Three hydrocolloid-lipid emulsion coatings were developed using Humkote brand partially hydrogenated cottonseed and vegetable oil, and one of three combined hydrocolloid bases: xanthan gum and propylene glycol alginate (xanthan coating), locust bean gum and xanthan gum (locust bean gum coating), and maltodextrin. Sensory testing using a ranking preference test indicated that these coatings had acceptable appearance and palatability. Quality characteristics of green bell peppers (Capsicum annum L. cv. King Arthur) measured during the 5-week storage period included: respiration rates, chlorophyll content, surface color, puncture force, pectin (uronic acid) content, ascorbic acid (AA) and dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) content, and cumulative weight loss. No significant differences between coated and uncoated peppers were noted in tests for respiration, puncture force, hue angle, chlorophyll content, and AA content. Uncoated peppers had significantly inferior moisture retention (p<0.05), which caused them to be unsaleable after 8 days, while coated groups were saleable for an additional 6 to 8 days. Uncoated fruits also had greater uronic acid breakdown (p<0.05) and higher DHA content (p<0.06) than coated peppers. Significant weekly changes (all treatment groups combined) included linear increases in respiration rates (p<0.01) and moisture loss (p<0.01), increasing linear and quadratic trends in uronic acid content (p<0.01 for both trends), increasing quadratic trends for both chlorophyll and AA content (p<0.05, p<0.01, respectively), and decreasing linear and quadratic (p<0.05 for both trends) in DHA content. The only significant difference between coated groups was in chroma value, with maltodextrin coated peppers appearing less vivid than locust bean coated peppers. Overall, all three coatings performed equally well during the storage study. However, coatings with higher lipid content, which included xanthan gum and locust bean gum groups, withstood humidity changes better than the maltodextrin coated peppers. Coating application provided the greatest benefits in terms of texture maintenance through water retention and prevention of pectin breakdown, despite the lack of differences observed in puncture force. Coatings may also have prevented AA oxidation as demonstrated by the higher DHA content in uncoated groups, however AA patterns do not confirm this concept. Future research should be directed toward further minimizing textural changes and maximizing coating durability. / Ph. D.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:42:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luis Henrique Fanti.pdf: 1595724 bytes, checksum: a9548bc502a849946a1a9bf7ae6a7687 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-11 / Instituto Presbiteriano Mackenzie / The current paper has the goal to trace the relationship between Francis Schaeffer's thinking in relation to the counter-culture; the counter-culture movement from the 60's, especially related to the years of 67-69 with the 'beatniks', Flower Power, Timothy Leary and its more remarkable unfoldings; and, finally, the counter-cultural expressions in drug usage in The Beatles record, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and in the Teatro do Absurdo (The Absurd Theater). We have the art as the expression of the spirit of that time in the development of the human thinking, which we treat here manifested in the daily life of each time. So we intend to close this paperwork showing some aspects that make possible the convergence of all these elements in the XXI century, tracing along the way the consequences of this way of thinking and dealing with the world. / O presente trabalho presta-se a traçar, a estabelecer uma relação entre o pensamento de Francis Schaeffer ao movimento da contracultura; o movimento contracultural da década 60 principalmente relativo aos anos de 67-69 com os beatniks, o Flower Power, Timothy Leary e seus desdobramentos mais marcantes; e, por fim, as expressões contraculturalistas no uso das drogas, no álbum dos The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band e no Teatro do Absurdo. Tendo a Arte como a expressão do espírito das épocas do desenvolvimento do pensamento humano que tratamos aqui, manifestadas no cotidiano de cada época. Procuramos fechar nosso estudo demonstrando alguns aspectos que tornam possível a convergência de todos esses elementos na produção da cultura do homem do século XXI, traçando, ao longo do caminho, as consequências desta forma de pensar e atuar no mundo.

