Comparative Study of Fruit Bioactivity of Spondias

Brazil has one of the biggest biodiversity of fruits of the world, with great potential to agricultural business. Among the fruits with agronomic potential the Spondias are evidenced by its characteristics of differentiated colors and flavors, besides being considered food rich in phytochemical compounds. This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical characterization and bioactive compounds of Spondias fruit. The Cajá fruits, umbu-cajá, cajarana and seriguela were acquired in the local market of Campina Grande, PB. The fruits were selected, washed, sanitized and analyzed in the Food Engineering laboratory from the Federal University of Campina Grande. The analyzes performed were: water content, pH, soluble solids, ashes, redactor sugar, luminosity, yellow intensity, red intensity, water activity, anthocyanins, flavonoids and ascorbic acid. The bioactive compounds were extracted from the pulp in natura, using maceration with ethanol in the proportion of 1:10. The determination of the anthocyanins and flavonoids was based on the Francis (1982) method and the ascorbic acid according to Benassi e Antunes (1988). For the water content were found, pH, total soluble solids, ashes, redactor sugar, luminosity, yellow intensity, red intensity, aw, anthocyanins, flavonoids and ascorbic acid from cajá (87.56%, 1.99, 10.5 ºBrix, 0.79%, 4.00%, 55.45, 72.25, 15.78, 0.98, 0.15 mg.100g, 2.86 mg.100g and 36.75 mg.100g), umbu-cajá (90.43%, 1.50, 8.2 ºBrix, 0.28%, 2.46%, 47.35, 48.12, 4.05, 0.99, 0.28 mg.100g, 2.27 mg.100g and 15.83 mg.100g), cajarana (90.54%, 2.10, 8.5 ºBrix, 0.62%, 3.46%, 46.86, 77.54, 10.19, 0.14mg.100g, 3.13 mg.100g e 24.39 mg.100g) and seriguela (80.13%, 2.13, 17ºBrix, 0.63%, 3.75%, 55.77, 64.00, 8.79, 0.98, 3.45 mg.100g, 2.55 mg.100g and 22.67 mg.100g). The varieties of Spondias present reasonable values of soluble solids, pH, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid, characterizing itself as raw material with great potential to its commercial utilization which satisfies the market's current expectations.