Abstract
Abstract Acerola and camu-camu fruits possess high vitamin C content. However, since these fruits are little consumed in their fresh form, it is important to consider that vitamin C can be oxidized depending on storage conditions. Thus, this study aimed to produce acerola and camu-camu powders by spray drying to maintain the stability of their vitamin C content during storage. Acerola and camu-camu powders were characterized in relation to their physicochemical characteristics, antioxidant activity, and vitamin C concentration and stability under different storage conditions (30 °C and 40 °C, 75% relative humidity). In general, the powders were proven to be stable, with low water activity (< 0.40) and humidity (< 4.0 g/100 g powder), as well as high vitamin C concentrations (1593.2 and 6690.4 mg/100 g of powder for acerola and camu-camu, respectively). Furthermore, we observed a high antioxidant activity by ABTS●+, DPPH• and FRAP assays. The powders stored at lower temperature (30 °C) showed higher vitamin C stability. In conclusion, acerola and camu-camu powders produced by spray drying are potential sources of vitamin C and active compounds and are therefore suitable for several food industry applications.
Highlights
Vitamin C participates in several biological functions, such as enhancing collagen formation (Findik et al, 2016), and is considered one of the principal vitamins required by the human body due to its antioxidant properties (Padayatty & Levine, 2016; Podmore et al, 1998)
We produced the powders using acerola pulp obtained from DeMarchi (Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil), camu-camu pulp donated by EMBRAPA (Boa Vista, Roraíma, Brazil), and maltodextrin (DE 12, Corn Products, Mogi Guaçu, SP)
Acerola has lower concentration, it is higher compared to other fruits such as orange, lemon, or grapefruit (Elkhatim et al, 2018), as well as citrus fruits in general (Ramful et al, 2011), peach (Liu et al, 2015), araça, and cupuaçu (Contreras-Calderón et al, 2011)
Summary
Vitamin C participates in several biological functions, such as enhancing collagen formation (Findik et al, 2016), and is considered one of the principal vitamins required by the human body due to its antioxidant properties (Padayatty & Levine, 2016; Podmore et al, 1998). It has been reported to contain numerous active compounds, such as vitamin A, carotenoids (Fernandes et al, 2019), anthocyanins (Rezende et al, 2018), flavonoids, and phenolic compounds (Silva et al, 2016), as well as vitamin C (Brito et al, 2007; Mercali et al, 2012; Müller et al, 2010; Rufino et al, 2010). It is used in the fabrication of numerous industrialized products, such as pulps, juices, jellies, and others. The incorporation of acerola into commercial products occurs for use as dietary supplements to increase the immune response, as well as for its antioxidant potential and nutritional properties (Belwal et al, 2018)
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