Characterization and oxidative stability of oils and bioactive compounds of the fruits of Byrsonima cydoniifolia A. Juss. at different ripening stages.

BACKGROUND

Fruits present high concentrations of bioactive compounds that are beneficial to health due to their antioxidant properties. New alternatives to vegetable oils with such properties have been studied. We determined the chemical compounds of Byrsonima cydoniifolia A. Juss. fruits in three ripening stages as well as the optical behavior and quality level of the oils.

RESULTS

The ripening stage affected the chemical composition of the fruits and oils. The fruits presented high values of bioactive compounds, as ascorbic acid (1.46-1.82g kg-1 ) and total phenols (3.54-15.91g GAE kg-1 ), as well as showed excellent antioxidant activity. The ripe fruits showed high content of carotenoids (45.90mg kg-1 ) were lutein is the major carotenoid, representing 55.56%. The oil of the ripe fruits showed high lipid content (252.6g kg-1 ) and contained oleic (521.83g kg-1 ), palmitic (209.13g kg-1 ) and linoleic (195.4g kg-1 ) fatty acids. The oil of ripe fruits showed the best oxidative stability, with longer induction period (22.29h) than the other oils.

CONCLUSIONS

Fruits of Byrsonima cydoniifolia A. Juss. demonstrate to possess a promising potential for the use as functional ingredients. The oil of the ripe fruits was more stable and presents great potential to be used edible purposes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.