A falta de disponibilidade de energia elétrica é um dos principais motivos pelo baixo Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano das comunidades isoladas localizadas na Amazônia. O biodiesel produzido a partir de óleos vegetais extraídos de espécies oleaginosas nativas de forma sustentada é uma das melhores alternativas energéticas para a região. O tucumã do amazonas, Astrocaryum aculeatum, é uma espécie de palmeira que produz um fruto muito apreciado na região, a partir do qual se obtém uma amêndoa com alto teor de óleo. Nesse estudo, foi avaliada a produção de biodiesel etílico, a partir de diferentes lotes de óleos de tucumã do amazonas, com índices de acidez baixos e elevados, pela transesterificação por catálise básica e ácida homogêneas, respectivamente. Na catálise ácida, foram testados HCl e H 2 SO 4 como catalisadores nas concentrações de 0,0625 a 1,000 M, empregando etanol hidratado na proporção molar de 1:6 e a reação conduzida a 90 ºC por 24 h. Na catálise básica, foram testados NaOH e KOH, nas proporções de 0,5 a 2,0 %, empregando etanol anidro na proporção molar de 1:12 e a reação conduzida a 80 ºC por 2 h. O biodiesel obtido em cada experimento foi analisado por métodos físicos (massa específica) e cromatográficos (CLAE em fase reversa). Análises cromatográficas indicaram que as melhores conversões foram alcançadas por amostras de biodiesel com massas específicas inferiores a 0,87 g.cm -1 . As amostras de biodiesel obtidas com melhor qualidade foram obtidas utilizando-se os catalisadores ácidos a 1,0 M com rendimentos superiores a 90%. No caso da catálise básica, obteve-se biodiesel de boa qualidade empregando-se o catalisador NaOH a 2,0%, porém com rendimento inferior a 60 %. Contudo, em ambos os casos, foi possível identificar um excelente potencial de produção de biocombustível, a partir do óleo das amêndoas de tucumã.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Sustentabilidade, Arecaceae, Energia elétrica, Amazônia. The use of tucumã of amazonas kernel oil in the biodiesel productionABSTRACT the shortage of electricity is a major reason for the low Human Development index of isolated communities located in the Amazon basin. the biodiesel produced from vegetable oils extracted from oil seeds native species, in a sustainable way, is one of the best alternative energy for the region. the "tucumã of amazonas", Astrocaryum aculeatum, is an Amazon palm tree that produces a much appreciated fruit in the region, from which it obtains kernels that have high content in oil. in this study, we evaluated the production of ethyl biodiesel, from different batches of oil obtained from "tucumã of amazonas" kernels with high and low acidity by the transesterification process acidic and basic catalysis, respectively. Different acid catalysts (HCl and H 2 SO 4 ) and concentrations of each acid (from 0.0625 to 1.000 M) were tested, with ethanol at molar ratio of 1:6 at 90º C for 24 h. in the basic catalysis, NaOH and KOH were tested at the concentration range of 0.5 to 2.0 % with anhydrous ethanol with molar ratio 1:12 and the reactions took place at ...

Lipidomics is a lipid-targeted metabolomics approach aiming at comprehensive analysis of lipids in biological systems. Recent technological progresses in mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and chromatography have significantly enhanced the developments and applications of metabolic profiling of lipids in more complex biological samples. As many diseases reveal a notable change in lipid profiles compared with that of healthy people, lipidomics have also been broadly introduced to scientific research on diseases. Exploration of lipid biochemistry by lipidomics approach will not only provide insights into specific roles of lipid molecular species in health and disease, but it will also support the identification of potential biomarkers for establishing preventive or therapeutic approaches for human health. This chapter aims to illustrate how lipidomics can contribute for understanding the biological mechanisms inherent to schizophrenia and why lipids are relevant biomarkers of schizophrenia. The application of lipidomics in clinical studies has the potential to provide new insights into lipid profiling and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying schizophrenia. The future perspectives of lipidomics in mental disorders are also discussed herein.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in combination with chemometrics can be applied in the analysis of complex biological samples in many ways. For example, we can analyze lipids, elucidate their structures, determine their nutritional values, and determine their distribution in blood serum. As lipids are not soluble in water, they are transported in blood as lipid-rich self-assembled particles, divided into different density assemblies from high- to very-low-density lipoproteins (HDL to VLDL), or by combining with serum proteins, such as albumins (human serum albumins (HSA)). Therefore, serum lipids can be analyzed as they are using only a 1:1 (v/v) dilution with a buffer or deuterated water prior to analysis by applying H NMR orH NMR edited-by-diffusion techniques. Alternatively, lipids can be extracted from the serum using liquid partition equilibrium and then analyzed using liquid-state NMR techniques. Our chapter describes protocols that are used for extraction of blood serum lipids and their quantitative H NMR (H qNMR) analysis in lipid extracts as well as H NMR edited by diffusion for direct blood serum lipid analysis.