Dipteryx alata Vogel is a native fruit from Brazil, which has been poorly investigated concerning its phenolic composition and the biological effects of its pulp + peel. Thus, in this study we evaluated the antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of the D. alata pulp + peel extracts obtained with different solvents, as well as determined the phenolic compounds by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) analysis. In addition, cytotoxic effects of D. alata pulp + peel extract on non-tumor and cancer cell lines were investigated for the first time. The results showed that phenolic compounds can be efficiently extracted from pulp + peel of D. alata by organic solvent-water mixtures as an extraction system. The developed UHPLC-MS/MS method allowed the quantification of eighteen phenolic compounds in D. alata pulp + peel extract for the first time, which luteolin and trans-cinnamic acid were predominant. In addition, D. alata pulp + peel extract exhibited better cytotoxity against SiHa and C33A cervical cancer cell lines, while weak cytotoxicity was noticed against non-tumor HaCaT and L929 cell lines, pointing out its safety and providing preliminary evidence of its anticancer potential. Our findings indicate that D. alata pulp + peel can be explored as a natural source of phenolic compounds with promising antioxidant and cytotoxic properties.

An ultrasound-assisted saponification (UAS) method for the determination of phytosterols (campesterol, β-sitosterol and stigmasterol) in passion fruit seed oil, followed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection, was developed and validated. Under the optimum conditions, good linearity with correlation coefficients higher than 0.99 was obtained for all analytes. The recoveries for the proposed approach were between 103 and 107%, the limits of quantification were between 70 and 180 μg kg-1 and the precision values expressed in terms of relative standard deviations (RSD) were lower than 19%. The developed method was successfully applied to the analysis of passion fruit seed oil samples from different species, including yellow passion fruit, sweet granadilla and sweet passion fruit. In all species of analyzed passion fruit seed oils, β-sitosterol was found with the highest abundance, ranging from 0.90 ± 0.02 to 1.60 ± 0.01 mg g-1 of oil, followed by stigmasterol (0.70 ± 0.01 to 1.40 ± 0.12 mg g-1 of oil) and campesterol (0.10 ± 0.01 to 0.30 ± 0.06 mg g-1 of oil). Furthermore, the developed method proved to be a time-saving and efficient analytical procedure for the determination of phytosterols in oil samples.

The proximate composition, mineral contents and fatty acid composition of different parts (peel, pulp and seeds) of seven tropical fruits were evaluated. Beyond that, this study aims to evaluate the effect of drying processing on peels. Pulp and peel showed highest moisture values (65.7-93.3%), while the seed ranged from 5.8 to 67.2%. The drying processing of peels decreased moisture values (2.3-18.7%). Furthermore, drying processing did not affect ash contents, total crude protein, lipids and fiber values and fatty acid composition for avocado, pineapple, banana, papaya, passion fruit, watermelon and melon. A wide range of mineral contents was noted in different parts of fruit and calcium and potassium were found in larger quantities (25.4 to 4808 mg per 100 g). The fruits exhibited essential fatty acids as omega-6 and omega-3 with the largest contents observed in the peels and seeds (31.4 to 1970 mg per 100 g).

A complete 22 experimental planning (two factors at two levels) with central point in quintuplicate was used to investigate the influence of the factors: chia and azuki flours on fatty acids composition of gluten-free chocolate cake. Both factors were significant, but chia flour presented greater influence on the results. Increased values of both factors contributed to improve contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids (380.96 g kg-1 of product), mainly n-3 series (70.25 g kg-1 of product), and provided more adequate nutritional indices. The principal component analysis and desirability function indicated the sample with higher level of both factors as the optimal region. This sample showed an increase in contents of alpha-linolenic acid (188.03%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (18.16%) when compared to control formulation. The addition of chia flour can improve nutritional characteristics of food stuffs such as bakery products, especially their lipid composition.