Groundnut Shells as a Potential Feed Supplement for Ruminants on Pastures: A Review

Communal grazing does not offer adequate forage for ruminants throughout the year. This problem is exacerbated during the dry season when grazing is scarce and of poor nutritional quality. Mineral shortages are common in communal grazing environments and yet they are nutritional requirements for optimal development, physiologic functioning and productivity in animals, as well as for cattle growth, reproduction and health. However, the use of groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) shell (GNS) that are readily available but have no direct nutritional benefit in humans, have not been extensively investigated as a potential source of animal feed. This paper investigates the potential of GNS as feed supplement for ruminants on pasture and its use in other industries. After extracting the seed, the groundnut shell, accounts for roughly 21-29 per cent of the total weight of the nut. Despite the high lignin content of the shell that necessitates adequate processing before use in animal feed, groundnut shell includes 0.50 per cent crude protein, 59.0 per cent crude fiber, 2.50 per cent ash and 4.43 per cent carbs. Sodium (42.00 mg/100 g), potassium (705.11 mg/100 g), magnesium (3.98.00 mg/100 g), calcium (2.28 mg/100 g), iron (6.97 mg/100 g), zinc (3.20 mg/100 g) and phosphorus (10.55 mg/100 g) are all abundant in groundnut shells. In view of this, GNS, a by-product of industrial processing of groundnuts is a rich source of nutrients and can be used to supplement ruminants on pastures during times when pastures are in short supply and of poor quality. Studies are needed to investigate their use to supplement cattle on pasture grazing during times of feed shortage. However, its use as animal feed supplement is likely to face challenges from other industries such as biofuel production.

Variations in Biochemical Constituents for Tolerance to Nematode and Fusarium wilt Complex in Select Banana Hybrids

Banana is one of the most important fruit crops cultivated worldwide and its cultivation is hampered by infestation by nematode and Fusarium wilt complex. A pot culture experiment was conducted to study the change in biochemical constituents due to the inoculation of nematodes followed by Fusarium pathogen in select banana hybrids. The results indicated that the increase in production of defense-related compounds and enzymes such as total phenols, lignin, PO, PPO and PAL in the root tissues of inoculated plants. Among the four select banana hybrids, NPH-02-01 recorded high total phenol content (586.92 µg-1) and H 531 recorded high lignin content (1.58 %). Similarly the hybrid NPH-02-01 registered the higher activity of PO (3.5 abs.min-1.g-1), PPO (0.23 abs.min-1.g-1) and PAL (14.83 abs.min-1.g-1) when compared to other hybrids. The percentage increase of all the constituents in the hybrid NPH-02-01 was found to be comparatively higher with uninoculated plants and check cultivars.

Cellulose induced protein 1 (Cip1) from Trichoderma reesei enhances the enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated lignocellulose

Background Trichoderma reesei is currently the main strain for the commercial production of cellulase. Cellulose induced protein 1 (Cip1) is one of the most abundant proteins in extracellular proteins of T. reesei. Reported literatures about Cip1 mainly focused on the regulation of Cip1 and its possible enzyme activities, but the effect of Cip1 on the enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose and possible mechanism have not still been reported. Results In this study, Cip1 from T. reesei was cloned, expressed and purified, and its effects on enzymatic hydrolysis of several different pretreated lignocellulose were investigated. It was found that Cip1 could promote the enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated lignocellulose, and the promoting effect was significantly better than that of bovine serum albumin (BSA). And especially for the lignocellulosic substrate with high lignin content such as liquid hot water pretreated corn stover and corncob residue, the promoting effect of Cip1 was even better than that of the commercial cellulase when adding equal amount protein. It was also showed that the metal ions Zn2+ and Cu2+ influenced the promoting effect on enzymatic hydrolysis. The Cip1 protein had no lyase activity, but it could destroy the crystal structure of cellulose and reduce the non-productive adsorption of cellulase on lignin, which partly interpreted the promoting effect of Cip1 on enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose. Conclusion The Cip1 from T. reesei could significantly promote the enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated lignocellulose, and the promotion of Cip1 was even higher than that of commercial cellulase in the enzymatic hydrolysis of the substrates with high lignin content. This study will help us to better optimize cellulase to improve its ability to degrade lignocellulose, thereby reducing the cost of enzymes required for enzymatic hydrolysis.

