The objective was to correlate the impacts of the cooking process of fresh fruits (in natura) on the content of bioactive compounds (ascorbic acid, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, carotenoids and anthocyanins, lycopene, and β‐carotene), on antioxidant activity (2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl [DPPH] and ferric reducing antioxidant power [FRAP]), and in agro‐industrial parameters related to yield and quality in nine varieties of tomatoes. It was possible to verify, at the end of the experiment, from the data obtained that, for most of the analyzed bioactive parameters, there are positive correlations between them and both DPPH and FRAP antioxidant activity. The correlations that occurred between carotenoids, lycopene and β‐carotene, and between flavonoids and anthocyanins were emphatic. As for the performance of the tomato varieties, mainly in relation to bioactive compounds, both in natura and processed tomatoes were similar, that could be evidenced by the high positive correlations and demonstrated approximations. Practical applications Bioactive compounds in food have been credited with the ability to exert influences such as increasing antioxidant activity that prevents cell deterioration, reducing the risks of various diseases, such as cancer, stimulating the immune system, balancing hormone levels, and also having antibacterial and antiviral activity. The responses to the behavior of these compounds in vegetables, when processed, and their interactions, support the moment of choosing a variety to be subjected or not to processing. The agro‐industrial parameters related to yield and quality, and also their correlations, are important because they show how the tomato varieties behave when subjected to thermal processing.

The study aimed to characterize bananas in their different stages of ripeness, to determine the variables that demonstrate higher levels at each moment. The fruits were analyzed according to physical parameters: weight, texture, and diameter of the fruits; as well as physicochemical parameters: pH, titratable acidity, soluble solids, and Ratio; and also biochemical parameters: total sugars, phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid, pigments, antioxidant activity by DPPH and FRAP methods. The used samples were collected at the following maturation stages: 2, 4, 6, and 7 and determined according to the Von Loesecke Maturation Scale. In relation to the behavior of the parameters evaluated, the fruits showed significant reductions in relation to the physical parameters, while there were increases in relation to pH, titratable acidity, and soluble solids. The antioxidant and phenolic activities also showed reductions, which shows that the degradative process caused by ripening also causes reductions in these compounds. Novelty impact statement The main parameters and metabolites evaluated in the present study showed optimum values at the stages in which the consumption of fresh fruits is recommended. As the banana is a climacteric fruit, the obtained results showed interesting correlations, with emphasis on the physical parameters, which showed a reduction during ripening, and the physicochemical parameters, that increased, displaying a negative correlation between these groups. It becomes necessary to understand the physiology of the fruit, with emphasis, such as it has been done in this work, on the reactions of synthesis and degradation of primary and secondary metabolites in the ripening and senescence of the fruits, as well as their correlations between the evaluated parameters. Such study is necessary to have an understanding of the regulatory process and possible manipulation of the fruit, to increase service life and reduce losses.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of processing by cooking in natura fruits on the content of bioactive compounds - vitamin C and ascorbic acid, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, carotenoids and anthocyanins, lycopene and β-carotene - and on antioxidant activity - DPPH and FRAP - of 9 varieties of commercial and non-commercial tomatoes. The fruits were harvested when they reached the point of physiological maturation, selected and evaluated in natura, and after grinding and cooking for 30 minutes. At the end of the experiment it was found that all bioactive compounds analyzed showed quantitative reductions when the fruits were processed, with cherry cultivars - 7, 8 and 9 - those that showed superior results compared to different bioactive compounds evaluated, proving to be interesting to be better explored. Regarding the antioxidant activities, the processed fruits of these cultivars showed less losses showing potential to be submitted to processing.

Agriculture is one of the pillars of human existence since it allows for the obtention of food as well as other products for food production processes. In this regard, there are some crops, such as climactic fruits, that face difficulties especially regarding classification of their maturation stages at the time of harvest, which is the case of bananas, the focus of this work. Therefore, there are some techniques that use artificial neural networks to classify them, such as multilayer networks. Examples of such networks are Perceptron, widely used in several areas, and Radial Base Functional networks (RBF), whose studies are incipient and have little use in agricultural areas. Hence, the objective of the present work was to carry out a comparison between these two neural networks to verify which provides the highest accuracy. In this work it was possible to verify that radial base functional neural networks provide a faster and more efficient categorization for the stages of bananas maturation, because they do not require training and, therefore, have low computational cost, saving more energy, when compared to a Multilayer Perceptron. Therefore, it can be inferred that Radial Base Functional Artificial Neural Networks (RBF ANN) can be widely used in agriculture, enabling the improvement of different cultures and different processes, such as harvesting.