Fruit of Capsicum annuum L. (capsicum or pepper) are one of the major sources of red food colourant and pungency for spice production. In the spice production industry, fruit are mechanically harvested at different ripeness stages and fruit colour needs to be synchronised before being processed. However, even though capsicum ripens normally on the plant it often fails to ripen fully and turn red once harvested at the green stage. Attempts to promote ripening of harvested fruits have had limited success and the reason for this has been unclear. This project, therefore, investigated ripening behaviour on and off the plant of capsicum fruit grown in Australia and examined effects of pre- and postharvest applications on ripening of green harvested fruit. To examine ripening behaviour on and off the plant, capsicum fruit from three different cultivars (a mild paprika type cv. “Papri Queen”, a cayenne chilli cv. “Caysan”, and a sweet type bell pepper cv. “Aries”) were either allowed to ripen naturally on the plant or harvested at three different maturity stages: light green, deep green and breaker. Harvested fruit were stored individually at room temperature and several ripening characteristics including internal ethylene (C2H4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, extractable colour, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) synthase and oxidase activity, and total soluble solid content (TSSC) were studied during storage. There was very limited involvement of C2H4 during ripening of capsicum and the change in ACC synthase and ACC oxidase (two enzymes in C2H4 biosynthesis pathway) activity was not closely related to that of C2H4. However, it appeared that colour development in cv. “Papri Queen” was closely associated with what C2H4 production did occur while a climacteric-like peak of C2H4 could be observed in all fruit from cv. “Caysan”. For all three cultivars, the level of internal CO2 concentration, extractable colour and TSSC were greater in fruit ripened on the plant followed by fruit harvested at the breaker, deep green and light green stage, respectively. Fruit harvested at the light green stage failed to change colour properly and had very low levels of internal CO2 concentration and TSSC while fruit harvested from the breaker stage onwards ripened normally and developed sufficient colour for spice processing. This may suggest a role of external carbon-supply during ripening. To study the effect of the external-carbon supply during ripening, the stem of fruit were cinctured when fruit reached the light green stage and fruit were left to ripen on the plant. Cincturing delayed colour development of fruit by approximately five days but cinctured fruit were still able to turn red and develop extractable colour higher than the acceptable level of 140 ASTA units. Cincturing did not significantly alter other ripening behaviour such as CO2 concentration or TSSC. The lack of external carbon-supply is, therefore, unlikely to play a major role in the failure of green harvested fruit to ripen. To study the effect of application of plant growth regulators (both pre- and postharvest), an effective method of solution application utilising cincturing was firstly developed. Different plant growth regulator solutions including ethephon, naphthalene acetic acid, abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, sucrose, and different combinations of these were applied to fruit at the light green stage to study preharvest effects on ripening parameters during storage. Only treatment with high concentrations of ethephon increased the extractable colour higher than the acceptable level of 140 ASTA units and induced the complete degradation of chlorophyll. To study effects of postharvest application, 10 µL of various plant growth regulators was dropped into the hole created on the stem of harvested fruit for ten consecutive days. Treatment with ethephon significantly increased extractable colour and degraded chlorophyll content of fruit. Pre- and postharvest ethephon treatment strongly up-regulated Capsanthin-capsorubin synthase (Ccs) gene expression in a manner similar to the up-regulation of Ccs observed in fruit ripened on the plant. This explains the effect of C2H4 on colour development and also indicates the possible reason for the failure of green harvested fruit to ripen. However, the Ccs gene expression and chlorophyll degradation induced by ethephon was not visible until 14 days after harvest which indicated it may not be a direct effect and other signal transduction factors may be involved. When fruit are ripened on the plant, colour development may, therefore, be induced by ripening-related factors (other than C2H4) which is possibly inhibited or inactivated when fruit are harvested at the green stage. C2H4 application to fruit at this stage may help to reactivate or recover these factors which in turn induce colour development. Thus, although capsicum fruit show typical non-climacteric behaviour, C2H4 appears to be involved in some aspects of the ripening process. / http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1294648 / Thesis(Ph.D.)-- School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, 2007

