Amazonian palm tree fruits: From nutritional value to diversity of new food products.

The rapid growth of the world population has increased the demand for new food sources, constituting a major challenge concerning the maximum use of existing food resources. The fruits of Amazonian palm trees have excellent nutritional composition and bioactive compounds. This review highlights four fruits of Amazonian palm trees that are still little explored by the food industry: açai (), pupunha (), buriti (), and tucumã ().

Nutritional and Technological Properties of Albino Peach Palm () from the Amazon: Influence of Cooking and Drying.

This study aimed to subject the albino peach palm to cooking and drying processes and characterize the raw pulp (RP), cooked pulp (CP), raw pulp flour (RPF), and cooked pulp flour (CPF). The product's chemical composition, bioactive compounds, and physicochemical, color, thermal, morphological, and functional-technological properties were evaluated. The proximate composition showed that carbohydrates were the main constituents of all the products (69.

Total and Free Hydrogen Cyanide Content and Profile of Bioactive Amines in Commercial , a Traditionally Derived Cassava Product Widely Consumed in Northern Brazil.

is a broth derived from cassava roots which is produced after the spontaneous fermentation of (the liquid portion obtained by pressing cassava roots), followed by cooking. This product is widely consumed along with traditional dishes in the Brazilian Amazonia and is already used in different places worldwide. In this study, obtained from the markets of Belém (Pará, Brazil) and produced using agroindustrial (11 samples) and non-agroindustrial (11 samples) units were investigated to determine their physicochemical characteristics, total and free HCN contents, and free bioactive amine profiles.

Combined Pulsed Vacuum Osmotic Dehydration and Convective Air-Drying Process of Jambolan Fruits.

Jambolan () is a native fruit from Asia that has adapted well to the tropical climate of the Amazonian region. However, due to its limited annual availability and high perishability, the jambolan fruit is still underexploited. Thus, this study aimed to preserve the jambolan through a combined process of pulsed vacuum osmotic dehydration (PVOD) and convective air-drying and to monitor the total phenolic contents (TPCs) and total monomeric anthocyanins (TMAs) during these processes.

Structural and Thermal Characteristics of Buriti Tree Gum ().

A polysaccharide was isolated from the exudate of a buriti tree trunk (). The molecular structure, thermal stability, morphology, crystallinity, and elemental composition of the product were investigated through spectroscopic techniques, such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR H and C), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS); thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In addition to NMR molecular modeling studies, were performed to confirm the H and C chemical shifts to Gal and Xyl conformers.

Stability Kinetics of Anthocyanins of Grumixama Berries ( Lam.) during Thermal and Light Treatments.

Grumixama ( Lam.) are red-colored fruits due to the presence of anthocyanins. In this paper, anthocyanin-rich extracts from grumixama were submitted to different temperatures and light irradiations, with the aim of investigating their stabilities.

Convective Drying of Purple Basil ( L.) Leaves and Stability of Chlorophyll and Phenolic Compounds during the Process.

This study evaluated the effect of convective drying on the degradation of color and phenolic compounds of purple basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) leaves, and the hygroscopic behavior of dried leaves. The fresh leaves underwent drying at 40 °C, 50 °C, 60 °C, and 70 °C.

Lactic Acid Bacteria and Bioactive Amines Identified during Fermentation for Production.

There is scarce information regarding lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and the production of biogenic amines during fermentation for . Thus, the objective of this study was to isolate and identify LAB, and to determine their impact on bioactive amine formation. Spontaneous fermentation of was carried out at laboratory scale and selected LAB colonies were isolated and identified by sequencing techniques and comparison with sequences from a virtual database.

Moisture desorption behavior and thermodynamic properties of pulp and seed of jambolan ().

The study objectives were to establish isotherms and thermodynamic properties for the moisture desorption process of jambolan pulp (JP) and jambolan seed (JS), harvested in the city of Belém (Brazil). These characteristics can contribute for the proper selection of the operating drying conditions. Thus, the following essays were made for both JP and JS.

Encapsulation of bioactive compounds extracted from plants of genus Hibiscus: A review of selected techniques and applications.

The genus Hibiscus includes more than 250 species, and many studies showed that these plants contain bioactive compounds with technological potential to be used in the development of functional foods. However, the instability of these compounds during typical food processing conditions, such as exposure to high temperatures, pH changes and presence of light and oxygen have stimulated the use of encapsulation techniques to increase their stability and applicability. Among the existing Hibiscus species, only H.

Peach palm flour: production, hygroscopic behaviour and application in cookies.

In this work, two types of flour from peach palm fruits () were prepared to be used to produce cookies: one with the whole fruit (pulp + peel) and another one with only the pulp. Analyses of proximate composition, physicochemical and hygroscopic behaviour were carried out in both flour, as well as sensory analysis of the produced cookies. Both the types of flour did not differ statistically in total lipids, total carbohydrates and ashes ( > 0.

