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•Description of cocoa production chain and residual biomass generation.•Cocoa by-products as a source of high-value-added molecules.•Biotechnology as an alternative for the ...biotransformation of cocoa by-products.•Relevance of sustainability, innovation and technology in cocoa industry.
Cocoa beans provide raw materials for global food industries valued in excess of $47 billion in world exportations. Through on-farm processing, about 80% of cocoa fruit is discarded as residual biomass, including cocoa pod husks, cocoa bean shells and cocoa sweatings. Farmers routinely discard these residues/by-products during the initial cocoa bean processing steps, occupying vast areas and raising social and environmental concerns. Alternatively, this residual biomass is used as cocoa tree fertilizer. However, its disposal is performed without proper treatment, resulting in putrid odors and plant diseases. Recently, some studies have reported the use of cocoa by-products in the production of high-value-adding molecules with potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In this aspect, biotechnological approaches have been shown to be a viable alternative for the transformation of this residual biomass into fine products. This article reviews the biotechnological approaches implemented for the management and exploitation of cocoa by-product. Related topics on cocoa production and residual biomass generation, sustainability and valorization of cocoa chain are addressed and discussed.
Sugarcane is one of the most promising biomass resources in the developing bioeconomy. It is a source of fermentable sugars and of lignocellulosic biomass that can be converted to a variety of ...products. Brazil is the leading producer of sugarcane, with 734 million tons projected for 2022 and a yield of 74 tons per hectare. Sugarcane is already an important source of sugar, ethanol, and electricity through the direct burning of sugarcane bagasse, but its potential goes far beyond these products. For being easily fermentable, sugarcane juice is a promising source for other bio-based products, and the valorization of sugarcane residues in existing biorefineries has enormous potential, from the production of biogas from vinasse to the valorization of CO
2
, recovery of xylans and xylooligosaccharides, production of hydrogels, biosorbents, and 3G bioproducts. This manuscript will address the impact of sugarcane in the Brazilian bioeconomy, the status of technological development in sugarcane biorefineries, and the perspectives for sugarcane and its residues in a circular bioeconomy.
The use of selected yeasts has recently been proposed as an interesting strategy to improve cocoa bean fermentation and chocolate quality. In this study, a total of 39 cocoa-derived yeast isolates ...were screened for their capacity to produce volatile aroma compounds in a cocoa pulp simulation medium. The seven highest aroma-producing yeasts were identified by ITS-rRNA gene sequencing as belonging to Pichia kudriavzevii, in spite of exhibiting different metabolic profiles. Repetitive extragenic palindromic (Rep)-PCR genomic fingerprinting approach confirmed this high intraspecies diversity of P. kudriavzevii in cocoa fermentation. Two strains with superior aroma production, namely P. kudriavzevii LPB06 and P. kudriavzevii LPB07, were used in cocoa beans fermentation at laboratory scale. They were able to establish an accelerated fermentation process with efficient yeast growth, sugars consumption and ethanol formation compared to the spontaneous process. The resulting cocoa beans were analyzed by diverse chemical analysis methods, including gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS), fermentation index and metal and colorimetric analysis. All together, the results indicated that inoculated fermentations generated cocoa beans with better color development and richer aroma composition, suggesting that cocoa-associated yeast diversity at strain level can be exploited for flavor modulation of cocoa beans.
•Cocoa beans fermentation holds a great intraspecies diversity of Pichia kudriavzevii.•Two aroma-producing strains, P. kudriavzevii LPB06 and LPB07, were selected.•Cocoa beans with richer aroma composition were produced using the selected yeasts.•The inoculation established an accelerated fermentation process.•Importance of strain level selection for cocoa flavor modulation is underlining.
The Abrolhos Bank (eastern Brazil) encompasses the largest and richest coral reefs of the South Atlantic. Coral reef benthic assemblages of the region were monitored from 2003 to 2008. Two habitats ...(pinnacles' tops and walls) were sampled per site with 3-10 sites sampled within different reef areas. Different methodologies were applied in two distinct sampling periods: 2003-2005 and 2006-2008. Spatial coverage and taxonomic resolution were lower in the former than in the latter period. Benthic assemblages differed markedly in the smallest spatial scale, with greater differences recorded between habitats. Management regimes and biomass of fish functional groups (roving and territorial herbivores) had minor influences on benthic assemblages. These results suggest that local environmental factors such as light, depth and substrate inclination exert a stronger influence on the structure of benthic assemblages than protection from fishing. Reef walls of unprotected coastal reefs showed highest coral cover values, with a major contribution of Montastraea cavernosa (a sediment resistant species that may benefit from low light levels). An overall negative relationship between fleshy macroalgae and slow-growing reef-building organisms (i.e. scleractinians and crustose calcareous algae) was recorded, suggesting competition between these organisms. The opposite trend (i.e. positive relationships) was recorded for turf algae and the two reef-building organisms, suggesting beneficial interactions and/or co-occurrence mediated by unexplored factors. Turf algae cover increased across the region between 2006 and 2008, while scleractinian cover showed no change. The need of a continued and standardized monitoring program, aimed at understanding drivers of change in community patterns, as well as to subsidize sound adaptive conservation and management measures, is highlighted.
