Cambuci: a native fruit from the Brazilian Atlantic forest showed nutraceutical characteristics

Abstract

The Atlantic Forest is recognized as a biome rich in biodiversity. Cambuci trees (Campomanesia phaea) produce fruits that may be consumed as both fresh and processed forms but are still underutilized. The aim of this study was to describe the physicochemical characteristics and bioactive compounds in cambuci fruits from Brazilian Atlantic Forest, located at Natividade da Serra-SP, Brazil. Cambuci fruits of the fifty-nine accessions were characterized according to fresh weight, pulp yield, peel percentage, longitudinal and transversal diameters (LD and TD, respectively), pH, soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), SSC/TA ratio, ascorbic acid, total phenolic compounds content, and antioxidant activity using the DPPH assay. The soluble solids contents varied from 5.10 °Brix to 11.00 °Brix. The titratable acidity varied from 1.29 to 2.90 g citric acid 100 g-1. Ascorbic acid content was of 31.12 to 139.38 mg 100 g-1. Total phenolic compounds varied from 330.5 mg GAE 100 g-1 to 3,526.04 mg GAE 100 g-1. The antioxidant activity was of 65.03 µmol Trolox g-1 fruit pulp (fresh weight) to 199.78 µmol Trolox g-1 fruit pulp (fresh weight), a factor of 6.7 difference between the extremes. These results showed cambuci fruits presented as rich source of ascorbic acid, total phenolic compounds, and with high antioxidant capacity.

Classical Food Quality Attributes and the Metabolic Profile of Cambuci, a Native Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest Fruit

“…The average SSC of cambuci was 10.8 Brix, ranging from 7.8 to 14.0 Brix. These values are similar to the SSC observed in other chemical characterization studies in cambuci, which reported values between 7.3 to 13.3 Brix and 5.1 to 11.0 Brix [3,16]. TA values ranged from 1.1% to 4.3%, which is a large variation from that observed previously-1.3% to 2.9% (citric acid eq.)…”

“…Small producers and fruit collectors from the Serra do Mar region employ an informal cambuci classification, where large fruits are considered as those over 68 g, medium, from 39 g to 68 g, and small, less than 39 g [3]. In this study, fresh masses ranged from 36.3 to 88.3 g. Fruit height (h) was always smaller than their diameter (d), with and h/d ratio <1, indicating flat fruits in accordance with [3,15]. The average SSC of cambuci was 10.8 Brix, ranging from 7.8 to 14.0 Brix.…”

“…Cambuci exhibits great potential for human consumption given its sensory characteristics, while it is also of interest for industries focused on processed food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. Some assessments have listed a few quality attributes of this fruit, although a metabolic approach is still lacking [1][2][3]. The Campomanesia genus is recognized as being rich in phenolic compounds and very promising for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications.…”

The Importance of the Utilization of Forest Fruits in Batak Toba Community

“…Because of their great variety, forest fruits have enormous potential to meet humans' nutritional needs. Containing excellent quality and high nutritive value such as minerals, amino acids, and vitamins (Abdelrahman et al, 2014b;Abdel-rahman, Innam, & Elshafe, 2014a;Ayessou Ndiaye, Cissé, Gueye, & Sakho, 2011;Basyuni, Siagian, Wati, Putri, Yusraini, & Lesmana, 2019;Tokairin, da Silva, Spricigo, de Alencar, & Jacomino, 2018), forest fruits are commonly used in the human's dietary, medicinal and industrial processes (Bošnjaković et al, 2012;Fungo et al, 2019;Okan, Serencam, Baltas, & Can, 2019;Smanalieva, Iskakova, Ozbekova, Oskonbaeva, & Darr, 2018).…”

Desiccation tolerance of cambuci seeds

“…The plant reaches a height of 8 to 16 meters and has a trunk diameter of 20 to 30 cm, with a scaly bark, as also found in other species of the Myrtaceae family (Andrade et al, 2011). The fruits may be sold and consumed in natura, despite of their low carbohydrate content and high acidity, or may be processed in juices, liquors and jellies, keeping their Santoro et al (2020) Desiccation tolerance of... organoleptic properties and adequate levels of ascorbic acid, minerals or dietary fiber (Instituto Auá, 2017;Tokairin et al, 2018b).…”