Centrifugation of coconut milk resulted in cream, skim milk, and insoluble solids. Proteins were isolated from skim milk by the addition of acid, with or without heating. The separation and isolation gave the following coconut protein preparations: coconut milk, coconut skim milk, insoluble solids, acid precipitate, and acid-heat precipitate. / Trypsin inhibitory activity (TIA) of the coconut protein preparations was relatively low while tryptic digestibility of the isolated proteins was considerably lower than those of the coconut milk and skim milk, the digestibility of coconut protein preparations was lower than that of casein. In general, the emulsifying and farming properties of coconut protein preparations were lower than casein. The insoluble solids showed the highest viscosity when compared with the coconut protein preparations. In contrast to the whey protein concentrate (WPC), the apparent strain of gels from the acid precipitate increased as the pH increased. The gelation properties at pH 3 of the insoluble solids were better than WPC. / The estimated molecular weight by size-exclusion chromatography of coconut protein preparations gave 3 fractions with MW ranging from 6850 Da to 229402 Da. In native PAGE, coconut proteins were separated into at least 3 subunits and under SDS-denatured conditions, the major protein subunits showed MW of 54531 Da and 25008 Da, respectively. RP-HPLC separation of coconut milk, acid precipitate, and acid-heat precipitate gave 3 fractions containing several species of MW ranging between 35574 Da to 51209 Da when analyzed by mass spectometry.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 139-161). / Microfiche. / xiv, 161 leaves, bound photos 29 cm

The genetic resources of coconut palms (Cocos nucifera L.) in the south Pacific region were characterised using fruit morphological and molecular characters (RAPD). It was concluded that there was continuous variation in fruit morphology and molecular characters throughout the region. The south Pacific gene pool was considered to be composed of two groups, the first a cline of populations from Papua New Guinea across the central Pacific to the south eastern Pacific thought to represent the original gene pool of the Pacific, and the other was comprised of populations from the south western and south central Pacific and was thought to represent the original gene pool of the Pacific that has been affected by subsequent migration of domesticated types from elsewhere. The populations of Rennell Island, Marquesas Islands and Hawaii were members of this latter group but have diverged. The results of both the molecular and morphological characterisation were used to formulate a collection and conservation strategy for coconut germplasm in the region.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 45 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 37-45).

Resumo: O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as características físicas do fruto, químicas e sensorial do albúmen líquido (água-de-coco) em frutos de coqueiro anão verde, em diferentes estádios de desenvolvimento. Foram realizadas vinte e seis avaliações, em intervalos quinzenais, desde a abertura da inflorescência até 12,5 meses, de abril de 2004 a maio de 2005, em um coqueiral localizado no município de Bebedouro/SP. Aplicou-se aos dados análise de variância, regressão logística e logística combinada com uma exponencial quadrática, obtendo-se elevado grau de ajuste para as variáveis testadas. Avaliaram-se os diâmetros externos longitudinal e transversal, massa total do fruto, massa da casca e fibras, massa dos albumens líquido e sólido, espessura de casca e fibras, espessura do endocarpo, espessura do albúmen sólido, diâmetros longitudinal transversal da cavidade interna, além de seu volume. As análises químicas, no albúmen líquido, envolveram a determinação de pH, sólidos solúveis, acidez titulável e teor de ácido ascórbico. Foram correlacionados o volume de água-de-coco e sua avaliação sensorial, em diferentes fases de sua formação. Houve variações com a idade dos frutos em relação a todas as características analisadas, concluindo-se que, o maior volume médio de albúmen líquido foi verificado em frutos com 8,5 meses de idade, coincidindo com adequado sabor. Estes resultados são importantes indicativos para a colheita dos frutos do coqueiro anão verde, na região de Bebedouro - SP, para o consumo "in natura" da água-de-coco. / Abstract: The aim of this work was the evaluation of the fruit's physical characteristics, and the liquid albumen's (coconut water) chemical and sensorial features in green dwarf coconut palm fruit in different stages of development. Twenty-six evaluations were carried out in each fifteen days starting at the opening of the inflorescence and finishing 12 u months later, from April 2004 to May 2005, in a coconut palm plantation located in the city of Bebedouro, São Paulo State. It was applied to the data collected an analysis of variation, a logistic regression and a combined logistic with a square exponential, and a high degree of adjust to the tested variables were obtained. It was evaluated the extern longitudinal and transversal diameters, the total mass of the fruit, the peel and fiber mass, the liquid and solid albumens mass, the peel and fiber thickness, the endocarp thickness, the solid albumen thickness and the longitudinal and transversal diameters of the internal cavity as well as its volume. The chemical analyses in the liquid albumen involved the determination of the pH, the soluble solids, the registered acidity and the acid ascorbic level. The volume of coconut water and its sensorial analysis were correlated in different phases of its formation. There were variations in the fruit age in relation to all characteristics analyzed, and it was concluded that the greatest medium volume of liquid albumen was verified in 8 u month-old fruit, coinciding with the suitable flavor. These results are important indicatives for the green dwarf coconut palm fruit crops in Bebedouro, São Paulo State for the "in natura" consumption of coconut water. / Orientador: Carlos Ruggiero / Coorientador: José Antonio Alberto da Silva / Banca: João Alexio Scarpare Filho / Banca: Anita de Souza Dias Gutierrez / Banca: Antonio Baldo Geraldo Martins / Banca: José Fernando Durigan / Doutor

