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[Display omitted] • Variation in sugar content as a function of variety, origin and degree of ripeness. • Cellobiose, cellotriose and cellotetraose were the main cello-oligosaccharides. • Cocoa pod ripening degree and origin influence cello-oligosaccharide content and profile. • Differences in enzyme activity influence pulp composition relevant to fermentation. In Brazil, after the witch's broom disease incidence, diverse cocoa hybrids were developed, and variations were reported on their composition and characteristics. Based on this, the present study aimed to evaluate the pulp composition of several cocoa hybrids in order to better understand these variations. Results show that cocoa pulp is composed, on average, of 76 % sugar, and a wide variation (20 %) was observed in sugar content between hybrids. Regarding the sugar profile, a prevalence of reducing sugars was observed. Pod origin also plays an important role in pulp composition, with variations between hybrids from Espírito Santo and Bahia states. In relation to the degree of ripeness, ripe pods showed higher fructose and glucose content, while unripe pods presented mainly sucrose. Similar to sugars, the cello-oligossacharides profile was influenced by the degree of pod ripeness and origin and most ripe samples presented mainly cellobiose, cellotriose and cellotetrose. In addition, the prebiotic potential of cocoa pulp was highlighted by cello-oligossacharides digestion assay which exhibited low rates of degradation. Varying enzymatic activity was observed amongst different pulp hybrids, with polyphenol oxidase showing a higher variation when compared to invertase and polygalacturonase ranging. This study shows that the pod hybrid, origin and ripening degree may change the cocoa pulp composition. Therefore, it is very important to understand and evaluate these variations, in order to obtain better results in pulp utilization either in cocoa fermentation or as a coproduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research was to evaluate the activity of acid and neutral invertases in controling the storage of sucrose in sugarcane variety SP80-3280 due to plant regulators application in the middle of the cropping season in Igaraçu do Tietê (SP), Brazil. The experiment was carried out in ratoon cane (crop 2004 and 2005) in a randomized block design with five replications. The treatments consisted of four plant regulators application of the class of growth retainers (Ethephon, Ethyl.trinexapac, Potassium nitrate and Potassium nitrate + Boron) and a control (natural ripening), whose commercial products (c.p.) were Ethrel, Moddus, Krista Kana and Krista Kana Plus, with dosage of 2L c.p. ha-1, 0.8L c.p. ha-1, 3kg c.p. ha-1 and 3c.p. kg ha-1, respectively, without adjuvants application. The growth regulators provide alterations of different and significant intensity in soluble acid invertase and neutral invertase levels enzymes. The agricultural efficiency of maturators was affected significatively by the weather and time of application. The treatments with maturators, were affected most in 2004, when wheater conditions were unfavourable to natural ripening, were favour the ripening sugarcane process implicating in improvement technological quality of stems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are fructose-based oligosaccharides employed as additives to improve the nutritional and technological properties of foods. The rhizosphere of inulin-accumulating plants from the Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) harbor fungi capable of synthesizing FOS from sucrose through the transfructosylating activity of β-fructosyltransferases and/or β-fructofuranosidases. Here, we investigated the ability of Penicillium janczewskii Zaleski CCIBt 3352, a fungus isolated from the rhizosphere of Chrysolaena obovata (Asteraceae), to produce FOS in a medium supplemented with sucrose concentrations of 30, 100, or 150 g L -1 . Hydrolytic activity on sucrose was observed in culture filtrates; however, at 150 g L -1 sucrose, the accumulation of 8 g L -1 1-kestose (inulin-type FOS) and 7.3 g L -1 neokestose (neolevan-type FOS) was observed, the latter being a type of FOS not commonly produced by filamentous fungi. In addition, minor amounts of four unidentified oligosaccharides, with a high degree of polymerization, were detected. The production of FOS was also observed in enzymatic assays, indicating the presence of extracellular enzymes with transfructosylating activity in the culture filtrates. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of isolating promising microorganisms, for the production of FOS-synthesizing enzymes, from the rhizosphere of fructan-producing plants of the Brazilian Cerrado., (© 2019 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)