The study presented herein investigated a potential low-energy method to separate and concentrate glucose from a lignocellulosic hydrolysate. The motivation for this method was twofold: 1) to provide the fermentation microorganism an optimal glucose concentration and 2) to supply a fermentation media free of inhibitory compounds. Two sizes of porous silica particles (with 7 nm and 2.3 nm pores) were synthesized and their ability to adsorb glucose from solution confirmed. Next, the ability of two different microorganisms, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Streptococcus bovis, to utilize sugars adsorbed to the porous silica particles was investigated. Both the 7 nm and 2.3 nm pore-size particles were capable of adsorbing glucose from solution. Fermentations with glucose provided adsorbed to nanoparticles were compared to fermentations with glucose dissolved in media. The success of the fermentation was assessed by using high performance liquid chromatography to compare the concentration of fermentation products at harvest time. Results indicated that although the fermentation with soluble glucose produced significantly more end-products, S. bovis demonstrated some ability to metabolize the glucose adsorbed to the 7 nm pore silica particles. No evidence was detected that S. cerevisiae could metabolize glucose adsorbed to silica particles of either pore size.

Antioxidants are molecules capable of stabilizing and preventing oxidation. Certain peptides, protein hydrolysates, have shown antioxidant capacities, which are obtained once liberated from the native protein structure. Soy protein isolates (SPI) were enzymatically hydrolyzed by pepsin and pancreatin mixtures. The soy protein hydrolysates (SPH) were fractionated with sequential ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) membrane steps. Heat pre-treatment of SPI at 95 degrees celsius (C) for 5 min prior to enzymatic hydrolysis was investigated for its effect on peptide distribution and antioxidant capacity. SPH were subjected to UF with a 10 kDa molecular weight cut off (MWCO) polysulfone membrane. UF permeate fractions (lower molecular weight than 10 kDa) were fractionated by NF with a thin film composite membrane (2.5 kDa MWCO) at pH 4 and 8. Similar peptide content and antioxidant capacity (α=0.05) were obtained in control and pre-heated SPH when comparing the respective UF and NF permeate and retentate fractions produced. FCR antioxidant capacities of the SPH fractions were significantly lower than their ORAC antioxidant capacities, and the distribution among the UF and NF fractions was generally different. Most UF and NF fractions displayed higher antioxidant capacities when compared to the crude SPI hydrolysates, showing the importance of molecular weight on antioxidant capacity of peptides. The permeate fractions produced by NF at pH 8 displayed the highest antioxidant capacity, expressed in terms of Trolox equivalents (TE) per total solids (TS): 5562 μmol TE/g TS for control SPH, and 5187 μmol TE/g TS for pre-heated SPH. Due to the improvement in antioxidant capacity of peptides by NF at pH 8, the potential for NF as a viable industrial fractionation process was demonstrated. Principal component analysis (PCA) of fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) data for UF and NF peptide fractions, followed by multi-linear regression analysis, was assessed for its potential to monitor and identify the contributions to ORAC and FCR, two in vitro antioxidant capacity assays, of SPH during membrane fractionation. Two statistically significant principal components (PCs) were obtained for UF and NF peptide fractions. Multi-linear regression models (MLRM) were developed to estimate their fluorescence and PCA-captured ORAC (ORAC-FPCA) and FCR (FCR-FPCA) antioxidant capacities. The ORAC-FPCA and FCR-FPCA antioxidant capacities for NF samples displayed strong, linear relationships at different pH conditions (R-squared>0.99). Such relationships are believed to reflect the individual and relative combined contributions of tryptophan and tyrosine residues present in the SPH fractions to ORAC and FCR antioxidant capacities. Therefore, the proposed method provides a tool for the assessment of fundamental parameters of antioxidant capacities captured by ORAC and FCR assays.

Pea protein hydrolysate (PPH) has antihypertensive effects and prostanoids have been implicated in renal diseases. To investigate the role of PPH and prostanoids on renal and cardiovascular effects in cardio-renal disease, normal and diseased Han:SPRD-cy rats were given diets containing either 0, 0.5% or 1% PPH for 8 weeks. At termination, diseased rat kidneys displayed increased renal cyst growth, fibrosis, plasma creatinine and lower monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. Diseased rats also exhibited left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressures and LV end diastolic and systolic pressures. Four of five prostanoids were elevated in diseased rat kidneys. PPH attenuated systolic blood pressure, but not other components of the cardio-renal syndrome. PPH also increased select prostanoids in normal and diseased rats. Thus, dietary PPH attenuates hypertension in the Han:SPRD-cy rat, but does not ameliorate other components of disease, possibly due to increased prostanoid effects or an insufficient treatment length.

