Okra (Abelmuschus esculentus (L) Moench.) is one of the most popular crops within the Malvaceae family of plants. It is a common vegetable eminently cultivated in regions experiencing constraints to manage climate change. In South Africa climate change coupled with aluminium-enriched soils are responsible to drawbacks crop performance. Therefore, it is worthwhile to whether okra will thrive as an alternative crop in the country. Many studies have identified potential of okra to improve yields of resource poor farmers in Africa. The physiological responses of okra seed to variations in aluminium ions and temperature were not determined. Therefore, a study with okra, cv. Clemson Spineless, seed coated and uncoated with B. subtilis, was initiated to assess germination on moist filter paper in 90mm diameter Petri plates. Germination medium consisted of various concentrations of aluminium chloride (AlCl3), 0M, 0.001M, 0.01M, 0.05M and 0.1M. Each aluminium treatment was allocated into incubators adjusted to 22°C, 25°C and 37°C temperatures. This resulted into a 5 x 3 x 2 factorial experiment with five replicates and was conducted in three cycles. Daily scores of germinated seeds were assessed from the second to the fifth day after initiation of germination. During termination, five days after the initiation of the experiment 10 seeds with the longest coleoptiles had their coleoptiles measured using a digital caliper. At the fifth day after initiation of the experiment, coleoptile lengths from 10 seeds per treatment were measured using digital caliper. A total of 50 plates (10 from 37°C in Cycle 1; 30 from 22°C, 25°C and 37°C from Cycle 2; 10 from 37°C in Cycle 3), were selected and germinated were ground and stored at - 20°C before 1H NMR analysis. Metabolites were extracted from 50mg ground seed material with 750 μL methanol-D4 and 750 μL buffer (deuterium oxide + potassium dihydrogen phosphate). The mixture was vortexed for three minutes, sonicated for 20 minutes, centrifuged at 18000 rpms for 20 minutes and the supernatant filtered through cotton wool. Then the supernatant was dispensed into NMR tubes for further 1H NMR spectroscopic processing using a 600 MHz NMR xiii Varian spectrometer to generate magnetic spectra of the fifty samples. Results of this study demonstrated that in all the experimental cycles, regardless of aluminium concentration and bacterial seed coating, 37°C inhibited germination percentages and coleoptile lengths in okra seed germination. Germination percentages and coleoptile lengths of bacteria-coated seeds growing in 25°C were most stimulated at all aluminium concentrations, but not at 0.1M. In this temperature germination percentages and coleoptile lengths were highly influenced by the interaction of aluminium concentrations and bacterial coating, respectively. 1H NMR metabolomic association showed no distinct grouping, but clusters across treatments showed to be linked through a subset of metabolites amongst aluminium concentrations, bacterial seed coating and temperatures, respectively. This infers that treatment variations in both seed and bacterial physiological responses were associated through shared metabolic pathways. In conclusion, the study proved that 25°C provide temperature environment within which B. subtilis can be able to stimulate growth and remediate physiological constraints from aluminium ions during okra seed germination. / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M. Sc. (Agriculture)

Okra (Abelmuschus esculentus (L) Moench.) is one of the most popular crops within the Malvaceae family of plants. It is a common vegetable eminently cultivated in regions experiencing constraints to manage climate change. In South Africa climate change coupled with aluminium-enriched soils are responsible to drawbacks crop performance. Therefore, it is worthwhile to whether okra will thrive as an alternative crop in the country. Many studies have identified potential of okra to improve yields of resource poor farmers in Africa. The physiological responses of okra seed to variations in aluminium ions and temperature were not determined. Therefore, a study with okra, cv. Clemson Spineless, seed coated and uncoated with B. subtilis, was initiated to assess germination on moist filter paper in 90mm diameter Petri plates. Germination medium consisted of various concentrations of aluminium chloride (AlCl3), 0M, 0.001M, 0.01M, 0.05M and 0.1M. Each aluminium treatment was allocated into incubators adjusted to 22°C, 25°C and 37°C temperatures. This resulted into a 5 x 3 x 2 factorial experiment with five replicates and was conducted in three cycles. Daily scores of germinated seeds were assessed from the second to the fifth day after initiation of germination. During