Thesis (M.Sc. (Horticulture)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The awareness of the nutritional benefit and consumption of the Jew’s mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.) especially in South Africa is low; this is predominantly because of lack of access and availability of the crop in the market. This research aimed to determine to what extent would the planting period affect mucilage, growth, yield and nutritional composition of the selected C. olitorius cultivar under different growing conditions and provide a better understanding and scientific evidence for the producers to maximize production. The experiments were carried out simultaneously, the first experiment (field trial), was on the field and the second (pot trial) in the shade house. Treatment factors were: 2 x growing conditions (field and pot), 4 x planting periods (November, December, January and February) and 3 x C. olitorius cultivars (‘Local’, ‘Oniyaya’ and ‘Amugbadu’). The experiments were carried out as randomised complete block design (RCBD) arranged in split-spilt plot with three replications. Growing condition was the main factor, planting period as the sub-factor, while the cultivars were the sub-subplot factor. Mucilage content, growth and yield parameters were measured and nutritional composition of the crop was determined from harvested plant samples. Mucilage content of C. olitorius varied with cultivar and growing condition. The significantly (P < 0.05) highest quantity of mucilage at 8 WAT was obtained from Oniyaya cultivar under field condition whereas the least was recorded from Local cultivar under pot condition. The mucilage content of the three cultivars did not differ significantly (P ≤ 0.05) at 6 WAT, however significant (P < 0.01) differences were recorded at 8 WAT. The cultivar Oniyaya produced significantly highest average (184.58 mPa.s) mucilage content at 8 WAT while the lowest average value (124.58 mPa.s) was recorded in the Local cultivar. This implies that Oniyaya cultivar produced the slimiest plants. The mucilage content of Jew’s mallow appears to decline over time; thus, the crop had higher mucilage content when young and tender. Selected growth parameters such as chlorophyll, number of leaves and stem diameter were significantly affected by the combined effect of cultivar, planting period and growing condition. For example, the average highest chlorophyll content was obtained in Oniyaya cultivar during November period under pot conditions. While the greatest number of leaves at 8 WAT were obtained in Oniyaya and Local cultivars during xxvii December planting period and in Amugbadu during November period all under the field conditions. All cultivars grown during the February planting period had the lowest average number of leaves. Growth parameters such as number of branches, plant height and leaf area were not significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affected by the combined effect of cultivar, planting period and growing condition. Significant (P < 0.05) combined effect of cultivar and planting period was recorded on number of C. olitorius branches at 6 WAT. Furthermore, significant interaction between planting period and growing condition was also recorded. The significantly higher number of branches at 6 WAT was obtained from Oniyaya and Amugbadu cultivars during the November planting period. The test crop seedlings transplanted in February had the lowest average number of branches. Comparing the cultivars at 6 and 8 WAT, Oniyaya produced significantly (P < 0.01) higher number of branches than Local. Local cultivar was significantly taller than others under the field condition; while significantly tallest plant was obtained during December period under the same condition. The differences observed in C. olitorius shoot and root fresh and dry masses were not significantly different in their responses in relation to the combined effect of cultivar, planting period and growing condition. However, the significantly highest average fresh shoot mass was obtained during December period and the lowest average values in February planting period. The combined effect of cultivar, planting date and growing condition had significant (P < 0.01) influence on number of days to 50% flowering; pod formation and pod maturity of C. olitorius. The significantly longest average number of days to 50% flowering was observed in Oniyaya and Amugbadu cultivars during November period under field condition, while Local cultivar flowered at the shortest period, but produced highest number of pods and seed yield during the December planting period under the same condition. Cultivar, planting date and growing condition had significant (P < 0.01) influence on Zinc contents of C. olitorius. Whereas the three factors had no significant effect on N, Ca, Mg, K, Na, Mn, Fe, P, Al, ash and dry matter contents of the crop. The highest average amounts of N, Mg and K were obtained from Local cultivar during November period while the same cultivar produced the highest average amount of Ca during December period. In conclusion, the mucilage content and fresh shoot mass (which is xxviii the marketable part of C. olitorius) were optimal in crops grown during the December planting period when the temperatures are at the highest. While better nutritional content of the crop was better attained during the November planting period. Both November and December planting periods allowed C. olitorius to reach its maximum growth capacity, translating to higher yielding parameters than other planting periods.

