Insects have played an important role as human food throughout history, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America. A good example of edible insects is the mealworm, Tenebrio molitor Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae), which are eaten in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. This species is easily bred in captivity, requiring simple management. The bocaiuva (Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd) is an abundant palm tree found in the Brazilian Cerrado, providing fruits with high nutritional value. The aim of this work was to determine the chemical composition of T. molitor grown in different artificial diets with bocaiuva pulp flour. The nutritional composition, fatty acid composition, antioxidant activity, trypsin activity and anti-nutritional factors of larvae were analyzed. The results showed that mealworms grown on artificial diet with bocaiuva are a good source of protein (44.83%) and lipid (40.45%), with significant levels of unsaturated fatty acids (65.99%), antioxidant activity (4.5 μM Trolox/g of oil extracted from larvae) and absence of anti-nutritional factors. This study indicates a new source of biomass for growing mealworms and shows that it is possible to breed mealworms in artificial diet with bocaiuva flour without compromising the nutritional quality of the larvae.

No abstract

Acrocomia aculeata, popularly known as "bocaiuva," is widely acknowledged in culinary and traditional medicines to treat cardiovascular diseases, a combined effect with diuretics that are also used for hypertension. However, there are no scientific data published to support its use as functional food and its ethnopharmacological use. This study intended to determine the composition of fatty acids of the pulp oil and evaluate the diuretic action and anti-inflammatory activity of the in natura and microencapsulated oil orally administrated on rats. The obtained results confirm the prevalence of monounsaturated fatty acids (68.51%), especially oleic acid (65.68%±1.05%), in the oil from the bocaiuva pulp. The in natura A. aculeata oil has diuretic (P<.01) and anti-inflammatory potential, which promoted a marked inhibition on the hind paw edema induced by carrageenan (67%±7% after 2 h) (P<.01). In addition, results show that the oral administration of the bocaiuva oil at 300 (P<.05) and 700 (P<.05) mg/kg doses significantly inhibited the leukocyte migration induced by carrageenan to the pleural cavity in rats. The inhibitions equaled 91%±3% and 81%±16%, respectively. The microencapsulated oil also showed antiedematogenic (P<.01) as well as diuretic activities (P<.01). The microencapsulation by complex coacervation was shown to be a technique that favors the bioavailability and preservation of bioactive components of the bocaiuva oil.

Campomanesia adamantium (Myrtaceae) is a medicinal plant distributed in Brazilian Cerrado. Different parts of this plant are used in popular medicine for treatment of several diseases like fever, diarrhea, hypercholesterolemia and rheumatism. The aim of this work was to evaluate the inhibition of heat-stable enterotoxin type A (STa) by gallic acid present in the peel of C. adamantium fruit and assays to assess the antidiarrheal activity, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic properties of peel extract using the T84 cell line model. The possible inhibition exerted by the gallic acid of the peel extract on the STa peptide was inferred by molecular dynamics simulations. The antidiarrheal effects were investigated measuring cGMP accumulation in cells after stimulation by STa toxin and antibacterial activity was assessed. The anti-inflammatory activity was assessed by inhibition of COX-1 and COX-2. MTT and LDH assays were used to evaluate any possible cytotoxic action while the CyQUANT test was used to investigate the effect on cell proliferation. A representation showing how the possible interactions between STa and the gallic acid of the extract might reduce the action of the enterotoxin is presented. C. adamantium peel extract significantly decreased the levels of cGMP in T84 cells. However, no effect on the species of microorganisms was observed. The extract also inhibited COX-1 (IC50 255.70 ± 0.04 ng/mL) and COX-2 (IC50 569.50 ± 0.11 ng/mL) enzymes. Cytotoxicity assay have shown significant changes in cells treated with the extract, which inhibited the cell proliferation until 72 hours of treatment. Direct interactions of phenolic compounds present in the extract with the STa toxin may limit its activity. Curative effect in the diarrhea treatment and its anti-inflammatory action is based on the pharmacological properties, mechanism of action of the C. adamantium peel extract, and no toxic effects of the peel extract presented on this work.

