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Red guava ( Psidium cattleyanum Sabine) and guabiju ( Myrcianthes pungens (O. Berg) D. Legrand) are small fruits that are native to southern Brazil. This study evaluated the physicochemical composition, antioxidant activity and functional compounds of both fruits. Red guava exhibited a large amount of dietary fibre. Guabiju showed more antioxidant activity, had a higher anthocyanin content and had a higher carotenoid content. In the guabiju fruit, β-carotene represented 40.4% of the total carotenoids, and malvidin 3-glycoside represented 60% of the total anthocyanin content. β-Cryptoxanthin was the predominant carotenoid in red guava, representing 44.8% of the total carotenoids; cyanidin 3-glycoside was the predominant anthocyanin, representing 51.7% of the total anthocyanins. These native fruits could represent an alternative to traditionally consumed fruits, and then, the characterisation of bioactive compounds of fruits such as red guava and guabiju represents important information to the consumers who looking for a healthy diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light red tomatoes were exposed to different doses of ultraviolet C (UV-C) irradiation (1.0, 3.0 and 12.2 kJ m−2). After treatment, the tomatoes were stored for 2 days at room temperature, and then analysed to determine the effect of irradiation on the main antioxidants, carotenoids and phenolic compounds and the results compared with the control samples. The lycopene content was found to have increased by 14% with respect to the control samples, while β-carotene decreased. Cis-isomers from lycopene also increased when the tomatoes were exposed to irradiation for more than 3 h. UV- C irradiation also had a positive effect on total phenolic compounds; however, the same effect was not observed in the individually analysed phenolic compounds. While chlorogenic and ferulic acids increased in content, naringenin and rutin contents decreased. These results suggest that UV- C irradiation of tomatoes could improve the beneficial effect of red tomatoes for human health by increasing the levels of certain bioactive compounds; it could also be used to obtain higher content of bioavailability components, such as cis-isomers from lycopene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Retention of bioactive compounds in white- (WFP), yellow- (YFP), red- (RFP) and purple (PFP)-fleshed potatoes after drum-drying (DD) and Refractance Window™ drying (RW) was compared with freeze-drying (FD). Processing, generally, did not influence total phenolics. Total carotenoid was high in YFP, but decreased with DD. Both DD and RW decreased lutein concentration in YFP. The RFP and PFP had the highest total anthocyanin, and their concentrations were decreased by DD. RW decreased total anthocyanin in PFP only. Total antioxidant activity in WFP was higher with DD but lower with RW. In contrast, DD and RW drying had no significant effect on total antioxidants in YFP, RFP and PFP. Therefore, drying generally decreased antioxidants, with FD and RW retaining the highest concentration of bioactive compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Pollen is characterised for having a low fat content, a relatively high content of dietary fibre and an important amount of minerals and essential amino acids. With regard to bioactive compounds, honeybee-collected pollen exhibits an important source of phytochemical compounds and antioxidant activity. The purpose of this research was to study how the nutritional properties and the stability of the bioactive compounds found in honeybee-collected pollen were affected by the commercial processing and its floral origin. To achieve this goal, pollen pellets of different floral origin were harvested directly from hives and immediately stored at −80 °C. Pollen pellets were dried by placing them into hot-air chambers (traditional drying methodology) or by means of freeze-drying. We found a slight influence of floral origin on the nutritional properties of pollen pellets (multifloral pollen had higher contents of fat, carbohydrates, proteins and mineral elements than monofloral-type pollen), whereas the abundance of bioactive compounds was correlated with the origin factor as well as the methodology employed to dry the fresh pollen pellets, especially carotenoid pigments such as lutein (5.73 ± 1.80, 4.93 ± 1.16 and 0.81 ± 0.16 μg of lutein per g of pollen for fresh, lyophilised and hot-air-dried multifloral pollen). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]