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Wheat flour (WF) was replaced with quinoa flour (QF) at a 20% level in combination with improvers such as psyllium (PSY) and xanthan gum (XG). The flour quality, dough rheology, baking quality, and sensory evaluation of the bread loaves were analyzed, considering the addition of improvers as follows: PSY 0.5%, XG 0.5%, and PSY 0.25% + XG 0.25%. The best treatment to produce bread loaves was with the application of PSY 0.25% + XG 0.25%, where it had an optimal acceptability and no significant texture difference (p ≥ 0.05) compared with the control, with manageable dough, ideal viscosity, intermediate width/height ratio, and moderate baking stability, reflected in reduced baking losses. The techno-functional and nutritional properties of QF offer a viable alternative to WF.

Supercritical fluids’ extraction (SFE) and conventional solvent extraction (CSE) for defatting of quinoa flour as pretreatments to produce the quinoa protein hydrolysate (QPH) were studied. The objective was to extract the oil and separate the phenolic compounds (PC) and the defatted quinoa flour for subsequent quinoa protein extraction and enzymatic hydrolysis. The oil extraction yield (OEY), total flavonoid content (TFC), and QPH yield were compared. SuperPro Designer 9.0® software was used to estimate the cost of manufacturing (COM), productivity, and net present value (NPV) on laboratory and industrial scales. SFE allows higher OEY and separation of PC. The SFE oil showed a higher OEY (99.70%), higher antioxidant activity (34.28 mg GAE/100 g), higher QPH yield (197.12%), lower COM (US $ 90.10/kg), and higher NPV (US$205,006,000) as compared to CSE (with 77.59%, 160.52%, US $ 109.29/kg, and US$28,159,000, respectively). The sensitivity analysis showed that the sale of by-products improves the economic results: at the industrial scale, no significant differences were found, and both processes are economically feasible. However, results indicate that SFE allows the recovery of an oil and QPH of better nutritional quality and a high level of purity-free organic solvents for further health and nutraceutical uses.

The sinami palm (Oenocarpus mapora H. Karst) is a plant from the South American Amazonia that has great potential for industrial applications in the development of functional foods, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. In this manuscript, the physicochemical properties, total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity of sinami oil that was obtained using four extraction systems, namely expeller press extraction (EPE), cold press extraction (CPE), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), were studied and compared. The oxidative stability (OSI) was statistically non-significant in EPE and SFE. The chromatic properties (CIELab) were influenced by the extraction methods and SFE presented high values of L* and a lower content of plant pigments. Ultrasound-assisted extraction showed a higher content of polyphenols and higher antioxidant activity. Different analyses for the evaluation of the physicochemical properties, the content of total polyphenols and antioxidant activity were used to classify sinami oil according to chemometrics using principal component analysis (PCA). For example, the sinami oil that was obtained using each extraction method was in a different part of the plot. In summary, sinami oil is an excellent resource for plant pigments. Additionally, the information that was obtained on the quality parameters in this study provided a good foundation for further studies on the characterization of major and minor compounds.

In Peru, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the main resources in the food industry; however, due to its low harvested area, it is the second most imported cereal. The quality of wheat flour was studied to verify that it has desirable characteristics for the preparation of bakery products. The quality of commercial and monovarietal wheat flours was assessed by measuring their physicochemical and rheological parameters, as well as the gluten content and wheat protein fractions. Eight commercial wheat flours and four monovarietal wheat flours (Barba negra, Candeal, Espelta, and Duro) from Peru were evaluated. Commercial wheat flours presented significantly higher levels of protein and gluten index compared to monovarietal wheat flours (p < 0.05). Between both groups, no significant differences were observed in the content of wet and dry gluten. Interestingly, monovarietal wheat flours presented a higher percentage of gliadins and albumins/globulins, as well as lower levels of glutenin, compared to commercial wheat flours (p < 0.05). According to the logistic regression models, the baking strength (W) was the most important parameter to evaluate the quality of commercial and monovarietal wheat flours. Our results show that monovarietal wheat flours show a lower quality compared to commercial wheat flours.

