In vitro bioaccessibility of carotenoids and phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of pequi fruit (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.) flours

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate the in vitro bioaccessibility of α-carotene, β-carotene, lycopene and phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity in the pequi almond, pulp and peel flours. Furthermore, it is relevant to interrelate these results with water activity (aw), Total Titratable Acidity (TTA), pH and color parameters through principal component analysis. For this, fruits were collected in the state of Mato Grosso (MT), and they were sanitized, peeled, pulped and the almonds removed. Quantification of total and bioaccessible concentrations of carotenoids and phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity were performed by UV-Visible spectrophotometry. In vitro bioaccessibility tests were performed using a three-step: salivary; gastric; and intestinal digestions. The highest concentrations of α-carotene (63.81 µg/g), β-carotene (59.83 µg/g) and lycopene (40.66 µg/g) were obtained for pequi pulp flour. However, the highest percentages of bioaccessibility of α-carotene (59.69%), β-carotene (96.14%) and lycopene (44.13%) were found in almond flour. The concentrations of total phenolic compounds were: 210.50; 402.21; and 9475.69 mg GAE/100g, for pequi almond, pulp and peel flour, respectively. The highest percentage of bioaccessibility (86.68%) was found in pulp flour. Pequi peel flour showed the highest antioxidant capacity (EC₅₀) 45.71 g/g of DPPH. The highest results for L* (42.19), a* (4.17), b* (8.39) and TTA (17.83 mL NaOH/100 g) were verified in the pulp flour; whereas the lowest pH (3.34) was verified in the peel flour. Principal component analysis indicated that pH and TTA can influence the in vitro bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds, carotenoids and the antioxidant capacity. The results obtained suggested that pequi flours presented bioaccessible bioactive compounds and good antioxidant capacity and may be a technological alternative in the enrichment of food products.

Keywords:
Cerrado fruit; In vitro digestion; Food composition; Bioactive compounds; Nutritional value; DPPH; α-caroten