Application of prebiotics in apple products and potential health benefits.

Among the fruits, the apple stands out among the most used for elaboration of processed foods. However, the importance of prebiotics in apple products has never been widely analyzed. Prebiotic is a food component resistant to gastric acidity, digestion by mammalian enzymes and gastrointestinal absorption. But following fermentation in the colon, prebiotics result in specific changes in the composition and / or metabolism of the gastrointestinal microbiota, conferring benefits to the health of the host. Therefore, fortifying apple-based products with additional prebiotics is an important strategy for improving consumer health benefits. In this review, after compiling and analyzing scientific and technological studies focusing on prebiotics in apple products, the following benefits of these prebiotics became evident: (1) reduction of water loss in the food matrix; (2) preservation of bioactive and volatile compounds; (3) texture improvement (thickening) in the food industry; (4) increased shelf-live and (5) increased survival of probiotic bacteria, promoting positive effects on microbiota. In addition, this review shows the benefits of different prebiotics for stability and sensory acceptance of apple processed foods.

Bioactive compounds and physical-chemical characteristics of two genotypes of peach trees submitted to nitrogen fertilization

Nitrogen, which is the primary nutrient peach trees need, may affect their fruit quality. Thus, this study aimed at evaluating the effect of nitrogen fertilization on two genotypes of peach trees, regarding their fruit quality, in three consecutive crops. The experiment was carried out in the experimental area that belongs to the Embrapa Clima Temperado, located in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil, from 2016, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Four doses of nitrogen (0, 60, 120 and 180 Kg ha-1) and two peach tree genotypes ('Cascata 1513' and 'Cascata 1067') were used. For the fruit, we evaluated epidermis color, pulp firmness, epidermis firmness, soluble solids concentration, titratable acidity, concentration of total phenolic compounds, anthocyanins and antioxidant activity. Fruit underwent physical, chemical and bioactive compound analyses. Results showed that the highest dose of nitrogen (180 Kg ha-1) applied to the soil retards fruit ripening, while no application of nitrogen fertilization brings fruit maturation forward. Nitrogen fertilization via soil does not favor anthocyanins in fruit. Doses of 60 and 120 Kg ha-1 of nitrogen are recommended because they lead to improvement in peach color, epidermis firmness and acidity. Peach tree genotypes influence soluble solids, juice pH, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of their fruit.

Influência do sistema de produção e do armazenamento refrigerado nas características físico-químicas e no desenvolvimento de compostos voláteis em morangos / Influence of planting system and cold storage on the physical-chemistries characteristicsand volatile compounds development in strawberries

Durante o armazenamento, pode ocorrer a perda de compostos voláteis responsáveis pelo aroma e o aumento de compostos indesejáveis, o que ocasiona a perda de qualidade do morango, reduzindo a vida de prateleira e levando à rejeição do produto pelos consumidores. Neste trabalho, foi avaliada a influência do sistema de produção (convencional e orgânico) e do período de armazenamento (0, 2, 5, 8 dias) nas características físicas e químicas (CFQ) e nos compostos voláteis (CV) de morango das cultivares 'Camarosa' e 'Camino Real', utilizando morangos de pomar comercial da região de Pelotas/RS. Os frutos foram colhidos em estádio de maturação comercial e com boa aparência. O planejamento experimental foi casualizado, em triplicata de 15 frutos. Os morangos foram armazenados a T de 1°C, com 90-95% umidade relativa (UR). Foram avaliadas a perda de massa, a coloração instrumental [L*, a*, b* e ângulo hue (H)] , a firmeza, os sólidos solúveis (SS), a acidez titulável (AT), a relação SS/AT, pH e os teores de CV. Os resultados foram submetidos à análise de variância e as diferenças significativas determinadas pelo teste de Tukey (P<0,05). Os resultados revelaram que pH, SS, relação SS/AT, podridões e perda de massa aumentaram durante o armazenamento. A firmeza se manteve irregular e a AT e H diminuíram significativamente. Os teores de CV aumentaram com exceção do acetato de metila (AM). O etanol (Et), o acetaldeído (AA) e o acetato de etila (AE) correlacionaram-se positivamente com o teor de podridões para a cultivar 'Camino Real' do cultivo orgânico. De modo geral o AM correlacionou-se inversamente com o teor de podridões, exceto para a cultivar 'Camino Real' do cultivo convencional. Os morangos de ambas as cultivares podem ser armazenados por cinco dias com qualidade, independente do sistema de produção.

