The pequi pericarp corresponds to the largest portion of the fruit and has a high nutritional value, but it is discarded as an agro-industrial residue. The present study aimed to prepare and characterize flours from the pequi pericarp in terms of their proximate composition, its antioxidant potential before and after the in vitro digestibility process and chemical profile, aiming at the full use of this fruit. The samples of pequi pericarp flours from the cities of Sete Lagoas, Paraopeba and Felixlândia were analyzed. The profile of chemical compounds present in the flours was determined using paper spray mass spectrometry. The in vitro simulated digestion technique was used to verify the stability of the phenolic compounds and the maintenance of the antioxidant capacity of the samples. The flours from the pequi pericarp showed to have higher levels of protein, ash and dietary fiber, compared to the data described in the literature for the pulp of the fruit. The analysis of paper spray mass spectrometry allowed the identification of 46 chemical compounds including amino acids, sugars, organic acids and phenolic compounds. The analysis of the main components showed that there was no chemical variation among the fruits from the cities studied. Through the in vitro digestibility technique, it was possible to observe an increase in the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds, contributing to increase the already significant antioxidant capacity of the samples. It was concluded that the pequi pericarp flour has the potential to be used as a food ingredient due to the high bioaccessibility of its bioactive compounds, capable of reducing the risk of developing diseases caused by oxidative stress.

The incorporation of Cerrado fruits in food products such as ice cream has many advantages because it represents a source of nutrients and bioactive compounds. Given the demand for less laborious methods to analyze food, the paper spray ionization mass spectrometry technique was applied for the first time for a rapid characterization of the chemical components found cagaita ice cream. PS-MS in positive and negative ionization modes were used. The profile of volatile compounds was determined by headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Fingerprints obtained through PS-MS identified various classes of compounds, such as flavones, anthocyanins, sugars, organic acids, hydroxybenzoic acids, fatty acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, lignin, and phenylpropanoid. The use of both fibers enabled the extraction and identification of 18 volatile compounds in cagaita, and 16 of them were also identified in cagaita ice cream. The most common volatile compound found in both cagaita and ice cream was 3-carene monoterpene. Considering the effect of processing on cagaita constituents, 89% of the volatile compounds remained in the ice cream. Also, 78% of the fruit chemical compounds analyzed by PS-MS were found in the product. Thus, the results indicate that most of the fruit compounds remained in the ice cream after processing.

The use of sorghum in human nutrition has been expanded due to its nutritional composition and its functional potential. Extrusion has been used to improve the quality of sorghum. The aim of this work was to assess the effect of extrusion in the nutritional composition, phenolic compounds content of two sorghum, and characterize the profile of chemical constituents by paper spray mass spectrometry (PS-MS). Extrusion increased the carbohydrate and fiber contents and reduced moisture, lipids and ashes, and enabling a higher degree of liberation of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. The fingerprint obtained in both ionization modes had been influenced by extrusion, allowing for a greater compounds’ identification on the extruded samples. The analysis of sorghum samples’ main components made distinguishing of the main constituents possible, as well as highlighted the extrusion effect and the influence of the genotypes. This study demonstrated that extrusion enabling a higher liberation of phenolic compounds, which were identified by the PS-MS technique.

Cagaita is a fruit from Brazilian cerrado, belongs to Myrtaceae family, and has important economic value. This work aimed to determine the total antioxidant capacity (extractable and non-extractable fractions) by different methods and to evaluate the use of paper spray mass spectrometry to obtain fingerprints of cagaita from different regions with the aid of principal components analysis. Cagaitas had higher antioxidant activity than those found in other fruits mentioned in literature, and the non-extractable fraction was 18.90 to 21.05% of the antioxidant capacity. The analysis of paper spray mass spectrometry in positive and negative ionization modes identified several substances, including organic acids, sugars, amino acids and several other classes of phenolic compounds. Analysis of the main components of cagaita samples permitted discrimination of the major constituents such as sugars and different kinds of phenolic compounds. Thus, this study demonstrated that paper spray mass spectrometry is a simple and ultrafast method with minimum sample preparation that allows the analysis of the chemical profile of cagaita.

The objective of this study was to explore the extraction and identification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in cagaita fruit (Eugenia dysenterica). Parameters such as type of extraction fiber, agitation, extraction time and extraction temperature were investigated. Initially, the VOCs were extracted using headspace solid-phase microextraction. Then, the compounds were identified using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Results revealed the presence of at least 26 different compounds and the polyacrylate (PA) fiber promoted the extraction of a larger number of VOCs. Regarding the PA fiber, the most efficient extraction was achieved using a 50 rpm agitation at 45 ºC for 30 min. The majority were monoterpenes (34.64%) and esters (36.28%). An increase in the extraction temperature promoted the isolation of more VOCs when using carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS) and divinylbenzene/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fibers. However, these fibers allowed the isolation of a smaller number of VOCs. The extraction time and agitation had no significant influence.