Search

Food additives are widely used in the food industry in order to ensure the quality of products during processing, storage, packaging and subsequent reaching the consumer's table. The growing concern and doubt of the consumer market regarding artificial additives and their possible harmful effects on public health and safety have caused the demand for the use of natural additives to increase. Consequently, these natural additives have been increasingly sought by the food industry and consumers due to health, safety and sustainability issues. In this framework, terpenoids have great potential to be used with this function because they are a very extensive class of compounds, with wide chemical diversity and several proven applications in foods, mainly as anti-oxidants, anti-microbials, dyes, flavors, sweeteners and nutraceuticals. Therefore, this paper aims to make a literature search on the use of terpenoids as food additives, highlighting the main compounds used and the benefits associated with their use, ranging from the raw material to its extraction and subsequent application in food products.

A polysaccharide was isolated from the exudate of a buriti tree trunk (Mauritia flexuosa). The molecular structure, thermal stability, morphology, crystallinity, and elemental composition of the product were investigated through spectroscopic techniques, such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR 1H and 13C), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS); thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In addition to NMR molecular modeling studies, were performed to confirm the 1H and 13C chemical shifts to Gal and Xyl conformers. Buriti tree gum (BG) is an arabinogalactan, containing Rha, Ara, Xyl, and Gal, and degrades almost completely (98.5%) at 550 °C and has a maximum degradation peak at 291.97 °C, with a mass loss of 56.33%. In the temperature range of 255–290 °C, the energy involved in the BG degradation process was approximately 17 J/g. DSC indicated a glass transition temperature of 27.2 °C for BG, which had an irregular and heterogeneous morphology, with smooth or crumbling scaly regions, demonstrating the amorphous nature of BG that was confirmed by the XRD standard. EDS revealed the presence of carbon and oxygen, as well as calcium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, chlorine, and potassium, in the BG composition.

The use of green solvents in the pharmaceutical industry has gained increasing prominence on the world stage. This is due not only to environmental issues, but also the quality of the products generated, since the possibility of toxic residues in pharmaceutical products can result in health problems for their consumers. Currently, several organic solvents have been studied for possible substitution to the most toxic organics. These studies have shown good results and show that these solvents are promising. Considering the current state of the pharmaceutical industry, the objective of this chapter was to present some organic green solvents that have been studied, their importance, and the state of the art. In addition, it has been demonstrated how carbon dioxide has been used in the pharmaceutical industry, presenting case studies. We chose to emphasize the process of supercritical extraction with carbon dioxide to obtain Spilanthol, as it is a substance of great pharmaceutical interest.

Gums, or polysaccharides, are complex carbohydrates, soluble in water, which can form gels and mucilages. They have high molar mass and can be formed by galactose, arabinose, rhamnose, xylose, galacturonic acid, among others. They have gelling characteristics, thickening, moisture retention, emulsification and stabilization. Polysaccharides are widely used in the formulation of food products, due to their wide versatility. Its diversity of applications is closely linked to its chemical structures. The characterization of structural molecules allows the knowledge of the properties of polysaccharides or glycoconjugates. In this sense, this chapter addresses knowledge about chemical, molecular, rheological, thermodynamic characteristics that are extremely important to identify the use and applications of polysaccharides in the context of elaboration and innovation in the food industry.

Os poluentes atmosfericos provenientes de acoes antropicas sao emitidos por diversas fontes, por exemplo, a agricultura, atividades industriais e os meios de transporte. Ademais, alguns agentes poluidores sao lancados acidentalmente, porem um elevado numero e emitido atraves de praticas industriais ou outras atividades, os quais podem ocasionar efeitos divergentes a saude humana e ao meio ambiente. Logo, com esse estudo busca-se compilar informacoes que auxiliem na elaboracao de medidas que busquem reduzir/minimizar possiveis riscos a saude da populacao e ao meio ambiente associados a poluicao atmosferica. Assim como, demonstrar os impactos a saude da populacao, os efeitos gerados ao meio ambiente e o beneficio da preservacao de areas verdes para a manutencao da qualidade do ar. De acordo com a Organizacao Mundial da Saude (OMS), estima-se que 1,3 milhoes de mortes anuais mundialmente estejam atreladas a exposicao a poluicao do ar. Pesquisas realizadas em criancas do meio urbano de Sao Paulo, apontam que os niveis de NO2 presentes no ar atmosferico causam sintomas tipicos relacionados a problemas respiratorios. O impacto ambiental pode ser classificado como positivo ou negativo, ademais, para mais precisao, a resolucao CONAMA n. 001/86, define como qualquer mudanca biologica, quimica e fisica no meio ambiente, causada direta ou indiretamente pelas acoes antropicas. O desmatamento de areas verdes para construcao urbana, deixa o ambiente atmosferico suscetivel a gases poluentes, principalmente CO2, que e liberado pelos automoveis presentes no dia a dia urbano; alem da producao direta pela acao antropica desse gas, por meio de queimadas destrutivas ou de lazer. Este artigo evidencia a importância do monitoramento da qualidade do ar, por especialistas ambientais e de saude; pois, e uma forma de avaliar a poluicao em atmosferas urbanas.

A producao de energia esta diretamente relacionada com as questoes do desenvolvimento economico da humanidade, surgindo com a revolucao industrial atraves da aplicacao de maquinas a vapor no sistema de producao. Neste contexto, surgem a necessidade de aprimoramento e expansao dos meios de producao por matrizes renovaveis, ou seja, a geracao de energia por meio da luz solar e dos ventos. Para dar suporte a esse crescimento, faz-se necessario estudos no âmbito nacional com o intuito de produzir e disponibilizar informacoes confiaveis sobre possiveis locais para a implantacao dos recursos eolicos em todo o territorio nacional. A discussao aprofundada dos impactos socioeconomicos dessas tecnologias tem ganhado espaco e torna-se ainda mais intensa e importante nos periodos de baixo crescimento economico. A energia eolica, embora esteja associada a beneficios ambientais significativos como a mitigacao da emissao de substâncias nocivas a atmosfera, existem outros aspectos ligados com a preservacao do ambiente que nao podem ser negligenciados. Os impactos ambientais gerados em empreendimentos de aproveitamento solar fotovoltaico estao estreitamente relacionados a sua localizacao, as caracteristicas fisico-climaticas do local de implantacao e as caracteristicas dos ecossistemas locais. Do ponto de vista socioeconomico, cresce a geracao de renda e emprego em locais carentes de desenvolvimento, por ser mais afastado dos grandes centros urbanos. Logo, e indispensavel a implantacao de energia oriunda do sol e do vento, nao somente por diminuir os impactos ao meio ambiente, mas, tambem, por ser uma fonte de geracao de energia limpa, alem de contribuir para o desenvolvimento sustentavel.