Abstract In this study, succinoglycan was produced from whey and its rheological and structural characteristics were elucidated. Eight culture media were prepared with different ions for bioconversion of whey into succinoglycan. The formulation composed of deproteinized whey, monobasic potassium phosphate and magnesium sulfate allowed the production of 13.7 ± 0.43 g/L of succinoglycan. The apparent molar mass of succinoglycan was estimated to be 9.033 × 105 g/mol and the polydispersity index was 1.044, representing the homogeneity of the sample. Monosaccharide composition of glucose and galactose for the succinoglycan produced was 6.6:1.0. The 1H RMN analysis revealed the non-saccharide substituent content of 1.2%, 3.0% and 8.1% for acetyl, succinate and pyruvate, respectively. The rheological results showed that the apparent viscosity of the succinoglycan solutions was directly proportional to the concentration, and the solution showed pseudoplastic behavior. Dynamic frequency sweep tests identified that a concentration of 2.0% of succinoglycan is required for formation of the gel system. Temperature influenced the viscoelastic behavior of succinoglycan and revealed the melting point and reversibility of the gel. Whey was shown to be a promising carbon source for the production of succinoglycan with thickening potential and viscosity modifier.

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of incorporating inulin and oligosaccharides resulted from the enzymatic hydrolysis of the commercial succinoglycan, regarding the physicochemical properties, rheology, syneresis and probiotic viability of soy and rice-based fermented beverages added with Lactobacillus paracasei. Four formulations were prepared and supplemented with 3.5% of inulin; 0.5% of succinoglycan oligosaccharides; 3.0% of inulin and 0.5% of succinoglycan oligosaccharides, and evaluated for 28 days of storage under refrigeration at 5 ºC. The succinoglycan oligosaccharides presented an average degree of polymerization (DPn) of 8. All the formulations were characterized as pseudoplastic fluids. Regarding syneresis, the formulations with succinoglycan oligosaccharides and Mix exhibited a reduction of it and this was not observed in the formulation with inulin. Regarding the probiotic viability, all the formulations maintained the subsistence of Lactobacillus paracasei with counts above 108 CFU mL-1 up to the 28th storage day, however, only the incorporated prebiotic formulations presented sufficient numbers of viable cells after exposure to simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Therefore, this fermented beverage proved to be an innovative alternative of non-dairy products interesting for the food industry to attend the population’s aspirations for functional products.

Neste trabalho é apresentado um software de simulação dinâmica do Sistema Solar, onde as escalas relativas entre as dimensões do Sol, dos planetas e suas órbitas podem ser ajustadas para melhorar a visualização e compreensão dos seus movimentos. Ele foi desenvolvido em linguagem Actionscript (Flash Profissional 8) que pode ser implementada em diferentes plataformas de hardware. A programação é explicada em detalhe para incentivar os que quiserem apreender a linguagem. Além de despertar um grande interesse nos alunos, esse software possibilita uma melhor visualização da grandeza do Sistema Solar e seus constituintes principais do que os modelos e as maquetes geralmente presentes nas escolas e livros didáticos.

This paper presents a dynamic software simulation of the solar system, where the relative scales between the size of the Sun, the planets and their orbits can be adjusted to improve the visibility and understanding of their movements. It was developed using Actionscript (Flash Professional 8) that can be ported to different hardware platforms. The program is explained in detail to encourage those who want to learn the language. Besides arousing a great interest in students, this software allows a better visualization of the greatness of the Solar System and its main constituents than the models that are usually present in schools and textbooks.