Valorização integral do araticum: investigação das propriedades físico-químicas, nutricionais e biológicas.

Abstract

The Cerrado is the second largest biome in the country and stands out for its fruit species. The araticum (Annona crassiflora Mart.) is an exotic plant native to the Brazilian Cerrado, abundant in nutrients and highly energetic. This plant species has several compounds in its composition with known biological activity and has the potential to be included in the diet of patients with dietary restrictions. It is known that many beneficial effects of foods depend directly on the availability of the molecules and their bioaccessibility. This study aimed to characterize from a chemical, physicochemical, and functional point of view, investigate the biological potential and propose the integral inclusion of araticum (pulp, peel, and seeds) in the diet of phenylketonurics. The chemical profile by paper spray showed that acetogenins (62.3%) and alkaloids (20.7%) predominated in the positive ionization mode among the metabolites identified. In the negative ionization mode, 35 compounds were observed, with emphasis on flavonoids (31.43%) and phenylpropanoids (25.71%). When analyzing the bioaccessibility of the fruits, it was observed that some compounds were listed only in fresh samples and others only for the bioaccessible fraction. The total phenolic composition ranged from 480.81 to 1007.62 for pulp, 837.53 to 1926.56 for peel, and 358.28 to 1186.07 for seeds (mg GAE.100 g-1 of sample). Regarding its physicochemical characteristics and elemental profile, the fruit was classified as having medium acidity at high moisture content. The seeds stood out for their protein content (6.76 g.100 g-1). It is possible to infer that potassium and magnesium are among the most abundant minerals in araticum (pulp, peel, and seeds), while manganese, zinc, and copper are in low concentrations in the fruit. All parts of araticum can be considered as a source of potassium with levels above 300 mg.100 g−1. Among the quantified phenolic compounds, rutin was present in more significant quantities in the pulp, peel, and seeds with 9.02 μg.g-1, 35.60 μg.g-1, and 6.19 μg.g-1, respectively. The Artemia salina model considered the seeds toxic, as they presented a low lethal concentration at 50% (LC50) (2.40 µg.mL-1), much lower than the minimum determined of 1000 µg.mL-1 to be considered non-toxic. Acetylcholinesterase enzymatic activity was observed for all fractions evaluated. In addition, a positive correlation was demonstrated, the higher the total phenolic composition, the greater the inhibitory capacity of araticum extract on acetylcholinesterase. The anti-inflammatory and antifungal activity was evaluated for the protein fractions of pulp, peel, and seeds. Only the peel showed anti-inflammatory activity for matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) (39.2%). Regarding the quantification of phenylalanine, the amounts detected for pulp and peel were close to those of other foods already recognized as safe for consumption by phenylketonuric patients. On the other hand, the seeds presented levels above the recommended for phenylketonuric patients, whose limit is 5% protein. Thus, the pulp and peel were considered to have the potential to be included in the diet of phenylketonurics, being an alternative to low-cost food with good palatability and adding functional potential.