Mangaba—Hancornia speciosa

Abstract

The mangaba fruit possesses a pleasant acidic aroma and is very much appreciated in the northeast region of Brazil where it is largely cultivated. The pulp is the main component that is commercialized in frozen form due to its rich flavor. The mangaba is one of the most abundant and sought after fruit in free markets, and its main form of consumption is as fresh pulp, juice and icecream, jelly, fermented drinks. Fruits collected from the ground are known as “fallen fruits” and these detach from the tree on its own and represent the completion of the ripening a few hours after the fall. These fruits are the most valued in the market, although some of these fruits become bruised. Mangaba is a fruit that has respiratory behavior of climacteric type and its maximum is reached after 39h of harvest which marks the beginning of the postclimacteric phase. The mangaba fruit is a potential source of essential minerals (per 100g of pulp) such as calcium (35mg), zinc (1.0mg), phosphorus (18mg) and iron (2.8mg). The combination of iron with vitamin C or ascorbic acid that is present in mangaba is an important feature in the fruit composition, as this vitamin increases the bioavailability of iron, and vitamin C increases iron absorption by the body. Mangaba has low lipid content (0.3%–1.5%) and these are rich in palmitic (29%); oleic (12%), linoleic (18%), and linolenic (8%) acids. The compounds such as 3-hexanol, isopropyl acetate, 3-pentanol, 3-methyl 3-buten-1-ol, ethyl acetate, δ-limonene, ethanol, dihydro actinidiolide, (E)-2-pentenal, amyl isobutyrate, 2-phenylacetaldehyde, β-cubebene, linalyl hexanoate, 3-methyl-2-butenol, propyl acetate, ethyl 2-methylbutyrate and γ-decalactone characterize for a sweet, fruity and green odor which contributes to the mangaba aroma.