The production of safe food has stimulated the search for natural substances that possess antifungal activity. The indirect methods of estimating fungal biomass are based on the measurement of glucosamine, ergosterol and protein -typical compounds produced during the development of biomass. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of the phenolic extract from Spirulina platensis on the production of structural compounds in Aspergillus flavus, in order to identify its action on fungal inhibition. The Spirulina platensis methanolic extracts presented 1.15 mg phenolic compound/g Spirulina platensis, which showed an antifungal effect against Aspergillus flavus, inhibiting the glucosamine production up to 56%. Therefore, it may be employed as natural defense when food protection is necessary.Index terms: Phenolic inhibitors, antifungal property, glucosamine, protein, ergosterol. RESUMOA produção de alimentos seguros tem estimulado a busca por substâncias naturais que possuem atividade antifúngica. Os métodos indiretos de estimativa de biomassa fúngica são baseados na medição de glucosamina, ergosterol e proteína -compostos típicos produzidos durante o desenvolvimento da biomassa. Neste estudo, objetivou-se avaliar o efeito do extrato fenólico de Spirulina platensis na produção de componentes estruturais em Aspergillus flavus, a fim de identificar seu mecanismo de ação dos fenóis na inibição fúngica. O extrato metanólico de Spirulina platensis apresentou 1,15 mg de compostos fenólicos/g Spirulina platensis, apresentando um efeito antifúngico contra Aspergillus flavus, inibindo a produção de glucosamina em até 56%. Portanto, pode ser empregado como antifúngico natural quando for necessária a proteção de alimentos.

A aquicultura pode ser definida como o cultivo de organismos aquáticos em água marinha, salobra ou doce. Entre as diversas atividades que compõem a aquicultura, a carcinicultura destaca-se por sua ampla difusão em várias partes do mundo. Este artigo tem como objetivo fazer uma revisão sobre a carcinicultura e os aspectos legais que controlam tal atividade, bem como relatar os principais impactos ambientais gerados e as ações mitigadoras atualmente utilizadas no Brasil. Com o aumento do número de empreendimentos, houve a necessidade de regulamentar essa atividade, no entanto, em muitos países, tal regulamentação não ocorreu de forma específica. Consequentemente, a carcinicultura vem sendo, em muitos casos, regulada por códigos e leis adaptados de outros já vigentes. Apesar dos índices econômicos positivos divulgados pelos produtores e órgãos governamentais, essa atividade é frequentemente associada a efeitos adversos nos ecossistemas adjacentes, causados por efluentes liberados pelas fazendas de camarão, pela destruição de áreas de manguezais e pela salinização de corpos d'água, entre outros motivos. Problemas socioeconômicos que afetam as comunidades de pescadores artesanais também têm sido frequentemente associados às atividades de carcinicultura. Muitas das alternativas propostas para mitigar os problemas gerados por essa atividade apresentam um elevado valor para implantação, dificultando sua incorporação nas fazendas. Uma análise da literatura indica que é possível tornar a carcinicultura rentável ao mesmo tempo em que sustentável, por meio da implementação de medidas mitigadoras e da aplicação das leis e diretrizes existentes.Palavras-chave: carcinicultura, legislação, impactos ambientais, alternativas mitigadoras. ABSTRACTAmong the various activities that are included in the aquaculture, shrimp farming stands out for its wide dissemination in various parts of the world. It is clear that, for decades, the global production and financial performance by shrimp farming achieved excellent results. However, it is also well accepted that the rapid and often uncontrolled growth of this activity frequently results in several environmental, economic and social problems. Thus, critical reviews on this activity are needed. This paper aims to contextualize the Brazilian shrimp in the world market, make a brief review on the functioning of shrimp farms, compare and discuss some important legal aspects and report and discuss the main environmental impacts and mitigation actions. The favorable environmental conditions and new technologies motivated the shrimp production and led Brazil to be one of the largest shrimp producers in the word. The rapid development and the globally increasing number of shrimp farm initiatives demanded regulation of the aquaculture activities. In many countries, including Brazil, this regulation did not occur specifically for the shrimp farming. As a result, the shrimp farming is currently regulated by numerous codes and laws adapted from others related activities. Moreover, states, municipaliti...