The International Seed Testing Association and the Association of Official Seed analysts define seed vigour as the ability of a seed lot to perform during the germination process and crop stand establishment under a wide range of environmental conditions. There are many ways to determine seed vigour, but few satisfy the requirements of being simple, inexpensive and reproducible, among others, to permit the seed industry to adopt seed vigour as an indicator of seed quality when they sell seeds. Hence, the standard germination test, which is performed under uniform and favourable conditions, is generally used to indicate seed quality when seeds are marketed. The objective of this study was to determine the performance of tomato and pepper seeds in response to pre-germination hydration and dehydration relative humidities (12%, 49% and 75% RH). Before hydration, seeds were hydrated at three temperatures (10°C, 20°C and 30°C). Hydration was performed by imbibing pre-weighed pepper ('Santarini' and 'California Wonder'), Chilli and tomato ('Heinz', 'Marondera' and 'Roma') seeds for 2 h in 10 ml of distilled H(2)0 per 100 seeds at 10°C, 20°C and 30°C. Dehydration was performed by change in seed mass determined during a 72-hour dehydration at 12%, 49% and 75% RH. Seed performance in response to imbibition and dehydration was determined by leakage of electrolytes from seeds during imbibition, laboratory germination capacity and seedling emergence under simulated shadehouse nursery conditions. A pot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of seed treatments on yield. Seed mass increased by about 50% during the 2-hour of hydration. Dehydration was hastened by decreasing the RH, and 12% RH significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the post-imbibition seed moisture content compared with 49% and 75% RH. The latter two relative humidities reduced the seed moisture content to about 10% and 15%, respectively, for all cultivars, irrespective of imbibition temperature. Low imbibition temperature (10°C) significantly (P < 0.01) increased electrolyte leakage, compared with high imbibition temperatures (20°C and 30°C), which were not significantly different from each other. At all hydration temperatures, low RH (12%) caused a significant (P < 0.01) decrease in seed germination whereas 49% RH and 75% RH apparently had a priming effect on seeds. There was no significant difference between imbibition temperatures, with respect to seed germination, but 100G caused a significant decrease in germination index, a measure of seed vigour. Seedling emergence was significantly (P < 0.01) reduced by both low imbibition temperature (10oG) and low dehydration relative humidity (12% RH). The negative effects of low imbibition temperature and rapid dehydration at 12% RH were also observed as stunted seedling growth. Principal component analysis and linear regression were used to determine a statistical model to predict seedling emergence from germination percentage. The model predicted emergence consistently, but it overestimated it by about 2% to 3%. It is concluded that low imbibition temperature and rapid dehydration can be used to simulate stress to determine seed performance in pepper and tomato. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

The effects of sulfur-containing amendments (H₂SO₄,Al₂(SO₄)₃ and gypsum) or crust formation, soil chemical properties, seedling emergence and yields of onions (Allium cepa), tomatoes (Lycopersicum esculentum) and chili peppers (Capsicum sp.) were studied on a Pima clay loam soil. Treatments were surface applied on a strip above the seeds. The chemicals influenced the penetrometer index, soil-pH, electrical conductivity, DPTA-extractable soil Fe, Cu, Zn, Mu and seedling emergence in two greenhouse experiments. Gypsum and H₂SO₄ increased seedling emergence while Al₂(SO₄)₃ reduced the soil-pH and EC more than H₂SO₄ and gypsum. Based upon penetrometer readings, H₂SO₄ was the best anti-crusting agent tested followed by gypsum and Al₂(SO₄)₃. At the end of the study, all soil samples were very low in KCl extractable Al, showing that Al toxicity was not responsible for seedling damage. Gypsum decreased levels of Mn and Zn but did not affect Fe and Cu. Al₂(SO₄)₃ increased Fe and Zn, decreased Cu but did not affect Mn. H₂SO₄ did not affect extractable Mn, Cu, Zn and Fe levels. In a field study using two water qualities at Safford, gypsum produced the most tomato seedlings whereas Al₂(SO₄)₃ and H₂SO₄ produced the least. Onion stand counts were not affected by the chemicals with either water. Gypsum, H₂SO₄ and Al₂(SO₄)₃ polymer produced the highest pepper stand counts with the saltier water but there were no differences with lower salt water. Tomatoes produced the highest yield with gypsum and lowest with H₂SO₄ and Al₂(SO₄)₃ with saltier water. With lower salt water, gypsum produced highest yield, followed by the H₂SO₄. Both H₂SO₄ treatments produce low yields. Onions showed no treatment response under lower salt water, while with saltier water, gypsum and H₂SO₄ produced the highest yields. Pepper yields were not affected by amendments with the lower salt water. Al₂(SO₄)₃ polymer, H₂SO₄ and gypsum increased yields with the saltier water. Varieties of peppers and tomatoes produced different yields in response to water quality in a supplementary field study.