In Arabidopsis, the mucilage secretory cells (MSC) of the seed coat produce a pectinaceous mucilage. Very little is known about which genes are involved in the synthesis of pectins. A reverse genetic approach was used to identify genes involved in mucilage synthesis. A publicly available microarray database was screened with expression visualization tools, and was complemented by in-lab microarray experiments between wild type and known MSC mutants to identify candidate cell wall genes highly expressed at the time of mucilage synthesis. Several cell wall genes were also chosen based on their putative functions which would implicate them in mucilage synthesis. Phenotyping of mutant lines obtained for the cell wall candidate genes revealed no abnormal mucilage phentoypes in single or select double mutant lines. These results indicate that significant genetic redundancy exists in cell wall genes and/or the genes studied do not play significant roles in mucilage synthesis.

Orientador: Jayme de Toledo Piza e Almeida Neto / Resumo: O Café Cereja Descascado vem fazendo história ao ganhar a maioria dos prêmios de qualidade nos concursos de Cafés Especiais promovidos pelas empresas e associações do ramo. Semelhante ao Café Despolpado, difere deste no entanto, por ter bebida mais encorpada devido sua tecnologia de produção que mantém a mucilagem natural que envolve o pergaminho. A necessidade da secagem imediata e a dificuldade dos secadores operarem com o produto úmido e impregnado de mucilagem, levou ao desenvolvimento dos Desmuciladores que fazem uma desmucilagem parcial do produto úmido, encurtam o tempo de escorrimento no terreiro e facilitam a operação do secador. Tendo em vista as ponderações anteriores, formulou-se como principal objetivo deste trabalho a análise da relação entre o teor de mucilagem residual do CD® e a bebida e o corpo resultantes. Paralelamente a isso analisou-se a relação entre o perfil do café da roça e o teor de mucilagem no café cereja. As variações nos teores de mucilagem, que resultaram em 4 diferentes combinações de lotes processados, foram obtidas com a variação da altura percorrida pelo café no Desmucilador Vertical e da injeção de água na câmara de desmucilagem. Como testemunhas obteve-se uma amostra despolpada do mesmo café e outra produzida com mucilagem natural do Cereja Descascado. Os cafés assim tratados foram submetidos às provas de xícara por três provadores que analisaram as características: "bebida", "corpo", "acidez", "aroma", e "sabor". Os resultados obtidos permitiram concluir entre outras coisas, que é possível controlar os teores de mucilagem desejados produzindo diferentes características de "corpo" sem afetar a qualidade da "bebida". / Abstract: The pulped ripe red coffee berry has become prominent for the most quality prizes it has taken in competitions of the special coffees promoted by companies and associations in the sector. It is similar to the pulped coffee, but differs from this one because it produces a more consistent beverage, since its production technology keeps the natural mucilage involving the pulped coffee. The need for immediate drying and the operational difficult of the dryers when the product is moistened and impregnated with mucilage led to the development of demucilators that partially demucilate the humid product, as well as shorten the time of the water flowing on the ground and facilitate the operation of the dryer. Taking the previous aspects into account, the main objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between the content of the residual mucilage in CD® and the resulting beverage consistence. At the same time, the relationship between the natural rough coffee profile and the mucilage content in the ripe red coffee berry. The variation in mucilage contents resulting into four different combinations of the processed lots were obtained, by varying either the height from which the coffee berries run down the vertical demucilator and the water injection in the demucilaging chamber. A pulped sample of the same coffee and another one produced with natural mucilage of the pulped ripe red coffee cherry were used as control. The treated coffee cherries were submitted to "cupping", and three tasters analyzed their characteristics: beverage, consistence, acidity , odor, and flavor . According to the results, it may be concluded that it is possible to control the desired mucilage contents, therefore obtaining different consistence characteristics without affecting the quality of the beverage. / Doutor

No description available.

