Produção de farinhas ricas em fibras com potencial bioativo a partir de frutos do gênero Spondias e caracterização das frações digerível e indigerível.

Abstract

Umbu and seriguela are tropical fruits, with a pleasant flavor and aroma with great potential for economic exploitation. Its residues (bark and seed) are still poorly studied and scarce data are found in the literature about its characterization and use. Studies found in the literature show that umbu and seriguela have a high content of antioxidants, demonstrating the potential of these fruits as functional ingredients. Due to this, the present work aims to characterize the bioactive compounds and the polysaccharide components that form the dietary fibers of pulp flours and umbu and seriguela residues. Phenolic compounds, vitamins, carotenoids and trigonelline present in the samples were quantified and their profiles were obtained by liquid chromatography. The bioaccessibility (15.04% a 114.27%) of these compounds was also obtained and the indigestible fraction was characterized. Furthermore, the polysaccharide fraction forming the dietary fibers (FAT - 7,60% a 55,04%) was investigated by Gas Chromatography and Infrared Spectroscopy, in addition to the pectin content extracted by microwave heating and its degree of esterification. There are no reports in the literature to date on the characterization of the dietary fibers of umbu and seriguela. The results showed a large amount of bioactive compounds analyzed (p-coumaric acid, protocatechuic acid, procyanidin B2, ellagic acid, syringic acid, chlorogenic acid, quercetin, lutein, α-tocopherol, α-carotene, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, β-carotene) in the samples in relation to results found in the literature for other fruits and residues. This was the first study to evaluate the content of trigonelline (1.75 - 24.32%) and non-extractable phenolics (713.20 - 3209.05%) in umbu and seriguela. The results obtained for the polysaccharide fraction showed that the powders analyzed are mainly composed of pectic polysaccharides and hemicelluloses such as xyloglucans and arabinogalactans. The characterization of the indigestible fraction showed that this fraction contains other compounds besides fibers, adding value to these fractions. The results obtained show the potential of the flours obtained to be used as food ingredients in bakery products, pasta and others, being a good source of natural bioactive compounds and pectins. The detection of these compounds makes the product commercially attractive, making it possible to add value to agricultural products and by-products that are still underused from a scientific, commercial and technological point of view.