Abstract Pigments produced by submerged fermentation of three filamentous fungi isolated from Brazilian caves, namely Aspergillus keveii, Penicillium flavigenum, and Epicoccum nigrum, were submitted to spray drying in presence of the adjuvants maltodextrin, modified starch or gum arabic. Yellow fine powders with low moisture content and water activity, and high color retention (> 70%) were successfully generated with a high product recovery ratio (> 50%), independently of the adjuvant used. The dried products have enhanced stability and potential to might be used as a natural colorant in food and pharmaceutical applications.

This work studied the immobilization of Cercospora kikuchii lipases on chitosan microparticles by chemical attachment on chitosan acetate microparticles activated by glutaraldehyde (CAM) added before or after the enzyme and physical adsorption on highly deacetylated chitosan hydrochloride microparticles (CHM). Lipases covalently immobilized on pre-activated CAM showed better performance retaining 88.4% of the enzymatic activity, with 68.2% of immobilization efficiency (IE). The immobilized enzyme retained an activity of about 53.5 % after five reuses, using p-NPP as substrate. Physical adsorption of lipase onto highly deacetylated CHM showed 46.2 % of enzymatic activity and 28.6% of IE. This immobilized derivative did not lose activity up to 80 days of storage at 4°C, while lipases immobilized on pre-activated CAM maintained its activity up to 180 days at same conditions. Taken together the results indicate that chitosan microparticles provide an optimal microenvironment for the immobilized enzyme to maintain good activity and stability.

O Brasil é considerado um dos maiores produtores e consumidores de frutas tropicais. O coco verde (Cocos nucifera L.) se destaca tanto em termos de produção e consumo quanto em quantidade de resíduos gerada por indústrias de água de coco e pelo consumo in natura. Portanto, existe uma necessidade de aproveitamento deste subproduto. Este trabalho teve por objetivo estudar as isotermas de adsorção da polpa de coco verde e determinação do calor isostérico de sorção. As isotermas de adsorção para as temperaturas de 30, 40, 50, 60 e 70 °C foram analisadas e evidenciaram curvas do tipo III, típicas de alimentos ricos em açúcares. Os dados experimentais de umidade de equilíbrio foram correlacionados por modelos da literatura. O modelo de GAB apresentou melhor concordância com os dados experimentais, entre os modelos avaliados. O calor isostérico de sorção é considerado um indicativo de forças atrativas intermoleculares entre os sítios de sorção de vapor de água, consequentemente, um importante fator para predizer a vida de prateleira de produtos desidratados.

Brazil is considered one of the largest producers and consumers of tropical fruits. Green coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) stands out not only for its production and consumption, but also for the high amount of waste produced by coconut water industry and in natura consumption. Therefore, there is a need for utilization of this by-product. This study aims to study the adsorption isotherms of green coconut pulp and determine its isosteric heat of sorption. The adsorption isotherms at temperatures of 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 °C were analyzed, and they exhibit type III behavior, typical of sugar rich foods. The experimental results of equilibrium moisture content were correlated by models present in the literature. The Guggenheim, Anderson and De Boer (GAB) model proved particularly good overall agreement with the experimental data. The heat of sorption determined from the adsorption isotherms increased with the decrease in moisture content. The heat of sorption is considered as indicative of intermolecular attractive forces between the sorption sites and water vapor, which is an important factor to predict the shelf life of dried products.

Neste trabalho foram utilizados dois distintos secadores (leito de jorro e spray dryer) para a produção de extratos secos de Bauhinia forficata Link (Leguminosae, Caesalpinoideae) obtendo-se um produto seco com elevada qualidade em termos de suas propriedades físicas e químicas. Análises qualitativas obtidas por CLAE revelam que os perfis cromatográficos dos compostos flavonóides presentes nos extratos secos não apresentaram significativas mudanças durante a secagem quando comparados aos perfis obtidos para os extratos concentrados. Em geral, a secagem por leito de jorro acarreta menores perdas dos flavonóides totais do que a secagem em spray drying. A atividade antioxidante dos extratos secos foi examinada pelos métodos de (DPPH•) e peroxidação lipídica induzida por Fe+2 (LPO). Uma pequena redução na atividade sequestradora de radicais livres observada para os extratos secos pode ser associada com a ocorrência de reações oxidativas, decomposição e/ou perdas de compostos termolábeis induzidas pelo calor.

Two distinct drying methods (spouted bed and spray drying) were used for production of dried extracts of Bauhinia forficata Link (Leguminosae, Caesalpinoideae). High-quality powder products in terms of physical and chemical properties were obtained. HPLC fingerprints revealed that the chromatographic profiles of flavonoid compounds present in the dried extract did not change significantly, due to drying. In general, the spouted bed drying caused a degradation of total flavonoids than was lower than that of the spray drying. Antioxidant properties of the dried extract, examined by their radical scavenging activity using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH•) and inhibition of lipid peroxidation induced by Fe+2 assays (LPO), confirmed their antioxidant potential. The slight reduction in scavenging activity of the dried extracts may be associated with the occurrence of oxidative reactions, decomposition or losses of thermolabile compounds, induced by the heat.

Apresenta-se nesse trabalho um estudo da viabilidade da aplicação de revestimento gastro-resistente em cápsulas gelatinosas duras pelo processo leito de jorro. As variáveis investigadas foram: a razão entre a vazão mássica de suspensão de revestimento alimentada pela vazão de gás introduzida ao sistema (Ws/Wg), a razão entre a vazão de ar de jorro pela vazão correspondente à condição de jorro mínimo (Q/Qjm), massa inicial de cápsulas inseridas no equipamento (M0) e o tamanho das cápsulas (Tcaps). O processo e a qualidade do produto obtido foram analisados através da taxa de aumento de massa das cápsulas (K1), da eficiência de adesão durante a operação (·), ensaios de desintegração, ensaios de compressão e por microfotografias obtidas em microscópio eletrônico de varredura. Os experimentos foram realizados em um leito de jorro com coluna cilíndrica de 15 cm de diâmetro e base cônica com ângulo incluso de 40º. A análise dos resultados obtidos levou à determinação da melhor condição para a aplicação de revestimento de cápsulas: Ws/Wg = 0,0014 e Q/Qjm = 3,0, para ambas as massas de cápsulas introduzidas no sistema e tamanhos de cápsulas estudados. Os ensaios de desintegração mostraram que massas de revestimento superiores a 0,006 g/cm² proporcionam o efeito gastro-resistente.

In this work is presented a study of the viability of the use of the spouted bed for application of the gastric resistant coating on hard gelatin capsules. The parameters studied were the ratio between the mass feed flow rate of the coating suspension to the mass feed flow rate of the gas introduced to the system, (Ws/Wg), the ratio between the flow rate of the spouting gas relative to the minimum spouting, (Q/Qjm), the mass of capsules loaded to the equipment, (M0) and the capsule's size, (Tcaps). The performance of the process as well as the coating quality were evaluated through the increase rate of the particle mass, (K1), by the adhesion efficiency, (·), disintegration and compression tests and by photomicrographs obtained in a scanning electronic microscope. The experiments were carried out in a spouted bed with 15 cm of the cylindrical column and with an included angle of the conical base of the 40º. The results lead to the determination of the best condition for application of the coating on hard gelatin capsules: Ws/Wg = 0.0014 and Q/Qjm = 3.0, for both mass of capsules loaded to the system and capsule's size investigated. The disintegration tests showed that the gastric resistant properties are obtained with a coating mass higher than 0.006 g/cm².