Minimally processed fruit salad enriched with Lactobacillus acidophilus: Viability of anti-browning compounds in the preservation of color

Minimal processing promotes browning of some vegetal tissues due to cell membrane disruption, which results in the release of oxidative enzymes. This study evaluated the efficiency of citric acid, ascorbic acid, sodium metabisulfite and L-cysteine hydrochloride to retard enzymatic browning of minimally processed fruit salad and enriched this product with Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5. Control treatment was fruit salad immersed in water. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and color (L*, a*, b*, index color - CI, browning index - BI, c*, and h°) were analyzed. The viability of L. acidophilus was also evaluated using Rogosa agar in fruit salads containing anti-browning compounds in higher concentrations. PPO presented a significant difference among control and fruit salad treated with ascorbic acid and L-cysteine hydrochloride, indicating the highest anti-browning activity of these compounds. The fruit color was affected by processing and storage time, with a reduction in the values of L* over time. Values of a*, c*, h° angle and CI indicated a predominance of red color in the fruit salad. Salads containing anti-browning compounds in higher concentrations presented viability of L. acidophilus above 7.43 log CFU/g up to the fifth day of storage, indicating that the product can be promised as probiotic. Thus, the fruit salad treated with anti-browning compounds has potential use as a probiotic carrier.Keywords: Fresh-cut fruits, color, ascorbic acid, vegetable matrix, probiotic culture

Phenolic composition of the berry parts of hybrid grape cultivar BRS Violeta (BRS Rubea x IAC 1398-21) using HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)The grape is considered a major source of phenolic compounds when compared to other fruits and vegetables, however, there are many cultivars with distinct characteristics directly linked to phenolic profile. Thus, the present study aimed to identify and quantify, for the first time and in detail, the phenolic compounds present in the skin, flesh and seeds of BRS Violeta grape berry using combination of SPE methodologies and analytical HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS. The study was extended to the different berry parts and the most important grape and wine phenolic families, and has revealed interesting features. Violeta grape has a very thick skin (46% of grape weight) that accumulated the most of grape phenolic compounds: great amount of anthocyanins (3930 mg/kg, as malvidin 3,5-diglucoside), together with also important amounts of flavonols (150 mg/kg, as quercetin 3-glucoside), hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives (HCAD; 120 mg/kg, as caftaric acid), and proanthocyanidins (670 mg/kg, as (+)-catechin); in contrast, it seems to be a low resveratrol producer. Violeta grape seeds accounted for similar proportions of low molecular weight flavan-3-ols (mainly monomers; 345 mg/kg, as (+)-catechin) and proanthocyanidins (480 mg/kg, as (+)-catechin). Violeta grape is a teinturier cultivar, but it only contained traces of anthocyanins and low amounts of all the other phenolic types in its red-colored flesh. The anthocyanin composition of Violeta grape was dominated by anthocyanidin 3,5-diglucosides (90%). Within flavonols, myricetin-type predominated and kaempferol-type was missing. In addition to expected hydroxycinnamoyl-tartaric acids, several isomeric esters of caffeic and p-coumaric acids with hexoses were tentatively identified, accounting for relevant proportions within the pool of HCAD. Although pending of further confirmation over successive vintages, the aforementioned results suggest that BRS Violeta grape cultivar could be considered an interesting candidate for the elaboration of highly colored and antioxidant-rich grape juices and wines. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.541354366Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fondo Social EuropeoJunta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha [POII10-0061-4432]Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad [AGL2011-29708-C02-02]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)CNPq [486967/21012-3-CNPq]Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha [POII10-0061-4432]Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad [AGL2011-29708-C02-02

Potencial de híbridos e populações segregantes de abóbora para teor de óleo nas sementes e plantas com crescimento do tipo moita

O objetivo deste estudo foi caracterizar e avaliar populações híbridas e segregantes, provenientes de cruzamentos entre acessos de Cucurbita moschata, com potencial oleaginoso, e cultivares que apresentam o gene para crescimento do tipo moita (Bush), visando à obtenção de genótipos com elevado teor de óleo nas sementes e com crescimento da planta do tipo moita. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos casualizados, com três repetições. Cada repetição foi constituída por cinco plantas dos acessos BGH-7319 e BGH-7765, dos cultivares Piramoita e Tronco Verde e dos híbridos F1 (BGH-7319 x Piramoita, BGH-7319 x Tronco Verde, BGH-7765 x Tronco Verde), sendo consideradas as três plantas centrais das parcelas como úteis. Para cada uma das três populações F2 (‘População 1 F2’, ‘População 2 F2’, ‘População 3 F2’), 30 plantas foram avaliadas. Foram utilizados 28 descritores fenotípicos, sendo nove relativos à fase vegetativa das plantas, 12 referentes aos frutos e sete às sementes. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias dos tratamentos contrastadas com as médias das testemunhas, a 5% de probabilidade, pelo teste Dunnett. Na predição do potencial das populações para obtenção de linhagens superiores, foi utilizada a metodologia de Jinks & Pooni (1976). O híbrido BGH-7319 x Tronco Verde destaca-se para os caracteres massa de sementes por fruto, massa de cem sementes, comprimento, largura e espessura da semente, sendo considerada promissora quanto ao teor de óleo nas sementes. A ‘População 2 F2’ derivada do cruzamento entre os genitores BGH-7319 e Tronco Verde foi considerada a mais promissora para planta com crescimento do tipo moita.The objective of this study was to characterize and evaluate hybrid and segregating populations of crosses between accessions of Cucurbita moschata, with oil potential, and cultivars that possess the gene of dwarfism (bush), aiming at obtaining genotypes with high seed oil yield and reduced plant architecture. The experimental design was in randomized blocks with three replicates. Each replicate consisted of five plants of the BGH-7319 and BGH-7765 accessions, of the cultivars Piramoita and Tronco Verde and the F1 hybrids (BGH-7319 × Piramoita, BGH-7319 × Tronco Verde, BGH-7765 × Tronco Verde), considering the three central plants of the plots as useful. Thirty plants for each of the three F2 populations ('Population 1 F2', 'Population 2 F2', 'Population 3 F2') were evaluated. Twenty-eight phenological descriptors were applied, nine of which were related to the vegetative phase of the plants, 12 referring to the fruits, and seven to the seeds. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and the means of the treatments were compared with the means of the controls at 5% of probability by Dunnett’s test. In predicting the potential of populations to obtain superior strains, the methodology of Jinks & Pooni (1976) was used. The hybrid BGH-7319 × Tronco Verde stood out for the characteristics of seed mass per fruit, mass of 100 seeds, and seed length, width, and thickness, being promising for the oil content of the seeds. The 'Population 2 F2', derived from the crossbreeding between BGH-7319 and Tronco Verde was to the most promising for plant with shrub-type growth