The aim of this work was to evaluate the feasibility of use of flavored pineapple waste flour in cookies. Flours were produced at different temperatures and a sensory test was performed to choose which of them most retained the natural flavor. After choosing the ideal drying temperature, a physicochemical characterization was done with analysis of moisture, ash, soluble solids, pH, water activity and color, all in triplicate. Pineapple flavor was then added at concentrations of 0.5% and 1% and one remained as a control (no added flavor). Three cookie biscuit formulations were made, one with each batch of flour. Sensory analysis was performed by preference ordering and ideal scale tests. There was no statistically significant difference regarding natural flavor intensity of dried flours at 60°C, 70°C and 80°C, with the choice of 70°C. Results of flours physicochemical analysis presented following values: for soluble solids 56 ° Brix; pH 4.73; water activity 0.24; moisture 17.52%; ashes 2.10%. Color analysis showed positive values for b * coordinate (yellow). Results of sensorial tests show that there was a significant difference regarding the intensity of the pineapple aroma and flavor between samples with incorporation of 0.5% and 1% of flavor, differing from the control sample. Flavored samples were the most preferred ones and the one with 0.5% of addition was found to be ideal. Results show that the use of pineapple residue flour has good acceptance and great technological potential in the development of new functional food products, adding nutritional value to the preparation.

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Introdução: O aumento contínuo da resistência bacteriana aos antibióticos convencionais é um problema de importância global. Encontrar produtos como alternativas terapêuticas naturais é essencial. As plantas medicinais possuem uma composição química muito rica, que podem ser estruturalmente otimizadas e processadas em novos antimicrobianos. Objetivo: Avaliar o potencial antibacteriano frente a microrganismos humanos potencialmente patogênicos do extrato etanólico e frações de Copernicia prunifera. Metodologia: A triagem fitoquímica de plantas foi realizada usando métodos de precipitação e coloração e a atividade antibacteriana utilizando o método de difusão em disco e microdiluição em caldo contra cepas padronizadas de Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa e Staphylococcus aureus. Resultados: A triagem fitoquímica revela a presença de taninos, flavonoides, esteroides, triterpernóides, saponinas e alcaloides. Os extratos etanólico e frações da casca do caule e folhas tiveram atividade inibitória contra S. aureus e K. pneumonie com zona de inibição que variou de 7,0±1,73 a 9,33±0,58 mm pelo método de difusão em disco. Pelo método de microdiluição em caldo os extratos foram satisfatórios somente contra K. pneumoniae (CIM = 125 a 1000 µg/mL) S. aureus, P. aeruginosa e E. coli se mostraram resistentes aos testes (CIM 1000 µg/mL). Conclusão: Esses resultados fornecem uma base para futuras investigações em modelos in vivo, para que os compostos de C. prunifera possam ser aplicados no desenvolvimento de novos agentes antimicrobianos contra K. pneumoniae.

Medicinal plants constitute an arsenal of products with different potentials to be explored. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to assess the antimicrobial potential of the ethanolic extract from Brosimum gaudichaudii leaves and fractions against clinically important bacteria. The crude extracts and fractions from the leaves and stem bark were used against Escherichia coli, Klesbsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus strains. The crude extracts and the fractions were obtained by means of maceration in ethanol and chemically characterized. In the results of the phytochemical screening, the presence of a variety of secondary metabolites was verified, such as flavonoids, steroids, saponins, alkaloids, tannins and coumarins. The extracts and their fractions showed inhibitory activity for all three bacteria tested. The inhibition halo varied from 8±0.00 to 14±0.00 mm fir K. pneumoniae, from 8±0.00 to 10±0.00 mm for P. aeruginosa and from 8±0.00 to 9±0.00 mm for S. aureus. Among the fractions tested, the ethyl acetate fraction from both the stem and the leaves presented the best inhibition potential. This indicates that the Brosimum gaudichaudii Trécul vegetable extracts present antimicrobial potential. Such being the case, it is suggested to isolate the metabolites present in this fraction to delimit the main compounds responsible for the antimicrobial action.

Article history The inadequate and excessive use of antimicrobial agents in pig farming has contributed to the emergence and increase of resistance to antibiotics in both bacteria related to infectious processes in these animals as those that constitute their own microbiota. This conduct also causes the dissemination of these microorganisms throughout the pig production chain, causing damages to health of consumers of their meat and processed-meat products. The effect of excess use of these medicines can even reach and compromise other ecosystems. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRS) stands out among bacterium species of interest to the public health. They emerged as important zoonotic pathogens, whose evolution generated different virulence and mechanisms of resistance to antimicrobial agents and has been associated to high use of these medicines in pig farming. The development of resistance to antibiotics in Staphylococcus spp., especially the expression of the gene mecA, and their interrelation with pig farming are aspects considered in this work. The emergence and global presence of MRS in pig farming denote the important epidemiological involvement of these animal species in the dissemination of these microorganisms, and the occurrence of infections in humans and animals in the whole world. This is a scenario that requires attention by public health agencies and should not be overlooked.

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Cryptococcus neoformans é uma levedura responsável por causar pneumonia e meningite criptocócica, que é fatal se não tratada adequadamente, já que desenvolveram características de virulência que o tornam um patógeno fúngico único e altamente resistente, como uma cápsula, que protege contra a fagocitose. O objetivo foi analisar a atividade da Apitoxina frente à cepa de Cryptococcus neoformans de importância em saúde pública. A apitoxina foi obtida de abelhas pertencentes à espécie tipo Apis mellifera scutella Lepeletier. Para determinação da atividade antifúngica foi utilizado o método de microdiluição em placas com diferentes concentrações da apitoxina. Foi utilizada a técnicas de Checkerboard para modulação da Apitoxina com antifúgicos padrões frente à Cryptococcus. Além disso, foi realizados testes da atividade hemolítica. Na concentração de 8 μg.mL–1, o veneno apresentou atividade fungicida. Nos testes de modulação da Apitoxina com os antifúngicos apresentou efeitos sinérgicos com anfotericina B e no teste realizado para avaliar os efeitos citotóxicos da Apitoxina não demonstrou atividade hemolítica em baixas concentrações, apenas a partir de 1024 μg.mL–1. Os resultados alcançados mostram indícios de que a Apitoxina deve ser estudada de forma mais minuciosa como uma possível alternativa terapêutica no combate às infecções fúngicas causada pela espécie Cryptococcus neoformans.