Yes / The use of biological macromolecules like quince seed mucilage (QSM), as the common curative practice has a long history in traditional folk medicine to cure wounds and burns. However, this gel cannot be applied on exudative wounds because of the high water content and non-absorption of infection of open wounds. It also limits cell-to-cell interactions and leads to the slow wound healing process. In this study to overcome these problems, a novel QSM-based hybrid scaffold modified by PCL/PEG copolymer was designed and characterized. The properties of this scaffold (PCL/QSM/PEG) were also compared with four scaffolds of PCL/PEG, PCL/Chitosan/PEG, chitosan, and QSM, to assess the role of QSM and the combined effect of polymers in improving the function of skin tissue-engineered scaffolds. It was found, the physicochemical properties play a crucial role in regulating cell behaviors so that, PCL/QSM/PEG as a smart/stimuli-responsive bio-matrix promotes not only human-adipose stem cells (h-ASCs) adhesion but also supports fibroblasts growth, via providing a porous-network. PCL/QSM/PEG could also induce keratinocytes at a desirable level for wound healing, by increasing the mechanobiological signals. Immunocytochemistry analysis confirmed keratinocytes differentiation pattern and their normal phenotype on PCL/QSM/PEG. Our study demonstrates, QSM as a differentiation/growth-promoting biological factor can be a proper candidate for design of wound dressings and skin tissue-engineered substrates containing cell.

Les mucilages pélagiques marins (MPM) sont des phénomènes mondiaux sporadiques et, dans certaines régions, chroniques dans les zones côtières. Ces agrégats gélatineux, enrichis en matière organique et en microorganismes, forment des écosystèmes marins autonomes transitoires allant de 0,5 cm à plusieurs kilomètres de long. Ils correspondent à des étapes évolutives de la neige marine non-sédimentée maintenue dans la zone photique. Durant les dernières décennies une intensification des apparitions des MPM ont été recensées. Ainsi, les MPM sont devenus un sujet de préoccupation pour les populations qui exploitent les ressources côtières et dans le contexte du fonctionnement global de l'écosystème. Malgré l’intérêt scientifique grandissant au cours des dernières décennies au sujet de ces phénomènes, notamment en mer Adriatique, les causes de formation, la dynamique et le rôle respectif des microorganismes dans de tels systèmes restent énigmatiques. La plupart des études réalisées sur les MPM étaient axées uniquement sur les communautés microbiennes eucaryotes par l’utilisation de techniques microscopiques. Or de nos jours, les méthodes moléculaires permettent de se concentrer également sur l'ensemble de la communauté, y compris les procaryotes. Afin d'approfondir notre compréhension de ces phénomènes nous avons étudié un type MPM qui est apparu de manière récurrente et abondante au cours de la dernière décennie dans le sud du Golfe de Gascogne (France), le «Liga». Dans un premier temps, nous avons étudié la formation de ce MPM au travers d’une année complète en suivant la dynamique des communautés archées, bactériennes et eucaryotes par la technique de T-RFLP, technique d’empreinte moléculaire ciblant la petite sous-unité du gène codant pour ARNr. Cette approche a révélé que les communautés microbiennes du Liga étaient différentes des communautés microbiennes marines pour les trois domaines du vivant, et que ces deux communautés étaient gouvernées par des paramètres environnementaux dont la variation était saisonnière. Les archées n’ayant pas pu être détectés dans le Liga, nous nous sommes focalisés sur la structure des communautés bactériennes et eucaryotes au moyen de technologies de séquençage à haut débit. Cette méthode a révélé que le Liga était principalement composé d'espèces marines, même si ces communautés étaient significativement différentes des espèces marines. Dans le Liga, les communautés eucaryotes étaient principalement composées de dinoflagellés, de zooplancton et de cnidaires. Les communautés bactériennes étaient principalement composées d’Alphaproteobacteria et de Gammaproteobacteria. La diversité fonctionnelle du Liga fraîchement formé a été également étudiée pendant les saisons d'apparition de ce phénomène, au printemps et à l'automne. Nous avons ainsi mis en évidence que les communautés microbiennes du Liga avaient potentiellement moins de capacités de résistance au stress et que ces communautés étaient potentiellement