable with some significant differences in its properties when compared to crude extract. The crude enzyme extract has an optimum pH and temperature of 7.5 ° C and 40 ° C, respectively. After purification, a shift of the optimum pH from 7 to 8 was observed, as well as a rise in optimumtemperature to 60 ° C and an increase in stability. The enzyme was immobilized on CNBr-Agarose and Octyl-Agarose supports, having the highest immobilization yield of 94% in the second resin. The major advantage of immobilization in hydrophobic media such as Octyl is in its hyper activation, which in this case was over 200%, a very interesting finding. Another advantage of this type of immobilization is the possibility of using the derivatives in biotechnological applications, such as in oil enriched with omega-3 as the results obtained in this study display the hydrolysis of 40% EPA and 7% DHA from sardine oil, promising results compared to the literature.

Development, characterization, and in vitro biological performance of fluconazole-loaded microemulsions for the topical treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis

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

The Aerosol OT + n-butanol + n-heptane + water system: Phase behavior, structure characterization, and application to Pt70Fe30 nanoparticle Synthesis

A phase diagram of the pseudo-ternary Aerosol OT (AOT) + n-butanol/n-heptane/water system, at a mass ratio of AOT/n-butanol = 2, is presented. Conductivity measurements showed that within the vast one-phase microemulsion region observed, the structural transition from water-in-oil to oil-in-water microemulsion occurs continuously without phase separation. This pseudo-ternary system was applied to the synthesis of carbon-supported Pt 70Fe30 nanoparticles, and it was found that nanoparticles prepared in microemulsions containing n-butanol have more Fe than those prepared in ternary microemulsions of AOT/n-heptane/water under similar conditions. It was verified that introducing n-butanol as a cosurfactant into the AOT/n-heptane/water system lead to complete reduction of the Fe ions that allowed obtaining alloyed PtFe nanoparticles with the desired composition, without the need of preparing functionalized surfactants and/or the use of inert atmosphere. © 2007 American Chemical Society.