termination, five days after the initiation of the experiment 10 seeds with the longest coleoptiles had their coleoptiles measured using a digital caliper. At the fifth day after initiation of the experiment, coleoptile lengths from 10 seeds per treatment were measured using digital caliper. A total of 50 plates (10 from 37°C in Cycle 1; 30 from 22°C, 25°C and 37°C from Cycle 2; 10 from 37°C in Cycle 3), were selected and germinated were ground and stored at - 20°C before 1H NMR analysis. Metabolites were extracted from 50mg ground seed material with 750 μL methanol-D4 and 750 μL buffer (deuterium oxide + potassium dihydrogen phosphate). The mixture was vortexed for three minutes, sonicated for 20 minutes, centrifuged at 18000 rpms for 20 minutes and the supernatant filtered through cotton wool. Then the supernatant was dispensed into NMR tubes for further 1H NMR spectroscopic processing using a 600 MHz NMR xiii Varian spectrometer to generate magnetic spectra of the fifty samples. Results of this study demonstrated that in all the experimental cycles, regardless of aluminium concentration and bacterial seed coating, 37°C inhibited germination percentages and coleoptile lengths in okra seed germination. Germination percentages and coleoptile lengths of bacteria-coated seeds growing in 25°C were most stimulated at all aluminium concentrations, but not at 0.1M. In this temperature germination percentages and coleoptile lengths were highly influenced by the interaction of aluminium concentrations and bacterial coating, respectively. 1H NMR metabolomic association showed no distinct grouping, but clusters across treatments showed to be linked through a subset of metabolites amongst aluminium concentrations, bacterial seed coating and temperatures, respectively. This infers that treatment variations in both seed and bacterial physiological responses were associated through shared metabolic pathways. In conclusion, the study proved that 25°C provide temperature environment within which B. subtilis can be able to stimulate growth and remediate physiological constraints from aluminium ions during okra seed germination. / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M. Sc. (Agriculture)

Submitted by Viviane Lima da Cunha (viviane@biblioteca.ufpb.br) on 2016-02-22T15:25:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1326791 bytes, checksum: 047e6cb846e3a375011e97377274ccc0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-22T15:25:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1326791 bytes, checksum: 047e6cb846e3a375011e97377274ccc0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-24 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / The reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated through reactions physiologically normal in the human organism during the respiratory process and perform various functions such as signage and providing defense against infections. However, in excessive amounts the ROS cause cellular damage and are involved in the initiation or progression of degenerative chronic diseases. In contrast, the antioxidant agents play a vital role for reduce the processes oxidative in the organism. Among them are hydrolyzed peptides from protein sources and, that demonstrate antioxidant activity. However, it is necessary the hydrolytic process for release of small fragments of amino peptide with the capacity to reduce the ROS. However, the conditions of hydrolysis employed such as type of enzyme, enzyme concentration, pH, time and temperature can influence the formation of peptides with antioxidant properties. Thus, this study aimed to obtain hydrolyzed from okra seed proteins using Alcalase® hydrolytic enzyme in different conditions and evaluate the antioxidant capacity of the hydrolysates produced. Using a Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD), was evaluated the influence of independent variables: enzyme concentration (EC) and hydrolysis time (T), on the dependent variables: degree of hydrolysis (DH), protein recovery efficiency (PRE), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and scavenging of radicals radicais 2.2’-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) e 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrilidrazil (DPPH). The results showed that the increase in EC and T influenced positively on DH and TAC and only increased T influenced on the PRE, the ability of eliminating radical ABTS and DPPH were not influenced by the independent variables. It was verified that the increased TAC is directly into proportional to the increase in DH. The electrophoretic profile revealed that okra seed protein concentrate (OSPC), presents protein bands with relative masses above 38 kDa and less than 8.5 kDa. It