Pea protein hydrolysate (PPH) has antihypertensive effects and prostanoids have been implicated in renal diseases. To investigate the role of PPH and prostanoids on renal and cardiovascular effects in cardio-renal disease, normal and diseased Han:SPRD-cy rats were given diets containing either 0, 0.5% or 1% PPH for 8 weeks. At termination, diseased rat kidneys displayed increased renal cyst growth, fibrosis, plasma creatinine and lower monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. Diseased rats also exhibited left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressures and LV end diastolic and systolic pressures. Four of five prostanoids were elevated in diseased rat kidneys. PPH attenuated systolic blood pressure, but not other components of the cardio-renal syndrome. PPH also increased select prostanoids in normal and diseased rats. Thus, dietary PPH attenuates hypertension in the Han:SPRD-cy rat, but does not ameliorate other components of disease, possibly due to increased prostanoid effects or an insufficient treatment length.

Antioxidants are molecules capable of stabilizing and preventing oxidation. Certain peptides, protein hydrolysates, have shown antioxidant capacities, which are obtained once liberated from the native protein structure. Soy protein isolates (SPI) were enzymatically hydrolyzed by pepsin and pancreatin mixtures. The soy protein hydrolysates (SPH) were fractionated with sequential ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) membrane steps. Heat pre-treatment of SPI at 95 degrees celsius (C) for 5 min prior to enzymatic hydrolysis was investigated for its effect on peptide distribution and antioxidant capacity. SPH were subjected to UF with a 10 kDa molecular weight cut off (MWCO) polysulfone membrane. UF permeate fractions (lower molecular weight than 10 kDa) were fractionated by NF with a thin film composite membrane (2.5 kDa MWCO) at pH 4 and 8. Similar peptide content and antioxidant capacity (α=0.05) were obtained in control and pre-heated SPH when comparing the respective UF and NF permeate and retentate fractions produced. FCR antioxidant capacities of the SPH fractions were significantly lower than their ORAC antioxidant capacities, and the distribution among the UF and NF fractions was generally different. Most UF and NF fractions displayed higher antioxidant capacities when compared to the crude SPI hydrolysates, showing the importance of molecular weight on antioxidant capacity of peptides. The permeate fractions produced by NF at pH 8 displayed the highest antioxidant capacity, expressed in terms of Trolox equivalents (TE) per total solids (TS): 5562 μmol TE/g TS for control SPH, and 5187 μmol TE/g TS for pre-heated SPH. Due to the improvement in antioxidant capacity of peptides by NF at pH 8, the potential for NF as a viable industrial fractionation process was demonstrated. Principal component analysis (PCA) of fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) data for UF and NF peptide fractions, followed by multi-linear regression analysis, was assessed for its potential to monitor and identify the contributions to ORAC and FCR, two in vitro antioxidant capacity assays, of SPH during membrane fractionation. Two statistically significant principal components (PCs) were obtained for UF and NF peptide fractions. Multi-linear regression models (MLRM) were developed to estimate their fluorescence and PCA-captured ORAC (ORAC-FPCA) and FCR (FCR-FPCA) antioxidant capacities. The ORAC-FPCA and FCR-FPCA antioxidant capacities for NF samples displayed strong, linear relationships at different pH conditions (R-squared>0.99). Such relationships are believed to reflect the individual and relative combined contributions of tryptophan and tyrosine residues present in the SPH fractions to ORAC and FCR antioxidant capacities. Therefore, the proposed method provides a tool for the assessment of fundamental parameters of antioxidant capacities captured by ORAC and FCR assays.

