Articulo Frutas
Articulo Frutas
Articulo Frutas
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Article history: With the objective of stimulating the cultivation and consumption of native Brazilian fruits, the
Received 31 October 2011 physicochemical composition and antioxidant potential of three native species, namely the araticu-do-
Received in revised form 4 June 2012 mato (Rollinia sylvatica A. St.-Hil.), pindo palm (Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc.) and mandacaru-de-tres-
Accepted 31 July 2012
quinas (Cereus hildmannianus K. Schum.) were determined in this study. The pindo palm fruit stood out
because of its elevated carotenoid content (39.6 mg/g) and greater antioxidant capacity (26 mM trolox/g
Keywords: of fresh sample) by the ABTS (2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic) method, although by the
Native fruits
DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) method, the pindo palm fruit (3847.5 g of fresh sample/g DPPH)
Brazil
Chemical composition
and mandacaru-de-tres-quinas fruit (3249.8 g of fresh sample/g DPPH) were considered to have the same
Antioxidant antioxidant potential with no difference between them. The mandacaru-de-tres-quinas fruit also showed
Carotenoids the highest total phenolic compound content (1337.3 mg/100 g). Although the araticu-do-mato
Biodiversity and nutrition presented the highest vitamin C content (0.32 mg/g), it did not differ statistically from the
Food composition mandacaru-de-tres-quinas fruit (0.25 mg/g); on the other hand, it was considered to be equal to the
Food analysis pindo palm fruit (0.23 mg/g). The araticu-do-mato also showed the best result for the TSS/TTA (total
soluble solids/total titratable acidity) ratio (41.92), thus it was adequate for in natura consumption and
for processing as well.
2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
0889-1575/$ see front matter 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2012.07.013
20 M.C. Pereira et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 29 (2013) 1924
Brazil stands out in this context due to its elevated 2.2. Chemical composition
production of different native and exotic fruit trees as a result
of its vast territorial extension and its insertion, mainly in All analyses were carried out according to AOAC (1997). The
tropical and temperate climate zones. However, despite the fact protein concentration was determined by the Kjeldahl method
that agro-business is one of the most competitive sectors of the using a conversion factor of 5.75. The lipid concentration was
Brazilian economy (Brasil, 2009), large plantations that grow determined for Soxhlet extraction method, food ber (total and
few species are taking over more area year by year, maintaining insoluble) using the enzymatic-gravimetric method, the ash in
and increasing their productivity by means of fertilizers, mufe furnace controlled to 550 8C, moisture contents determina-
herbicides and other chemicals. The population consequently tion by gravimetry, the total carbohydrate content was determined
loses the chance of varying their diet and knowing the use of by difference, and the reducing and non-reducing sugars were
native species capable of offering rich, nutritious alternatives, determined by EynonLane method. Total titratable acidity (TTA)
since there are innumerous economically under-explored was determined by titration and the total soluble solids (TSS) by
species. Such species could be more widely used for in natura using a digital PAL-3 refractometer (Atago Co., Taiwan, China).
consumption or in the production of sweets, jams, juices and
ice-creams. 2.3. Total phenolic compounds
Aiming to stimulate the cultivation and consumption of
Brazilian native species, offering alternative foods that contribute To extract these substances, ve grams of fresh sample were
to overall health, the current work determined the chemical homogenized in an Ultra-turrax homogenizer with 20 mL metha-
composition, antioxidant potential, total phenolic compounds, nol, and centrifuged for 20 min at 25,400 g in a refrigerated
vitamin C content and the carotenoid prole of three native species centrifuge at 4 8C. A 250 mL aliquot of the supernatant was diluted
from the south of Brazil. in 4 mL of ultra-ltered water and a control was also prepared
containing 250 mL of methanol. The samples and the control were
2. Materials and methods combined with 250 mL of 0.25 N FolinCiocalteau Reagent (Swain
and Hillis, 1959). After 3 min of reaction, 500 mL 1 N Na2CO3 were
2.1. Sample material added, the mixtures incubated for 2 h at room temperature and the
absorbance read at 725 nm in an Ultrospec model 3100 pro UV-
The araticu-do-mato (Rollinia sylvatica A. St.-Hil.), pindo palm visible spectrophotometer (Amersham Biosciences, Sweden). A
fruit (Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc.) and mandacaru-de-tres-quinas standard curve was constructed to quantitate the phenolic
(Cereus hildmannianus K. Schum.), were the fruits used in the study, compounds, using chlorogenic acid in the concentration range
which were obtained from the active germplasm bank of native from 0 to 0.50 mg/mL. The results were expressed in mg
fruit trees of Embrapa Temperate Climate Station (Pelotas/RS/ chlorogenic acid equivalents/100 g fresh sample.