Clinical manifestations of American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis (ATL) include cutaneous (CL) and mucous forms (ML); however, there are asymptomatic individuals who despite being infected do not present any clinical manifestations. This study characterized the cell-mediated immunity of travelers who lived in the Andean highlands of Cusco, free of leishmaniasis transmission, which eventually visited leishmaniasis endemic in the Amazonian basin and returned home without any clinical signs of the disease. Their immune response was compared with CL and ML patients who acquired the disease during their stage in the same region. Fifty-four human subjects from the highlands of Cusco (Peru), who have visited an endemic area, were enrolled: 28 of them did not show any symptoms, 12 showed CL and 14 showed ML. Ten healthy subjects from a non-endemic area (HS) were included as controls. T-cell proliferation was evaluated using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) stimulated for 5 days with a total soluble leishmanial antigen (TSLA) of . Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines were also quantified in the supernatants by a flow cytometry multiplex assay. T-cell proliferation was expressed as stimulation index (SI) and the cut off was fixed at SI >2.47. Fifteen out of 28 subjects did not show any signs of disease (54%); subjects with an SI above the cut off. They were defined as asymptomatic immune responders (AIR). CL and ML patients presented a higher SI than HS and AIR. Among the latter group, the exposure time to was clearly associated with the IFN-γ response. Increased levels of this cytokine were observed in individuals who remained <90 days in an endemic area of leishmaniasis. Our results evidenced two sub-populations among asymptomatic individuals, one AIR who did not develop clinical disease manifestations when they were exposed to in endemic areas. Exposure time to in the wild was associated with the IFN-γ response.

This review presents an updated scenario of findings and evolutions of encapsulation of bioactive compounds for food and agricultural applications. Many polymers have been reported as encapsulated agents, such as sodium alginate, gum Arabic, chitosan, cellulose and carboxymethylcellulose, pectin, Shellac, xanthan gum, zein, pullulan, maltodextrin, whey protein, galactomannan, modified starch, polycaprolactone, and sodium caseinate. The main encapsulation methods investigated in the study include both physical and chemical ones, such as freeze-drying, spray-drying, extrusion, coacervation, complexation, and supercritical anti-solvent drying. Consequently, in the food area, bioactive peptides, vitamins, essential oils, caffeine, plant extracts, fatty acids, flavonoids, carotenoids, and terpenes are the main compounds encapsulated. In the agricultural area, essential oils, lipids, phytotoxins, medicines, vaccines, hemoglobin, and microbial metabolites are the main compounds encapsulated. Most scientific investigations have one or more objectives, such as to improve the stability of formulated systems, increase the release time, retain and protect active properties, reduce lipid oxidation, maintain organoleptic properties, and present bioactivities even in extreme thermal, radiation, and pH conditions. Considering the increasing worldwide interest for biomolecules in modern and sustainable agriculture, encapsulation can be efficient for the formulation of biofungicides, biopesticides, bioherbicides, and biofertilizers. With this review, it is inferred that the current scenario indicates evolutions in the production methods by increasing the scales and the techno-economic feasibilities. The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for most of the encapsulation methods is going beyond TRL 6, in which the knowledge gathered allows for having a functional prototype or a representative model of the encapsulation technologies presented in this review.

Allergic asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases of the airways, however it still remains underdiagnosed and hence undertreated. Therefore, an allergic asthma rat model would be useful to be applied in future therapeutic strategy studies. The aim of the present study was to develop an objective model of allergic asthma in atopic rats that allows the induction and quantification of anaphylactic shock with quantitative variables. Female Brown Norway rats were intraperitoneally sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA), alum and Bordetella pertussis toxin and boosted a week later with OVA in alum. At day 28, all rats received an intranasal challenge with OVA. Anaphylactic response was accurately assessed by changes in motor activity and body temperature. Leukotriene concentration was determined in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and total and IgE anti-OVA antibodies were quantified in blood and BALF samples. The asthmatic animals' motility and body temperature were reduced after the shock for at least 20 h. The asthmatic animals developed anti-OVA IgE antibodies both in BALF and in serum. These results show an effective and relatively rapid model of allergic asthma in female Brown Norway rats that allows the quantification of the anaphylactic response.

