Nutritional aspects of non-conventional edible plants from Brazil: Caruru (Amaranthus spinosus L) and trapoeraba (Commelina benghalensis).

Caruru (Amaranthus spinosus L) and trapoeraba (Commelina benghalensis) are NCEPs introduced into Brazil and are widely used by certain communities. Given the lack of information on carotenoids, vitamins, and minerals present in A. spinosus and C. benghalensis grown in Brazil, this study aimed to determine the proximate composition and the micronutrient profile of these two NCEPs obtained from family farming in the Middle Doce River (Médio Rio Doce) region in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The proximate composition was evaluated using AOAC methods, vitamin E by HPLC with fluorescence detection, vitamin C and carotenoids by HPLC-DAD, and minerals by atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma. In summary, the leaves of A. spinosus exhibited a high content of dietary fiber (10.20 g.100 g-1), potassium (708.8 mg·100 g-1), iron (4.0 mg·100 g-1) and ß-carotene (6.94 mg·100 g-1), while the leaves of C. benghalensis were sources of potassium (1399.31 mg·100 g-1), iron (5.7 mg·100 g-1), calcium (163 mg·100 g-1), zinc (1.3 mg·100 g-1), ascorbic acid (23.61 mg·100 g-1), and ß-carotene (31.33 mg·100 g-1). It was therefore concluded that C. benghalensis and A. spinosus, especially, presented excellent potential as important nutritional sources for human consumption, highlighting the gap existing between the available technical and scientific material, thus making them an important and necessary axis of research.

Green Coffee Extract Microencapsulated: Physicochemical Characteristics, Stability, Bioaccessibility, and Sensory Acceptability through Dairy Beverage Consumption.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of spray drying (SD) and freeze-drying (FD) on the microencapsulation of green coffee extracts by using polydextrose (PD) and inulin (IN) as encapsulating agents and their physicochemical, bioactive compounds' stability, phenolic compounds' bioaccessibility after digestion, and sensory effects in unfermented dairy beverages. The extract encapsulated with IN by FD had lower moisture content, water activity, and hygroscopicity, while particles encapsulated by SD exhibited a spherical shape and the structure of the FD products was irregular. No difference was observed in phenolic compounds' bioaccessibility. Dairy beverages with added encapsulated extracts had higher total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Microencapsulation allowed a controlled release of the bioactive compounds with an increase in the content of caffeine, chlorogenic acid, and trigonelline during storage. The dairy beverage with added extract encapsulated with IN by FD had the highest scores of acceptability regarding the overall impression and purchase intent.