This thesis examines the rise and fall of a coconut-based enclave economy in the administrative post of Micaúne in the district of Chinde, Zambézia Province. Residents of Micaúne derived their livelihoods from the coconut economy for over a century. My research is based on ethnographic fieldwork undertaken between 2010 and 2014 over a period of eight months in this administrative post. Although coconut had been a familiar crop to people in the Micaúne area for centuries, it became central to the local economy only after the advent of colonial settler capitalism in the 1880s. I argue that the longevity of the coconut economy, and the stability and predictability that it brought to Micaúne residents, were the outcome of its embeddedness in the local social organisation and mode of production. From the last decades of the 19th century, Micaúne's economy was dominated by Société du Madal, initially a French-owned company that established coconut plantations in the area and produced commodities derived from the coconut palm for sale on international markets. Madal became a 'total institution' in Micaúne because it was the major landholder, employer of local labour, supplier of goods through its shops and the main purchaser of coconut from growers in the area. This study suggests that a 'customary' law relating to inheritance in Micaúne reinforced the centrality of the coconut economy in local society for much of the 20th century by making specific reference to the inheritance of trees. The implication of this law was that control and ownership of trees rather than land was the major determinant of local livelihoods. But as in any enclave economy, when the resource on which it is based is depleted, the collapse of the whole system is inevitable. In the case of Micaúne, an ecological crisis in the 1990s, in the form of a plant disease known as Coconut Lethal Yellowing Disease (CLYD, infected and killed most of the palm trees, both on Madal's and local families' land, which were the backbone of the local economy. As a result, the company-based welfare system that Micaúne residents enjoyed for more than a hundred years disappeared overnight, a catastrophe that caused unprecedented uncertainty and despair in the area. The local people's main sources of income and employment shrank and there have been many confirmed reports of hunger and starvation amongst the Micaúne population in the 2000s and after. In sum, the majority of Micaúne residents are now 'food insecure', except for a few who are local businessmen and people employed by or getting stipends from the state. It is evident from my research that attempts by the government and NGOs to promote food security initiatives failed to solve the problem. On the contrary, these initiatives have fuelled a growing demand for land, which has led to its increasing commodification (including the emergence of an illegal land market). This development has also triggered emergent claims of land ownership based on a new notion of autochthony. A clear distinction between 'natives' and non-'natives' (newcomers) is now being drawn in Micaúne. Claiming to belong to the category of autochthons is seen as a basis for entitlement to prior rights over resources such as minerals recently discovered in the district. I argue that the promise of minerals resources might explain why, despite the extremely harsh living conditions that local residents have faced since the demise of the coconut economy, they have decided to remain in this area while scouting in the interim for alternative livelihoods options, which are limited to subsistence farming and fishing, and petty trade. They seem to be waiting for the materialisation of big investments in mineral resources or in other development initiatives often touted by the central government in Mozambique. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Anthropology and Archaeology / DPhil / Unrestricted

No description available.