plus virulentes que les communautés microbiennes marines. / Marine pelagic mucilage (MPM) is worldwide phenomena occurring sporadically and, in certain regions, episodically in coastal areas. These gelatinous aggregates, enriched in organic matter and microorganisms, form autonomous transitory marine ecosystems ranging from 0.5 cm to several kilometers. They correspond to evolving stages originating from the non-settling early marine snow maintained in the photic zone. During the last decades intensification of MPM events have been noticed. They became a matter of concern both for populations exploiting coastal resources and in the context of global ecosystem functioning. Although increased scientific attention has been paid during last decades to these phenomena in specific areas such the Adriatic Sea, the causes of appearance, the dynamics, and the respective role of microorganisms in such systems remain enigmatic. Most of the studies performed on MPM focused on eukaryotic microbial communities using microscopic techniques. However molecular methods allow nowadays focusing also on the whole community including the prokaryotic part. In order to deeper our understanding of these phenomena we studied a MPM that occurred recurrently and more frequently during the last decade in the south of the Bay of Biscay (France), the “Liga”. In a first step we investigated the formation of this MPM through a complete year by following the dynamics of archaeal, bacterial and eukaryotic communities using T-RFLP fingerprinting targeting the small subunit of rRNA genes. This approach revealed that Liga’s microbial communities where different from marine microbial communities for the three domains of life and that both marine mucilage and marine communities were linked with seasonal patterns. As archaea were not found in the Liga, we focused on bacterial and eukaryotic communities’ structures through high throughput sequencing. The molecular composition revealed that the Liga was mainly composed of marine species although these communities were significantly different from marine species. In the Liga, eukaryotic communities were mainly composed of dinoflagellates, zooplankton and cnidarians species and bacterial communities were mainly composed of Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria. Functional diversity of freshly-formed Liga was targeted during its seasons of apparition, in spring and in autumn. We highlighted that Liga’s microbial communities had less potential capabilities to resist to stress conditions and that these communities were potentially more virulent than marine microbial communities.

Submitted by Ricardo Cedraz Duque Moliterno (ricardo.moliterno@uefs.br) on 2017-10-31T00:53:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Marisol Ferraz - tese final.pdf: 2927112 bytes, checksum: e8aefa039b3e565bd665b7e168e19f5d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-31T00:53:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marisol Ferraz - tese final.pdf: 2927112 bytes, checksum: e8aefa039b3e565bd665b7e168e19f5d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-19 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / The caatinga is a biome with great biological diversity, endemism and big potential for the production of bioactive compounds of economic interest, but with a great lack of information about the vegetal species and their forms of conservation. This work in order to reduce this gap and ensure their genetic conservation, eight species of subtribe Hyptidinae (Lamiaceae): Eplingiella fruticosa (Salzm. ex Benth.) Harley & J.F.B.Pastore, Gymneia platanifolia (Salzm. ex Benth.) Harley & J.F.B.Pastore, Hyptis lanceolata Poir., Hyptis ramosa Pohl ex Benth., Hyptis velutina Pohl ex Benth., Martianthus leucocephalus (Salzm. ex Benth.) J.F.B.Pastore, Mesosphaerum pectinatum (L.) Kuntze, Mesosphaerum suaveolens (L.) Kuntze., the seeds was characterized, the mucilage was extracted and the storage was done for twenty-four months in four different environments: 10 ? C without humidity control, to 10 ? C and 25 ? C with zinc chloride saturated solution, in liquid nitrogen at -196 ? C. The germinative response was tested every three months to evaluate storage efficiency in seed conservation. The efficiency of the use of X-ray image in the evaluation of the quality of the stored seeds was tested. The moisture content of the seeds ranged from 1.98% to 8.05%, suitable for storage. E. fruticosa, M. pectinatum and M. suaveolens