Search

In this study, chitosan-based coating was used in tangerines in a 30-day storage period, at controlled temperature of 10°C. The selected fruits presented green surface (± 90%); they were sanitized in chlorinated water (100 mg/L) then immersed in chitosan solutions at chitosan concentrations of 0.5 g/100 ml (T2), 1 g/100 ml (T3), and 2 g/100 ml (T4) and a lot was placed aside as control treatment (T1). Tangerines were evaluated in terms of loss of mass, skin color, soluble solids, vitamin C, and titratable acidity in a 30-day storage period and weight loss kinetics was evaluated through mathematical models. The results showed that chitosan coating was effective in delaying weight loss of tangerines and the mathematical models used in the evaluation could properly explain the weight loss. The polynomial model showed better adaptation to experimental data. Tangerines with higher chitosan concentration showed small color alteration during storage. Chitosan-based coatings were effective in keeping soluble solids, vitamin C, and titratable acidity during storage. In all physicochemical characteristics analyzed, chitosan-based coating in tangerines were superior when compared with control fruits. Key words: Citrus, chitosan, postharvest, shelf life, quality.

The mangaba (Hancornia speciosa Gomes) is a typical fruit of the Brazilian cerrado and caatinga. It has excellent nutritional composition but there are no studies reporting the fruit characteristics and its industrial use. The aim of this study was to analyze the physical and physicochemical characteristics of mangaba fruit in three different maturity stages. Fruit weight, volume, length, titratable acidity, vitamin C, soluble solids and color at 1/3 ripe, 2/3 ripe and ripe maturity stages were analyzed. Physical characteristics showed great potential for industrialization due to the size and weight of fruits. High vitamin C levels and low acidity indexes were obtained, which are of interest for use of fruits in jams, jellies and liquors. However, soluble solids content was lower for ripe fruits, which indicates low sugar contents. Thus, the fruit has potential for consumption in the natural form and for processing and can be incorporated into many food products. Key words: Maturation, composition, economic potential.

The peel of passion fruit has interesting properties, mainly as a source of dietary fiber, but there are few studies concerning the use of this portion of the fruit. This work aimed to evaluate the use of passion fruit peel to obtain flour through the characterization of the physicochemical properties of the peel of fresh passion fruit and subjected to drying process. Subsequently, the samples underwent weight loss process and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We evaluated the moisture content, dry matter, crude protein and ash, lipids, water activity, instrumental color parameters, absorption rate in milk, the solubility rate in milk, absorption rate in milk drink, rate solubility milk drink, the mathematical modeling of mass loss and scanning electron microscopy to passion fruit peel flour. The quantification of chemical and physical characteristics indicated that the flour may have potential for use in dairy beverages. The considerable concentration of fiber, especially insoluble fiber which obtained value of 23.70%, supposes that this flour can be studied for use in enrichment of food products. Fiber analysis confirmed the presence of this material and SEM showed that the starch can be degraded by drying and lipid extraction. The peel of the passion fruit can be reused by flour production which indicates that fruit has potential for products enrichment. Key words: Passion fruit, prebiotic, solubility, color, drying.