Title : Characterization of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of pulp and seed of Eugenia astringens fruit
Abstract:
The Myrtaceae family is one of the most common in Brazil, about 50% of the species are endemic to the Atlantic Forest. The species of this family previously studied showed a high nutritional and antioxidant potential. The proposal of this work is characterizing the bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of fruits of a specie present in the restinga of the Brazilian coast, Eugenia astringens. The fruits were collected in July 2021, and the ethanolic extract of ripe fruits of E. astringens collected in the restinga of the north coast of Espírito Santo/Brazil, was evaluated for the concentration of pigments carotenoids and anthocyanins; phenolic compounds, and its antioxidant activity, obtained by the FRAP method. The results showed that in ripe fruits of E. astringens, the anthocyanin contents were about 49.8 mg 100 g-1 of fresh weight, while the carotenoid contents were about 1.6 mg 100 g-1. Phenolic compounds presented higher concentrations than those previous species of the same genus reported in the literature, showing values of 227.65 mg g-1. The antioxidant activity analysis, by the FRAP method, showed differences between the parts of the fruit. The pulp contained 44.11 µmol g-1 of fresh weight, while the seeds had about 91.38 µmol g-1. The highest values found for seeds compared to the pulp in the antioxidant activity analysis are also described in studies with native fruit trees of this genus. Therefore, we concluded that this specie may be considered a promising source of bioactive compounds, especially phenolic compounds and anthocyanins, with the prospect of being considered a functional food and promising material for various sectors of industry. The amounts of phenolic compounds and anthocyanins present in E. astringens bring the prospect of being considered a possible material for be applied various sectors of industry.
What will audience learn from your presentation?
• The methodology can be replicated for analyzes of other species;
• The fruits have antioxidant potential, being able to serve the food, pharmaceutical and medicinal industries;
• They are still unexplored fruits and new research can be suggested for the use of this species.
