Study of the stability of cashew nuts obtained from conventional and organic cultivation

Abstract

From the cashew tree, the cashew fruit is obtained which is composed of the nut and the cashew apple. In the last decade, there has been a substitution of the conventional system of food production for the organic cultivation system. Given the above, this research aimed to study the stability of cashew nuts obtained from conventional and organic cultivation. There were differences in the content of total soluble sugars and soluble solids between the two methods of cultivation studied, where the highest values were observed in nuts from conventional cultivation. As for the content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity by ABTS•+ and DPPH • radicals, the mean values observed were 65 mg GAE/100 g, 6.6 µM Trolox/g and 30682 g of nut/g DPPH• . There was no reduction of the antioxidant activity of the cashew nuts during the storage in flexible packaging covered with laminated film, at room temperature (25 °C) during 180 days. Key words: Bioactive compounds, storage, antioxidants, fruit quality ResumoDo cajueiro obtém-se o caju, que é composto pela castanha e pedúnculo. Nas últimas décadas, vem ocorrendo a substituição do sistema convencional de produção de alimentos pelo sistema de cultivo orgânico. Diante do exposto, essa pesquisa objetivou estudar a estabilidade de amêndoas de castanha de caju obtidas dos cultivos convencional e orgânico. Houve diferença no conteúdo de açúcares solúveis totais e sólidos solúveis entre as duas formas de cultivos estudadas, sendo os maiores valores observados nas amêndoas de cultivo convencional. Quanto ao conteúdo de compostos fenólicos e atividade antioxidante pelo radical ABTS•+ e pelo radical DPPH • , os valores médios observados foram de 65 mg GAE/100 g de amêndoa, 6,6 µM Trolox/g de amêndoa e 30682 g de amêndoa/g de DPPH• . Não houve redução da atividade antioxidante das amêndoas de castanha de caju durante o armazenamento em embalagem flexível recoberta com filme laminado, a temperatura ambiente (25 °C) durante 180 dias. Palavras-chave: Compostos bioativos, armazenamento, antioxidantes, qualidade de frutas

The Impact of Production Technology on Plant Phenolics

“…Production technology had little effect on the storage of cashew nuts, as it did not influence the content of phenolic for up to 180 days of storage. The soluble solids were higher in conventional farming [33]. Various quality parameters have been monitored over six months of apple storage, and it was demonstrated that changes mainly occurred due to different storage conditions rather than possible effects of organic versus integrated production systems [34].…”

Exploitation of Plant Phenolics in Animal Farming

“…Production technology had negotiable effect on the storage of cashew nuts, as up to 180 days of storage it did not influence the phenolic content. The soluble solids were higher in conventional farming (Soares et al 2012). Roth et al (2007) observed various quality parameters over 6 months of apple storage, and it was demonstrated that changes mainly occurred due to different storage conditions rather than possible effects of organic versus integrated production systems.…”