A produção biotecnológica de xilitol e etanol mediante o cultivo de leveduras em hidrolisados hemicelulósicos obtidos a partir de resíduos agroindustriais é de grande interesse econômico. Isso porque, esse processo pode agregar valor aos resíduos lignocelulósicos, substituir o corrente e oneroso processo químico de obtenção de xilitol, além de promover um aproveitamento completo dos materiais, utilizando as frações celulósica e hemicelulósica, para a obtenção de etanol, biocombustível de grande interesse econômico e ambiental. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo ampliar os conhecimentos da produção biotecnológica de xilitol e etanol mediante o cultivo de Candida guilliermondii NRRL Y-2075 a partir de hidrolisado de casca de soja (SHH). A melhor condição de hidrólise testada (125 °C; 1,4 % (v/v) H2SO4; 1 h; 1/10 relação sólido/líquido) promoveu hidrólise de 76 % da hemicelulose da casca de soja, liberando, 85 e 62 % de manose e xilose, respectivamente. Dentre os tratamentos de detoxificação testados no hidrolisado de casca de soja quatro vezes concentrado (SHH-4C), o carvão ativado (10 % (p/v)) demonstrou os melhores resultados, apresentando alto índice de remoção de contaminantes, 95 e 76 % para furfural e compostos fenólicos, respectivamente. Os parâmetros cinéticos obtidos a partir do cultivo em SHH-4C demonstraram que a pressão osmótica desse meio é maior do que a suportada por leveduras osmofílicas, revelando a característica osmotolerante da C. guilliermondii NRRL Y-2075. Os cultivos realizados em frascos agitados empregando SHH duas vezes concentrado (SHH-2C) resultaram na produção de etanol com altos índices de rendimento, não havendo produção de xilitol, devido, provavelmente, a uma variação na preferência do cofator da xilose redutase nesta levedura. Os cultivos de SHH-2C em batelada, avaliando-se a influência do coeficiente de transferência de oxigênio em três diferentes níveis (kLa de 0, 8 e 46 h-1, respectivamente, anaeróbio, microearóbio e aeróbio), comprovaram a possibilidade de produção de xilitol a partir de hidrolisado de casca de soja desde que condições limitadas de oxigênio (kLa de 8 h-1) sejam empregadas, bem como, a boa fermentabilidade do meio dado o alto rendimento de formação de biomassa sob condições aeróbias (kLa de 46 h-1). Os resultados obtidos no presente trabalho revelam o potencial do hidrolisado de casca de soja em aplicações biotecnológicas. / The biotechnology production of xylitol and ethanol by yeasts in hemicellulosic hydrolysates from agro industrial residues has great economic interest. This process can add value to these materials; replace the expensive chemical processes currently used for xylitol production, and makes the bioconversion of lignocellulosic materials into ethanol using hemicellulose in addition to cellulose to obtain this biofuel of important economical and environmental interest. The aim of the present work was to improve the knowledge about the biotechnological production of xylitol and ethanol employing the cultivation of Candida guilliermondii NRRL Y-2075 in soybean hull hydrolysate (SHH). The best acid hydrolysis of soybean hull (125 °C; 1.4 % (v/v) H2SO4; 1 h; 1/10 solid/liquid ratio) produced a hydrolysis of 76 % of hemicellulose from soybean hull, liberating approximately, 85 and 62 % of the total xylose and manose, respectively. Four-fold soybean hull hydrolysate (SHH-4C) was submitted to different detoxification treatments, of which activated charcoal 10 % (w/v) showed the best results, removing 95 and 76 % of furfural and phenol, respectively. Kinetic parameters obtained from the cultivation of C. guilliermondii NRRL Y-2075 on detoxified SHH-4C have shown that the osmotic pressure of this medium is higher than that supported by most osmophilic yeasts, revealing the osmotolerant characteristic of C. guilliermondii NRRL Y-2075. When cultivations were carried out on two times concentrated SHH (SHH- 2C) in shake flasks, we obtained high yields of ethanol production. Although xylose was present in high concentrations, no xylitol was produced, probably due to some varying cofactor preference of xylose reductase in this yeast strain. Batch cultivation of SHH-2C employing as variable parameter the oxygen volumetric mass transfer coefficient (kLa), evaluating three different conditions of aeration (kLa of 0, 8 e 46 h-1, respectively, anaerobic, microerobic and anaerobic) revealed that it is possible to produce xylitol from soybean hull hydrolysate if conditions of oxygen limitation are applied. Furthermore, this hydrolysate readily metabolized under aerobic conditions (kLa of 46 h-1) rendering a high biomass yield. These results showed the prospect of SHH as a candidate for biotechnological process.

