Abstract
Fruits are unarguably one of the main sources of dietary fiber, but are regional Amazonian fruits sources of dietary fiber? The objective of the present study was to assess the nutritional characteristics and fiber contents of fresh fruits with low energy density. The study fruits wereabiu, bacuri, carambola, inga-cipo, mapati, and tapereba acquired from the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) and collected along kilometers 08 and 60 of highway BR174, AM-Brasil. Ash, protein, lipid, carbohydrate, energy and fiber contents were determined three times. The six fruits have very small and significantly different protein contents (p < 0.05). Tapereba and mapati presented the highest (4.65 g) and lowest (0.84 g) fiber contents, respectively. Except for abiu (0.49 g), the low lipid contents of the study fruits confirmed their low energy density. The soluble fiber content of the fruits was generally low, being highest in tapereba (1.51 g). The insoluble fiber fraction prevailed in all six study fruits, with tapereba and mapati presenting the highest (3.14 g) and lowest (0.65 g) insoluble fiber contents, respectively. The dietary fiber contents show that the study fruits can contribute to the composition of diets with appropriate dietary fiber contents and low energy densities.
Highlights
Food habits strongly influence an individual’s growth, development, and general health
Dietary fiber has been the target of scientific discussion and studied more intensely by nutrition and health experts, even though investigations about the role of fiber in the human body have been going on for a long time according to Cavalcante [3]
After collection the fruits were transported to the Laboratory of Food and Nutrition (LAN) of the Coordination of Environmental Health Research Society (Coordenação de Pesquisa Sociedade Ambienteem Saúde, CSAS), where they were processed until the edible portion was obtained
Summary
Food habits strongly influence an individual’s growth, development, and general health. Recent studies have shown that high-fiber diets protect against obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and some types of cancer. How to cite this paper: Aguiar, J.P.L. and Souza, F. das C. do A. (2014) Soluble and Insoluble Fiber in Some Amazonian Fruits with Low Energy Density. Souza [1] [2]. In this context, dietary fiber has been the target of scientific discussion and studied more intensely by nutrition and health experts, even though investigations about the role of fiber in the human body have been going on for a long time according to Cavalcante [3]
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