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Characterization of mineral composition and nutritional value of Acacia green pods

Publication . Pedro, Soraia I.; Antunes, Carlos A. L.; Horta, Carmo; Pitacas, Inês; Gonçalves, Joana; Gominho, Jorge; Gallardo, Eugenia; Anjos, Ofélia

The Acacia genus is considered one of the most invasive taxa in some habitats, namely coastal dunes, maritime calcareous soils, fresh lands in the valleys, mountainous areas, and the banks of watercourses and roadsides. In Portugal, the severity risk is very high, so this study aimed to evaluate the nutritional and mineral contents of the green pods as a potential source for livestock feeds and soil fertilizer because, as far as we know, there is no use for this species. The seven different species of Acacia (Acacia mearnsii Link, Acacia longifolia (Andrews)Willd, Acacia melanoxylon R. Br., Acacia pycnantha Bentham, Acacia dealbata Link., Acacia retinodes Schlecht, and Acacia cyclops A. Cunn. ex G. Don fil) were evaluated. The results showed that Acacia green pods have a high protein, fibre and minerals content, especially in potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg). All species present a different profile of the studied parameters, suggesting different potentials for their future use. Near-infrared spectroscopy was a potential tool to predict the earlier quality of the Acacia green pods to better select the raw material for the different applications.

2023-05Journal article

Open access

Special Bioactivities of Phenolics from Acacia dealbata L. with Potential for Dementia, Diabetes and Antimicrobial Treatments

Publication . Paula, Vanessa; Pedro, Soraia I.; Campos, Maria G.; Delgado, Teresa; Estevinho, Leticia M.; Anjos, Ofélia

Some diseases still need better therapeutic approaches, including the prevention of development. Natural resources are investigated with this purpose; among them, we decided to use an invasive plant as a main strategy. This will help in two ways: screening new compounds in flowers prevents the plant from causing widespread damage by controlling the dissemination and also obtains crude material for further applications. In the present study, flower extracts from Acacia dealbata Link harvested in Portugal were studied during three stages of flowering. Phenolic compounds were evaluated using HPLC/DAD and the total phenolics as the total flavonoids content was determined. The bioactivities screened were antioxidant potential, inhibitory activities of some enzymes (acetylcholinesterase, lipase and -glucosidase) and, to complete the screening, the inhibition of microbial growth was determined against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, as well as for yeasts. The data obtained suggested that the hydroethanolic extracts gave good results for all these biological activities and varied according to the maturation status of the flowers, with the early stage being the most active, which can be related to the chalcones content. This new approach will lead to the possible control of the invasive plant and also future perspective research for therapeutic purposes

2022Journal article

Open access

Encouraging Invasive Acacia Control Strategies by Repurposing Their Wood Biomass Waste for Pulp and Paper Production

Publication . Neiva, Duarte M.; Godinho, Maria C.; Simões, Rogério M. S.; Gominho, Jorge

Concerns on the expanding infestation of several Acacia species in the southern Mediter- ranean European countries have triggered an ever-growing requirement for costly targeted control actions. Valorizing biomass waste produced could help promote and better finance these actions. For that purpose, wood wastes from invasive control actions were tested regarding their pulp and paper potential, aiming to entice cellulose industries to partake in future conservation actions. Wood waste from the five most pervasive Acacia species was studied (Acacia dealbata Link, Acacia longifolia Willd, Acacia mearnsii De Wild, Acacia melanoxylon R.Br, and Acacia saligna Labill) regarding physical and chemical characteristics, and a central composite design was used to optimize alkali charge and reaction temperature on pulping yield and delignification. Bleached kraft pulps were produced with each species’ optimized conditions and for an equitable mixture of all species. Optimized pulp yields (52.6%–53.5%) and pulp polymerization degree (2867–3690) of Acacia species were higher than those of Eucalyptus globulus Labill (used as reference). Optimized bleached pulps were refined and fiber, pulp, and handsheet properties determined. Acacia dealbata and A. longifolia presented high specific wood consumption and lower handsheet strength properties, pointing to overall lower pulping potential, while A. melanoxylon and A. mearnsii characteristics were equal to or higher than those of E. globulus. A. saligna pulp and handsheet characteristics appear more suited for tissue paper. The Acacia mixture achieved acceptable characteristics, enabling the indiscriminate use of Acacia wood regardless of the species. As a shortcoming, the Acacia pulps showed the worst optical characteristics, with brightness dropping substantially with beating (64%–76%) when compared to E. globulus (81%).

2024-05Journal article

Open access

Lignin as feedstock for nanoparticles production

Publication . Lourenço, Ana; Gominho, Jorge

Lignin is an interesting natural polymer with characteristics that contribute for the development and growth of plants. Lignin presents high variability associated with the diversity of plants, which presents great challenges for its recovery after delignification (technical lignin), because lignin is prone to irreversible degradation, producing recalcitrant condensed structures that are difficult to disassemble afterward. Although researchers have made efforts to obtain lignin in high yields and with good characteristics for specific uses, this is not an easy task. The mind-set has changed and new biorefinery concepts are emerging, where lignin is the primary goal to achieve, and the so-called lignin-first approach has arisen. Lignin can be obtained firstly to prevent structural degradations, enabling an efficient and highly selectivity of the lignin monomers. Therefore, this concept places lignin and its valorization at the head of the biorefinery. However, lignin valorization is still a challenge, and to overcome this, lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) production presents a good way to achieve this goal. This chapter presents a resume of the several techniques to attain lignin, how to produce LNPs, and their possible applications (from pharmaceutical to the automobile and polymer industries).

2018Book part

Open access