Severe water stress reduced the number of flowers produced by Capsicum annuum var. annuum L. Longum plants, but the timing of flower production was less affected. The use of different plant establishment techniques modified flower production. Bare rooted transplants slowed the rate of flower production in comparison with direct seeded plants or those established from cell tray transplants. Bare rooted transplants delayed the onset of water stress. The capabilities of male and female gametophytes were reduced by water stress, with the female more affected, and the interaction of male and female gametophytes was affected by moderate water stress. Moderate water stress increased the time to fruit set, but affected neither the number nor percentage of fruit set, whereas severe water stress increased the time and reduced the number and percentage. Severe water stress reduced the number and percentage of mature fruit, fruit quality indices and total fruit yield. Moderate water stress reduced the number of seeds per fruit and fruit dry weight, but total fresh weight yield was not significantly affected. The time to fruit set was negatively correlated with the quality indices of mature fruit, whereas the number of seeds was positively correlated with the same. Fertilisation determined the success of seed set, and the rapidity of fruit set. Successful fertilisation can only occur when the pollen tube arrives at a viable ovule. The processes of pollen tube growth and longevity of the ovule are the factors most critically affected by water stress in determining the yield of C. annuum Longum. / Master of Science (Hons)

Both lettuce and pepper crops are routinely grown as transplants in Quebec. Previous research has shown that both of these plants respond well to endomycorrhizae with a resulting improvement in plant growth and yield. Although many studies have been conducted on endomycorrhizal inoculation of transplants most were looking at the end result, i.e. yields, and did not focus on changes occurring at the transplant stage. This series of experiments was conducted to look at the effect of inoculation at the transplant stage. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv. Parris Island Cos) and pepper (Capsicum annuum cv. Hybrid Bell Boy) were inoculated with Glomus intraradix Schenck & Smith and Glomus versiforme (Karst.) Berch. Experiments involved testing the effect of different growing media, different container volumes and different light sources on the growth of endomycorrhizal lettuce and pepper transplants. In all experiments the amount of growth enhancement due to endomycorrhizal inoculation was low or negligible. Colonization rates were generally low, probably due to low light levels. Transplants grown in larger volume containers were generally larger than those grown in smaller containers. The transplants grown in the soil and compost based media were larger than those transplants grown in the artificial media. Growth of lettuce and pepper transplants was affected differently depending on the light source used. Some interactions between the light source and the endomycorrhizal treatments was observed.

The use of plastic mulches in producing red bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is relatively new to Quebec and management techniques need to be further developed in terms of nitrogen (N) fertilization as well as insect and disease control. A research project was undertaken in the 1995 and 1996 growing seasons to compare peppers grown on black and on silver mulches, and fertigated using either the conventional method (weekly N-fertigated) or N-fertigated using diagnostic chlorophyll meter readings. Both fertigation treatments resulted in similar yields, although those fertilized according to the chlorophyll meter received 28 to 42 kg N/ha less than the weekly fertilized treatments. The chlorophyll meter was able to detect N deficiencies. Alate aphid populations were significantly reduced by mulches, especially by the silver mulch in both years. However, apterous aphid populations were increased by mulches, most markedly by the black mulch. No significant effect of mulch or N was found on tarnished plant bug or European corn borer populations, or on the percentage of fruit with sunscald or viral symptoms.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Hons)) -- University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, 1993. / "A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Honours) at the University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, School of Horticulture" Bibliography : leaves [126]-145.

