Antioxidant and nutritional compounds in banana during post-harvest and after thermal processing

• Grant number: 16/17241-9
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): November 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): October 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal researcher: Giuseppina Pace Pereira Lima
• Grantee: Matheus Antônio Filiol Belin
• Home Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Musa spp. belongs to the Musaceae family and is popularly known as banana, a fruit commonly found in almost all of Brazil and it has probable Asian origin. The climate, soil, cultivation methods can affect the quality of vegetables, especially in relation to chemical composition and antioxidant potential. Other factors can alter the bioactive compounds, such as heat processing and storage time. Bananas may be consumed in various forms, including raw, heat processed, in flour form, added to other foods and spices, pickled, among others. Even with the large number of studies on the fruit, there are still inconsistent information about their potential antioxidant and nutrient after harvest, in different stages of maturation and after heat processing. The aim of this study is to assess whether the various stages of maturity and thermal processing may influence the levels of some antioxidants such as phenolics compounds, total flavonoids and carotenoids, the antioxidant activity (mesuread by DPPH and FRAP) from 5 banana accesses, coming from BAG Embrapa Cassava and Fruits, Cruz das Almas - BA. In addition to these analyzes, carbohydrate content (total and reducing sugars), total lipids (TL) and total protein (TP) will also be determined.