Obtenção e caracterização da polpa de cumbeba em pó pelos métodos de secagem por aspersão e liofilização.

Abstract

The cumbeba (Tacinga inamoena) is one of the most representative species of cactaceas in the Northeastern semiarid region, and has gained prominence due to the considerable content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant potential. Given the above, the objective of this work was to study the cumbeba pulp in natura and in powder, obtained by drying using the spraying and lyophilization processes, and to characterize the materials before and after processing. To achieve the objectives, the work was divided into four stages (articles). The first article deals with the study of the physicochemical characterization of fresh fruits, as well as the antioxidant potential of cumbeba pulp using the free radical capture method: DPPH and ABTS evaluated using different extracts. The second article corresponds to the characterization of the formulated pulps and the spray drying and freeze drying process of cumbeba pulp using different concentrations of the drying aid (maltodextrin). In the third article, the physical properties of the powders were analyzed, including the MEV. In the fourth article, the antioxidant capacity, phenolic profile, degradation kinetics of total phenolics, mineral profile, crude fiber and isotherms of the cumbeba powder were obtained by spraying at a temperature of 150 °C with 10% maltodextrin. The cumbeba showed good potential in sequestering free radicals with methanol-acetone extract by the method of DPPH and ABTS with (EC50 to 7,54 g of pulp/g of DPPH and 426,1 μmol of Trolox/100 g pulp) and high values of phenolics total (63,46 mg/100 g) and flavonoids (13,68 mg/100 g). Lyophilization resulted in samples with greater porosity and less angle of rest. Higher proportions of the drying aid resulted in higher values of wettability, less hygroscopicity, lower apparent, compacted and real densities. The samples dried by spraying at 150 ºC and with 10% maltodextrin showed better fluidity. The chemical element present in greater quantity in the selected powder was potassium (K), corresponding to 1227,40 mg/100g. The methods for evaluating antioxidant activity (DPPH and ABTS) were satisfactory, confirming the positive correlation with the content of total phenolic compounds. The phenolic profile of the cumbeba powder was analyzed by HPLC, which identified 28 phenolic compounds, among the highlights the acids, gallic and caftic, hesperidin and catechin. In the degradation kinetics of the phenolic compounds, the zero-order model satisfactorily described the degradation reaction over time, the half-life times were between 12,95 days at 35 ºC and 15,75 days at 15 ºC The water adsorption isotherms at temperatures 20, 30 and 40 °C were classified as type III and, of the models used for adjustment, Peleg presented the best determination coefficients and the lowest relative average errors. In general, the cumbeba fruit has high nutritional potential and bioactive compounds, with potential for use in human food.