Brazil) with the exception of the mandacaru-de-tres-quinas, which
came from the city Barra do Ribeiro (RS/Brazil). The araticu-do mato 2.4. Antioxidant activity
is an evergreen tree 68 m with fruits of sincarpo bacaceo, sweet
and juicy pulp containing with many seeds, pindo palm fruit is a Methodology based on sequestering the 2,2- diphenyl-1-
palm around 45 m and fruit has bro-juicy mesocarp (pulp), acid picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical was used to determine the antioxi-
avor and the mandacaru-de-tres-quinas is an arborescent cactus dant activity (Brand-Wiliams et al., 1995) and also the 2,20 -azino-
with sweet white pulp, black seeds, soft and edible. The fruits were bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) method (Kus-
incorporated in the Institute of Natural Sciences (ICN) Herbarium koski et al., 2005). The extract was obtained from 5 g of sample
(UFRGS) under the number of 89236, 34139 and 115413 for ground in methanol (50%) and acetone (70%) sequentially, using
araticu-do-mato, pindo palm and mandacaru-de-tres-quinas, re- three different dilutions (1:5 (v/v), 1:10 (v/v), 1:15 (v/v)). The fresh
spectively. samples were weighed in centrifuge tubes and extracted
All samples were collected when fully mature, in 2 batches sequentially with 40 mL of methanol/water (50:50, v/v) at room
containing about 3 kg of fruits. The fruits of pindo palm were temperature for 1 h. The tubes were centrifuged at 25,400 g for
harvested between the months of February and March, araticu- 15 min and the supernatant was recovered. Then 40 mL of acetone/
do-mato between April and May and mandacaru-de-tres-quinas water (70:30, v/v) was added to the residue at room temperature,
between March and May 2010. The fruits were pre-selected extracted for 60 min and centrifuged. Methanol and acetone
considering the absence of visible injury and infections, and also extracts were combined, made up to 100 mL with distilled water
color and size uniformity were taken into account as well, and used to determine antioxidant capacity. For the DPPH method,
afterwards they were stored frozen (20 8C) until analyzed. In a 0.1 mL aliquot of each dilution of the extract was reacted with
all the analysis, the normally edible parts of the fruits were used, 3.9 mL of DPPH radical (0.06 mM). The readings were made in a
that is, for the pindo palm fruit the skin and pulp were spectrophotometer at 515 nm after 30 min. The results were
considered, but only the pulp for the araticu-do-mato and expressed in g of fresh sample/g DPPH. For the ABTS method, a
mandacaru-de-tres-quinas. At the time of analysis, at least 10 30 mL aliquot of each extract dilution was reacted with 3.0 mL of
fruits were thawed at room temperature and homogenized in an ABTS radical (5 mL ABTS stock solution with 88 mL of solution of
Ultra-turrax homogenizer (Ika, Artur Nogueira, Sao Paulo, Brazil) potassium persulfate) and the reading taken at 734 nm after 6 min.
to determine the content of total soluble solids, total titratable The results were expressed as mM trolox/g fresh sample.
acid, protein, sugars, ash, moisture, vitamin C, phenolic
compounds and antioxidant activity. To analyze the content 2.5. Vitamin C
of lipids and bers, the samples after homogenized, were freeze-
dried (Apparatus Inc., EUA) and ground with a mortar and pestle. The determination of vitamin C was based on the methodology
The results are expressed as fresh matter, except for proximate proposed by Rosa et al. (2007) with some modications. Each 5 g
composition (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, ber) that was sample was ground in an Ultraturrax with 20 mL 0.05 M suprapure
expressed as dry matter. All analyses were performed in 96% sulfuric acid (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) for 1 min,
triplicate and the results were expressed as mean and standard centrifuged at 25,400 g for 15 min and then ltered through a
deviation. Teon hydrophilic lter unit. The analyses were carried out in a
M.C. Pereira et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 29 (2013) 1924 21
high performance liquid chromatography unit (Agillent, Wald- to be equal and, on average, 1.78 times higher than those for the
bronn, Germany), equipped with a degasser, a quaternary solvent pindo palm fruit.