Between 2014 and 2017, an unprecedented heat stress accumulated and propagated across the tropical oceans and resulted in the so-called Third Global Bleaching Event (TGBE). Information about the ...effects of the TGBE in marginal coral reef provinces are still scarce, but can be relevant to understand the trajectories of coral reefs as climate changes intensify. Akin to deep mesophotic reefs and reefs in thermally stressed regions, low diversity, turbid-zone reefs may exhibit high bleaching tolerance due to local adaptations and conditions (e.g., shading by turbidity). Here, we summarize previous bleaching events in the tropical Western South Atlantic Ocean and explore taxonomic, cross-shelf and habitat-related bleaching trends in the Abrolhos reefs in February, May, June and October 2016, and March 2017. Fire corals (
Millepora
spp.) were the most affected, but all scleractinian species and several octocorals and zoanthids also bleached. Bleaching prevalence was higher in shallow coastal and offshore reef arcs than in deeper mesophotic reefs. All coral species bleached, but there were taxonomic and habitat-related trends in bleaching prevalence. Several species bleached less in the sites and habitats where their abundance was lower. As of March 2017, coral mortality was overall low across the region (< 3% of total coral cover). Our results add to the recent evidence that deep reefs provide partial refugia for a few coral species, and that turbid-zone reefs may be less susceptible to climate stress due to shading, higher heterotrophy levels, and local adaptations.
Most coral reefs have recently experienced acute changes in benthic community structure, generally involving dominance shifts from slow-growing hard corals to fast-growing benthic invertebrates and ...fleshy photosynthesizers. Besides overfishing, increased nutrification and sedimentation are important drivers of this process, which is well documented at landscape scales in the Caribbean and in the Indo-Pacific. However, small-scale processes that occur at the level of individual organisms remain poorly explored. In addition, the generality of coral reef decline models still needs to be verified on the vast realm of turbid-zone reefs. Here, we documented the outcome of interactions between an endangered Brazilian-endemic coral (
) and its most abundant contacting organisms (turf, cyanobacteria, corals, crustose coralline algae and foliose macroalgae). Our study was based on a long (2006-2016) series of high resolution data (fixed photoquadrats) acquired along a cross-shelf gradient that includes coastal unprotected reefs and offshore protected sites. The study region (Abrolhos Bank) comprises the largest and richest coralline complex in the South Atlantic, and a foremost example of a turbid-zone reef system with low diversity and expressive coral cover. Coral growth was significantly different between reefs. Coral-algae contacts predominated inshore, while cyanobacteria and turf contacts dominated offshore. An overall trend in positive coral growth was detected from 2009 onward in the inshore reef, whereas retraction in live coral tissue was observed offshore during this period. Turbidity (+) and cyanobacteria (-) were the best predictors of coral growth. Complimentary incubation experiments, in which treatments of
spp. from
colonies were subjected to cyanobacterial exudates, showed a negative effect of the exudate on the symbionts, demonstrating that cyanobacteria play an important role in coral tissue necrosis. Negative effects of cyanobacteria on living coral tissue may remain undetected from percent cover estimates gathered at larger spatial scales, as these ephemeral organisms tend to be rapidly replaced by longer-living macroalgae, or complex turf-like consortia. The cross-shelf trend of decreasing turbidity and macroalgae abundance suggests either a direct positive effect of turbidity on coral growth, or an indirect effect related to the higher inshore cover of foliose macroalgae, constraining cyanobacterial abundance. It is unclear whether the higher inshore macroalgal abundance (10-20% of reef cover) is a stable phase related to a long-standing high turbidity background, or a contemporary response to anthropogenic stress. Our results challenge the idea that high macroalgal cover is always associated with compromised coral health, as the baselines for turbid zone reefs may derive sharply from those of coral-dominated reefs that dwell under oligotrophic conditions.
This study aimed to assess the ultrapure cannabidiol (CBD) antibacterial activity and to investigate the antibacterial activity of the combination CBD + polymyxin B (PB) against Gram-negative (GN) ...bacteria, including PB-resistant Gram-negative bacilli (GNB). We used the standard broth microdilution method, checkerboard assay, and time-kill assay. CBD exhibited antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, lipooligosaccharide (LOS)-expressing GN diplococcus (GND) (Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Neisseria meningitidis, Moraxella catarrhalis), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but not against GNB. For most of the GNB studied, our results showed that low concentrations of PB (≤ 2 µg/mL) allow CBD (≤ 4 µg/mL) to exert antibacterial activity against GNB (e.g., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii), including PB-resistant GNB. CBD + PB also showed additive and/or synergistic effect against LOS-expressing GND. Time-kill assays results showed that the combination CBD + PB leads to a greater reduction in the number of colony forming units per milliliter compared to CBD and PB alone, at the same concentration used in combination, and the combination CBD + PB was synergistic for all four PB-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates evaluated. Our results show that CBD has translational potential and should be further explored as a repurposed antibacterial agent in clinical trials. The antibacterial efficacy of the combination CBD + PB against multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant GNB, especially PB-resistant K. pneumoniae, is particularly promising.