A produção biotecnológica de xilitol e etanol mediante o cultivo de leveduras em hidrolisados hemicelulósicos obtidos a partir de resíduos agroindustriais é de grande interesse econômico. Isso porque, esse processo pode agregar valor aos resíduos lignocelulósicos, substituir o corrente e oneroso processo químico de obtenção de xilitol, além de promover um aproveitamento completo dos materiais, utilizando as frações celulósica e hemicelulósica, para a obtenção de etanol, biocombustível de grande interesse econômico e ambiental. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo ampliar os conhecimentos da produção biotecnológica de xilitol e etanol mediante o cultivo de Candida guilliermondii NRRL Y-2075 a partir de hidrolisado de casca de soja (SHH). A melhor condição de hidrólise testada (125 °C; 1,4 % (v/v) H2SO4; 1 h; 1/10 relação sólido/líquido) promoveu hidrólise de 76 % da hemicelulose da casca de soja, liberando, 85 e 62 % de manose e xilose, respectivamente. Dentre os tratamentos de detoxificação testados no hidrolisado de casca de soja quatro vezes concentrado (SHH-4C), o carvão ativado (10 % (p/v)) demonstrou os melhores resultados, apresentando alto índice de remoção de contaminantes, 95 e 76 % para furfural e compostos fenólicos, respectivamente. Os parâmetros cinéticos obtidos a partir do cultivo em SHH-4C demonstraram que a pressão osmótica desse meio é maior do que a suportada por leveduras osmofílicas, revelando a característica osmotolerante da C. guilliermondii NRRL Y-2075. Os cultivos realizados em frascos agitados empregando SHH duas vezes concentrado (SHH-2C) resultaram na produção de etanol com altos índices de rendimento, não havendo produção de xilitol, devido, provavelmente, a uma variação na preferência do cofator da xilose redutase nesta levedura. Os cultivos de SHH-2C em batelada, avaliando-se a influência do coeficiente de transferência de oxigênio em três diferentes níveis (kLa de 0, 8 e 46 h-1, respectivamente, anaeróbio, microearóbio e aeróbio), comprovaram a possibilidade de produção de xilitol a partir de hidrolisado de casca de soja desde que condições limitadas de oxigênio (kLa de 8 h-1) sejam empregadas, bem como, a boa fermentabilidade do meio dado o alto rendimento de formação de biomassa sob condições aeróbias (kLa de 46 h-1). Os resultados obtidos no presente trabalho revelam o potencial do hidrolisado de casca de soja em aplicações biotecnológicas. / The biotechnology production of xylitol and ethanol by yeasts in hemicellulosic hydrolysates from agro industrial residues has great economic interest. This process can add value to these materials; replace the expensive chemical processes currently used for xylitol production, and makes the bioconversion of lignocellulosic materials into ethanol using hemicellulose in addition to cellulose to obtain this biofuel of important economical and environmental interest. The aim of the present work was to improve the knowledge about the biotechnological production of xylitol and ethanol employing the cultivation of Candida guilliermondii NRRL Y-2075 in soybean hull hydrolysate (SHH). The best acid hydrolysis of soybean hull (125 °C; 1.4 % (v/v) H2SO4; 1 h; 1/10 solid/liquid ratio) produced a hydrolysis of 76 % of hemicellulose from soybean hull, liberating approximately, 85 and 62 % of the total xylose and manose, respectively. Four-fold soybean hull hydrolysate (SHH-4C) was submitted to different detoxification treatments, of which activated charcoal 10 % (w/v) showed the best results, removing 95 and 76 % of furfural and phenol, respectively. Kinetic parameters obtained from the cultivation of C. guilliermondii NRRL Y-2075 on detoxified SHH-4C have shown that the osmotic pressure of this medium is higher than that supported by most osmophilic yeasts, revealing the osmotolerant characteristic of C. guilliermondii NRRL Y-2075. When cultivations were carried out on two times concentrated SHH (SHH- 2C) in shake flasks, we obtained high yields of ethanol production. Although xylose was present in high concentrations, no xylitol was produced, probably due to some varying cofactor preference of xylose reductase in this yeast strain. Batch cultivation of SHH-2C employing as variable parameter the oxygen volumetric mass transfer coefficient (kLa), evaluating three different conditions of aeration (kLa of 0, 8 e 46 h-1, respectively, anaerobic, microerobic and anaerobic) revealed that it is possible to produce xylitol from soybean hull hydrolysate if conditions of oxygen limitation are applied. Furthermore, this hydrolysate readily metabolized under aerobic conditions (kLa of 46 h-1) rendering a high biomass yield. These results showed the prospect of SHH as a candidate for biotechnological process.

