Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9600
ISSN: 2155-9600
Santos MS, Correia CH, Petkowicz CLO and Cândido LMB
Native fruits are receiving special attention from food researchers all around the world. The Campomanesia
xanthocarpa Berg [gabirobeira] is a species native to Brazil, being part of family Myrtaceae. The gabirobeira
produces a fruit named gabiroba, whose pulp presents a nice acidic-sweet taste. This work was aimed at evaluating the gabiroba technological potential for use as a raw material for the food industry. The gabiroba pulp was evaluated for its physical-chemical features. In addition, the pectin that was extracted from the pulp was evaluated for its rheological features. The pulp bioactive compounds content, namely vitamin C, flavonoids, phenolics and carotenoids, was measured during 180 days of freezer storage. The pulp antioxidant capacity was measured by means of the DPPH and ABTS methods. The rheological measurements were performed through the use of a Haake RS 75 rheometer. The generated flow curves were fitted by means of the Power Law and Herschel-Bulkley models. Results show that the gabiroba contains remarkable contents of iron, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, total phenolics [131.90 mg/100 g, expressed as galic acid], vitamin C [312.21 mg/100 g] and total carotenoids [290.84 μg/g]. About 42% of the carotenoids corresponded to beta-carotene. During pulp storage, it was observed a decrease of 10.00% in total phenolics content, 5.35% in flavonoids and 23.52% in the vitamin C. There was a positive and significant correlation between antioxidant capacity and bioactive compounds content, suggesting that such capacity might be influenced in a synergic way by the detected bioactive compounds. The gabiroba pulp pectin presented a shearthinning behavior, being the data best fitted by the Herschel-Bulkley model. The viscoelastic measurements showed that the dynamic moduli are frequency independent. Concluding, gabiroba showed a remarkable potential to be used as a raw material in the food industry due to its rheological, functional [phytochemicals], sensory and nutritional [vitamins and mineral salts] features. Despite their large fructification, in addition to nutritional and attractive sensory characteristics, these fruits are not collected, being lost in the fields. In this work, the fruit pulp without seed [1500 g] was crushed in ethanol/water at a ratio of 1:4 [v/v], refluxed for 15 minutes at boiling temperature. The residue obtained was subjected to sequential extractions. The extractions were optimized using a factorial design 22, with the concentration of citric acid [0.5 and 5%] and temperature [50 and 100ºC] as variables. The polysaccharides were characterized according to their chemical composition and rheological profile. The high concentrations of uronic acids, arabinose and galactose, detected in all fractions, indicate that they consist of pectin. The results showed that the extraction method was efficient for fractionation of pectin from different areas of the cell wall. The polysaccharides extracted from the fruit pulp of gabiroba showed a pseudoplastic behavior. All the fractions were resistant to temperature variations. When these gels are heated up and cooled down, they adopt their original structure.