can be good sources of mucilage due to their high yield. The environments with low relative humidity (5.5%) maintained by zinc chloride were efficient in the storage of the seeds of five of the eight evaluated species. X-ray image analysis is effective in evaluating seed quality. / A caatinga ? um bioma com uma grande diversidade biol?gica, endemismos egrande potencial para produ??o de compostos bioativos de interesse econ?mico, por?m com uma grande car?ncia de informa??es sobre as esp?cies vegetais e suas formas de conserva??o.Neste trabalho, com o objetivo de diminuir essa car?ncia e garantir sua conserva??o gen?tica, oito esp?cies da subtribo Hyptidinae (Lamiaceae):Eplingiella fruticosa (Salzm. ex Benth.) Harley & J.F.B.Pastore, Gymneia platanifolia (Salzm. ex Benth.) Harley & J.F.B.Pastore, Hyptis lanceolata Poir., Hyptis ramosa Pohl ex Benth.,Hyptis velutina Pohl ex Benth.,Martianthus leucocephalus (Salzm. ex Benth.) J.F.B.Pastore, Mesosphaerum pectinatum (L.) Kuntze, Mesosphaerum suaveolens (L.) Kuntze., tiveram as sementes caracterizadas, foi feita a extra??o da mucilagem e o armazenamento por vinte e quatro meses em quatro ambientes distintos: 10?C sem controle de umidade, a 10?C e 25?C com solu??o saturada de cloreto de zinco, e em nitrog?nio l?quido a -196 ?C. A cada tr?s meses foi testada a resposta germinativa para avaliar a efici?ncia do armazenamento na conserva??o das sementes. Foi testada a efic?cia do uso de imagem de raio X na avalia??o da qualidade das sementes armazenadas.O teor de umidade das sementes variou de 1,98% a 8,05%, adequados ao armazenamento.E. fruticosa, M. pectinatum e M. suaveolens podem vir a ser boas fontes de mucilagem por apresentar alto rendimento.Os ambientes com baixa umidade relativa (5,5%) mantida pelo cloreto de zinco se mostraram eficientes no armazenamento das sementes de cinco das oito esp?cies avaliadas mantendo a viabilidade durante o per?odo avaliado. A an?lise da imagem de raio X ? eficaz na avalia??o da qualidade das sementes.

This work investigates the fabrication, characterization and testing of Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage nanofibers to be utilized in water filtration systems. These mucilage nanofibers are formed using different polymers through a process called electrospinning. The polymers used to promote the formation of nanofibers are poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) and polystyrene (PS). The mucilage is a jelly like substance extracted from the pads of the cactus plant. It is a mixture of proteins, complex polysaccharides and monosaccharaides. It is an inexpensive, non-toxic, biodegradable and biocompatible material which is present in abundance. The mucilage extracted from the pads is mixed with acetic acid to form the mucilage solution. The mucilage solution is then mixed by volume with co-spinning polymers, PVA and PS. PVA is a synthetic polymer that is water-soluble, and this work considers two types of PVA differentiated based upon molecular weight, such as low molecular weight PVA and high molecular weight PVA. Polystyrene is a synthetic polymer extracted from a monomer styrene, and it is inexpensive, biodegradable, and abundant. The polystyrene, in its solid form, is further decomposed using a solvent called D-Limonene. D-Limonene is a biodegradable, non-toxic solvent formed from the citrus extract of orange peelings. The PVA and PS solutions are mixed in several different volume ratios with the mucilage solutions. These solutions were electrospun and consistent nanofibers were obtained using the low molecular weight PVA solutions and the polystyrene solutions. The fibers and polymeric solutions were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle measurements, viscosity, and FTIR. Resulting mucilage nanofiber membranes were characterized by atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS) filtration testing. In addition, a life cycle analysis using the SimaPro software was performed to understand the environmental impact of solutions used to fabricate the mucilage nanofiber membranes. Characterization results confirm the formation of PVA:mucilage and PS:mucilage nanofibers. Filtration testing of the nanofiber membranes indicates better performance with membranes formed by PS: mucilage solutions as compared to PVA: Mucilage solutions. Overall, this work has shown that natural materials, such as cactus mucilage, can be synthesized with polymeric solutions to form environmentally friendly water filters.

