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Gibberellic acid (GA3) is a tetracyclic diterpenoid carboxylic acid synthesized by the secondary metabolism of Fusarium fujikuroi. This phytohormone is widely studied due to the advantages it offers as a plant growth regulator, such as growth stimulation, senescence delay, flowering induction, increased fruit size, and defense against abiotic or biotic stress, which improve the quality and yield of crops. Therefore, GA3 has been considered as an innovative strategy to improve agricultural production. However, the yields obtained at large scale are insufficient for the current market demand. This low productivity is attributed to the lack of adequate parameters to optimize the fermentation process, as well as the complexity of its regulation. Therefore, this article describes the latest advances for potentializing the GA3 production process, including an analysis of its origins from crops, the benefits of its application, the related biosynthetic metabolism, the maximum yields achieved from production processes, and their association with genetic engineering techniques for GA3 producers. This work provides a new perspective on the critical points of the production process, in order to overcome the limits surrounding this modern line of bioengineering.

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INTRODUCTION: Dahlia pinnata Cav. is a flower native to Mexico that has many applications; in particular, its petals have been used for ornamental, food, and medicinal purposes, for example to treat skin rashes and skin cracks. It has been reported that the medicinal properties of plants are generally related to the phytochemical constituents they possess. However, there are few studies on black D. pinnata. OBJECTIVES: The present study was aimed at qualitatively and quantitatively determining the phytochemical profile of petals from black D. pinnata. METHODOLOGY: Phytochemicals from Dahlia petals were extracted by consecutive maceration (hexane, dichloromethane, and methanol); then, the extracts were analyzed through colorimetric assays and UV-Vis spectroscopy for qualitative identification and quantification of phytochemical compounds, respectively. The methanolic extract was analyzed by flow injection analysis-electrospray ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FIA-ESI-FTICR-MS) in negative and positive mode. RESULTS: Quantitative phytochemical profiling of the methanolic extract by UV-Vis spectroscopy indicated high contents of phenolic compounds (34.35 ± 3.59 mg EQ/g plant) and sugars (23.91 ± 1.99 mg EQ/g plant), while the qualitative profiling by FIA-ESI-FTICR-MS allowed the tentative identification of several flavonoids and phenolic acids. Kaempferol-3-rutinoside, pelargonidin-3-(6″-malonylglucoside)-5-glucoside, rutin, kaempferol-3-(2″,3″-diacetyl-4″-p-coumaroylrhamnoside), and myricetin-3-(2‴-galloylrhamnoside) were the main compounds detected. CONCLUSION: The results expand our knowledge of the phytochemical constituents of petals from black D. pinnata.

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The Cannabis genus of plants has been widely used in different cultures for various purposes. It is separated into three main species: sativa, indica, and ruderalis. In ancient practices, the plant was used as a multipurpose crop and valued for its fiber, food, and medicinal uses. Since methodologies for the extraction, processing, and identification of components have become available, medical, and food applications have been increasing, allowing potential development in the pharmaceutical and healthy functional food industries. Although the growing legalization and adoption of cannabis for the treatment of diseases are key factors pushing the growth of its market, the biggest challenge is to obtain higher-quality products in a time- and cost-effective fashion, making the process of extraction and separation an essential step. Latin American countries exhibit great knowledge of extraction technologies; nevertheless, it is still necessary to verify whether production costs are economically profitable. In addition, there has been an increase in commercial cannabis products that may or may not be allowed, with or without quality fact sheets, which can pose health risks. Hence, legalization is mandatory and urgent for the rest of Latin American countries. In this article, the phytochemical compounds (cannabinoids, terpenes, and phenolic compounds), the current status of legalization, extraction techniques, and research advances in cannabis in Latin America are reviewed.

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The most important parameter in bioprocesses is biomass, where not only the quantity produced in a culture but also the behavior that is presented are important concerns. It is clear that conditions of operation in a bioreactor affect biomass production, but how operation conditions affect the measurement of biomass on-line is of special interest. We studied the effect of bioreactor operating condition variations on model parameters using impedance spectroscopy for biomass monitoring. The model parameters analyzed were capacitance, resistance, alpha (α), conductivity delta (∆σ) and critical frequency (fc). These model parameters were obtained by fitting data from impedance measurements to an equivalent circuit model and Cole-Cole conductivity model. The effect of operating conditions on the medium with no cells was estimated by the percentage of change in each model parameter. The operating conditions with the most significant percentage of change were determined, by comparing to the percentage of change of the same model parameters obtained, during a fermentation of Bacillus thuringiensis as a cellular model. Equivalent circuit parameters were mainly affected by variation in pH, temperature and aeration, whereas Cole-Cole parameters were affected by variation in agitation, aeration, temperature and pH. Therefore, any variation in these operating conditions (within the test interval) during a fermentation may generate changes in monitoring parameters, which will not be a direct consequence of any change in the properties of the biomass.

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