Perfil microbiológico, físico-químico e sensorial da biomassa de banana verde sob diferentes tempos de cocção e tipos de armazenamento a frio

Abstract

The consumer demand for green banana biomass (GGB) as a health-beneficial food product is on the rise. However, despite being widely used in order to add nutritional value to food, little is known about its microbiological, physicochemical and sensory characteristics when processed and stored. Due to the time required for preparation, consumers tend to store it under refrigeration or freezing, but there are no studies on the microbiological stability of biomass during storage and the overall changes resulting from this practice. Thus, the objective of the present research was to analyze whether cooking time and storage type affect the sensory, microbiological and physicochemical quality of green banana biomass. An experimental study was conducted subdivided into five steps: i) preparation of biomass samples; ii) microbiological analysis (total coliforms, Salmonella spp, aerobic psychrotrophic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and molds and yeasts); iii) physicochemical analysis (colorimetry, moisture, proteins, ashes, lipids, fiber, vitamin C, total phenolic compounds and resistant starch); iv) sensory analysis (acceptance test and Check all that aply -CATA); v) statistical analysis of the data. To prepare the samples, bananas were purchased at stage 1 of maturation. BBV samples were developed under pressure cooking at different times (5 and 10 minutes) and subsequently stored under refrigeration (5ºC) and freezing (-12ºC). The refrigerated BBV had a shelf life of 6 days, while the frozen BBV showed 90 days. Five-minute pressure cooking preserved more functional components such as vitamin C, phenolic content and fiber than the longer cooking process (10 minutes). There was no difference between acceptance attributes in relation to cooking time. Refrigerated samples presented higher values than frozen samples in relation to vitamin C and fiber content. In addition, refrigerated BBV showed the best results of sensory tests for taste, texture and general acceptance. The 5-minute biomass and BBV refrigerated storage appear to be the best option for consumer acceptance and to maintain nutrients and bioactive compounds (vitamin C, resistant starch and amount of phenolic compounds).