Orientador: Cláudio Cabello / Banca: Manoel Lima de Menezes / Banca: Romualdo Shigueo Fukushima / Banca: Ivo Mottin Demiate / Banca: Magali Leonel / Resumo: Recentemente há uma crescente busca de maior utilização de resíduos agroindustriais visando recuperar substâncias e/ou materiais e deste modo aumentar a eficiência econômica dos processos de produção. Diversos processos são desenvolvidos para utilização desses materiais convergindo em compostos químicos e produtos finos. A aplicação de resíduos agroindustriais em bioprocessos é uma alternativa observada na forma de substratos, e uma ajuda para solucionar o problema da poluição nos processos de agroindustrialização. O farelo de mandioca é um resíduo sólido produzido nas agroindústrias que extraem o seu amido (fecularias) que contém alto teor de amido (60 a 70% em peso seco) que é descartado e causa problemas ao meio ambiente. A recuperação do amido residual por tratamento físico ou biológico do material que tem sido objeto de pesquisas visando a melhoria dos processos, com o objetivo de agregar valor à matéria prima consumida. A produção de fécula de mandioca gera cerca de 930 Kg de farelo com aproximadamente 85% de umidade para cada 1000 Kg de raiz processada apresentando uma concentração de amido residual de 60 a 75% em massa seca. A fim de se obter um melhor aproveitamento do amido residuário existente no farelo de mandioca, o presente trabalho desenvolveu uma metodologia adequada para produção de hidrolisado, rico em glicose originário de tratamento hidrotérmico com fluido subcrítico. O tratamento do farelo residuário originário de uma agroindústria com umidade de 85% foi realizado em reator agitado em bateladas de 2,0 Kg, utilizando como catalisador o ácido sulfúrico a temperatura de 140 a 170°C. Os melhores resultados foram obtidos para as seguintes condições de tratamento: tempo de processo 35 minutos; temperatura de 140°C; concentração do catalisador de 2,5 % (m/s); umidade de 90,5% e rotação de 50 rpm. As respostas foram: ...(Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Recently there has been an increase search for a large utilization of agro-industrial residues based on recovering substances and/or materials to increase the economical efficiency of the production. Several processes were developed for production fine chemicals compounds and other products. The application of agro-industrial residues on bioprocesses is an alternative observed in the substract form, and also a help to solve the pollution problem on the processes of agro-industrialization. The cassava waste is a solid residue produced in agro-industry that extracts its starch which has a high starch content which is wasted and causes environmental problems. The recovery of these residual starch by physical or biological treatment of the material require research aiming the optimization of the chosen processes, as well as for aggregating value to the consumed raw material. The cassava starch production generates about 930 Kg of solid waste with approximately 85% of moisture to each 1000 Kg of processed root, presenting a concentration of starch residue from 60 to 70% on a dry weight. In order to obtain a better use of the residual starch present on the cassava waste, in the present work an optimized methodology for hydrolysate production, was developed with production of a glucose rich solution from a hydrotermic treatment with subcritical fluid. The residual waste treatment originated from an agro-industry with 85% of moisture was performed in a stirred reactor with agitator in amounts of 2 Kg using sulphuric acid as a catalyst at temperatures between 140 and 170°C. The optimum results were obtained to the following treatment conditions: ...(Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Orientador: Celio Kenji Miyasaka / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-08T03:26:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cavalheiro_LauraAndrade_M.pdf: 809451 bytes, checksum: 708c6f3b4585edd72f8cc635a5c73faf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: As proteínas presentes no soro de leite têm demonstrado um grande número de efeitos benéficos, como atividade anticarcinogênicas, efeito antiulcerogênica e função imunoestimulatória. Esta propriedade imunoestimulatória está sendo relacionada à possível manipulação da glutationa intracelular. Os linfócitos são importantes células do sistema de defesa celular e humoral. Este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar os efeitos da suplementação com soro de leite sobre os linfócitos de ratos Wistar. Cento e vinte animais foram divididos em 4 grupos (n = 30), sendo um grupo controle (C) e os demais suplementados com caseinato de cálcio (K), isolado protéico de soro de leite (I) e hidrolisado protéico de soro de leite (H). Os ratos foram mantidos em gaiolas individuais com água e ração à vontade. Aos 18 dias de suplementação amostras de sangue foram recolhidas para realização de hemograma. Dez dias depois, os animais foram sacrificados e os linfócitos mesentéricos retirados, contados em câmara de Neubauer e incubados (5x107células/ml) em presença de peróxido de hidrogênio. A viabilidade celular foi avaliada antes e depois da