Small succulent halophytic shrubs of the genera Salicornia and Sarcocornia (Salicornioideae, Amaranthaceae) are commonly named sea asparagus and consumed worldwide as green salad in gourmet food, as conserves, and beverages. Their shoots are rich in bioactive compounds and plants show high yields in a wide range of salinities, but little is known about how salt cultivation conditions affect their chemical composition. Two genotypes (BTH1 and BTH2) of the Brazilian sea asparagus Salicornia neei Lag. were evaluated for salt tolerance and changes in shoot concentrations of organic metabolites and antioxidant activity under different salt exposure in both greenhouse and field conditions. All greenhouse plants received full strength modified Hoagland solution in deionized water with a basic electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.7 dS m−1, and with NaCl concentrations (in mM) of ~0.1 (control), 34, 86, 171, 513, and 769. After fifty days of cultivation, both S. neei genotypes showed high salt tolerance and grew better under low salinities (34–86 mM NaCl) than under control salinity. Shoots of BTH1 genotype appeared to be undergoing lignification and used their high carotenoid content to dissipate the oxidative power, and the zeaxanthin content and de-epoxidation state of xanthophylls (DES) were positively affected by salinity. Under increasing salinity, BTH2 genotype had higher relative content of chlorophyll b, which may have lowered the plant photo-oxidation rate, and increased shoot concentration of the flavonoid quercetin (up to 11.6 μg g−1 dw at 769 mM NaCl), leading to higher antioxidant capacity. In the field experiment, after 154 days of irrigation with saline (213 mM NaCl) shrimp farm effluent, BTH2 plants grew taller, produced more metabolites (e.g., total phenolics, total free flavonoids, quercetin, and protocatechuic acid) and had a greater antioxidant capacity of shoots than that of BTH1 plants and that of traditional crops irrigated with fresh water. Yield and bioactive compound composition of S. neei genotypes’ shoots can be enhanced by cultivation under moderate saline conditions.

BACKGROUND: Soybean is widely used in food formulations; however, few studies on fungal or mycotoxin contamination have been undertaken. Free, conjugated, and bound phenolic compounds, and their antioxidant and antifungal potential, were therefore evaluated together with the occurrence of aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) in soybeans. RESULTS:The conjugated and bound phenolic soybean extracts were more efficient for the inhibition of the 2,2 diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical, the peroxidase enzyme, and the fungal -amylase enzyme. Aflatoxin B 1, detected at low levels (0.96 to 1.67 ng g −1 ), confirmed the protective effect of soybean phenolic compounds against mycotoxigenic contamination. Principal component analysis confirmed that syringic, p-hydroxybenzoic, p-coumaric acids and vanillin were essential for antioxidant and antifungal activities. CONCLUSION: This study presented new insights into the functionality of phenolic compounds in soybeans, regarding their potential to protect the crops naturally against fungal contamination, avoiding aflatoxin production, as attested by the correlations between phenolic compounds and antioxidant mechanisms. Antifungal potential assayThe antifungal potential of free, conjugated, and bound phenolic fractions was determined through the evaluation of commercial fungal -amylase inhibition, following Silva et al. 7 The specific activity of -amylase was expressed as mg starch mg protein −1 min −1 . The inhibitory effect on -amylase was evaluated by calculating the specific activity after the reaction in the presence of phenolic extracts and expressed as percentage -amylase specific inhibition μg −1 phenolic fraction. Relationship between phenolic compounds and biological activityA correlation analysis was performed on the content of phenolic compounds of conjugated and bound phenolic fractions and FC reducing capacity, PO, DPPH and -amylase inhibition

The water hyacinth (Eichhorniacrassipes) was studied as a pollution monitor for accumulation of silver and subsequent recovery of the element from the plant tissues. After cultivation of the plants for 24 hours in silver solution containing 40 mg/l the plants were harvested, rinsed with tap water and dried at 110°C for 48 hours. The dried material was submitted to pyrolysis and chemical digestion and the silver absorbed by the plant was precipitated, calcinated and recovered in the metal form. The average concentration of silver was found to be 8,000 mg g−1 of dried plant material. An Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer was utilized for the analysis. The average concentration of silver recovered from the dried plant material, was 70% of the initial silver concentration of the silver solutions and revealed a purity of 98%. The water hyacinth has the potential of producing 873/ha/day of dried material and can be used for the production of biogas rich in methane (Wolverton, B.C.; McDonald, R.C.). After the wastewater treatment, the harvested plants can be used for biogas production and the residual sludge may be utilized for recycling the valuable metal.

