Abstract One of the current challenges of the food industry is to develop lipid bases with the desired technological performance for food application and with lower caloric value, in compliance with new legislations. In this context, the objective of this research is to compare chemical and enzymatic interesterification as methods for obtaining structured low-calorie lipids. Both processes are of commercial importance, since they can be used to modify the physical characteristics of fat without generating trans fatty acids. The lipid matrices used were olive oil, soybean oil and fully hydrogenated crambe oil, behenic acid source, presenting anti-obesogenic potential. Samples interesterified were characterized regarding the physicochemical behavior and regiospecific distribution in comparison to the simple mixture of the raw materials, in order to show the importance of the interesterification process. There was a reduction in their solid fat content after interesterification, which improved their physical properties and there was an increase in consistency, while the simple mixture did not represented a good option for industrial use. There was a 47% increase of saturated fatty acids at the sn-1,3 position after enzymatic synthesis. The results indicate that the structured lipids obtained can be a viable alternative to replace fats in foods low calorie.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor Moench) is the fifth most produced cereal worldwide. However, some varieties of this cereal contain antinutritional factors, such as tannins and phytate that may form stable complexes with proteins and minerals which decreases digestibility and nutritional value. The present study sought to diminish antinutritional tannins and phytate present in sorghum grains. Three different treatments were studied for that purpose, using enzymes tannase (945 U/Kg sorghum), phytase (2640 U/Kg sorghum) and Paecilomyces variotii (1.6 X 10(7) spores/mL); A) Tannase, phytase and Paecilomyces variotii, during 5 and 10 days; B) An innovative blend made of tanase and phytase for 5 days followed by a Pv increase for 5 more days; C) a third treatment where the reversed order of B was used starting with Pv for 5 days and then the blend of tannase and phytase for 5 more days. The results have shown that on average the three treatments were able to reduce total phenols and both hydrolysable and condensed tannins by 40.6, 38.92 and 58.00 %, respectively. Phytase increased the amount of available inorganic phosphorous, on the average by 78.3 %. The most promising results concerning tannins and phytate decreases were obtained by the enzymes combination of tannase and phytase. The three treatments have shown effective on diminishing tannin and phytate contents in sorghum flour which leads us to affirm that the proposed treatments can be used to increase the nutritive value of sorghum grains destined for either animal feeds or human nutrition.

Tecnologia enzimática é um campo de conhecimento cada vez maior, e, nos últimos anos, esta tecnologia tem apresentado um interesse crescente, devido à busca de novos paradigmas em diversos processos produtivos. Lipases, esterases e cutinases são as enzimas usadas em uma ampla gama de processos que envolvem reações de síntese e hidrólise. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar e comparar as atividades de lipase e esterase de quatro enzimas já classificadas como lipases e uma como cutinase, na presença de substratos naturais e sintéticos. Todas as enzimas testadas apresentaram atividades específicas tanto de esterase como de lipase. A maior atividade específica de esterase foi observada para a lipase de Aspergillus 1068 em substrato natural e a cutinase de F. oxysporum em substrato sintético, enquanto a atividade específica de lipase mais alta foi observada para a lipase de Geotrichum sp. em substrato natural e a cutinase de F. oxysporum em substrato sintético. Estes resultados permitem visualizar algumas interfaces independentes de atividade lipolítica para todas as lipases testadas. De acordo com estes estudos, uma nova e mais ampla definição de lipase pode ser necessária.

Enzyme technology is an ever-growing field of knowledge and, in recent years, this technology has raised renewed interest, due to the search for new paradigms in several productive processes. Lipases, esterases and cutinases are enzymes used in a wide range of processes involving synthesis and hydrolysis reactions. The objective of this work was to investigate and compare the specific lipase and esterase activities of five enzymes - four already classified as lipases and one classified as cutinase - in the presence of natural and synthetic substrates. All tested enzymes presented both esterase and lipase specific activities. The highest specific esterase activity was observed for Aspergillus 1068 lipase in natural substrate and for F. oxysporum cutinase in synthetic substrate, while the highest specific lipase activity was observed for Geotrichum sp. lipase in natural substrate and for F. oxysporum cutinase in synthetic substrate. These results display some interface-independent lipolytic activity for all lipases tested. This is in accordance with the rationale that a new and broader definition of lipases may be necessary.