O Brasil, sendo o centro de diversidade de pimentas do gênero Capsicum, muito contribui para dispersão destas espécies em todo mundo. No entanto, apesar de existirem mais de 20 espécies do gênero e da importância econômica da exploração agrícola, as potencialidades de muitas espécies ainda não foram exploradas e caracterizadas. Este trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar quanto ao teor de compostos bioativoas e citotoxicidade em células de neuroblastoma humano genótipos de pimentas C. chinense e C. annum provenientes do Banco Ativo de Germoplasma da Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, e do herbário da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Avaliou-se a eficiência do uso do solvente etanol 96% na extração de compostos bioativos (carotenoides, capsaicinoides e ácido ascórbico) em pimentas Capsicum além de identificar as variedades promissoras para serem utilizadas em futuros programas de melhoramento em relação à presença de quantidades expressivas de fitoquímicos e sua atividade antioxidante. Também foi avaliado efeito do processo de secagem em diferentes temperaturas (50 oC, 70 oC, 80 oC) no teor de carotenoides e proposto um modelo matemático que melhor representasse o processo de secagem. Capsaicinoides, carotenoides e ácido ascórbico foram quantificados por cromatografia liquida de alta eficiência - CLAE. A análise de atividade antioxidante foi realizada por meio do método de atividade antioxidante total - TRAP. Pode-se verificar que a concentração e a atividade dos compostos bioativos presentes em pimentas pode ser diretamente relacionado com as propriedades do solvente usado na extração. O etanol foi efetivo na extração de ácido ascórbico e capsaicinoides com destaque para extração de carotenóides. Dentre os cinco amostras analisadas, o acesso Guiana destacou-se em relação aos carotenoides e a citotoxicidade em células de neuroblastoma humano e o genótipo PCL-02 destacou-se com relação à atividade antioxidante, teor de compostos fenólicos e capsaicinoides. Obteve-se também, correlações positivas entre o conteúdo de capsaicinoides e atividade antioxidante (r = 0.87, p <0.05) e entre o conteúdo de compostos fenólicos e carotenoides (r = 0.76, p<0.05). O processo de secagem apresentou-se adequado e possível de ser modelado pelo modelo Dois Termos Exponencial. A secagem à 50 ºC possibilitou um aumento de carotenoides resultando em uma concentração total superior a encontrada na pimenta in natura. A secagem sob temperaturas mais elevadas (70 ºC e 80 ºC) mostrou-se prejudicial às propriedades bioativas em relação ao teor de carotenoides. / Brazil, being the center of Capsicum diversity, greatly contributes to spread of these species worldwide. However, although there are 20 species of the genus and despite the economic importance of farming, the potential of many species have not yet been explored and characterized. This work proposes the characterization the content of compounds bioativoas and cytotoxicity in human neuroblastoma cells of genotypes of Capsicum peppers, C. chinense and C. annum, from the Active Germplasm Bank of Embrapa Eastern Amazon and the herbarium of the University Federal of Rio Grande do Sul to evaluate the efficiency of the use of 96% ethanol solvent in the extraction of bioactive compounds (carotenoids, capsaicinoids, and ascorbic acid) in Capsicum peppers. Additionally, work should be undertaken to identify promising varieties for use in future breeding programs to select for significant amounts of phytochemicals and high antioxidant activity as well as to evaluate the effect of the drying process at different temperatures (50 ºC, 70 ºC, 80 ºC) on carotenoid content and propose a mathematical model that best represents drying. Capsaicinoids, carotenoids, and ascorbic acid were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The antioxidant activity analysis was performed using the method of total antioxidant activity (TRAP). It can be seen that the concentration and activity of bioactive compounds present in peppers can be directly related to the properties of the solvents. Ethanol was effective in the extraction of capsaicinoids and ascorbic acid and very effective in the extraction of carotenoids. Among the five genotypes, Guiana pepper stood out in terms of carotenoid contents and cytotoxicity in human neuroblastoma cells and genotype PCL-02 pepper stood out in terms of antioxidant activity, phenolic content, and capsaicinoids. Positive correlations were obtained between the capsaicinoid content and antioxidant activity (r = 0.87, p < 0.05) and between the contents of phenolics and carotenoids (r = 0.76, p < 0.05). The drying process proved to be appropriate and can be modeled by a two-term exponential model. The drying process at 50 ºC increased the carotenoid content, resulting in a total concentration higher than that found in fresh pepper. However, drying at higher temperatures (70 ºC and 80 ºC) proved to be detrimental to the bioactive properties in terms of the carotenoid contents.