Fabiana Queiroz

Determination of the bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity and chemical composition of Brazilian blackberry, red raspberry, strawberry, blueberry and sweet cherry fruits.

This study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition, identify the bioactive compounds and measure the antioxidant activity present in blackberry, red raspberry, strawberry, sweet cherry and blueberry fruits produced in the subtropical areas of Brazil and to verify that the chemical properties of these fruit are similar when compared to the temperate production zones. Compared with berries and cherries grown in temperate climates, the centesimal composition and physical chemical characteristics found in the Brazilian berries and cherries are in agreement with data from the literature. For the mineral composition, the analyzed fruits presented lower concentrations of P, K, Ca, Mg and Zn and higher levels of Fe. The values found for the bioactive compounds generally fit the ranges reported in the literature with minor differences. The greatest difference was found in relation to ascorbic acid, as all fruits analyzed showed levels well above those found in the literature.

Microencapsulation of Rosemary Essential Oil: Characterization of Particles

This study evaluated the influence of wall material concentration (10–30%), inlet temperature (135–195°C), and feed rate (0.5–1.0 L · h−1) on the properties of rosemary oil microencapsulated by spray-drying, with gum arabic as carrier. Powder recovery, surface oil, oil retention, and hygroscopicity varied from 17.25%–33.96%, 0.03%–0.15%, 7.15%–47.57%, and 15.87%–18.90%, respectively. The optimized conditions were determined to be a wall material concentration of 19.3%, an inlet air temperature of 171°C, and a feed flow rate of 0.92 L · h−1. At this condition, particles presented no fissures and the compositions of pure and microencapsulated oil were similar. The sorption isotherms could be described by the GAB model.

Optimization of alkaline pretreatment of coffee pulp for production of bioethanol

The use of lignocellulosic raw materials in bioethanol production has been intensively investigated in recent years. However, for efficient conversion to ethanol, many pretreatment steps are required prior to hydrolysis and fermentation. Coffee stands out as the most important agricultural product in Brazil and wastes such as pulp and coffee husk are generated during the wet and dry processing to obtain green grains, respectively. This work focused on the optimization of alkaline pretreatment of coffee pulp with the aim of making its use in the alcoholic fermentation. A central composite rotatable design was used with three independent variables: sodium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide concentrations and alkaline pretreatment time, totaling 17 experiments. After alkaline pretreatment the concentration of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin remaining in the material, the subsequent hydrolysis of the cellulose component and its fermentation of substrate were evaluated. The results indicated that pretreatment using 4% (w/v) sodium hydroxide solution, with no calcium hydroxide, and 25 min treatment time gave the best results (69.18% cellulose remaining, 44.15% hemicelluloses remaining, 25.19% lignin remaining, 38.13 g/L of reducing sugars, and 27.02 g/L of glucose) and produced 13.66 g/L of ethanol with a yield of 0.4 g ethanol/g glucose.

Evaluation of the Jelly Processing Potential of Raspberries Adapted in Brazil

UNLABELLED Generally raspberry products as jams, jellies, and preserves are made with red raspberry, however, yellow raspberry and especially black raspberry are also fruits adapted in Brazil, presenting even better productivity and quality. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the processing potential of other varieties of raspberry, but the red, in the preparation of jellies through mixture design and response surface methodology (RSM). These techniques were used to optimize the following 3 variables: yellow (Golden Bliss cultivar, Rubus idaeus), black (Rubus niveus), and red raspberries (Batum cultivar, Rubus idaeus) to formulate a mixed raspberry fruit jelly through sensory evaluations. It was found that jelly formulated with a mix of colored raspberries grown in subtropical regions is a viable and alternative way to use yellow and black raspberries. The mixed raspberry jelly must have 0% to 30% yellow raspberries, 25% to 50% black raspberries, and 30% to 75% red raspberries. Within this region, the optimum formulation has ideal characteristics that are often not observed in formulations with 100% black or yellow raspberries. PRACTICAL APPLICATION The black and yellow raspberries are little explored in fresh consumption and in the development of products such as jams and jellies. From these work, using mixture design and response surface methodology, has been verified that the production of a mixed raspberry jelly seems feasible and is an interesting alternative to use the yellow and black raspberries. The results serve as a guide to the production of jams and jellies from these types of raspberries.