was also found, the efficiency of the process of hydrolysis by Alcalase®, evidenced by the disappearance of most of the protein bands and the appearance of peptides of molecular mass < 3.5 kDa in hydrolysates with a higher DH. The OSPC showed lower TAC and ability of the ABTS and DPPH radical scavenger in comparison to the hydrolysates obtained. The best operating conditions of the independent variables (EC and T) obtained in the optimization study, using the methodology CCRD was possible to obtain a hydrolyzate considered optimal, the enzyme concentration was 2% and time of hydrolysis of 300 min, in this condition the hydrolyzed resulted in increased DH (19.32%), TAC (51.54%) and significant results for DPPH (52.60%) and ABTS (73.04%). The hydrolyzed great presented a considerable content of amino acids with ability to donate protons and electrons, especially acids (32.90 g/100 g of protein), hydrophobic (38.58 g/100 g of protein) and aromatic (9.43 g/100 g of protein). The results show that the protein hydrolyzate of okra seed emerges as a promising bioactive compound, with antioxid capacity. However, other studies are needed to assess the effects that the hydrolysate can produce in vivo, in order to verify the effectiveness of antioxidant activity in the human organism. / As espécies reativas de oxigênio (EROs) são geradas através de reações fisiologicamente normais no organismo humano durante o processo respiratório e exercem diversas funções como sinalização e fornecimento de defesa contra infecções. No entanto, em quantidades excessivas as EROs causam dano celular e estão envolvidas na iniciação ou progresso de doenças crônicas degenerativas. Em contrapartida, os agentes antioxidantes desempenham um papel vital para reduzir os processos oxidativos no organismo. Dentre os quais destacam-se hidrolisados e peptídeos oriundos de fontes proteícas, que demonstram atividade antioxidante. Porém, se faz necessário o processo hidrolítico para que ocorra a liberação dos pequenos fragmentos de peptídeos com capacidade em reduzir as EROs. Todavia, as condições de hidrólise empregadas tais como tipo de enzima, concentração enzimática, pH, tempo e temperatura podem influenciar a formação de peptídeos com propriedades antioxidantes. Desta forma, esse estudo objetivou obter hidrolisado a partir das proteínas de sementes de quiabo com uso da enzima Alcalase® em diferentes condições hidrolíticas e avaliar a capacidade antioxidante dos hidrolisados produzidos. Utilizando um delineamento composto central rotacional (DCCR), foi avaliada a influência das variáveis independentes: concentração enzimática (CE) e tempo de hidrólise (T), sobre as variáveis dependentes: grau de hidrólise (GH), rendimento da recuperação de proteínas (RRP), capacidade antioxidante total (TAC) e sequestro dos radicais 2,2’-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) e 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrilidrazil (DPPH). Os resultados mostraram que o aumento da CE e T influenciaram positivamente sobre o GH e TAC e apenas o aumento do T influenciou no RRP, a capacidade de eliminação dos radicais ABTS e DPPH não foram influenciadas pelas variáveis independentes. Foi verificado que o aumento da TAC é diretamente proporcional ao aumento do GH. O perfil eletroforético revelou que o concentrado proteico de sementes de quiabo (CPSQ) apresenta bandas proteícas com massas relativas acima de 38 kDa e menor que 8,5 kDa. Foi constatado ainda a eficiência do processo de hidrólise pela Alcalase®, através do desaparecimento da maioria das bandas proteicas e aparecimento de peptídeos de massa molecular < 3,5 kDa nos hidrolisados com maior GH. O CPSQ apresentou menor TAC e capacidade sequestrante dos radicais ABTS e DPPH em comparação aos hidrolisados obtidos. Operando-se as melhores condições das variáveis independentes (CE e T) obtidas no estudo de otimização, a partir da metodologia do DCCR foi possível obter um hidrolisado considerado ótimo, cuja concentração enzimática foi de 2% e tempo de hidrólise de 300 min, nesta condição o hidrolisado resultou em maior GH (19,32%), TAC (51,54%) e resultados expressivos para DPPH (52,60%) e ABTS (73,04%). O hidrolisado ótimo apresentou um teor considerável de aminoácidos com capacidade em doar prótons e elétrons, destacando-se os ácidos (32,90 g/100g de proteína), hidrofóbicos (38,58 g/100g de proteína) e aromáticos (9,43 g/ 100g de proteína). Os resultados evidenciam que o hidrolisado proteico de sementes de quiabo surge como um composto bioativo promissor, com capacidade antioxidante. No entanto, outros estudos são necessários para avaliar os efeitos que o hidrolisado pode produzir in vivo, no intuito de constatar a efetividade da atividade antioxidante no organismo humano.