pump and a UV/Vis detector. The column used was a The values for araticu-do-mato and mandacaru-de-tres-quinas
250 mm 4.6 mm i.d., 5 mm, C18 polymeric column (Vydac, were within the range of ber contents found for other species of
Southborough, MA, USA). The mobile phase was 0.05 M suprapure their botanical families, such as atemoya (Annona atemoya Mabb)
sulfuric acid at 1.0 mL/min, with an injection volume of 10 mL and (7.7 g/100 g) and sugar apple (Annona squamosa L.) (13.6 g/100 g)
wavelength of 254 nm. The vitamin C was quantitated using a (NEPA/UNICAMP, 2006) from the Annonaceae family, and Opuntia
standard curve constructed using ascorbic acid >95% (Sigma, dillenii (Ker Gawl.) Haw. (5.71 g/100 g) and Opuntia cus indica
Japan) in a concentration range from 1 to 0.001 mg/mL. The results Mill. (9.49 g/100 g) from the Cactaceae family (Medina et al., 2007).
were expressed as mg ascorbic acid/g fresh sample. It should also be mentioned that various traditionally consumed
fruits present similar ber contents, such as Fuji apples (8.2 g/
2.6. Carotenoid prole 100 g), mangoes (8.14 g/100 g), Japanese tangerines (8.3 g/100 g)
and dwarf papayas (8.77 g/100 g) (NEPA/UNICAMP, 2006).
The carotenoid extract was prepared according to Mercadante On the other hand the pindo palm fruit demonstrated higher
and Rodriguez-Amaya (1991). The main steps were the extraction moisture and protein contents, the latter component being three
of the pigments with acetone and saponication with 10% KOH in times greater than the araticu-do-mato. The protein content of the
methanol overnight at room temperature. After removing the pindo palm fruit is comparable to what is found in popular fruits
alkali with deionized water the extract was concentrated in a such as plums (5.26 g/100 g), nanica bananas (5.78 g/100 g), jack
rotary evaporator (Fisatom, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil) fruit (5.62 g/100 g) and morcot-type tangerines (5.52 g/100 g)
(T < 35 8C), dried in a nitrogen ow and stored in the freezer for (NEPA/UNICAMP, 2006).
subsequent quantitation by high performance liquid chromatog- Furthermore the araticu-do-mato stood out for having higher
raphy. The column used was a 250 mm 4.6 mm i.d., 3 mm, C30 ash values almost 5 times the value found in the pindo palm fruit
reversed phase polymeric column (YMC, Japan). The mobile phase and more than twice found in the mandacaru-de-tres-quinas. The
was water, methanol 99.99% (J.T.Baker, Mexico) and tert-methyl same occurred for the carbohydrates, where this fruit surpassed
butyl ether (MTBE) 99.96% (J.T.Baker Mallinckrodt, EUA) starting the values found in the pindo palm fruit and the mandacaru-de-
at 5:90:5 (v/v/v), reaching 0:95:5 (v/v/v) in 12 min, 0:89:11 (v/v/v) tres-quinas by 1.69 and 1.38 times, respectively. The carbohydrate
in 25 min, 0:75:25 (v/v/v) in 40 min and nally 0:50:50 (v/v/v) content of the araticu-do-mato can be compared with fruits such as
after a total of 60 min, with a ow rate of 1 mL/min at 33 8C the cocoa fruit (19.4 g/100 g), chocolate persimmon (19.3 g/100 g),
(Zanatta and Mercadante, 2007). For quantication, a standard jack fruit (22.5 g/100 g) and pacova banana (20.3 g/100 g) (NEPA/
curve was constructed with b-carotene >93% (Sigma, USA) (5 UNICAMP, 2006). Other annonaceae species also show high
50 mg/mL), a-carotene >95% (Fluka, USA) (225 mg/mL), lutein carbohydrate contents such as the sugar apple (A. squamosa L.
>95% (Indone Chermical Company, Inc., England) (165 mg/mL), 19 g/100 g) and atemoya (A. atemoya Mabb 23.3 g/100 g) (NEPA/
cryptoxanthin >95% (Sigma, USA) (4100 mg/mL) and zeaxanthin UNICAMP, 2006). However these fruits displayed higher protein
>95% (Fluka, USA) (140 mg/mL). The limits of quantitation (LQ) and lipid contents than the araticu-do-mato studied in the present
and detection (LD) were, respectively, for b-carotene and 9-cis-b- work.
carotene: 10.89 102 mg/kg, 6.53 102 mg/kg; for lutein: In addition, the mandacaru-de-tres-quinas presented a higher
1.15 102 mg/kg, 6.9 103 mg/kg; for cryptoxanthin: lipid content, almost 7 and 15 times higher than the values found
2
3.51 10 mg/kg, 2.11 102 mg/kg; for zeaxanthin: for the pindo palm fruit and araticu-do-mato, respectively.
