The use of enzymes in juice industry has contributed in increasing the yield and production of various types of juices. The addition pectinases aims in particular to degrade the pectic substances, in the cell wall and middle lamella of the cells of plants, aiming to minimise the impacts of these compounds on the characteristics of the final product, such as colour, turbidity and viscosity. Enzymes able to remove bitterness of citrus juice, extract pigments, among other applications, have also had great interest in the juice industry.

AbStRAct. Hemoglobin and globin genes are important models for studying protein and gene structure, function and regulation. We reviewed the main aspects of regulation of human α-globin synthesis, encoded by two adjacent genes (α 2 and α 1 ) clustered on chromosome 16. Their expression is controlled mainly by a regulatory element located 40 kb upstream on the same chromosome, the α-major regulatory element, whose activity is restricted to a core fragment of 350 bp, within which several regulatory protein binding sites have been found. Natural deletions involving α-major regulatory element constitute a particular category of α-thalassemia determinants in which the α-globin genes are physically intact but functionally inactive.

ResumoDiversos microrganismos podem ser veiculados por alimentos causando doenças nos seres humanos. Os antibióticos comumente utilizados no tratamento dessas doenças têm apresentado baixo ou nenhum efeito, tendo em vista à resistência que muitos microrganismos têm adquirido. Diante deste quadro, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar o óleo essencial das folhas de Rosmarinus officinalis L. como modulador da resistência bacteriana a drogas. O óleo essencial foi obtido através de hidrodestilação em aparelho de Clevenger por 3h. Foram testadas 4 cepas de E.coli resistentes a Ampicilina (AMP) e a Tetraciclina (TET) e 4 cepas de Salmonella spp. resistentes a Nitrofurantoína (NIT). As cepas em suspensão escala MacFarland 0,5 foram inoculadas em agar Mueller Hinton, em seguida os discos dos antibióticos embebidos com 10 e 20μL do óleo de alecrim puro foram dispostos sobre as placas. Após 24h/37ºC foram medidos os halos ao redor dos discos. Todas as cepas avaliadas apresentaram susceptibilidade à ação combinada do óleo essencial com os antibióticos testados. Os resultados obtidos indicam ser promissora a utilização de óleo essencial de alecrim em associação com antibióticos no combate a bactérias patogênicas. Palavras-chave: Óleo essencial, alecrim, resistência bacteriana AbstractMicroorganisms can be transmitted by food causing diseases in humans. The antibiotics commonly used in treatment of these diseases have shown little or no effect, and in view of the resistance that many microorganisms have acquired. This study evaluated the essential oil leaves of Rosmarinus officinalis L. as a modulator of resistance bacterial drug. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger apparatus for 3 hours. We tested four strains of E.coli resistant ampicillin (AMP) and tetracycline (TET) and four strains of Salmonella spp. Resistant to nitrofurantoin (NIT). The strains in 0.5 MacFarland scale suspension were inoculated on Mueller Hinton agar, then soaked antibiotic disks with 10 and 20μL oil pure rosemary were placed on the plates. After 24h/37 º C were measured halos around the discs. All strains tested showed susceptibility to the combined action of essential oil with antibiotics tested. The results indicate that the use of promising rosemary essential oil in combination with antibiotics to combat pathogenic bacteria.

The alpha-major regulatory element (alpha-MRE), located 40 Kb far upstream of the alpha-globin gene cluster on chromosome 16, is involved in the regulation of human alpha-globin genes expression. The activity of this element is restricted to a 350-bp fragment in which several nuclear protein binding sites have been identified. This element is genetically polymorphic and different haplotypes, named A-F, have been determined in seven populations of Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. We describe here the alpha-MRE haplotypes found in native Indians from two nonmiscegenated tribes of the north region of Brazil, in Amazonia, the Parakanã and the Xikrin. The A haplotype was predominant in both (70% and 87%, respectively), followed by the B haplotype (30% and 13%, respectively). The haplotype frequency distribution among the Parakanã was similar to that reported for Indonesians and Southeast Asian populations, while the distribution among the Xikrin showed higher similarity to that observed in Indonesians. These results corroborate the existence of genetic affinities between Brazilian Indians and Southeast Asian and Oceanic populations. This was the first investigative work on the alpha-MRE polymorphism in South American native populations in general or Brazilian native populations in particular.