Phenolic compounds in Brazilian native fruits
Fruit consumption is always promoted because of its health benefits, which are mainly related to bioactive compound compositions with characteristics of antioxidants, sequesteration of free radicals, and reduction of the risk of reactive oxygen species-related diseases. This work proposes to evaluate phenolic compound content in Brazilian native fruits. Eight fruits were obtained from four Brazilian regions: Cajá-manga (Goiânia-GO); Jatobá (Campo Grande-MS); 3.) Açaí and Pupunha (Belém-PA); Goiaba and Bananinha-do-mato (Pelotas-RS); Cajarana (Salvador-BA) and Cajá (Fortaleza-CE). The extracts were prepared using fruit pulp and methanol as the solvent. The analysis was performed with the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent using a 2 h reaction time and reading at 765 nm. A gallic acid calibration curve was established, and data expressed in mg equivalent of gallic acid per gram of sample (mg EGA.g-1) was used for quantification. Phenolic compound contents ranged from 1.44 to 0.46 mg EGA.g-1 among the fruits. The fruits obtained in the North presented the highest concentrations, consisting of 1.44 ± 0.2 for Açaí and 1.31 ± 0.01 mg EGA.g-1 for Pupunha followed by the third fruit, Goiaba, which contained the highest amount of phenolic compounds (0.91 ± 0.03 mg EAG.g-1). For the other fruits, the measured amounts were similar (0.49 ± 0.04 and 0.65 ± 0.05 in the fruits of the center-west, Cajá-manga and Jatobá, respectively) and 0.58 ± 0.09 and 0.52 ± 0.02 in the fruits of the northeast region (Cajarana and Cajá), respectively. The bananinha-do-mato, which is also found in the South region, had a content of 0.63 ± 0.05 mg EGA.g-1. Therefore, it was observed that the bioactive compound contents in the fruits can contribute in an important way to antioxidant phytochemical dietary intake; in addition, the content may be related to the characteristics of the places where they are grown.