►Most of the lactose present in milk was metabolized within 48h. ►Volatile compounds were important to the flavours of these novel beverages. ►Higher alcohols increased from the beginning until the ...end of the fermentation. ►Ethyl acetate was detected during milk, CW and DCW fermentations by kefir grains. ►The use of DCW in kefir fermentation can be considered as a new whey valorisation strategy.
Cheese whey (CW) and deproteinised cheese whey (DCW) were investigated for their suitability as novel substrates for the production of kefir-like beverages. Lactose consumption, ethanol production, as well as organic acids and volatile compounds formation, were determined during CW and DCW fermentation by kefir grains and compared with values obtained during the production of traditional milk kefir. The results showed that kefir grains were able to utilise lactose from CW and DCW and produce similar amounts of ethanol (7.8–8.3g/l), lactic acid (5.0g/l) and acetic acid (0.7g/l) to those obtained during milk fermentation. In addition, the concentration of higher alcohols (2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-hexanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, and 1-propanol), ester (ethyl acetate) and aldehyde (acetaldehyde) in cheese whey-based kefir and milk kefir beverages were also produced in similar amounts. Cheese whey and deproteinised cheese whey may therefore serve as substrates for the production of kefir-like beverages similar to milk kefir.
The present study determined whether adding the phytogenic blend to the diet of growing steers would improve weight gain, the apparent digestibility of nutrients, volatile fatty acid profiles, and ...alter immune and antioxidant responses. The experiment included 24 Holstein calves, with an average weight of 149.6 ± 5 kg maintained in a semi-confinement system. The animals were divided into two groups (treated and control). In the concentrate of the treated group, the test product was a phytogenic blend composed of micro-encapsulated cinnamon and oregano essential oils, free turmeric extract, and tannic acid. The animals in the treated group showed more significant weight gain than the control on day 30; there was a trend toward more significant weight gain from 1 to 60 days (P = 0.07). Butyric acid concentrations were higher in the rumen, and there was an interaction between treatment and day (day 30) in the treated group. The ruminal acetic and propionic acid concentrations were higher in animals in the treated group on day 30. The intake of the phytogenic blend increased the apparent digestibility coefficient of neutral detergent fiber but did not affect the apparent digestibility coefficient of dry matter, crude protein, or mineral matter. There were significantly fewer lymphocytes in the treated group on day 30. There was a treatment effect and interaction between treatment and day for cholesterol levels, with lower levels in the treated group than in the control group. Serum glucose concentrations were lower in animals in the treated group. There was an effect of the treatment on the concentration of total proteins and globulins, with the highest levels of these proteins in the animals in the treated group. Protein electrophoresis revealed that IgA and ceruloplasmin levels showed a treatment effect and interaction, with higher levels in the treated group (P < 0.05). Heavy chain immunoglobulin levels were lower in steers in the treated group at day 90. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substance levels were lower in the treated group, indicating less lipid peroxidation (P < 0.05). We found that the levels of reactive oxygen species were lower in the treatment group at day 30, and glutathione S-transferase activity and protein thiol levels were higher in this group. These findings suggest that adding the phytogenic blend to the animals' diet was critical in the initial phase, as it modulates volatile fatty acids, stimulates immunological biomarkers, and has antioxidant activity.
•The addition of the phytogenic blend had a substantial impact in the initial phase on weight gain.•Butyric acid concentrations were higher in the rumen, as well as ruminal acetic and propionic acid.•The intake of the phytogenic blend increased the apparent digestibility coefficient of neutral detergent fiber.•The phytogenic blend increased serum globulins, characterized by the higher of IgA and ceruloplasmin.•The phytogenic blend's minimizes cattle's physiological oxidative stress, as it increase of antioxidants.
Large rivers create major gaps in reef distribution along tropical shelves. The Amazon River represents 20% of the global riverine discharge to the ocean, generating up to a 1.3 × 10(6)-km(2) plume, ...and extensive muddy bottoms in the equatorial margin of South America. As a result, a wide area of the tropical North Atlantic is heavily affected in terms of salinity, pH, light penetration, and sedimentation. Such unfavorable conditions were thought to imprint a major gap in Western Atlantic reefs. We present an extensive carbonate system off the Amazon mouth, underneath the river plume. Significant carbonate sedimentation occurred during lowstand sea level, and still occurs in the outer shelf, resulting in complex hard-bottom topography. A permanent near-bottom wedge of ocean water, together with the seasonal nature of the plume's eastward retroflection, conditions the existence of this extensive (~9500 km(2)) hard-bottom mosaic. The Amazon reefs transition from accretive to erosional structures and encompass extensive rhodolith beds. Carbonate structures function as a connectivity corridor for wide depth-ranging reef-associated species, being heavily colonized by large sponges and other structure-forming filter feeders that dwell under low light and high levels of particulates. The oxycline between the plume and subplume is associated with chemoautotrophic and anaerobic microbial metabolisms. The system described here provides several insights about the responses of tropical reefs to suboptimal and marginal reef-building conditions, which are accelerating worldwide due to global changes.
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