Characterization of Bioactive Compounds in Northern Amazon Fruits

Ismael Montero Fernández,Ana Cristina Gonçalves Reis De Melo,Ricardo Carvalho Dos Santos,Selvin Antonio Saravia Maldonado,Edvan Alves Chagas,Antonio Alves De Melo Filho,Pedro Rômulo Estevam Ribeiro,Pollyana Cardoso Chagas

doi:10.5539/jas.v11n9p134

Ismael Montero Fernández, Ana Cristina Gonçalves Reis De Melo + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5539/jas.v11n9p134

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Abstract

Fruits and vegetables are highly appreciated because they are constituted by active phytochemicals with functional properties for the organism acting with modulating pharmacological effect. Given the pharmacological properties of this type of food, in this work were studied the concentrations of vitamin C, total carotenoids and reducing and non-reducing sugars of nine fruits developed in the northern Amazon region: Abiu, Acerola, Ara&ccedil;&aacute;, Bacupar&iacute;, Birib&aacute;, Camu-camu, Fruta-do-conde, Graviola and Tapereba. The concentration of vitamin C, the highest concentration in the shell of Camu-camu 2521.51 mg 100 g-1 and for acerola with 1731.4 mg 100 g-1 stand out. The highest concentrations of total carotenoids were also found for the Camu-camu, with concentrations of 0.67 mg 100 g-1 the shell of Camu-camu and 0.57 mg 100 g-1 for the pulp. The concentrations of sugars are higher for the pulps, with the highest concentrations for the pulp of the Fruta-do-conde with 16.31 g 100 g-1 followed by the pulp of the Graviola, both of the Annonaceae family with a concentration of 15.61 g 100 g-1. The different bioactive molecules were correlated for the different parts of the fruit, by means of multivariate analysis techniques (PCA and HCA), where 90.1% of the cases were explained for the pulps, 65.4% for the shell of the fruits and finally the 88.5% of the cases for the seeds. Given the results obtained in this work, these fruits can be used for the preparation of foods with functional interest.

Highlights

The antioxidant capacity of fruits varies as to its composition in phenolic compounds such as carotenoids and flavonoids as well as the concentrations in vitamins E and ascorbic acid (Saura-Calixto & Goñi, 2006)
The phenolic compounds that exist in plant sources are divided into flavonoids and non-flavonoids, while the anthocyanins and carotenoids are within the flavonoids and the color of antioxidants is related to the molecular structure (Rodríguez-Amaya, 2004)
The objective of this work was to quantify the content of vitamin C, total carotenoids and reducing and non-reducing sugars in pulps, peels and seeds of fruits developed in the northern Amazon and correlate the different biomolecules by chemometric techniques of multivariate analysis

Summary

Introduction

The antioxidant capacity of fruits varies as to its composition in phenolic compounds such as carotenoids and flavonoids as well as the concentrations in vitamins E and ascorbic acid (Saura-Calixto & Goñi, 2006). The phenolic compounds that exist in plant sources are divided into flavonoids and non-flavonoids, while the anthocyanins and carotenoids are within the flavonoids and the color of antioxidants is related to the molecular structure (Rodríguez-Amaya, 2004). Foods rich in these active molecules, have aroused increasing interest among consumers, especially in the European and North American continent, where there is 92% of consumption of this type of products (Sahota, 2015). The bioactive compounds are functional ingredients for foods that provide health benefits, as well as influence physiological processes that reduce the risk of chronic diseases, including antioxidants, carotenoids and vitamins (Jiménez-Colmenero, 2013; Cantillano et al, 2013).

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