Determination of Cellulose Degree of Polymerization in Historical Papers with High Lignin Content

Determination of cellulose degree of polymerization (DP) is one of the most commonly used methods in paper degradation studies, performed either by a standardized method using viscometry (as average degree of polymerization (DPv)) or size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) (as weight average molecular mass (Mw)). Due to the insolubility of papers with high lignin content in cupriethylenediamine (CED), such as groundwood papers, viscometric determination is not possible; therefore, pretreatment is required to allow subsequent dissolution of the papers. In this study, the pretreatment of historical papers containing groundwood with sodium chlorite in acetic acid was investigated, which enables dissolution of the paper samples in CED and determination of the cellulose average degree of polymerization by viscometry (DPv). Kappa number was determined to estimate the lignin content in the papers. The suitability of SEC UV-VIS analysis for determination of Mw in papers with high lignin content had been verified before it was used as a comparative method for viscometry. Using SEC, changes in the weight average molecular mass (Mw) of cellulose tricarbanilate (CTC) derivative during delignification were evaluated. The results indicate that no significant depolymerization occurred in the selected samples under the studied delignification conditions, which was additionally confirmed with determination of monosaccharides by ion chromatography. The results of the Mw determinations by SEC and DPv by viscometry are in good correlation, justifying the use of viscometry after chlorite/acetic acid pretreatment to determine the cellulose average degree of polymerization in historical papers with high lignin content.

The Effect of High Lignin Content on Oxidative Nanofibrillation of Wood Cell Wall

Wood from field-grown poplars with different genotypes and varying lignin content (17.4 wt % to 30.0 wt %) were subjected to one-pot 2,2,6,6-Tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl catalyzed oxidation and high-pressure homogenization in order to investigate nanofibrillation following simultaneous delignification and cellulose oxidation. When comparing low and high lignin wood it was found that the high lignin wood was more easily fibrillated as indicated by a higher nanofibril yield (68% and 45%) and suspension viscosity (27 and 15 mPa·s). The nanofibrils were monodisperse with diameter ranging between 1.2 and 2.0 nm as measured using atomic force microscopy. Slightly less cellulose oxidation (0.44 and 0.68 mmol·g−1) together with a reduced process yield (36% and 44%) was also found which showed that the removal of a larger amount of lignin increased the efficiency of the homogenization step despite slightly reduced oxidation of the nanofibril surfaces. The surface area of oxidized high lignin wood was also higher than low lignin wood (114 m2·g−1 and 76 m2·g−1) which implicates porosity as a factor that can influence cellulose nanofibril isolation from wood in a beneficial manner.

Preparation of Molded Fiber Products from Hydroxylated Lignin Compounded with Lewis Acid-Modified Fibers Its Analysis

In this study, molded fiber products (MFPs) were prepared from lignin compounded with Lewis acid-modified fibers using enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL) as a bio-phenol. The fibers were modified and compounded entirely through hot-pressing. To improve the reactivity of enzymatic lignin, hydroxylated enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (HEHL) was prepared by hydroxylation modification of purified EHL with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and ferrous hydroxide (Fe(OH)3). HEHL was mixed uniformly with Lewis acid-modified fibers on a pressure machine and modified during the molding process. The purpose of Lewis acid degradation of hemicellulose-converted furfural with HEHL was to generate a resin structure to improve the mechanical properties of a MFPs. The microstructure of the MFP was shown to be generated by resin structure, and it was demonstrated that HEHL was compounded on Lewis acid-modified fibers during the molding process. The thermal stability of the MFP with composite HEHL did not change significantly owing to the addition of lignin and had higher tensile strength (46.28 MPa) and flexural strength (65.26 MPa) compared to uncompounded and modified MFP. The results of this study are expected to promote the application of high lignin content fibers in molded fibers.