Abstract Faced with changes in eating habits, consumers currently seek to enjoy moderate consumption of healthy food products that results in sensory pleasure. Here, our study aimed to evaluate the biochemical and physicochemical properties and sensory profile of craft beers produced in the Brazilian Midwest region. Our evaluation of the beverages revealed different physicochemical characteristics such as alcohol content, soluble solids, titratable acidity in citric acid, and dry extract percentage, with values ranging between 4.06-6.13%, 5.13-10.98 °Brix, 1.71-3.45%, and 3.38-7.99%, respectively. Moreover, the average density of the beverages was 0.9906 g/cm3. In addition, the antioxidant activity and total phenolic of the beverages ranged between 14.28-20.46 mMol of Trolox/100 mL and 74.84-108.45 mg/100 g, respectively. Phenolic compounds that are essential in human nutrition, such as epicatechin, catechin, gallic acid, p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, rutin, and kaempferol, were identified in the beverages. Regarding the sensory profile of the craft beers, the beers had an average acceptability index of 75.11% for appearance, 70.24% for aroma, 60.43% for flavor, and 73.53% for texture. Our study demonstrated a correlation between chemical composition and acceptability index of beer, indicating a preference for lighter colored, fuller, and less acidic beers.

Abstract This study aimed to develop biodegradable films from pectin extracted from pequi mesocarp and commercial pectin. The films were produced using the casting technique and characterized in terms of their physical, water-related, mechanical, thermal, optical, and microstructural properties. The highest yield of pectin extracted from pequi (26.6%) was obtained using 4% citric acid, a temperature of 80 °C, and an extraction time of 160 min. Commercial-pectin films had a smoother and more regular surface than pequi-pectin films. Pequi-pectin films had higher moisture content (36.25%) and water solubility (76.99%) than commercial pectin films. Pequi-pectin films also showed lower luminosity (55.67*) and higher values of a* (11.56), b*(27.35), opacity (10.67), and Young modulus (82.16 Mpa) than commercial-pectin films. The films exhibited similar thermal behavior, highlighting the presence of exothermic and endothermic peaks for both samples. In the biodegradability tests, both films proved to be 100% biodegradable in four days. The pectin extracted from the pequi mesocarp showed potential for the production of biodegradable films, and this discovery opens up new possibilities for using this byproduct as a raw material for the production of sustainable food packaging.

Abstract Capsicum spp. pepper has great economic and social importance in agribusiness worldwide, mainly associated with its high performance in cookery as a spice. This study aimed at determining the chemical profile of the ethanolic extract from Capsicum chinense Jacq. (EECC) ripe fruits by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and at evaluating its antioxidant activity by DPPH, ABTS and FRAP. Besides, biodegradable films were prepared by incorporating EECC into arrowroot biofilms. LC-MS identified 10 phenolic compounds, a fact that corroborates its high concentration of total phenolic compounds, i. e., 277.62 ± 12.06 mg gallic acid/100g crude extract. High antioxidant activity of EECC was expressed as IC50 values for reagents DPPH (IC50 = 18.04 µg/mL), ABTS (IC50 = 25.33 µg/mL) and FRAP (IC50 = 128.58 µg/mL). Biodegradable films incorporating different doses of EECC (250-1000 µL) were obtained by a casting technique. The higher the EECC concentration, the higher their thickness, color, variable moisture content and the lower their solubility. This study proposes a new use to the plant extract from C. chinense, a natural product that may be applied to the development of biofilms to coat food and retard its deterioration. In addition, antioxidant activity of this type of pepper is also shown.