The commercial enzyme (E.C. = 3.2.1.23) from Kluyveromyces lactis (liquid) and Aspergillus oryzae (lyophilized) was investigated for its hydrolysis potential in lactose substrate, UHT milk, and skimmed milk at different concentrations (0.7; 1.0 and 1.5%), pH values (5.0; 6.0; 6.5 and 7.0), and temperature (30; 35; 40 and 55 ºC). High hydrolysis rates were observed for the enzyme from K. lactis at pH 7.0 and 40 ºC, and from A. oryzae at pH 5.0 and 55 ºC. The enzyme from K. lactis showed significantly higher hydrolysis rates when compared to A. oryzae. The effect of temperature and β-galactosidase concentration on the lactose hydrolysis in UHT milk was higher than in skimmed milk, for all temperatures tested. With respect to the thermal stability, a decrease in hydrolysis rate was observed at pH 6.0 at 35 ºC for K. lactis enzyme, and at pH 6.0 at 55 ºC for the enzyme from A. oryzae. This study investigate the hydrolysis of β-galactosidase in UHT and skimmed milk. The knowledge about the characteristics of the β-galactosidase from K. lactis and A. oryzae enables to use it most efficiently to control the enzyme concentration, temperature, and pH in many industrial processes and product formulations.Keywords: UHT and skimmed milk; β-galactosidase; enzymatic characterization; lactose intolerance; enzyme activity.Practical Application: Lactose hydrolysis potential and thermal stability of commercial β-galactosidase.β-galactosidase hydrolysis in processed milk Food Sci. Technol, Campinas, 36(1): 159-165,

The production of value-added products could be a valuable option for cheese wastewater management. However, this kind of study cannot just focus alone on getting the final product. This also necessitates studies on the dynamics of bioprocesses. With these as background, the present investigation aimed at evaluating the buffering capacity of deproteinized whey and effect of temperature and nitrogen source on ethanol yields from it. The batch fermentation conditions used to evaluate ethanol production were temperatures 30, 35, 40°C and pH 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0 (3% v/v). These results could be important for developing low-cost method for industrial production of ethanol from deproteinized whey.

Medicinal mushrooms are used in popular medicine largely as health promoters, mainly because of their antitumor and immunomodulatory activities. Ganoderma lucidum (lingzhi or reishi) and Agaricus brasiliensis are mushrooms that have long been used for medicinal purposes. This study evaluated their immunomodulatory and antitumor effects on mice fed a diet supplemented with G. lucidum and A. brasiliensis mycelia obtained from solid-state fermentation. For 14 weeks the mice were fed chow containing 50% A. brasiliensis and G. lucidum mycelia, using ground wheat as an excipient. The consumption of the supplemented diet inhibited Sarcoma 180 tumor growth and caused important changes in the immune system. The pattern of immune response shifted, increasing CD4+ and CD8+ and decreasing CD19+ cell populations. The restoration of a proper balance between cellular and humoral immunity is an essential process for restraining tumor growth. These results suggest that polysaccharides, such as β-glucans and other mushroom metabolites, possibly promote the T-cell dominance that is imperative to restrain tumor growth.

The activation of hepatic gluconeogenesis in male Wistar adult 6 h fasted rats during insulin-induced hypoglycemia (IIH) was previously demonstrated. In this study, the effects of intraperitoneal (ip) glucose (100 mg/kg) on the activation of liver gluconeogenesis during IIH was investigated. Thus, 6 h fasted rats that received ip regular insulin (1 U/kg) and 30 min later ip saline (Control group) or glucose (Experimental group) were compared. All the experiments were executed 60 min after insulin injection. The glycemia of Control and Experimental groups were not different (P > 0.05). To investigate gluconeogenesis, liver perfusion experiments were performed. The results demonstrated that excepting glycerol, livers from rats which received ip glucose showed lower (Therefore, the absence of glucose recovery after the glucose administration was mediated, at least in part, by an inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis.