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Updated: Feb 25, 2026

Multipronged Phenotyping Approaches to Characterize Sugarcane Root Systems
Published on: August 17, 2022
Sugarcane cells as origin of acid beverage floc in cane sugar
Roberta Bergamin Lima1, Magda Andreia Tessmer2, Beatriz Appezzato da Gloria2
1Hugot Sugar Technology Laboratory, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture/University of São Paulo, Padua Dias Avenue, 11, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
Abstract:
Brazil stands out as the largest producer of crystal sugar in the world, exporting much of its production to the soft drinks industry. However, the chemical composition of sugar may contain numerous compounds that promote the formation of acid beverage flocs (ABF), reducing product acceptance. This study aimed to identify the chemical composition of ABF using different analytical techniques. We could observe the ABF are formed by several chemical classes. Regarding the histochemical analysis, we observed the presence of cellular sugarcane tissues, which are not fully removed in sugarcane processing. Mineral compounds, such as silicon, were found in great amounts by the Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive system (SEM/EDS) analysis. The mass spectrometry, high resolution mass by Q-ToF analysis and MALDI-MS allowed identification of compounds, such as p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillin, triacontanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid and n-octacosanoic acid, in the ABF composition. These compounds are widely found in vegetable tissues, confirming that the ABF are formed by tiny particles of plant cells of sugar cane.
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