For the future circular economy, renewable carbon feedstocks manifest considerable promise for synthesizing sustainable and biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). In this study, 16 wt% and 30 wt% PHA (cell dry weight) are respectively produced by thermophilic Caldimonas thermodepolymerans from beechwood xylan and wheat arabinoxylan as the sole carbon source. Moreover, an in silico study of the potential xylan-degrading proteins was conducted using proteome sequencing and CAZyme specialized bioinformatic tools. This study demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing complex polysaccharide substrates for PHA biosynthesis, thereby potentially eliminate additional processing steps and reducing overall production costs for sustainable plastic.
MULTIFILE
The catalytic oxidation of potato starch by [MnIV2 (μ-O)3(tmtacn)2][H2O](CH3COO)2 (Mncat, with tmtacn =1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane) with H2O2, was recently introduced as a promising alternative to ubiquitous sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl). Here, we report an in-depth investigation into interactions of the catalyst with the starch granule. Pitted starches obtained by pre-treatment with high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) were shown to result in a uniquely homogeneous oxidation. To study this further, fractionation of oxidised potato starch was done which showed a preference for the oxidation of smaller granules with a higher relative surface area. This result was corroborated by chemical surface gelatinisation of fractionated granules. These studies showed that the inside of the granules was oxidised, but that Mncat had a moderate preference for oxidation of the periphery. Together, these results allow for a better understanding of oxidation of starch by Mncat and how it differs from NaOCl oxidation making further optimisation of the process possible.
PURPOSE: To investigate the longitudinal association between the macronutrient composition of the diet and frailty.METHODS: Data were obtained from 5205 Dutch middle-aged and older adults participating in the Rotterdam Study. Frailty was measured using a frailty index based on the accumulation of 38 health-related deficits, score between 0 and 100, and a higher score indicating more frailty. Frailty was assessed at baseline and 11 years later (range of 23 years). Macronutrient intake was assessed using food-frequency questionnaires. The association between macronutrients and frailty over time was evaluated using multivariable linear regression, adjusted for the frailty index at baseline, energy intake, and other relevant confounders. All analyses were performed in strata of BMI.RESULTS: Median frailty index score was 13.8 points (IQR 9.6; 19.1) at baseline and increased by a median of 2.3 points (IQR - 2.0; 7.6) after 11 years. Overall, we found no significant associations between intake of carbohydrates or fat and frailty over time. We did observe a significant positive association between an iso-energetic intake of 10 g protein and frailty over time (β 0.31 (95% CI 0.06; 0.55)) which was mainly driven by animal protein (β 0.31 (95% CI 0.07; 0.56)). It did not depend on whether it was substituted fat or carbohydrates.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that a reduction in the intake of animal protein may improve the overall health status over time in a relatively healthy population. More research is needed on the optimal macronutrient composition of the diet and frailty in more vulnerable populations.
Micro and macro algae are a rich source of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, but also of secondary metabolites like phytosterols. Phytosterols have important health effects such as prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Global phytosterol market size was estimated at USD 709.7 million in 2019 and is expected to grow with a CAGR of 8.7% until 2027. Growing adoption of healthy lifestyle has bolstered demand for nutraceutical products. This is expected to be a major factor driving demand for phytosterols. Residues from algae are found in algae farming and processing, are found as beachings and are pruning residues from underwater Giant Kelp forests. Large amounts of brown seaweed beaches in the province of Zeeland and are discarded as waste. Pruning residues from Giant Kelp Forests harvests for the Namibian coast provide large amounts of biomass. ALGOL project considers all these biomass residues as raw material for added value creation. The ALGOL feasibility project will develop and evaluate green technologies for phytosterol extraction from algae biomass in a biocascading approach. Fucosterol is chosen because of its high added value, whereas lipids, protein and carbohydrates are lower in value and will hence be evaluated in follow-up projects. ALGOL will develop subcritical water, supercritical CO2 with modifiers and ethanol extraction technologies and compare these with conventional petroleum-based extractions and asses its technical, economic and environmental feasibility. Prototype nutraceutical/cosmeceutical products will be developed to demonstrate possible applications with fucosterol. A network of Dutch and African partners will supply micro and macro algae biomass, evaluate developed technologies and will prototype products with it, which are relevant to their own business interests. ALGOL project will create added value by taking a biocascading approach where first high-interest components are processed into high added value products as nutraceutical or cosmeceutical.
Micro and macro algae are a rich source of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, but also of secondary metabolites like phytosterols. Phytosterols have important health effects such as prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Global phytosterol market size was estimated at USD 709.7 million in 2019 and is expected to grow with a CAGR of 8.7% until 2027. Growing adoption of healthy lifestyle has bolstered demand for nutraceutical products. This is expected to be a major factor driving demand for phytosterols.Residues from algae are found in algae farming and processing, are found as beachings and are pruning residues from underwater Giant Kelp forests. Large amounts of brown seaweed beaches in the province of Zeeland and are discarded as waste. Pruning residues from Giant Kelp Forests harvests for the Namibian coast provide large amounts of biomass. ALGOL project considers all these biomass residues as raw material for added value creation.The ALGOL feasibility project will develop and evaluate green technologies for phytosterol extraction from algae biomass in a biocascading approach. Fucosterol is chosen because of its high added value, whereas lipids, protein and carbohydrates are lower in value and will hence be evaluated in follow-up projects. ALGOL will develop subcritical water, supercritical CO2 with modifiers and ethanol extraction technologies and compare these with conventional petroleum-based extractions and asses its technical, economic and environmental feasibility. Prototype nutraceutical/cosmeceutical products will be developed to demonstrate possible applications with fucosterol.A network of Dutch and African partners will supply micro and macro algae biomass, evaluate developed technologies and will prototype products with it, which are relevant to their own business interests. ALGOL project will create added value by taking a biocascading approach where first high-interest components are processed into high added value products as nutraceutical or cosmeceutical.
Sea Lettuce, Ulva spp. is a versatile and edible green seaweed. Ulva spp is high in protein, carbohydrates and lipids (respectively 7%-33%; 33%-62% and 1%-3% on dry weight base [1, 2]) but variation in these components is high. Ulva has the potential to produce up to 45 tons DM/ha/year but 15 tons DM/ha/year is more realistic.[3, 4] This makes Ulva a possible valuable resource for food and other applications. Sea Lettuce is either harvested wild or cultivated in onshore land based aquaculture systems. Ulva onshore aquaculture is at present implemented only on a few locations in Europe on commercial scale because of limited knowledge about Ulva biology and its optimal cultivation systems but also because of its unfamiliarity to businesses and consumers. The objective of this project is to improve Ulva onshore aquaculture by selecting Ulva seed material, optimizing growth and biomass production by applying ecophysiological strategies for nutrient, temperature, microbiome and light management, by optimizing pond systems eg. attached versus free floating production and eventually protoype product development for feed, food and cosmetics.