Complex B vitamins as Biotin and Riboflavin are required by living organisms, not only for growth but also for metabolite production, and the feed market classifies them as growth promoters. Since Brazil will soon be one of the world's biggest animal protein producers, feed production is a large consumer of vitamins and micronutrients. The industry requires 10 mg riboflavin/0.2 mg biotin per kilogram of feed; a ratio of 40 ~ 50:1. Although few studies have been conducted specifically on riboflavin production using factorial design and surface response method as an optimization strategy, it is a common practice in biotechnology with many research reports available. However, there are no reports on the use of statistical design for biotin production. This study set out to evaluate medium composition influence on biotin and riboflavin production using a statistical design. There are no studies relating biotin and riboflavin production by Candida sp LEB 130. In this preliminary study to improve the simultaneous production of biotin and riboflavin, the maximum riboflavin/biotin ratio of 8.3 µg/mL was achieved with medium component concentrations of: sucrose 30 g/L, KH2PO4 2 g/L, MgSO4 1 g/L and ZnSO4 0.5mL/L.

Cutinase é uma enzima versátil, que apresenta propriedades interessantes para aplicação em processos industriais. O uso desta enzima em larga escala depende do desenvolvimento de um sistema de produção eficiente e de baixo custo. Uma das etapas mais importantes em um processo de fermentação é a padronização do inóculo. Neste estudo, houve uma associação estatisticamente significativa entre a produção de cutinase por Fusarium oxysporum e tamanho do inóculo e pH do meio PDA. As maiores atividades de cutinase foram 19,1 U/mL em PDA com pH 7,0 e 22,72 U/mL empregando um inóculo de 12,72 x 10(7) esporos/mL. As características macroscópicas das colônias de Fusarium oxysporum mostraram alterações em função do pH do meio, com as maiores atividades sendo registradas em presença de colônias brancas com aspecto cotonoso.

Cutinase is a versatile enzyme showing several interesting properties for application in industrial processes. The widespread use of this enzyme depends on the development of an efficient and low-cost production system. One of the most important steps in a fermentation process is the standardization of the inoculum characteristics. In this study, the production of cutinase by Fusarium oxysporum showed a statistically significant relationship with both the inoculum size and the inoculum PDA pH. The greatest activities were 19.1 U/mL at PDA pH 7.0 and 22.72 U/mL using an aliquot of 12.72 x 10(7) spores/mL. The macroscopic characteristics of the colonies of Fusarium oxysporum changed according to the variation of the medium pH, with the best results recorded in those colonies presenting a cotton white aspect.

Cutinases (EC 3.1.1.74) are also known as cutin hidrolases. These enzymes share catalytic properties of lipases and esterases, presenting a unique feature of being active regardless the presence of an oil-water interface, making them interesting as biocatalysts in several industrial processes involving hydrolysis, esterification and trans-esterification reactions. They are also active in different reaction media, allowing their applications in different areas such as food industry, cosmetics, fine chemicals, pesticide and insecticide degradation, treatment and laundry of fiber textiles and polymer chemistry. The present review describes the characteristics, potential applications and new perspectives for these enzymes.

Biocatalysts have innumerous advantages with respect to classical chemical processes, such as high specificity. Lipases (EC 3.1.1.3) are biocatalysts with large application in synthesis and hydrolysis reactions of triacylglycerols. The search for new sources of lipases has been intensified in the last years due to the high cost of microbial and animal lipases, wich restricts their use on an industrial scale. Lipases obtained from the latex of Carica papaya, Carica pentagona, Euphorbia characias, E. wulfenii, known for their proteolytic properties, are a good alternative source. In this review, we describe the well-known sources of vegetal lipases extracted from the latex and present some of their industrial applications.

A cutinase pertence, como as lípases, ao grupo das esterases (EC 3.1.1.X), que são enzimas capazes de catalisar reações de hidrólise de ligações do tipo éster. A cutinase catalisa a hidrólise da cutina, um biopoliéster insolúvel que constitui o componente estrutural da cutícula das plantas. Esta enzima tem se mostrado um eficiente catalisador tanto em solução aquosa quanto em meios orgânicos, sendo potencialmente apropriada para usos em indústria de detergentes, alimentos e cosméticos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi isolar fungos de diversas fontes e realizar uma pré-seleção destes, quanto à habilidade em produzir esterase. As linhagens fúngicas pré-selecionadas como produtoras de esterase foram inoculadas em meio de cultivo contendo cutina extraída de maçã. As atividades cutinolítica e lipolítica foram medidas no sobrenadante das culturas a fim de diferenciar os microrganismos produtores de lipase dos produtores de cutinase. Uma linhagem isolada mostrou a maior atividade cutinolítica após 12 dias de fermentação em um meio contendo 1% de cutina e foi identificada como sendo o Fusarium oxysporium.