incubação. Também foram avaliadas as atividades enzimáticas da glutationa redutase (GSH-Red) e da glutationa peroxidase (GSH-Px). Apesar de um maior consumo de ração, os animais do grupo C não foram os que apresentaram maior ganho de peso. Estatisticamente, seu ganho de peso foi maior que o do grupo K, menor que do grupo I e não diferiu significantemente do grupo H. Os animais do grupo H apresentaram número de linfócitos 134% maior quando comparado aos grupos I e K e 158% mais elevado em relação ao grupo C. Na análise de sangue o número de linfócitos (x10³ celulas/mL) dos animais dos grupos H e I foram estatisticamente maiores que os demais grupos. Os linfócitos dos animais do grupo H tiveram a sua viabilidade diminuída apenas 4,08% após incubação com peróxido de hidrogênio enquanto que no grupo C a diminuição de viabilidade foi de 28,9%. A enzima GSH-Red dos animais do grupo H (38,22 pmols . min-1. mg proteina-1) se mostrou maior que dos animais do grupo C (17,64 pmols . min-1. mg proteina-1). Não houve diferenças entre os grupos na determinação de GSH-Px. Assim, verificou-se a qualidade nutricional atribuída ao soro de leite e que este pode interferir no metabolismo de linfócitos / Abstract: The whey proteins have demonstrated some beneficial effects, as anticarcinogenic activity, antiulcerogenic effect and immunostimulanting function. These immunostimulanting properties have being related to the possible manipulation of intracellular glutathione. The lymphocytes are important cells of the cellular and humoral defense system. The aim of this work was to study the effect of the whey proteins supplementation on lymphocytes of Wistar rats. One hundred and twenty animals were randomly distributed in 4 groups (n = 30): one control group (C) while the others were supplemented with calcium caseinate (K), whey protein isolated (I) and whey protein hydrolysate (H). The rats were maintained in individual cages with water and ration ad libitum. After 18 days of supplementation, blood samples were collected for hemogram accomplishment. Ten days later, the animals were killed and the mesenteric lymphocytes were counted in Neubauer¿s camara and incubated (5x107células/ml) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The cellular viability was evaluated before and after the incubation. The enzymatic activities of glutathione reductase (GSH-Red) and of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were also evaluated. Animals of group C had the highest feed consumption, although its body weight gain was the same as group H, greater than group K and lesser than group I. The group H animals have presented number of lymphocytes 134% greater when compared with groups I and K and 158% more than group C animals. The blood analysis have shown that the number of lymphocytes (x103 cells/mL) of group H animals were bigger than the others groups / Mestrado / Nutrição Experimental e Aplicada à Tecnologia de Alimentos / Mestre em Alimentos e Nutrição

Mastitis, an infection of the mammary gland, is the most common and expensive animal health problem for the dairy industry and affects every dairy farm to some degree. This disease complex is painful for dairy cows, increases the on-farm use of antibiotics, presents a threat to milk quality and is a waste of time, money and milk production. Each year, the dairy industry loses as much as a billion dollars to mastitis. Many cows will experience mastitis at least once during a lactation cycle and some animals will develop recurring mastitis episodes in a single mammary quarter. These mastitic quarters can be difficult to manage during the lactation cycle. Cessation of production in the quarter while continuing to milk the other three can be a beneficial management decision in this scenario. However, the current methods available for cessation of lactation in a single quarter are limited. This study investigated the use of casein hydrolysate as a non-antibiotic option for causing cessation of lactation in a quarter. From this preliminary study we were able to apply our results to another aspect of mastitis prevention, which is the routine use of intramammary antibiotics at the end of the lactation cycle. This management practice is known as dry treatment and is a standard practice in the dairy industry with many years of proven efficacy against clearing infections present at the end of the lactation cycle. Increasing pressure from consumers to decrease antibiotic use in food production animals has caused this practice to come under scrutiny. This secondary study investigated the use of casein hydrolysates as a nonantibiotic alternative to standard antibiotic dry cow treatment. Overall, these studies demonstrated that casein hydrolysate has some efficacy in inducing mammary involution of a single quarter mid-lactation and also potentially as an alternative dry cow treatment. None of the animals treated in these studies displayed any symptoms of pain or discomfort, and all treated quarters resumed milk production after the next calving. Additionally, all antimicrobial milk tests on treated animals were negative. Casein hydrolysates may be a useful management tool for milk quality and animal health within the dairy industry.