Analysis of the subtropical blackberry cultivar potential in jelly processing.

In Brazil, there are numerous blackberry cultivars under cultivation, however, only a few cultivars, such as the Guarani, are displayed/used for processing. In this context the aim of this work was to study the effects of different Brazilian blackberry cultivars (Guarani, Brazos, Comanche, Tupy, Cherokee, Caingangue, and Choctaw) on the physicochemical characteristics, texture profiles and the consumer acceptance of the resulting jelly to identify the potential use of these cultivars in the jelly industry. It is feasible to produce blackberry jellies with the Tupy, Comanche, Brazos, Guarani, and Choctaw cultivars because these jellies demonstrated good acceptability combined with good productivity. Consumers were shown to have a preference for a less adhesive, more acidic jelly. This study provides a useful insight about the Brazilian blackberry cultivar potential in jelly processing.

Fruits from the Brazilian Cerrado region: Physico-chemical characterization, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activities, and sensory evaluation

Given the economic importance of fruit processing, this study aimed to analyze the chemical composition, antioxidant activity, and sensorial acceptance of six fruit pulps from the Brazilian Cerrado. For bioactive compounds of the selected fruits, buriti contains the highest carotenoid content (2.85 mg licopene/100 g e 4.65 mg β-carotene/100g), however showed the lowest ascorbic acid concentration (7.42 mg/100g); while mangaba contains the highest ascorbic acid concentration (175.06 mg/100g), but obtained the lowest total phenolic compounds (46.85 mg GAEs/100g) and antioxidant capacity. The marolo reported the highest total phenolic compounds (728.17 mg GAEs/100g), total fiber (21.62%), and a high antioxidant potential. Regarding the mineral composition, marolo stood out as potassium (378.69 mg/100g) and magnesium (31.78 mg/100g) contents, and yellow mombin as phosphorus (26.24 mg/100g) content. Finally, juice prepared using cagaita and marolo had greater sensorial acceptance. The composition of fruit pulps indicated the potential there for the development of new food products.

Study of Different Wall Matrix Biopolymers on the Properties of Spray-Dried Pequi Oil and on the Stability of Bioactive Compounds

This work aimed to evaluate the effect of the partial replacement of whey protein isolate (WPI), by maltodextrin (MD) and by inulin (IN), on the characteristics of spray-dried pequi oil and on the degradation of its bioactive compounds. Three treatments, WPI, WPI/MD (1:1), and WPI/IN (1:1), were carried out, and the characteristics of the emulsions and microparticles were evaluated. In addition, thermal analysis, X-ray, and scanning electron microscopy of microparticles were carried out. It was found that the solubility of the encapsulations was affected by the composition of the wall material and reached higher value (88.26%) when IN was applied. The encapsulation efficiency (74.49%) was lower with IN. The particles presented amorphous characteristics, and the treatments WPI and WPI/IN exhibited smoother and spherical morphology. WPI and WPI/MD showed greater thermal stability and also better protection of the antioxidative capacity of the oil through the β-carotene bleaching assay. The WPI system showed better protection of β-carotene, δ-carotene, and lycopene, compared to the bulk oil, while WPI/MD protected better the γ-carotene and WPI/IN showed better protection of α-carotene.

Influence of process parameters on the color and texture of passion fruit albedo preserved in syrup

The industrialization of passion fruit in the form of juice produces considerable amounts of residue that could be used as food. The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of the volume of passion fruit juice added to the syrup and the cooking time on the color and texture of passion fruit albedo preserved in syrup. Multi-linear models were well fit to describe the value for a* (for the albedo) the values for b* (for the albedo and syrup), which exhibited high correlation coefficients of 98%, 84%, and 88%, respectively. The volume of passion fruit juice added and the cooking time of the albedos in the syrup, involved in the processing of passion fruit albedo preserves in syrup, significantly affected color analyses. The texture was not affected by the parameters studied. Therefore, the use of larger volumes of passion fruit juice and longer cooking time is recommended for the production of passion fruit albedo preserves in syrup to achieve the characteristic yellow color of the fruit.