The use of natural environmentally benign agents in the treatment of drinking water is rapidly gaining interest due to their inherently renewable character and low toxicity. We show that the common Mexican cactus produces a gum-like substance, cactus mucilage, which shows excellent flocculating abilities and is an economically viable alternative for low-income communities. Cactus mucilage is a neutral mixture of approximately 55 high-molecular weight sugar residues composed basically of arabinose, galactose, rhamnose, xylose, and galacturonic acid. We show how this natural product was characterized for its use as a flocculating agent. Our results show the mucilage efficiency for reducing arsenic and particulates from drinking water as determined by light scattering, Atomic Absorption and Hydride Generation-Atomic Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Flocculation studies proved the mucilage to be a much faster flocculating agent when compared to Al2(SO4)3 with the efficiency increasing with mucilage concentration. Jar tests revealed that lower concentrations of mucilage provided the optimal effectiveness for supernatant clarity, an important factor in determining the potability of water. Initial filter results with the mucilage embedded in a silica matrix prove the feasibility of applying this technology as a method for heavy metal removal. This project provides fundamental, quantitative insights into the necessary and minimum requirements for natural flocculating agents that are innovative, environmentally benign, and cost-effective.

Submitted by Viviane Lima da Cunha (viviane@biblioteca.ufpb.br) on 2017-07-18T10:57:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 4564274 bytes, checksum: 51892e7a23a0b2af99ba8810b5e40ecf (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-18T10:57:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 4564274 bytes, checksum: 51892e7a23a0b2af99ba8810b5e40ecf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-09-30 / The use of gypsum in the building industry has been growing since 1990. The current plaster coating quick and easy application and is being widely used in construction due to its low cost. However, implementation of this coating generates a huge amount of waste, since it has high speed hardening and have not yet developed economically feasible technologies or applications that allow its reuse. To reduce the waste generated by the production of gypsum, adding a fire retardant additive that provides increased setting time is needed, offering longer workability of the product. This study aims to develop an additive retardant plasticizer for gypsum blocks from the mucilage of Opuntia Ficus Indica forage Palma and the evaluation of their performance through laboratory tests. The following steps were followed: Processed palm mucilage extraction, specific additive mass testing and determination of pH, application in gypsum slurry for setting time tests, absorption, compression and consistency. Based on the results it can be concluded that the additive to be used as fire retardant and plasticizer values obtained satisfactory for use. The setting time of the evaluation confirmed their retarding action on the handle start and end time grip. In compression analysis, the smaller the percentage of the additive used, greater strength. The absorption test showed that the specimen was more moisture containing the A(wather) / G(Gipsum) ratio largest and the smallest value corresponds to the smallest amount of water with the addition of the additive. As for the consistency test, the pulp with the addition of the additive possessed satisfactory values compared to reference values. / O uso de gesso na construção civil vem crescendo desde 1990. O revestimento de gesso atual possui rápida e fácil aplicação e está sendo muito utilizada na construção civil devido ao seu baixo custo. No entanto, a execução deste revestimento gera um enorme volume de resíduos, já que possui alta velocidade de endurecimento e ainda não foram desenvolvidas tecnologias ou aplicações economicamente viáveis que possibilitem a sua reutilização. Para reduzir os resíduos gerados pela confecção do gesso, é necessário a adição de um aditivo retardador que propicie aumento no tempo de pega, oferecendo mais tempo de trabalhabilidade do produto. Diante essa situação, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de um aditivo retardador plastificante para blocos de gesso a partir da mucilagem da Palma Forrageira Opuntia Ficus Indica e a avaliação do seu desempenho através de testes em laboratório. Nos procedimentos metodológicos foram seguidas as seguintes etapas: processo de extração da mucilagem da palma, ensaios de massa específica do aditivo e determinação de ph, como também a aplicação na pasta de gesso para os ensaios de tempo de pega, absorção, compressão e consistência. Com base nos resultados pode-se concluir que o aditivo para ser utilizado como retardador e plastificante obteve valores satisfatórios para o uso. A avaliação do tempo de pega confirmou sua ação retardadora no tempo de início de pega e final de pega. No ensaio de resistência à compressão, quanto menor a porcentagem utilizada do aditivo, maior e resistência. O ensaio de absorção mostrou que o corpo de prova com maior umidade era o que continha a relação a/g maior, e o menor valor corresponde a menor quantidade de água com a adição do aditivo. Quanto ao ensaio de consistência, as pastas com a adição do aditivo possuíram valores satisfatórios comparados aos valores de referência.