ABSTRACT Endive is a vegetable traditionally eaten as a raw or cooked salad. It is a source of important nutritional compounds and one of the procedures for its industrialization is drying, which increases its shelf life, preserves the nutrients and reduces losses due to microorganisms. This research evaluated the drying kinetic of endive leaves at different temperatures and adjusted the experimental data according to mathematical models. The experimental design was completely randomized in triplicate, with each sample unit being a perforated aluminum tray containing about 100 g fresh leaves. The endive leaves were dried in an oven at 50, 60, 70 and 80°C. The mathematical models were adjusted according to the experimental data; non-linear regression analysis was performed by Gauss-Newton and Quasi-Newton methods. In all conditions, the mathematical models that best fitted the drying kinetics of the endive leaves were Midilli, Logarithmic and Valcam. The Logarithmic model, under these drying conditions, can be accurately described as suitable for predicting and simulating the drying kinetic of endive leaves, as it showed the best results in the statistical parameters evaluated.

RESUMO Chicória é um vegetal tradicionalmente consumido como salada crua ou cozida. É uma fonte de importantes compostos nutricionais e um dos procedimentos para sua industrialização é a secagem, que aumenta a vida útil, preserva seus nutrientes e reduz as perdas por microrganismos. Esta pesquisa avaliou a cinética de secagem de folhas de chicória em diferentes temperaturas e ajustou os dados experimentais de acordo com modelos matemáticos. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado, em triplicata, onde cada unidade amostral era uma bandeja de alumínio perfurada, contendo cerca de 100 g de folhas frescas. As folhas de chicória foram secas em estufa, a 50, 60, 70 e 80°C. Os modelos matemáticos foram ajustados de acordo com os dados experimentais e, a partir deles, a análise de regressão não-linear foi realizada pelos métodos de Gauss-Newton e Quasi-Newton. Em todas as condições, os modelos matemáticos que melhor se ajustaram à cinética de secagem das folhas de chicória foram o Midilli, o Logarítmico e o Valcam. O modelo logarítmico, nessas condições de secagem, pode ser descrito com precisão como adequado para prever e simular a cinética de secagem das folhas de chicória, pois apresentou melhores resultados nos parâmetros estatísticos avaliados.

RESUMO O melão de São Caetano (Momordica charantia) é um fruto exótico que se adaptou muito bem aos solos do Brasil, podendo ser encontrado em praticamente todas as regiões. Diversas vantagens relacionadas com o consumo desse fruto podem ser reportadas, destacando-se sua atividade antifúngica, redução de índices glicêmicos, e também pelo conteúdo de pigmentos naturais, como o licopeno e o β-caroteno, tornando-o promissor como alimento funcional. Partindo da demanda por alimentos dessa natureza, esta pesquisa objetivou a caracterização biométrica, físico-química, compostos bioativos e capacidade antioxidante da polpa e sementes do melão de São Caetano, coletados na região sudoeste do estado de Goiás. Os frutos foram coletados de plantas localizadas em uma área de vegetação nativa do Campus Rio Verde do Instituto Federal Goiano, e as avaliações ocorreram de outubro de 2020 a abril de 2021. Observou-se elevada variabilidade de dimensões e massas, altas concentrações de flavonoides, taninos, carotenoides, fenólicos totais e capacidade antioxidante. De acordo com os resultados, o melão de São Caetano pode ser utilizado como matéria prima para o desenvolvimento de formulações alimentícias com características funcionais e de fármacos potencialmente eficazes no tratamento de diabetes e de doenças causadas por processos oxidativos.

ABSTRACT The bitter melon (Momordica charantia) is an exotic fruit that has adapted very well to the Brazilian soils, and can be found on practically all regions. Several advantages related to consumption of this fruit can be reported, highlighting its antifungal activity, reduction of glycemic indexes, and also due to the content of natural pigments, such as lycopene and β-carotene, making it promising as a functional food. Based on the demand for foods of this nature, this research aimed at the biometric characterization, physicochemical, bioactive compounds and the pulp and seeds’ antioxidant capacity of bitter melon, collected in the southwest region of Goias. The fruits were collected from plants inside a native vegetation area on Campus Rio Verde at the Instituto Federal Goiano, and the evaluations were carried out from October 2020 to April 2021. The fruits showed high variability in dimensions and weight, high concentrations of flavonoids, tannins, carotenoids, total phenolics and antioxidant capacity. According to results, the bitter melon can be used as a raw material to develop food formulations with functional characteristics and drugs potentially effective in the treatment of diabetes and diseases caused by oxidative processes.

ABSTRACT One of the factors that hinder the usability of Cerrado fruits is their perishable nature, requiring industrial processing to ensure prolonged shelf life. This study aims to determine the optimal foaming agent for industrial processing of this fruit, and to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics and antioxidant activity of dried cagaita powder (Eugenia dysenterica DC) in foam layers at temperatures of 40, 50, 60, and 70 °C. The effectiveness of three foaming agents at various concentrations were tested, and suitable agents were identified based on a factorial analysis of density, expansion, and stability. The physicochemical characteristics of the powder, along with its vitamin A and C and total carotenoid content and antioxidant activity, were evaluated. Vitamin C levels and antioxidant activity decreased with increasing temperature, but were retained at levels significant enough to establish cagaita as an important source of this vitamin. Higher carotenoid and vitamin A concentrations were found in the powder prepared by drying at 60 and 70 °C. The foam layer drying process employed for processing cagaita pulp reported here proved suitable for maintaining desired physicochemical and bioactive qualities in the final powdered product.