1.59 102 mg/kg, 9.56 102 mg/kg; for a-carotene: However another Cactaceae fruit obtained from the forage palm
3.28 102 mg/kg, 1.97 102 mg/kg; for b-carotene 5,6 epoxide (O. cus-indica Mill.), showed a much lower lipid content (0.50 g/
7.43 102 mg/kg, 4.46 102 mg/kg; for 13-cis-b-carotene: 100 g) (Medina et al., 2007). It is worth remembering that different
7.43 102 mg/kg, 4.46 102 mg/kg. The results were expressed results, even for fruits of the same species, are attributed to various
as (g/g fresh sample. factors such as: analytical methodology, cultivar, soil-climatic
Qualication analysis was assured taking into consideration the conditions, cultivation method, fruit maturity and storage condi-
following criteria: (1) elution order in reverse HPLC of each tions.
carotenoid standard in the established conditions of chro- The physicochemical characteristics related to avor represent
matographic analysis; (2) retention time based on the average important quality attributes for the commercialization and use of
of three different measurements of all the commercial standards the fruit in elaborating industrial products. It is noticeable in Table
comparing with the retention time of all the coincident peaks in 2 that the fruits presented statistical differences between the three
the sample and in its duplicate; and (3) comparison with fruits for TSS, TTA and the TSS/TTA ratio.
commercial standards acquired. Among the fruits examined, the araticu-do-mato regarding the
TSS content, presented twice the value of the mandacaru-de-tres-
2.7. Statistical analysis quinas, which had the lowest content of the three species analyzed,
presenting values below those in other studies on the same species
The results were analyzed by ANOVA and the Tukey means 14.5840 8Brix (Medina et al., 2007; Cerezal and Duarte, 2005).
comparison test at a level of 5% of signicance, using the Statistica These divergences could be attributed to differences in the
7.0 program. cultivars and climatic variations in the year the fruits were
harvested.
3. Results and discussion Another important attribute in the determination of fruit
quality, apart from the total soluble solids, is the total titratable
3.1. Chemical composition acidity. The pindo palm fruit presented three times more
acid than the araticu-do-mato and almost six times more than
It is noticeable from the results shown in Table 1 that the values the mandacaru-de-tres-quinas. The high values for acidity
for proximate composition of the three fruits were signicantly could inuence the avor of the product, but they also help
different, with the exception of dietary ber, for which the araticu- conserve the pulp for longer storage periods, since acid products
do-mato and mandacaru-de-tres-quinas presented values considered have a reduced probability for microbial contamination. The
22 M.C. Pereira et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 29 (2013) 1924
Table 1
Proximate composition of fruits from native species to Rio Grande do Sul State/Brazil.
Values expressed as the mean standard deviation of the mean. The same letter in the same line indicates no signicant difference at the level of 5% signicance.
A
TDF, total dietary ber.
B
IDF, insoluble dietary ber.
araticu-do-mato showed an intermediate value for acidity to be statistically equal and on average four times the value found
(0.39%) as compared to the other two fruits. Several authors in the araticu-do-mato.
