Publications by authors named "Luis M M Ferreira"

Introduction: Lupins and other legumes have been considered as alternative plant-based protein sources to soybeans for both humans and livestock. Furthermore, they can contribute to more sustainable agricultural systems. The productivity and chemical composition of legumes is highly variable between species, cultivars, and with the edaphoclimatic conditions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Baking bread without gluten presents many challenges generally related with poor sensorial and nutritional characteristics, and strategies to overcome this issue are needed. Despite many gluten-free (GF) bread studies, to the best of our knowledge, few are dedicated to sweet GF bread. Sweet breads have traditionally been an important type of food and are still frequently consumed worldwide.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study examines the impact of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and boron fertilization on olive yield and oil quality in a young rainfed olive grove over three years.
  • The NPKB treatment (all nutrients applied) resulted in higher olive yields and better fruit characteristics compared to the nitrogen-deficient treatment (N0).
  • Despite high-quality "extra virgin" oil classification, lower phenolic concentrations were observed, and oil stability decreased over storage time, highlighting the need for balanced nutrient application.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study aimed to optimize bean flours fermentation through the use of appropriate technological procedure and, thereby, to obtain a high quality and safe product. In this line, cowpea bean flours with different moisture conditions (10, 20 and 30%) were incubated with (1) a single culture of , or (2) a consortium of lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria, together with one strain of . Effects of inoculation of cowpea beans flours on stability (i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

One of the main constraints hindering the increase of animal production in semi-arid regions of Africa is the inadequate supply of nutrients during the dry season. Incorporation of alternative feed resources in ruminant diets during this period could be a viable approach to overcome these limitations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritive value of muiumba (Baikiaea plurijuga) tree seeds as an alternative nutrient source for ruminants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We describe the use of carbon stable isotope ((13)C) labeled n-alkanes as a potential internal tracer to assess passage kinetics of ingested nutrients in ruminants. Plant cuticular n-alkanes originating from intrinsically (13)C labeled ryegrass plants were pulse dosed intraruminally in four rumen-cannulated lactating dairy cows receiving four contrasting ryegrass silage treatments that differed in nitrogen fertilization level (45 or 90 kg nitrogen ha(-1)) and maturity (early or late). Passage kinetics through the gastrointestinal tract were derived from the δ(13)C (i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The potential of crude enzyme extracts, obtained from solid state cultivation of four white-rot fungi (Trametes versicolor, Bjerkandera adusta, Ganoderma applanatum and Phlebia rufa), was exploited to modify wheat straw cell wall. At different fermentation times, manganese-dependent peroxidase (MnP), lignin peroxidase (LiP), laccase, carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase), avicelase, xylanase and feruloyl esterase activities were screened and the content of lignin as well as hydroxycinnamic acids in fermented straw were determined. All fungi secreted feruloyl esterase while LiP was only detected in crude extracts from B.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF