Technology Prospection of Ora-pro-Nóbis ( Mill.): A Non-conventional Food Plant.

Background: The ora-pro-nóbis ( Mill.) is a plant from Brazilian biodiversity used for food and medicinal purposes. It has ample technological potential, however, it is still underutilized, being classified as a Non-Conventional Food Plant (PANC).

Effects of processing on the chemical, physicochemical, enzymatic, and volatile metabolic composition of pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus (F.A.C. Weber) Britton & Rose).

The effects of processing on the chemical, physicochemical, enzymatic, and volatile metabolic composition of pitaya pulp were assessed for the first time. To this end, the following treatments to obtain pitaya pulp were evaluated: Treatment A (TA, pulp processing without ascorbic acid), Treatment B (TB, whole fruit processing with ascorbic acid), and Control (whole fruit processing without ascorbic acid). The treatment employed in TB resulted in low polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase activity, and no significant chemical or physicochemical alterations in most parameters evaluated.

Evaluation of nutritional and chemical composition of yacon syrup using H NMR and UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS.

A complete characterization of yacon syrup was performed by analytical techniques, including NMR and UPLC-QTOF-MS. The effect of the different stages of yacon syrup production on fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and chlorogenic acid (CGA) contents were also evaluated. As a result, in addition to higher levels of FOS and CGA, some mineral elements, such as K, Ca and P, and essential amino acids, such as tryptophan, valine, and threonine, were determined in yacon syrup.

Yacon syrup: Food applications and impact on satiety in healthy volunteers.

Syrup obtained from yacon roots could be well positioned as a nutritional product due to its high fructooligosaccharides (FOS) content. Considering this, we examined the potential food applications of yacon syrup, using the focal group methodology, and its sensorial acceptability when incorporated in yogurt. The beneficial effects of the consumption of yacon syrup were studied over a 2-week period in a double-blind placebo-controlled experiment (namely Test A) and other consistent of only one day of yacon syrup consumption (namely Test B) were also evaluated.