PHYSICAL-CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN PASSION FRUIT COLLECTED IN RAINY AND DRY SEASONS

Brazil is the world's largest producer and consumer of passion fruit, so it is of great industrial and commercial interest in the country. The aim of this work was to determine the physico-chemical characteristics and bioactive compounds in passion fruits “Rubi do Cerrado” cultivar, harvested at different seasons (rainy and dry). The fruits were determined on the weight, size, shell color (L*, C* and H°) and the pulps for pH, total soluble solids, color, acidity in citric acid, glucose reducing sugars and non-reducing agents in sucrose, total phenols, beta-carotene, anthocyanins, ascorbic acid and antioxidant capacity (DPPH e ABTS). The mean values of weight, longitudinal length, transverse and color (L*, C* and H°) observed in fruits of the rainy and dry seasons were 198.44 and 176.19g, 93.77 and 96.58 mm, 75.64 and 76.72mm, 52.47 and 52.97, 27.10 and 38.88, and 57.91 and 45.37, respectively, with significant differences in the C* and H ° color parameters, with higher saturation and reddish tint in the dry season. In the pulp, there was a difference between rainy and dry seasons for reducing sugars, sucrose, acidity, ascorbic acid, total phenols, antioxidant (TEAC by DPPH and ABTS) with values of 4.77 and 3.97 g.100g-1, 1.11 and 0.18 g.100g-1, 3.83 and 3.55 g.100g-1, 14.26 and 22.12 mg.100g-1, 19.44 and 24.40 mg.100g-1, 1.93 and 1.47 μmol.g-1 and 0.79 and 1.09 μmol.g-1, respectively. The average values for pH, SST, L*, C* and H°, beta carotene, anthocyanins and flavonoids, regardless of the season, were 2.85, 13.7 brix, 26.87, 46.44 , 83.86, 5.75 μg.100g-1, 2.73 mg.100g-1 and 48.76 mg.100g-1, respectively. The contents of sugars and acidity had their values reduced and most of the bioactive compounds, suggesting that the plant responds in a different way in the different seasons.