Se describió la biología y ecología de cuatro especies medicinales de Gentianella (Gentianaceae), con énfasis en aspectos relacionados con la producción, incluyendo el análisis de flavonoides totales. Todas las especies evaluadas fueron hierbas pequeñas. Gentianella graminea y G. crassicaulis son perennes y G. dianthoides y G. bicolor son anuales. Mientras que G. dianthoides produce abundantes semillas, las otras tienen muy escasa a moderada producción de semillas; todas con bajo poder germinativo. Gentianella crassicaulis produce hasta 90 g de materia seca/ planta, mientras que las restantes menos de 10 g de materia seca/planta. Gentianella graminea presentó niveles significativamente mayores de flavonoides totales en hoja y tallo comparado con G. dianthoides y G. crassicaulis (p < 0,05). Tres especies (G. graminea, G. crassicaulis y G. dianthoides) habitan en la región Jalca (2700 a 2850 m s.n.m.), asociadas a 30 especies (16 también medicinales); mientras que G. bicolor habita en la región Quechua (2600 a 2750 m s.n.m.), asociada a 17 especies (9 medicinales). Las cuatro especies tuvieron poblaciones escasas (≤ 2,5 plantas/m2 ) y su regeneración natural fue baja (1-4 plantas/m2 ). Gentianella dianthoides y G. crassicaulis se encuentran en estado vulnerable de conservación, por lo que se recomienda suspender su recolección.

Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum R. & P.) is an Andean crop of high nutritional value and medicinal properties, which presents a great diversity in morphology and color. The aim of the study was to evaluate the content of phenolic compounds and in vitro antioxidant activity of the most economically important mashua accessions in the Puno Region, Peru. Six accessions of mashua (three purplecolored and three yellow-colored) were evaluated. The content of total polyphenols, total flavonoids and identification of phenolic compounds was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu assay, aluminum chloride colorimetric method and HPLC-DAD, respectively. In vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated using the FRAP and DPPH assays. In general, the purple-colored mashua had a significantly higher content of total polyphenols, total flavonoids, and in vitro antioxidant activity compared to the yellowcolored mashua; being the Tt-23 accession purple-colored (peel/pulp, purple/purple), which presented a significantly higher content of phenolic compounds and in vitro antioxidant activity compared to the other accessions evaluated (P<0.05). Furthermore, a significant correlation was observed between FRAP and DPPH activities with the total content of polyphenols and flavonoids (P<0.01), as well as between FRAP activity and the caffeic acid and rutin levels (P<0.05). These results suggest that purple-colored mashua, particularly the Tt-23 accession (peel/pulp, purple/purple), has better nutraceutical and antioxidant properties due to its higher content of phenolic compounds.

Mauritia flexuosa L.f. is a palm from the Amazon. Pulp and oil are extracted from its fruits, with a high content of bioactive compounds. This study presents the economic evaluation of two extraction processes: (a) Conventional solvent extraction (CSE) with 80% ethanol for the recovery of phenolic-rich extracts; and (b) Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) followed by CSE to obtain oil and phenolic-rich extracts. The objective of this study was to compare the feasibility of both extraction processes. The economic evaluation and the sensitivity study were evaluated using the SuperPro Designer 9.0® software at an extraction volume of 2000 L. Similar global extraction yields were obtained for both processes; however, 8.4 and 2.4 times more total polyphenol and flavonoid content were extracted, respectively, using SFE+CSE. Cost of manufacturing (COM) was higher in SFE+CSE compared to CSE, USD 193.38/kg and USD 126.47/kg, respectively; however, in the first process, two by-products were obtained. The sensitivity study showed that the cost of the raw material was the factor that had the highest impact on COM in both extraction processes. SFE+CSE was the most economically viable process for obtaining bioactive compounds on an industrial scale from M. flexuosa L.f.