Both cutinase and lipase belong to the esterase group of enzymes (EC 3.1.1.X), which are capable of catalyzing the hydrolysis of ester bonds. Cutinase catalyzes the hydrolysis of cutin, an insoluble biopolyester which is the structural component of plant cuticles. As cutinase is an efficient catalyst in watery or organic media, it is potentially appropriate for the detergent, food and cosmetic industries. The objective of this work was to isolate microorganisms from plants and perform a pre-selection of molds showing esterase producing ability. The selected strains were then submitted to fermentation in media containing cutin. The lipolytic and cutinolytic activities of the supernatant were determined in order to differentiate lipase producers from cutinase-producing strains. The mold strain selected as the best cutinase producer was identified as being Fusarium oxysporium.

Microbial lipases have a great potential for commercial applications due to their stability, selectivity and broad substrate specificity because many non-natural acids, alcohols or amines can be used as the substrate. Three microbial lipases isolated from Brazilian soil samples (Aspergillus niger; Geotrichum candidum; Penicillium solitum) were compared in terms of their stability and as biocatalysts in the enantioselective esterification using racemic substrates in organic medium. The lipase from Aspergillus niger showed the highest activity (18.2 U/mL) and was highly thermostable, retaining 90% and 60% activity at 50 ºC and 60 ºC after 1 hour, respectively. In organic medium, this lipase provided the best results in terms of enantiomeric excess of the (S)-active acid (ee = 6.1%) and conversion value (c = 20%) in the esterification of (R,S)-ibuprofen with 1-propanol in isooctane. The esterification reaction of the racemic mixture of (R,S)-2-octanol with decanoic acid proceeded with high enantioselectivity when lipase from Aspergillus niger (E = 13.2) and commercial lipase from Candida antarctica (E = 20) were employed.

Tanino acil hidrolase conhecida como tanase (E.C: 3.1.1.20) é uma enzima que hidrolisa ésteres e ligações laterais de taninos hidrolisáveis produzindo glicose e ácido gálico. A tanase é uma enzima extracelular, induzível, produzida por fungos, bactérias e leveduras pela fermentação sólida, líquida ou submersa. A fermentação sólida para a produção desta enzima oferece um grande número de vantagens sobre o método de fermentação submersa e líquida convencional. O meio de produção é simples, utiliza resíduos vegetais de uva, cajú, café ou subprodutos como farelo de trigo, arroz ou aveia, acrescidos de ácido tânico. A aplicação de resíduos é uma forma de utilizar substratos alternativos e solucionar problemas de poluição que possam causar. A tanase tem vasta aplicação na indústria de alimentos, sucos, cervejaria e indústria farmacêutica. Objetivou-se com este trabalho selecionar linhagens fúngicas potencialmente produtoras de tanase em resíduos vegetais ricos em taninos. A primeira etapa da seleção foi realizada utilizando como substrato farelo de trigo suplementado com 0,5% de ácido tânico. Dentre as 400 linhagens testadas 6,75% produziram tanase. As linhagens que apresentaram as melhores atividades foram: LAB345G, LAB53G e LAB153G com atividades de 0,2862; 0,2149; 0,1848 U. Essas linhagens foram testadas nos resíduos agroindustriais de café e uva acrescentando 0,5% e 1,5% de ácido tânico ao meio de fermentação. O melhor resultado foi obtido para o resíduo de café com a linhagem LAB153G apresentando atividade de 0.275 U.

Tannin acyl hydrolase (E.C: 3.1.1.20) or tannase is an enzyme which hydrolyses ester and depside bonds of hydrolysable tannins releasing gallic acid and glucose. Tannase is an extracellular, inducible enzyme, produced by fungi, bacteria and yeast. The tannase is produced by solid-state, liquid surface and submerged fermentation. The solid-state fermentation offers a number of advantages over submerged and liquid conventional fermentation for the enzimes production. The production is simple, using vegetable residues such as coffee wastes, grape, cashew or by-products as wheat bran, rice or oats, to which tannic acid is added. The use of residues is an alternative to solve pollution problems that can be caused by an incorrect environmental disposal. Tannase enzyme has several applications on food, juices and pharmaceutical industries. The objective of this work was to select tannase producing fungi and to study the production of this enzyme in vegetable residues rich in tannin. The first stage of the selection was carried in solid-state fermentation using as substrate wheat bran supplemented with 0.5% of tannic acid. Among the 400 tested lineages, 6.75% of the fungi produced the enzyme. The lineages that showed the best activities were LAB345G, LAB53G and LAB153G, with 0.3862, 0.2149 and 0.1848 U activities values, respectively these lineages were tested in vegetables residues as coffee and grape, adding 0.5 and 1.5% of tannic acid in the fermentation environment. The best result was obtained using LA153G and coffee residues, with an activity of 0.275U being observed.