Optimization of the spray drying process for developing cupuassu powder.

A central composite design was used to optimize the spray drying process for developing cupuassu () powder. The influence of inlet air temperature (T) (120-180 °C), feeding rate (F) (3-12 mL/min) and maltodextrin concentration (C) (10-40%) on the properties of moisture, water activity (a), hygroscopicity, water solubility index (WSI), ascorbic acid (AA) and total phenolic compounds (TPC) were analyzed using response surface methodology and desirability function. In addition, powder morphology was assessed using scanning electron microscopy.

Application of pulsed-vacuum on the salt impregnation process of pirarucu fillet.

The influence of the pulsed-vacuum impregnation (PVI) and periodic pulsed-vacuum impregnation (PPVI), and the temperature, on the salting process of pirarucu fillet was studied. For this, the dorsal region of the fish in the slab-shaped (60 mm × 20 mm × 5 mm) and sodium chloride solution (30 g/100 g NaCl) were used. The process was conducted at different temperatures (10 °C - 40 °C) and the following pulsed-vacuum conditions: initial vacuum pulse (5 min at 10 kPa) and alternating periods of vacuum pulse (5 min at 10 kPa) and atmospheric pressure (101 kPa) for 5 min, 10 min and 15 min intermittently.

Influence of spontaneous fermentation of manipueira on bioactive amine and carotenoid profiles during tucupi production.

Tucupi is a kind of broth that is common to the Amazonian region of Brazil, which is produced after the spontaneous fermentation and boiling of manipueira, a liquid by-product extracted from cassava roots during cassava flour production. The bioactive amines formation and their alterations during tucupi processing were investigated for the first time. In addition, the physicochemical changes, instrumental color parameters and carotenoid profile were monitored during tucupi production.

Oven drying and hot water cooking processes decrease HCN contents of cassava leaves.

The aim of this work was to study the effects of temperature and time of oven drying and hot water cooking processes on HCN (hydrocyanic acid) degradation of cassava leaves as a contribution for obtaining a safe product for human consumption. Nine varieties of cassava leaves collected in the Amazonian region of Brazil (Pará State) were characterized regarding moisture, pH, total acidity, ashes, total lipids, total protein, water activity, carbohydrates, total energetic value and HCN contents. The leaves of the three cassava varieties, which presented the highest HCN contents, were submitted to the thermal degradation of HCN, under drying and boiling conditions.

Optimization of spray drying process parameters for tucupi powder using the response surface methodology.

A completely randomized 2 factorial experimental design was used to optimize the process parameters for obtaining tucupi powder through spray drying. The effects of the process variables [inlet air temperature (IT), feed flow rate (FR), and maltodextrin concentration (MD)] on the product properties [moisture, water activity (a), hygroscopicity, water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI), total color difference (ΔE*), and β-carotene content] were studied using the response surface methodology (RSM) and linear perturbation plot. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images were obtained of the product.

Combined osmotic dehydration and drying process of pirarucu () fillets.

The osmotic dehydration (OD) and complementary drying of pirarucu () fillets were studied. Pieces of the dorsal portion of pirarucu (60 mm × 20 mm × 10 mm) underwent OD in a binary solution (NaCl-water) with the application of vacuum pulse following a central rotatable composite design. The effect of the following process variables was assessed: temperature (20-40 °C), osmotic solution concentration (15-25% NaCl), and vacuum pulse pressure (7-101 kPa) on water loss (WL), solid gain (SG), and water activity (a).

Anthocyanins of Jambolão (Syzygium cumini): Extraction and pH-Dependent Color Changes.

Unlabelled: Jambolão fruits are promising sources of anthocyanins, and in this study, the jambolão fruit from the Brazilian Amazonian region was characterized and the efficiency of six ethanol-based solutions to extract anthocyanins was determined. Moreover, the color changes of anthocyanin extracts, as influenced by different pH conditions (pH from 1.0 to 8.

Bioactive amines and phenolic compounds in cocoa beans are affected by fermentation.

Cocoa is the target of increased scientific research as it is one of the richest source of bioactive compounds. The formation of bioactive amines and their changes in cocoa beans during seven days of traditional fermentation was investigated for the first time. In addition, total phenolic compounds, anthocyanins contents and the scavenging capacity against ABTS radical were determined to monitor the fermentation process.

Influence of the process parameters on osmotic dehydration of mapara (Hypophthalmus edentatus) fillet.

The effects of temperature, time, pressure and brine concentration were assessed during osmotic dehydration (OD) of H. edentatus fillet. The response surface methodology (RSM) showed that using vacuum during the OD process did not cause a statistically significant change (p > 0.