Características físico-químicas e atividade antioxidante da pitaia amarela (Selenicereus megalanthus)

Abstract

The use of exotic species in human food has been gaining more and more space. However, there is still little scientific information on the nutritional and functional potential of these species. The cultivation and consumption of different species and varieties of dragon fruit (Hylocereus and Selenicereus) can represent a source of diversification of the agricultural activity because they are species that add the rusticity of cultivation and the beauty of the fruits, a composition rich in bioactive compounds bringing benefits to the health of the population. The functional attributions given to this fruit encourage the study of their physical, chemical, nutritional, pharmacological and toxicological characteristics. Thus, the objective of this work was to perform the physicochemical characterization and to analyze the antioxidant capacity of the yellow dragon fruit pulp (Selenicereus megalanthus). The antioxidant activity was quantified by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and by the method (2,2 'azinobis (3-ethyl-benzothiazoline) 6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS). The total phenolic content was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. It was verified that the pulp of the pitahaya has a high content of moisture (82.85%) and low content of lipids (0.63%) and proteins (0.51%). The antioxidant activity of the dragon fruit pulp by the DPPH method was 875.27 μM Trolox/gram of fruit and by the IC50 ±303.2 mg/mL-1 and by the ABTS method was 1715.8 μM Trolox/gram of fruit with the highest activity by the ABTS method. The antioxidant capacity and chemical characteristics of dragon fruit can contribute to the promotion of quality of life due to the potential of actions beneficial to human health. Therefore, dragon fruit is a fruit with potential to be incorporated into the diet of Brazilians.