VARIABILITY OF TOTAL CAROTENOIDS CONTENT IN MANGO PEEL AND PULP FLOURS

Mango is one of the most important tropical fruits in the world. The mango market is subdivided into the fresh fruit, and industrialization to obtain juices and other products. In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the waste from the agricultural and food industry, which has driven the demand for valorization of unqualified fruit for the fresh market and solid wastes as co-products with high added value. Both mango peel and pulp have health beneficial nutrients such as carotenoids, which have many functionalities for human health. This study aimed to process unripe fruits of six mango cultivars (Bourbon, Espada Vermelha, Haden, Keitt, Parwin and Tommy Atkins) for the production of pulp and peel flours to encourage the production of mango flours in Brazil. Fruits were collected from the orchard in the city of São Manuel, São Paulo State, Brazil (22° 44' 28" S and 48° 34' 37" O and at 740 m a.s.l). From each cultivar, 50 kg of fruits were harvested from ten mango trees of each cultivar. Five replicates of 10 kg fruits were randomly select for the production of the flours. The fruits were washed, sanitized (200 ppm hypochlorite solution, 15 minutes), and rinsed in chlorinated water. Separation of the pulp and peel was done manually with sanitized knives. The peel and pulp of each cultivar were submitted to the drying process (55ºC/12 hours). After cooling, they were disintegrated in a knife mill, and packed in sealed polyethylene containers in a refrigerated environment (5ºC). The total carotenoids were quantified using a UV/Vis spectrophotometer. Results presented significant differences (p < 0.05) between mango cultivars as well as pulp and peel flours. The mango peel flours had total carotenoid contents ranging from 35.55 to 68.12 µg/g, with the highest content for the ‘Bourbon’ flour. Pulp flours varied from 4.22 to 11.50 µg/g, with the highest content for flour obtained from the ‘Keitty’. Regardless of the cultivar, peel flour can be a good source of carotenoids and add value in the industrialization of mango fruit.