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Brazilian native fruit trees have great potential for their use in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Among these, the Myrtaceae family stand out for the diversity of known native fruits, as the case of “araçazeiro” or cattley guava [Psidium cattleianum], “pitangueira”, Suriname cherry or Brazilian cherry [Eugenia uniflora], “guabijuzeiro” [Myrcianthes pungens], “guabirobeira” [Campomanesia xanthocarpa] and “uvalheira” [Eugenia pyriformis]. These fruits contain substances of nutritional and potentially functional importance, including dietary fiber, vitamins (especially A and C) and minerals (potassium, iron, manganese, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus), as well as antioxidant compounds, such as phenolics and carotenoids. The consumption of fruits rich in bioactive compounds and high antioxidant activity has the potential to prevent chronic non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemias, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic respiratory diseases. For example, Suriname cherry and cattley guava fruit extracts showed anti-hyperglycemic, antidyslipidemic and antioxidant effects in animal models with insulin resistance, cattley guava also showed anticarcinogenic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging activities. “Uvaia” has a promising effect as an antimicrobial agent. In this review, summarized information on the main native fruits of the Myrtaceae is presented, highlighting their composition and biological activities in order to direct new research.

Objective: Considering the high nutritional value of quinoa grain, with protein composed by all essential amino acids, this study aimed to develop cereal bars elaborated with this grain after two different thermal processing, to evaluate the chemical composition and to verify the preference between the bars using a sensory analysis. Material and methods: The bars were prepared with quinoa submitted to hydration process in water and toasting process. It was performed the chemical composition (moisture, ash, crude fiber, protein, lipids and carbohydrates) of the grains and quinoa bars. The sensory analysis for verification of preference between the bars was performed by hedonic scale of 7 points and purchase intent by 5-point scale. Results: The lipid, crude fiber, ash and carbohydrate contents of quinoa grains had variations after thermal processing. Between the bars, there were significant differences in protein, ash and carbohydrates amount. In the sensorial analysis, the bar containing toasted quinoa grains was preferred, with good acceptability index (85%), while the bar containing hydrated quinoa grains presented a lower rate (66.34%), not being accepted, mainly because of its softened texture. The same occurred in purchase intent, which consumers showed that would probably buy the bar elaborate with toasted grains and would maybe buy the bar containing hydrated grains. Conclusion: The cereal bar produced with toasted quinoa grains is the best formulation for product development, which has viability to be commercialized, as it obtained a good acceptability index. DOI: 10.12957/demetra.2016.22384