Publications by authors named "V Kitunen"

A process model based on hot water extraction (HWE), slow pyrolysis and anaerobic digestion (AD) were used for pine and spruce bark utilisation. First tannins (32 mg/g and 11.8 mg/g, respectively) and polyphenols were recovered via HWE.

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Tannins, an abundant group of plant secondary compounds, raise interest in different fields of science, owing to their unique chemical characteristics. In chemical ecology, tannins play a crucial role in plant defense against pathogens, herbivores, and changing environmental conditions. In the food industry and in medicine, tannins are important because of their proven positive effect on human health and disease treatment.

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Tricholoma matsutake, a highly valued delicacy in Japan and East Asia, is an ectomycorrhizal fungus typically found in a complex soil community of mycorrhizae, soil microbes, and host-tree roots referred to as the shiro in Japan. A curious characteristic of the shiro is an assortment of small rock fragments that have been implicated as a direct source of minerals and trace elements for the fungus. In this study, we measured the mineral content of 14 samples of shiro soil containing live matsutake mycelium and the extent to which the fungus can absorb minerals directly from the rock fragments.

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Interest in the problem of plant nitrogen nutrition is increasing. Certain plants can use not only inorganic nitrogen, but also intact amino acids and short peptides. According to our studies, the roots of several agricultural and wild-living plants are able to exude proteases and by using them to create a pool of accessible N.

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