Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Essential Oils from Leaves of Two Specimens of Eugenia florida DC.

Eugenia florida DC. belongs to the Myrtaceae family, which is present in almost all of Brazil. This species is popularly known as pitanga-preta or guamirim and is used in folk medicine to treat gastrointestinal problems. In this study, two specimens of Eugenia florida (Efl) were collected in different areas of the same region. Specimen A (EflA) was collected in an area of secondary forest (capoeira), while specimen B (EflB) was collected in a floodplain area. The essential oils (EOs) were extracted from both specimens of Eugenia florida by means of hydrodistillation. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to identify the volatile compounds present, and the antioxidant capacity of the EOs was determined by antioxidant capacity (AC-DPPH) and the Trolox equivalent antioxidant (TEAC) assay. For E. florida, limonene (11.98%), spathulenol (10.94%) and α-pinene (5.21%) were identified as the main compounds of the EO extracted from sample A, while sample B comprised selina-3,11-dien-6α-ol (12.03%), eremoligenol (11.0%) and γ-elemene (10.70%). This difference in chemical composition impacted the antioxidant activity of the EOs between the studied samples, especially in sample B of E. florida. This study is the first to report on the antioxidant activity of Eugenia florida DC. essential oils.     

Electron‐Beam Irradiation in TEM of Hard‐Segment Homopolymers and Polyurethanes with Different Hard‐Segment Content

Summary: A hard‐segment homopolymer (HSH) and segmented poly(ester urethanes) (PESU) were studied by TEM to estimate their stability against electron‐beam irradiation. The bright‐field image and electron‐diffraction modes in TEM and optical polarised microscopy were used. It is shown that both soft and hard segments are sensitive to the electron beam. None of the films was stable enough to register an electron‐diffraction pattern without damage.

Electron‐diffraction pattern taken from the film of hard‐segment homopolymer crystallised at 100 °C from DMF: (a) the pattern registered immediately; (b) the pattern registered after 5 s of exposure in the TEM at the same place.     

A Lactic Acid Bacteria Consortium Impacted the Content of Casein-Derived Biopeptides in Dried Fresh Cheese

This study aimed to define a consortium of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that will bring added value to dried fresh cheese through specific probiotic properties and the synthesis of bioactive peptides (biopeptides). The designed LAB consortium consisted of three Lactobacillus strains: S-layer carrying Levilactobacillus brevis D6, exopolysaccharides producing Limosilactobacillus fermentum D12 and plantaricin expressing Lactiplantibacillus plantarum D13, and one Enterococcus strain, Enterococcus faecium ZGZA7-10. Chosen autochthonous LAB strains exhibited efficient adherence to the Caco-2 cell line and impacted faecal microbiota biodiversity. The cheese produced by the LAB consortium showed better physicochemical, textural and sensory properties than the cheese produced by a commercial starter culture. Liquid chromatography coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MALDI-TOF/TOF) showed the presence of 18 specific biopeptides in dried fresh cheeses. Their identification and relative quantification was confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). The results also showed that their synthesis resulted mainly from β-casein and also α-S1 casein degradation by proteolytic activities of the LAB consortium. The designed LAB consortium enhanced the functional value of the final product through impact on biopeptide concentrations and specific probiotic properties.     

Investigations of morphology of moisture‐cured silicone–urethanes

Results of studies on synthesis and properties of siloxane–urethane prepolymers as well as on selected properties of moisture‐cured silicone–urethanes have already been published. In this paper, some results of investigations of the effect of chemical structure of such silicone–urethane polymers on their phase seggregation investigated using mainly (TEM) transmission electron microscopy and small‐angle x‐ray scattering (SAXS) techniques are presented. It was found in TEM studies that in silicone‐urethanes obtained by moisture‐curing of NCO‐terminated prepolymers prepared from siloxane oligomer diols (SOD) and isophoronediisocyanate (IPDI), two factors determine the morphology of samples: length of siloxane chain and NCO/OH ratio. SAXS investigations showed that these silicone–urethanes had a lamellar structure. It was found that the long period of this structure changed from 4 to 9 nanometers as the siloxane chain length increased nine times. The increase of the long period correlated with the decrease of Young's modulus of the corresponding samples. TEM investigations of silicone–urethanes obtained by moisture‐curing of NCO‐terminated prepolymers prepared from the blends of SOD and polyoxypropylenediol (PPG) revealed complex morphology which depended on the SOD/PPG ratio. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.