Caracterização físico-química e avaliação da inibição micelial da farinha de bacuri (Platonia insignis, Mart.)

Abstract

The development of new products is a strategy used by the food industry to attract consumers looking for products with high nutritional value. Bacuri (Platonia insignis, Mart.), a typical fruit from the Amazon region, has bioactive compounds that provide important sensory characteristics for the development of new food products. The objective of this work is to carry out physical-chemical characterization and evaluate the endocarp flour of bacuri for inhibition of the mycelial growth of filamentous fungi, of the species of Mucor circinelloides, and Pleurotus ostreatus. The bacuri flour was prepared by drying the endocarp in an oven at 65 ºC and was characterized in terms of nutritional composition, color, pH, titratable acidity, carotenoids, vitamin C, phenolic compounds, amino acid profile, fatty acid profile, FRAP and ABTS+. Technological tests were carried out regarding the water absorption index, the water solubility index, the oil absorption capacity, the foaming capacity and the gel formation capacity. Toxicity analyzes were performed in relation to lethality in Artemia salina and erythrocyte fragility. The effect of bacuri flour extract on the growth of filamentous fungi Mucor circinelloides and Pleurotus ostreatus was evaluated. The flour had a yield of 23.18%, had a high content of crude fiber (13.77%) and carbohydrates (69%) and a hue between red and orange. Non-essential amino acids, aspartic acid (0.42%) and glutamic acid (0.59%) and essential amino acids leucine (0.33%), followed by tryptophan (0.26%), were the ones that prevailed. The prevalent fatty acids were monounsaturated (4.05%) and saturated (3.26%). For the technological properties, the flour obtained high values in relation to the water absorption index (4.72 g/g), water solubility (46.52 g/g) and high density (23.77 g/mL). For the toxicological results, the flour showed low toxicity in both tests. Regarding mycelial growth, it was found that the flour more effectively inhibited Pleurotus ostreatus than Mucor circinelloides, with inhibition percentages of 81.71 and 31.79%, respectively, at a concentration of 25%. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the plant extract in controlling fungi. In this way, flour has the potential to be used as a raw material in the food industry.