ALBUQUERQUE JUNIOR, N. M.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/0287164928192470; ALBUQUERQUE JUNIOR, Nailton de Macedo.
Resumen:
The acerola fruit in its unprocessed form, which part of its volume is designated for
processing procedures, generating large amounts of waste that are mostly discarded.
However, these residues, besides the ascorbic acid, contain the presence of important phenolic
compounds with antioxidant properties. Thus, drying is one of the alternatives used for the
utilization of these residues, since it enables the diversification of products. Moreover, the
extraction and microencapsulation of bioactive compounds present in the acerola residue can
increase the commercial value of the raw material and the profitability of acerola processing.
Thus, the present study was carried out with the objective of evaluating the influence of
convective drying of green acerola agroindustrial residue on bioactive compounds and
antioxidant capacity. For this, bioactive extracts prepared with the residue of green acerola in
natura and prepared at different drying temperatures were evaluated, performing the
optimization of the extraction process and the microencapsulation process through factorial
planning of the type 23 with three repetitions in the central point, in addition to the physical
and physicochemical characterization of the powder that showed more bioactive activity. The
analysis of the results showed that the Page model best described the drying process in all
temperature conditions studied. The effective diffusivity showed satisfactory values (6.58x10-
10 and 1.85x10-9 m2
.s-1), noting that only the temperature had a significant effect on the drying
process and from the thermodynamic properties it was possible to conclude that these were
affected by increasing drying temperature, with reductions in enthalpy and entropy and
increased Gibbs free energy indicating a non-spontaneous endergonic process. The
application of ultrasound-assisted extraction optimization provided high contents of bioactive
compounds, where the regression model showed satisfactory fit to the experimental data,
having as the main influence on the process the contact time of the sample with solvent. In the
optimization of microencapsulation, the regression model can be used for predictive purposes,
where among the conditions the percentage of encapsulant was the main variable that showed
significant effects, allowing to obtain microparticles rich in antioxidant compounds, due to the
use of Capsul® (modified starch) encapsulant that favored a greater retention of bioactive
compounds. Thus, the residue of green acerola is an interesting co-product to be reused, with
great antioxidant potential, due to its bioactive compounds, which can replace synthetic
antioxidants in the industry, as well as in the preparation of functional foods.