O tomate é uma das culturas nacionais de maior importância econômica, pois é a hortaliça mais industrializada na forma de inúmeros subprodutos, como extrato, polpa, pasta e, mais recentemente, o tomate seco, cujo mercado vem crescendo consideravelmente. Atualmente, o Brasil é um dos maiores produtores mundiais, junto com Estados Unidos, Itália, Turquia, Espanha, Egito e México. Segundo o Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE, 2007), sua área cultivada foi de 57 mil ha, com uma produção de 3.4 mil toneladas, apresentando um rendimento de 59.2 kg.ha -1 , sendo os Estados de São Paulo, Goiás e Minas Gerais os maiores produtores brasileiros, responsáveis por 57,5% da produção nacional e com 57,3% de área plantada. Apresenta, porém, perdas pós-colheita na ordem de 25 a 50% (Pacco, 2008), em consequência de sua alta perecibilidade, cultivar utilizada, modo de beneficiamento, local, época do ano, classe do produto, etapa da cadeia considerada e outros fatores (HENZ; MORETTI, 2005). O maior consumo de tomates é na forma in natura em saladas e industrializados, como extrato de polpa concentrado, polpa, pedaços de tomate com adição de especiarias. Porém, com as mudanças dos hábitos alimentares dos consumidores, os tomates secos têm aumentado sua popularidade e consumo (AKANBI; ADEYEMI; OJO et al., 2006). Segundo Murari (2001), o tomate seco é um produto diferenciado tanto no aspecto do processamento como na comercialização. Trata-se de tomates não inteiros desidratados até umidade intermediária, mantendo sua textura macia. O tomate seco é comercializado imerso em óleo vegetal e temperado com sal, alho, orégano e outros condimentos. No Brasil, por tratar-se de um produto relativamente novo, o processamento é feito por pequenas e microempresas, em geral, próximas às regiões produtoras. Os métodos utilizados são bastante artesanais, pelos quais a preparação do tomate é AbstractTomato is a very perishable fruit due to its content of moisture. Drying is one of the most used industry practices in foods to keep the final product quality. The aim of this research was to study the parameters of the drying of tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill), cv Carmen in terms of the type of cut (1/2 and 1/4) and the process temperature (60 and 70 °C), as well as the choice of the setting time for the attainment of a product with 45 % moisture. The kinetics of drying data were determined experimentally by forced convection and adjusted to the Page model. The results showed that the cutting geometry influenced the rate of drying and time of dehydration. The tomatoes cut into four pieces and dehydrated at 70 °C reached 45% humidity sooner (10 hours) than those cut in halves. The Page model provided good fit to the drying kinetics data. Keywords: tomato; cutting geometry; drying kinetics; Page model. ResumoO tomate é um fruto muito perecível por causa do seu conteúdo de umidade. A secagem é uma das práticas industriais mais utilizadas em alimentos para manter a qualidade do produto final. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida para estudo...

Here we analyze jambolan pulp phenolic compounds in order to establish a correlation with antioxidant and in vitro anti-proliferative effects, both before and after pasteurization. Total levels of phenolic compounds, flavonoids and anthocyanins were quantified using UV-vis techniques. Major phenolic compounds were identified by standard compound co-injection in HPLC-DAD/UV-vis. Antioxidant activity was measured by radical scavenging ability, as determined by DPPH assay. In vitro anti-proliferative activity was determined against nine human tumour cell lines using the methodology described by the Developmental Therapeutics Program at NCI/NIH. Pasteurization led to an increase in the levels of total soluble solids (6.7%), phenolic compounds (7.2%) and flavonoids (16.4%). Anthocyanin content was largely preserved (91%) when compared with pulp without treatment. S. cumini preserved 56% of its original antioxidant activity after pasteurization, while thermal treatment revealed cytostatic activity in kidney (786-0) and ovary (OVCAR-3) lineages. Therefore, pasteurization can be applied successfully to S. cumini pulp.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the shelf life of powdered guavira pulp obtained by a foam mat drying process. The dehydrated guavira pulp was packed into low density polyethylene (LDPE) bags and stored under two controlled conditions: environmental (25°C, RH 75%) and accelerated (35°C, RH 90%) for 90 days. The shelf life was accompanied by carrying out the following analyses every 10 days: moisture content, water activity, vitamin C content, pH and titratable acidity. Vitamin C was the quality attribute used to determine the shelf life of the product, by determining its degradation kinetics as a function of storage time. The linear regression data showed that the vitamin C degradation reaction fitted the zero and first order kinetic models. The shelf life of the powdered guavira pulp under environmental conditions was approximately 49 days, and under accelerated conditions (35°C) 45 days. The Q10 was equal to 1.09, predicting a shelf life similar to that found under environmental conditions. The moisture content for these conditions was 10.0% e 5.4% for 35°C and 25°C, respectively. The above demonstrate the efficiency of the accelerated test in predicting the shelf life of the product.

No abstract