Bioprospecção do maxixe (Cucumis anguria l.): elaboração da farinha e apresentação de produto.

Abstract

The gherkin (Cucumis anguria L.) is a vegetable from the family of the Curcubit, originary from the african continent which arrived in Brazil through the slaves and has adapted very easily to the edaphoclimatic conditions from the country, being very popular in the northeast region, followed by the north and southeast regions. The fruits in natura have high levels of perishability whose forms of cunsume are raw or cooked with potential to be used as pickles. Studies that emphasize its medical properties, bioactive constituents or new forms of processing by the agroindustrial sector are scarce for the specie, restricting it to works of agronomic or botanic nature. With the purpose of valorize the cultivation of the gherkin in the region of the Paraibano Curimataú, in addition to the biotechnology of the food products and lined up to technical scientific and industrial advancement that the point of this work was to obtain a flour originated from the fruits of gherkin and from that to elaborate a product to verify its viability on feeding, specially on the bakery production. Therefore, were carried out: physical, chemical and physical chemical analysis and toxicity test for the fruits in natura and for the flour; microbiological analysis of flour, obtaining of curves of kinetics drying in temperatures 40, 50 to 60 ° C adjusted to different mathematical models de Page, Thompson, Dois Termos, Aproximação da Difusão, Lewis e de Henderson e Pabis; flour was obtained by convective drying, in a greenhouse of air circulation at 60 ° C; preparation of cakes containing different concentrations of gherkin flour in its formulation (F1 with 0%, F2 with 25% and F3 with 50%); chemical analysis, physical chemistry, microbiological and sensory analysis of the cakes. The mathematical model with the best fit for kinetic drying was the approach of diffusion. The gherkin flour has presented: greened yellow color (L* = 63,90; a* = - 2,24; b* = 31,36); water content (11,71%) in accordance to the legislation, significant levels of fibers (14,77%), energy (330,77 kcal / 100g) and ash (10,34%), which refers to a high level of mineral content; negative toxicity test and microbiological in accordance to the legislation; low water activity aw= 0,358, and isotherm adsorption with better to the Peleg's mathematical model. The cakes with gherkin flour has also presented high levels of fibers and ash contents with calorific value lower than the baseline control cake. The cake F1 has presented better score at the sensorial test. The cake F2 was pointed as the best choice for shopping in case of commercialisation. The gherkin flour has presented itself as an alternative viable food in substitution of the wheat flour, with satisfactory results related to the nutritive, microbiological, technological and sensorial aspectcs.