found low values for the acidity of other Cactaceas, with values The pindo palm fruit can also be compared with some plum
varying from 0.078 to 0.33% citric acid (Medina et al., 2007; varieties (1720 mM trolox/g) (Walkowiak-Tomczak et al.,
Cerezal and Duarte, 2005). 2008). However it displays less free radical sequestering
The TSS/TTA ratio provides a better evaluation of fruit avor, capacity than in camu-camu (153 mM of trolox/g fruit 478 g
being more representative than isolated measurements of the sugar fruit/g DPPH), West Indian cherry (96.6 mM of trolox/g fruit
contents or acidity. Thus the araticu-do-mato seems to have the best 670 g fruit/g DPPH) and puca-preto (125 mM of trolox/g fruit
balance between sweet and acid, ensuring a pleasant avor and 414 g fruit/g DPPH) (Runo et al., 2010). On the other hand, the
being the most attractive among the species analyzed. On the other mandacaru-de-tres-quinas can be compared with uvaia (18 mM
hand, despite showing a low TSS content, the mandacaru-de-tres- trolox/g fruit 3247 g/g DPPH) (Runo et al., 2010). The
quinas also presented low acidity, resulting in a high TSS/TTA ratio, antioxidant powers of the pindo palm fruit and the mandacaru-
indicating a very sweet and tasty fruit. As a counterpart the pindo de-tres-quinas was higher than in several other fruits, such as ace
palm fruit had the lowest value for this parameter (TSS/TTA), grapes (9.2 mM trolox/g), guava (8.2 mM trolox/g), cherimoya
presenting limitations for in natura consumption nevertheless, it still (4.8 mM trolox/g) (Kuskoski et al., 2005), yellow mombim
presents considerable potential for the agro-industries. (7.8 mM of trolox/g fruit 9397 g fruit/g DPPH), carnauba
(10.7 mM of trolox/g fruit 3549 g fruit/g DPPH) and umbu
3.2. Total phenolic compounds (6.3 mM of trolox/g fruit 7074 g fruit/g DPPH) (Runo et al.,
2010). Although the araticu-do-mato shows less antioxidant
With respect to the total phenolic compound contents, the capacity than the other two fruits analyzed, it is still higher than
mandacaru-de-tres-quinas showed a signicantly greater amount, cupuacu (1.702 mM trolox/g) (Kuskoski et al., 2005).
corresponding to twice that found in the araticu-do-mato and
pindo palm fruit, the latter two being considered statistically equal 3.4. Vitamin C
(Table 3). In addition the mandacaru-de-tres-quinas stood out when
compared to blueberry (263930 mg/100 g) (Sellapan et al., 2002), The vitamin C concentration did not vary much between the
known worldwide for its benecial properties in what concerns the fruits evaluated (Table 3), however the araticu-do-mato presented
human health. the highest value for this compound, without differing from the
mandacaru-de-tres-quinas statistically, and it also surpassed the
3.3. Antioxidant activity value found in the pindo palm fruit signicantly. The mandacaru-
de-tres-quinas showed an intermediate value, being considered
Table 3 also shows the results for antioxidant activity. Using the statistically equal to the other two fruits.
ABTS method there was a signicant difference between the fruits, Valente et al. (2011), on studying an araticu-do-mato species (A.
with the pindo palm fruit demonstrating the highest values, squamosa L.) native to the Brazilian savanna, they found lower
representing 6.74 times the value obtained for the araticu-do-mato
and 1.32 times the value obtained for the mandacaru-de-tres- Table 3
quinas. However for the DPPH method the values obtained for the Total phenolic compounds (TPC), antioxidant activity (DPPH and ABST methods)
and vitamin C (Vit C) content in fruits from native species to Rio Grande do Sul State/
pindo palm and mandacaru-de-tres-quinas fruits were considered
Brazil.
Table 4
Carotenoid composition (mg/g) in fruits from native species to Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil.
The values are expressed as the mean the standard deviation of the mean. The same letters in the same line indicate no signicant difference at the 5% level of signicance.
A
Nd, not detected.
vitamin C concentrations (0.029 mg/g) than the ones found in the For the pindo palm fruit b-carotene (21.67 mg/g) outranked,
present study. Fruits such as passion fruit (0.36 mg/g) (Valente representing more than 50% of the total content (39.77 mg/g). In
et al., 2011) and puca-preto (0.29 mg/g) (Runo et al., 2010) addition the presence of the b-carotene isomer 9-cis-b-carotene in
showed comparable amounts in araticu-do-mato and pindo palm considerable amounts (10.17 mg/g) representing 25.6% should be
fruit. The mandacaru-de-tres-quinas had lower vitamin C concen- mentioned, and also lutein, which was present in smaller amounts,
tration than what was found by Medina et al. (2007) for O. cus representing 11.8%. The b-carotene concentration found in the
indica Mill. (0.17 mg/g) and higher values for O. dillenii (Ker Gawl.) pindo palm fruit was comparable to other fruits, such as the West
Haw. (0.30 mg/g), on characterizing two species from the genus Indian cherry (426 mg/g) (Porcu and Rodriguez-Amaya, 2006) and
Opuntia. Fruits such as banana (0.0014 mg/g), carambola also in some vegetables such as lettuce (9.925 mg/g) (Kimura and
(0.027 mg/g) (Valente et al., 2011), bacuri (0.024 mg/g) (Runo Rodriguez-Amaya, 2003) and broccolis (1619 mg/g) (De Sa and
et al., 2010) present lower values than the mandacaru-de-tres- Rodriguez-Amaya, 2003). However when compared to tucuma
quinas, whereas the Indian g (0.21 mg/g), lime cultivar Tahiti (99 mg/g) (Rodriguez-Amaya, 1999), a palm tree considered rich
(0.21 mg/g), tamarillo (0.20 mg/g) (Valente et al., 2011), caja source of b-carotene, the pindo palm fruit showed a much lower
(0.26 mg/g), gurguri (0.27 mg/g) e umbu (0.18 mg/g) (Runo et al., value. b-Carotene is considered the carotenoid with the greatest
2010) shows a comparable vitamin C content. vitamin A potential, with 100% activity, besides that, it is the most
efcient in sequestering free radicals after lycopene, acting in the
3.5. Carotenoid prole prevention of chronic-degenerative diseases such as heart disease
and cancer (Bohm et al., 2002).
