Increased fruit consumption due its protective effect on the organism is accompanied by the development of the processing industry of these products. The aim of this work was to optimize fruit pulp‐based beverage formulations from the murici and tapereba Amazon region, taking into account their sensory acceptance and antioxidant activity. Total soluble solid content, reducing sugar content, titratable acidity contents, pH, and ascorbic acid content were determined in pulps and formulations. The total content phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity were also evaluated. A 22 factorial experiment was formulated to optimize ingredients for the production of murici and tapereba fruit drinks. The murici pulp had higher acidity and higher ascorbic acid content. The analysis of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity presented higher quantity in tapereba pulp. Tapereba‐based beverages had better acceptance by the evaluated criteria. Fruit‐based beverages murici and tapereba are a well‐accepted product and have important nutritional characteristics.

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This work evaluated the effect of grape juice, red wine and resveratrol in liver parameters of rats submitted to high-fat diet. Experimental model was conducted with groups of adult females Rattus norvegicus: control (CG); high-fat (HG); grape juice (JG); red wine (RW) and resveratrol solution (RG). The high-fat diet signifi cantly altered hepatocytes and Kupffer cells in all treated groups. HG group presented severe steatosis followed hepatocyte ballooning and tissue damages. JG group minimized hepatic histological lesion caused by high-fat diet and WG group also induced steatosis and infl ammation in hepatocytes, similar to HG. Still, resveratrol protected the tissue against fatty liver disease by reducing fat infi ltration and infl ammation, indicating possible therapeutic effects on the liver. Cell cycle analysis showed that HG promoted damage to the tissue, reducing the viable cell content and increasing apoptosis, even when associated with wine consumption or isolated resveratrol. However, JG protected the liver against cell damage generated by the diet. Consumption of grape juice, even associated with a high-fat diet, represents a promising protection of the liver against cellular damage, but red wine further affects the tissue, and resveratrol alone was able to reduce damage but did not minimize cellular damage to the liver.

Murici (Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) Kunth and B. verbascifolia (L.) DC.) and tapereba (Spondias mombin) are Amazonian fruits that contain bioactive compounds. Biochemical and molecular characterization of these fruits can reveal their potential use in preventing diseases, including cancer. The extracts were characterized regarding the presence and profile of carotenoids by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), total phenolic content by the Folin–Ciocalteu assay, and antioxidant activity by antioxidant value 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) content analysis, 22,20-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) content analysis, Ferric-Reducing Ability of Plasma (FRAP), and Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) analysis. The extracts of tapereba and murici studied were important sources of total carotenoids and lutein, respectively. The extracts were then tested for their effect on the viability of the A2780 ovarian cancer (OC) cell line and its cisplatin (CDDP)-resistant derived cell line, called ACRP, by using MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assays. Their influence on cell cycle and apoptosis were analyzed by using flow cytometry. Murici and tapereba cell extracts exhibited a strong bioactivity by inhibiting A2780 and ACRP cell viability by 76.37% and 78.37%, respectively, besides modulating the cell cycle and inducing apoptotic cell death. Our results open new perspectives for the development of innovative therapeutic strategies using these Amazon fruit extracts to sensitize ovarian cancer cells to current chemotherapeutic options.

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Introdução: A alta atividade energética do fígado gera um consumo aumentado de oxigênio, o que acarreta em elevada produção de radicais livres envolvidos na fisiopatologia de doenças inflamatórias e danos potenciais a proteínas, lipídios e ao DNA celular. Estudos vêm demonstrando a ação do licopeno na histopatologia do carcinoma hepatocelular e na proteção do fígado devido sua ação antioxidante. Objetivo: Estudar os efeitos do licopeno sintético e de molho de tomate na avaliação de marcadores de lesão hepática de ratas alimentadas com dieta hiperlipídica. Material e Métodos: Foram utilizados 50 Rattus novergicus Wistar albino, fêmeas, adultas, distribuídas em seis grupos (n=5), da seguinte forma: Grupo Controle (GC); Grupo Hiperlipídico-(GH); Grupo Molho de Tomatecontendo 2 mg//kg/dia de licopeno na solução, (GT); Grupo Licopeno-2 mg/kg/dia (GL2); Grupo Licopeno-4 mg/kg/dia (GL4); Grupo Licopeno-8 mg/kg/dia (GL8). Ração e água foram ofertados ad libitum e as soluções foram ofertadas diariamente através de suplementação oral durante 60 dias. Todos os dados de peso corporal, de consumos alimentar e das soluções suplementadas foram registrados em planilhas individuais durante os dias de cuidado, até o fim do experimento. Com o registro dos dados foi possível verificar a variação de peso dos animais ao longo do estudo, assim como estimar o consumo médio de ração e das bebidas de cada grupo de animais. Ao final do experimento, os animais foram mantidos em jejum e sacrificados O fígado dos animais foi extraído, pesado e as células hepáticas foram analisadas por citometria de fluxo, utilizando anexina/PI como marcadores de apoptose. Amostras de sangue foram coletadas para determinar as concentrações de aspartato transaminase (AST) e alanina transaminase (ALT) em aparelho automatizado. Para comparação de médias entre grupos foi utilizado Anova one-way e Tukey como pósteste, considerando p<0,05. Resultados: Os grupos GL2 (196,8g ± 9,08) e GL4 (188,8g ± 6,18) induziram uma diminuição significativa do peso dos animais em comparação ao GC (261g ± 10,06), porem os grupos MT e GL8 não demosntraram diminuição significativa no peso corporal quando comparados ao controle. Na avaliação de enzimas hepáticas (AST e ALT), observou-se que não houve diferença significativa entre os grupos tratados e não tratados. Todos os grupos apresentaram índice hepatossomático (g fígado/100g peso corporal) semelhante

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The present study investigated the effects of murici and tapereba on improving hepatic and inflammatory biomarkers in high-fat-diet rats. Female Wistar rats were divided into five groups (n = 10/group): control (CON), high-fat diet (HF), murici drink + high-fat diet (Mu-HF), tapereba drink + high-fat diet (Tap-HF), and murici and tapereba blend drink + high-fat diet (MT-HF). Drinks were offered daily for 60 days, following which body and liver weights, hepatosomatic indexes, serum parameters, inflammatory profile, and antioxidant activity (DPPH and ORAC) were analyzed. The cell death of hepatic cells was evaluated using flow cytometry. It was observed that weight gain was similar among the groups, while glycemia was lower in the MT-HF group. A high-fat diet increased the concentration of cholesterol total, ALT, IL-1β (in plasma and liver), and TNF-α (in the liver), and this was reduced by treatment with the fruit-based beverages. The other evaluated parameters showed no statistically significant difference. Compared to the CON and HF groups, the groups that received the drinks had higher cellular antioxidant activity and reduced oxidative stress, lipid oxidation, and development of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1β. A high-fat diet induced higher cell death in hepatic tissue, which was prevented by the murici, tapereba, and the fruit-blend drinks. The consumption of murici, tapereba, and fruit-blend-based beverages showed beneficial effects on liver metabolism; therefore, they may serve as a nutritional approach for preventing and treating non-alcoholic liver disease.