Cinética de secagem, caracterização dos compostos bioativos e capacidade antioxidante da polpa de pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.)

Abstract

The Brazilian Cerrado is considered the second largest biome in South America, occupying approximately 21% of the territory with diverse flora. Its fruits are rich in bioactive compounds, which are associated with alternatives for the prevention and treatment of diseases. Caryocar Brasiliense Camb., popularly known as pequi, is one of the most popular fruits of the Brazilian Cerrado, having a yellow pulp and characteristic flavor and is rich in bioactive compounds. The objective of this work was to determine the drying kinetics of pequi pulp (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.) submitted to different temperatures (40ºC and 55ºC), as well as to evaluate the effect of the process on the content of bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity. For this, the drying kinetics was performed at both temperatures, to optimize the time of this process. Subsequently, analyzes of total carotenoids, phenolic compounds, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity (DPPH and FRAP) were carried out. The drying kinetics showed that the pulp dried at 55ºC obtained a better result in most analyses. At a temperature of 55°C, the drying optimization takes place after a time of 360 minutes. As for the temperature of 40ºC, the optimized time for drying is 720 minutes. For total carotenoids, pulp dried at 40ºC stood out among the three samples (221.72±3.35 µg of β-carotene/g), for phenolic compounds and phenolic acids, pulp dried at 55ºC showed the highest values (53.43±1.09 mg gallic acid/100 g; 6.53±0.17 mg caffeic acid/100 g), whereas, in flavonoids, the pulp in natura obtained its highest value (27.15±1.04 mg quercetin/100 g). Regarding the antioxidant capacity, the pulp in natura stood out in the methodology of DPPH. However, in the FRAP, the temperature of 40ºC applied to the sample maintained the antioxidant capacity of the fresh pulp. With this, it is noted that there is a difference in the bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity in the pequi pulp in natura and in the pequi pulps that were taken to temperatures of 40ºC and 55ºC, observing that the temperature used in the sample has an influence on the final result.