During the storage a loss of volatile compounds responsible for the aroma and an increase of undesirable compounds can occur leading to a decrease in the strawberry quality, a reduction of the shelf life and product rejection by the consumers. In the present work the influence of the planting system (conventional and organic) and the storage period (0, 2, 5 and 8 days) upon physical and chemical characteristics (FCC) as well as on strawberry volatile compounds (VC) in the cultivars 'Camarosa' and 'Camino Real' were evaluated using strawberries from a commercial orchard from Pelotas/RS. The fruits were harvested in a stage of commercial maturation and sound appearance. The experimental planning was randomized, in triplicate of fifteen fruits. The strawberries were stored at 1°C and 90-95% of relative humidity (RH). The mass loss, the instrumental color [L*, a*, b* and hue angle (H)], the firmness, the soluble solids (SS), the titratable acidity (TA), the SS/TA ratio, the pH and VC content were determined. The results were analyzed by analysis of variance and significant differences were determined using Tukey's test (P<0.05). The results show that pH, SS, relation SS/TA, decay and mass loss have increased during storage. The firmness varied irregularly and TA and H decreased significantly. The values of VC increased with the exception of methyl acetate (MA). Ethanol (Et), acetaldehyde (AA) and ethyl acetate (EA) correlated positively with decay for organic cultivated 'Camino Real'. In a general way, the MA correlated inversely with decay with the exception of conventional cultivated 'Camino Real'. Strawberries from both cultures can be stored for five days without loosing quality regardless the production system.

Aplicação pós-colheita de luz ultravioleta (UV-C) em pêssegos cultivar Jade, armazenados em condição ambiente / UV-C light on the preservation of peaches cv. Jade at room temperature

Avaliaram-se os efeitos do fungicida benomil (0,06 por cento) e da luz ultravioleta (254nm, UV-C) na conservaçäo de pêssegos cultivar Jade, aos 4 e 8 dias de armazenamento em condiçäo ambiente (26ºC e 75-85 por cento de UR). Os tratamentos foram: T1-Testemunha;T2 - benomil (0,06 por cento); T3 - 10 minutos de exposiçäo à radiaçäo UV-C (3,71 kj. m-2) e T4 - 30 minutos de exposiçäo à radiaçäo UV-C (11,15 kj. m-2). O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado, seguindo-se um esquema fatorial 2 x 4 com 3 repetiçöes de 10 frutos cada. Os parâmetros avaliados foram: sólidos solúveis totais (SST), acidez titulável total (ATT), pH, firmeza da polpa e incidência de podridäo. Os pêssegos näo apresentaram alteraçäo do pH, em ambos os tempos de avaliaçäo. Os SST, a ATT e a firmeza da polpa sofreram alteraçöes aos 4 dias de armazenamento, sendo que, aos 8 dias nessa condiçäo, a firmeza da polpa e a incidência de podridäo apresentaram diferenças significativas em funçäo dos tratamentos. Os pêssegos dos tratamentos T2 e T4 apresentaram menor incidência de podridöes aos 8 dias de armazenamento, porém näo diferiram estatisticamente entre si. Concluiu-se que as alteraçöes nos parâmetros físico-químicos (SST, ATT, pH e firmeza da polpa) , aos 4 e 8 dias de armazenamento ambiente (26ºC e 75-80 por cento de UR), näo afetaram a qualidade dos pêssegos bem como a utilizaçäo de luz ultravioleta (254 nm, UV-C), durante 30 minutos, controla 100 por cento as podridöes dos pêssegos da cultivar Jade, armazenados, após 4 e 8 dias, em condiçäo ambiente