Pestalotiopsis westerdijkii, a cellulolytic mold, exhibited the production of a freely diffusing, extra-cellular enzyme capable of solubilizing hydrocellulose and amorphous cellulose when grown on coconut flour-solka-floc (2:1) medium at 31°c for 11 days. For the first time, the pH and temperature optimum for the maximum activity of the enzyme was established. The potency of the enzyme increased by serial culturing of the mold on the same medium. Activation of enzyme by cysteine hydrochloride was observed. Five-fold increases in specific activity with the elimination of most of the non-enzymic nitrogen was achieved by (NH₄)₂SO₄ precipitation and gel filtration of the crude enzyme. The enzyme treatment of coconut flour brought marked improvement in protein extractability with a corresponding decrease in crude fiber. This action of the enzyme was further established by the increase of water-soluble reducing sugars in the enzyme-treated milk due to the degradation of structural polysaccharides. The amino acid composition or the control residue predicted ample room for possible improvement of the amino acid pattern in the enzyme-treated milk. The most limiting amino acids in the coconut milk preparation is lysine in confirmation of Butterworth and Fox (4), and Thomas and Scott (41) 1 followed by threonine, the sulfur amino acids and isoleucine. Significant amounts of threonine and isoleucine were stripped out of the control residue by the enzyme treatment, and the order of limitation became lysine, the sulfur amino acids, isoleucine and lastly, threonine. The animal feeding experiments did not show any significant difference between the protein qualities of the control and enzyme-treated milk preparations; however, the animals on the residue diets all lost weight. Those which were on enzyme-treated residue did very poorly. Low digestibility of the enzyme-treated residue reflected by the restricted protein intake due to high fiber content, and the presence of the sub-optimal levels of essential amino acids compared to the control residue resulted in great loss in weight, bloated appearance and loss of balance at the end of the experimental period. The enzyme appears to be nontoxic. The enzyme at its optimal pH and temperature solubilized hydrocellulose yielding oligosaccharides with an average degree of polymerization of eleven. Also, the enzyme was more capable of handling cellobiose through cellohexaose than the higher oligosaccharides to form glucose. The wide substrate specificity exhibited by the enzyme resulted in extensive degradation of pieces of Whatman No. 1 filter paper and certain vegetable foodstuffs. / Ph. D.

Coconut mite populations and levels of damage to 2-, 4- and 10-month old Maypan and Red Malayan Dwarf nuts in Low and High Rainfall Zones of eastern Jamaica were evaluated. Damage due to the coconut mite was assessed by quantifying scarring of the nut surface, size reduction and copra yield. It was found that coconut mite populations were the same in the two rainfall zones but differed between Maypan and Red Malayan Dwarf varieties. More Maypan nuts were infested with coconut mites than Red Malayan Dwarf nuts. More 2-month old Red Malayan Dwarf nuts were attacked than 2-month old Maypan nuts while more 10-month old Maypan nuts were colonized than 10-month old Red Malayan Dwarf nuts. In both varieties, a greater percentage of 4-month old nuts had > 1,000 coconut mites than 2- and 10-month old nuts. Nuts in the Low Rainfall Zone had greater percentage of coconut mite damage than nuts in the High Rainfall Zone. Damage was more severe on Red Malayan Dwarf than on the Maypan nuts. The water content of Red Malayan Dwarf nuts declined with increased coconut mite damage but no relationship was found between the water content of Maypan nuts and coconut mite damage. Nut size and copra yield declined significantly with increased coconut mite damage. Total copra yield loss was only about 3% in Maypan and 6% in Red Malayan Dwarf nuts because most of the nuts had < 30% surface area damage. / Master of Science

Coconuts are one of the most economically important plants in Mozambique, where millions of people depend on income from coconuts. The coconut lethal yellowing disease (CLYD) is a highly destructive disease that ever since the early 90’s causes coconut palms in Mozambique to stop producing fruit and leave the coconut farmers with only empty stems. This thesis examines the disease's effect on the farmers’ income, both from coconuts and other complementary sources, since the vendible harvest should decrease with the incidence of the disease. The method used is multivariate linear regression, where several income variables are used as dependent variables. Two models are created, one only interpreted for the sample of 488 observations and one aiming at generalizing the results. By this study, it cannot be confirmed that the incidence of CLYD has a significant effect on coconut farmers’ income. The results from the sample analysis do however show that the income is affected by the degree of the disease, which is an incentive for continued research in the field.