Among the native species analyzed, the pindo palm fruit
presented signicantly higher contents for all the carotenoids
4. Conclusions
evaluated with the exception of a-carotene, which was not
identied in this fruit. The total carotenoid content found in the
The results obtained for the proximate composition of the
pindo palm fruit corresponded to 82.85 and 44.68 times the values
native Brazilian fruits did not show much variation, and can be
found in the araticu-do-mato and mandacaru-de-tres-quinas,
compared with the values found in various conventional fruits.
respectively. Table 4 shows the carotenoid composition of the
However, with respect to their functional properties, the pindo
three fruits analyzed.
palm and mandacaru-de-tres-quinas fruits stood out due to their
With respect to the araticu-do-mato and mandacaru-de-tres-
higher antioxidant capacities when compared to other tradition-
quinas, these did not show the presence of 5,6-epoxy-b-carotene
ally consumed fruit species. Yet it seems that for the pindo palm
or 13-cis-b-carotene, and for all the other carotenoids found,
fruit this potential is inuenced by the carotenoid content,
they presented low amounts which were considered statistically
whereas for the mandacaru-de-tres-quinas fruit can be attributed
equal. Considering the total carotenoid contents for these fruits,
to the phenolic compound content, since they present high
lutein represented 39.6% for the araticu-do-mato (0.55 mg/g) and
contents of these constituents. In addition, the mandacaru-de-tres-
61.8% for the mandacaru-de-tres-quinas (0.19 mg/g) and was thus
quinas together with the araticu-do-mato showed the highest
the major carotenoid of these fruits. Green leafy vegetables are
vitamin C content, with amounts similar to those found in some
generally known as sources of lutein, principally the dark green
citric fruits. The araticu-do-mato also had the best TSS/TTA ratio,
leaves such as spinach (5268 mg/g) (Azevedo-Meleiro and
indicating that it is suitable for in natura consumption as well as for
Rodriguez-Amaya, 2005a) kale (4452 mg/g) (Azevedo-Meleiro
processing. Thus these fruits appear as an option to increase the
and Rodriguez-Amaya, 2005b), watercress (68 mg/g) and rocket
Brazilian agricultural matrix, since they possess functional
(50 mg/g) (Kimura and Rodriguez-Amaya, 2003). However this
characteristics of impact in the prevention of countless diseases.
carotenoid can be found in smaller amounts in fruits, in amounts
Nevertheless in order for them to be introduced into the productive
similar to those found in the araticu-do-mato and mandacaru-de-
systems and offered on a commercial scale, information on this
tres-quinas, such as in orange (0.10.2 mg/g) (Pupin et al., 1999).
topic is necessary and must be exposed allowing the cultivation of
However, the two fruits examined here showed lower values
these species.
when compared to the camu-camu (3.8 mg/g) (Zanatta and
Mercadante, 2007), which also has lutein as the principal
carotenoid. Of the main benets associated with lutein, apart Acknowledgments
from evidence of a reduction in the risk of developing macular
degeneration in old age, protective effects against atherosclero- The authors are grateful to the Brazilian Research Agency
sis, cataract, cancer and damage caused by UV radiation stand (Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nvel Superior
out among other diseases (Marinova and Ribarova, 2007). CAPES) for their nancial support.
24 M.C. Pereira et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 29 (2013) 1924