Os compostos fenólicos (ferúlico, cinâmico e vanílico) presentes em tecidos vegetais possuem efeitos inibitórios no crescimento de fungos e produção de micotoxinas. Os ácidos ρ-hidroxibenzoico, vanílico e protocatequínico são inibidores somente em concentrações relativamente altas. O metil éster ácido cisferúlico e o metil éster ácido cis-3,4-dimetoxicinâmico, derivados do ácido cinâmico, são inibidores em pequenas concentrações, na faixa de 1 a 10 nM, evidenciando que a atividade inibitória depende não só da concentração, mas também da estrutura do composto (BAKAN et al., 2003;GRIFFIN, 1994;RASOOLI;ABYANEH, 2004). Estas demonstrações sugerem uma perspectiva de substituir aditivos químicos por conservadores naturais obtidos destas estruturas vegetais (BRULL; KLIS, 1999), o que atenderia à atual demanda de produção de alimentos seguros e implementaria o uso de porções vegetais usualmente descartadas (MELO; GUERRA, 2002). Para a extração dos compostos fenólicos de raízes, tubérculos, frutas, espécies dos gêneros de Acácia, Terminália, Copernicia, maçãs, ameixas e outros, vêm sendo usados sistemas aquosos, alcoólicos e acetoetílicos sob diferentes condições de interação (LIMA et al., 2004;SOUSA et al., 2007). A quantificação dos compostos fenólicos totais nos diferentes extratos tem empregado o reagente de Folin-Ciocalteau.Para o contexto da agroindústria da região Sul do Brasil, seria interessante conhecer o potencial de resíduos de cebola e de coprodutos de arroz como fonte de conservadores naturais para extração e utilização na preservação natural de alimentos, pois permitiria a valorização de matérias-primas e coprodutos de baixo valor comercial. No entanto, a atividade antifúngica, que vem sendo atribuída a compostos fenólicos usualmente presentes em tecidos destes vegetais, não tem sido estudada nestes recursos agrícolas.Apesar do conhecimento milenar dos benefícios da cebola, demonstrados em diversos estudos sobre seus efeitos bioativos, algumas regiões produtoras têm dificuldades em comercializar suas safras em condições satisfatórias para consumo in natura ou em formulações industriais, resultando em descarte de material e desestímulo aos produtores (EMATER, 2007). AbstractThe objective of this work was to relate the levels of total phenolic in onion, rice bran, and Chlorella phyrenoidosa with the antifungal activity tested against the fungus Rhyzopus oryzae. The phenolic compounds of onion were extracted in three solvent systems: aqueous, methanolic, and with ethila acetate, whereas the phenolic compounds of rice bran and Chlorella phyrenoidosa were extracted with methanol. The extracts were quantified with the Folin-Ciocalteau reagent. The method to evaluate the antifungal activity employed was the diluted Ágar technique. The Rhyzopus oryzae had its development inhibited in the presence of onion methanolic and aceto-ethylic extracts and rice bran methanolic extracts at the following phenolic concentrations, 86; 2.6, and 46 µg phenolic .mL -1 agar , respectively. The aqueous extracts from onion and the me...

Onion (Allium cepa) is being studied as a potential anticancer agent, but little is known regarding its effect in multidrug resistance (MDR) cells. In this work, the cytotoxicity of crude onion extract (OE) and fractioned extract (aqueous, methanolic and ethyl acetate), as well as some onion compounds (quercetin and propyl disulfide) were evaluated in Lucena MDR human erythroleukemic and its K562 parental cell line. The capacity of OE to induce apoptosis and/or necrosis in these cells, the possible participation of oxidative stress and DNA damage were also assessed. Similar sensitivities were obtained for both tumoral cells, however only OE caused significant effects in the cells. In K562 cells, a significant increase of apoptosis was verified while the Lucena cells experienced a significant increase of necrosis. An antioxidant capacity was verified for OE discarding oxidative damage. However, OE provoked similar significant DNA damage in both cell lines. Thus, the OE capacity to overcome the MDR phenotype suggests anti-MDR action of OE.

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