Quantificação de vitamina C e a capacidade antioxidante de variedades cítricas produzidas no estado do Paraná

Abstract

The citriculture is one of the most important horticultures in the world, making citrus fruits the most produced fruits worldwide. Brazil is one of the largest producers of orange. It is also important to highlight the importance of Paraná State in the production of citrus fruits in this country, which it has been progressively growing over the years. Therefore, this production is highly important since citrus fruits, especially oranges and tangerines, are part of the Brazilian diet, because they have a lot of vitamins and fiber. Vitamin C has antioxidant properties, that is the first line of antibodies against oxygen derived radicals in aqueous media. The aim of this study was to evaluate the variation in vitamin C content and antioxidant capacity in several varieties of oranges and tangerines produced in the state of Paraná, in the northwest (Nova Esperança) and Central West (Campo Mourão) areas. It was used some species of oranges and tangerines. The juice was extracted and then it was analyzed the degree of total acidity, total soluble solids, vitamin C and antioxidant properties. The different varieties of citrus fruits produced in the northwest and central west areas of the state of Paraná showed significant differences in the amount of soluble solids, titratable acidity and vitamin C. The varieties of oranges “pêra” and “folha-murcha” showed higher amounts of vitamin C, compared to the varieties of both tangerines and orange “lima”. The antioxidant capacity was higher in the variety of orange “folha-murcha”.