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- Biological protein precipitation: a green process for the extraction of cucumisin from melon (Cucumis melo L. inodorus) by-productsPublication . Gómez-García, Ricardo; Campos, Débora A.; Aguilar, Cristóbal N.; Madureira, Ana R.; Pintado, ManuelaCucumisin (CUC) from industrial melon by-products was separated for the first time through biological precipitation using carrageenan (CRG). This approach could represent a cost-effective and environmentally friendly process for the industries, avoiding the use of expensive equipment and toxic salts or solvents, such as butanol and ethanol. In this study, biological precipitation of proteins from melon by-products using CRG was studied and compared with conventional precipitation with ammonium sulphate. Different methods were applied for the identification and characterization of isolated proteins, including SDS-PAGE gel, FPLC and proteolytic activity assays. The isolated CUC confirmed a molecular weight of 68 kDa and showed highly stable proteolytic (PA) and milk-clotting (MCA) activities in a wide range of CaCl2 (20 to 60 mM), pH (5 to 7) and temperatures (30 to 85 ºC). Melon peel extract demonstrated to possess significant PA (4.24 U/mg protein) and MCA (191.50 MCU/mg protein), but such values were increased by ammonium sulphate precipitation (1.60 and 2.06-folds, respectively), and specially a noticeable increment was observed by biological precipitation with 2.11 and 17.65-folds, respectively, demonstrating the capability to be an effective strategy to isolate and purify CUC, allowing a yield of 0.17 g CUC/100 g of by-products and keeping its biological properties.
- Hydrothermal–microwave processing for starch extraction from mexican avocado seeds: operational conditions and characterizationPublication . Araújo, Rafael G.; Rodríguez-Jasso, Rosa M.; Ruiz, Héctor A.; Govea-Salas, Mayela; Rosas-Flores, Walfred; Aguilar-González, Miguel Angel; Aguilar, Cristobal Noe; Pintado, Manuela E.Avocado seeds are an agroindustrial residue widely produced in Mexico that are causing various environmental problems due to their accumulation. The evaluation of avocado residues to recover biopolymers by microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and the characterization of avocado starch properties were studied in the present work. A central-composite design was used to optimize the MAE process. Moreover, a comparison was performed between MAE non-isothermal mode (NO–ISO) and conventional extraction. Starch optimization by MAE was obtained at 161.09 °C for 56.23 min with an extraction yield of 49.52% ± 0.69%, while with NO–ISO at 161 °C was obtained 45.75% ± 2.18%. Conventional extraction was 39.04% ± 2.22%. Compared with conventional starch, MAE starch showed similar proprieties and molecular spectra. In contrast, MAE starch showed high solubility, low water absorption capacity, a non-granular structure with small particle size (<2 μm) and polydispersity of fragments at different sizes of polymers. Therefore, MAE is a viable technology to extract the starch, and avocado seed can be considered an excellent starch source for the development of novel functional foods, contributing to promoting sustainability across the food chain.
- Avocado by-products: nutritional and functional propertiesPublication . Araújo, Rafael G.; Rodriguez-Jasso, Rosa M.; Ruiz, Héctor A.; Pintado, Maria Manuela E.; Aguilar, Cristóbal NoéBackground: Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is a tropical and subtropical fruit that is native to Mexico and Central America; avocado is gaining increasing worldwide acceptance and has received extensive marketing and a wide distribution due to its relevant nutritional benefits for human health. Mexico harvests more than 30% of avocados worldwide, representing the main producer and exporter of avocado, which has become a crop of high interest and has great economic impact on Mexico. Scope and approach: In this paper, we describe relevant information on the production, composition and application of avocado, with an emphasis on its by-products, focusing on the proper use of waste and the possibility of monetizing waste for nutritional and environmental purposes. The entire avocado is rich in biocompounds (pulp, seed and peel) and has many health benefits, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer activities, as well as dermatological uses and others. In this paper, we demonstrate the current panorama of production, exportation and uses of avocado in Mexico. Key findings and conclusions: Several food grade ingredients can be obtained from avocado wastes, particularly premium-grade fats or extracts with a high functional power. Studies should continue to identify the profiles and phytochemicals available to the business sector, which can also be implemented to valorize the nutritional and functional potential of avocado seeds and peels.