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The research objective was to obtain co-products from the agroindustry to elaborate edible coatings based on biopolymers (7 treatments, combining starch, pectin, whey and cinnamon essential oil) and to evaluate their effect on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) preservation. Vitamin C content, pH, respiration rate, total soluble solids (TSS) content, weight loss, titratable acidity (TA) and firmness were evaluated. Tomatoes were evaluated every 72 h for 18 days. TA, TSS and pH showed slight differences for some sampling days. Still, at the end of the study, no significant differences were found between treatments (p>0.05), all values being suitable for tomato consumption. The highest respiration rate was found at 9 days, corresponding to the climacteric peak. Uncoated tomatoes had the highest respiration rate. The coating positively affected weight loss and firmness of the tomatoes, and did not modify the ascorbic acid content. It is concluded that treatment 7 (starch and essential oil) and treatment 4 (starch, pectin and whey) had a greater effect and better preservation on tomato characteristics.

El aroma del cacao criollo (Theobroma cacao) fino de aroma se define por compuestos volátiles como las pirazinas, cetonas y los aldehídos, que se forman durante el tostado del grano, a partir de los precursores del aroma (azúcares reductores y aminoácidos libres) que se generan en el interior del grano a través de reacciones enzimáticas durante la fermentación; por esta razón la fermentación es el proceso más importante de la cadena de valor. Esta investigación analizó la producción de precursores del aroma y los compuestos aromáticos volátiles del cacao en muestras fermentadas secas y tostadas comparadas con muestras fermentadas, secas y sin tostar, utilizando la tecnología de cromatografía de gases acoplada a un detector de masas con micro extracción en fase sólida (GC-MS-SPME-HS), se identificaron 80 compuestos volátiles de las familias de aldehídos, cetonas, alcoholes, ésteres, ácidos y pirazinas. En conclusión, se logró identificar los compuestos volátiles del cacao criollo fino de aroma de la provincia de Utcubamba–Cajaruro; los cuales se generan con el proceso de fermentación y tostado del cacao que caracterizan a las muestras de la región por contener elevadas propiedades especiales, funcionales y sensoriales agradables.

Among the particularities of a food are beneficial properties such as polyphenols, antioxidant activity and anthocyanins. In fact, recent research has shown that the biological activity of these compounds reduces cellular ageing, thus helping to prevent and enhance the therapeutic effects. In order to develop an aloe vera and Jamaican sorrel (Hibiscus sabdariffa) beverage, nine treatments were compared with three concentrations of aloe vera (2, 5, 7%) and three concentrations of Jamaican sorrel (0.5, 0.7, 0.9%). Therefore, we determined the total phenolic content by applying the Folin Ciocalteu method, the antioxidant activity by 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical capture (DPPH) and total anthocyanins by differential pH. The best beverage formulation: 5% aloe vera and 0.9% Jamaica, had a total phenol content of 714.86 mgAGE / 100ml, antioxidant activity 1858.56 mg Trolox/100ml, total anthocyanins 5587.99 mg C-3GE / 100ml, °Brix 7.5, pH 3.8 and acidity 0.38%; it was evident that the formulations made of this beverage contain high potential amounts of natural active compounds, which may be used and beneficial for human health due to their antioxidant and nutritional properties.

Revaluing agri-food waste to offer consumers bioactive compounds for a healthy diet is an important issue. In the present work, the antioxidant capacity (AC), total phenolic content (TPC) and phenolic compounds of pulp and bagasse of four Peruvian berries with UHPLC-DAD was determined. Elderberry (Sambucus peruviana Kunth) bagasse had a greater amount of TPC (4.87 ± 0.02 mg GAE/100 gfw) and AC (7.66 ± 0.04 and 7.51 ± 0.24 μmol TE/gfw in DPPH and ABTS, respectively) than the bagasse of the other berries, with a strong positive correlation between TPC and AC. Blueberry (Vaccinium floribundum Kunth) bagasse contains the highest amount of gallic acid (103.26 ± 1.59 μg/gfw), chlorogenic acid (1276.55 ± 1.86 μg/gfw), caffeic acid (144.46 ± 1.78 μg/gfw), epicatechin (1113.88 ± 1.82 μg/gfw) and p-coumaric acid (77.82 ± 1.92 μg/gfw). Elderberry (Sambucus peruviana Kunth) bagasse contains the highest amount of catechin (153.32 ± 0.79 μg/gfw). No significant differences were found in the content of chlorogenic acid and epicatechin of blackberry (Rubus roseus Poir). It was shown that the wastes of the four Amazonian berries have higher values of bioactive properties than their pulp, being the elderberry bagasse the one with the best properties., Berry bagasse, Antioxidant capacity, Total phenolic content, Epicatechin, Chlorogenic acid.

The process of drying food is necessary to preserve it, however, some bioactive compounds can be degraded during drying process. In this work, the convective drying process of Peruvian blackberry bagasse and the degradation of anthocyanins, total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant capacity (AC) were studied. The logarithmic model fitted well to the data and could predict the process, showing that 6 h of drying at 90 °C is enough to reach equilibrium moisture. Anthocyanin degradation followed a first-order kinetic model with reaction rate constant between 5.45 × 10−2 ± 4.68 × 10−3 and 1.21 × 10−1 ± 2.31 × 10−2 h−1, and activation energy of 25.11 kJ/mol. The highest retention (84.38%) of anthocyanins was obtained in 1 h at 50 °C and the highest degradation (68.54%) in 6 h at 90 °C. The TPC and AC increased with the drying time and temperature due to the increased water evaporation.

The fermentation process of native fine aroma cacao criollo (Theobroma cacao) in the province of Utcubamba, Amazonas, Peru, was optimized. A Box-Behnken statistical design was applied, whose factors were inoculum concentration, fermentation time and inoculation sequence. With the optimized model, a phenolic content of 12.99 mg AGE.g-1 cocoa, a fermentation index of 1.05, and theobromine and caffeine contents of 4.89.100 g-1 cocoa and 1.81.100g-1 cocoa, respectively, were obtained. Additionally, with a panel of nine certified and accredited tasters, the basic and special descriptive qualitative sensory attributes of the fermented and dry cocoa beans were determined, obtaining a maximum quality score of 71.1, and the sensory descriptors floral, fruity, nutty, sweet, bitter, acidity and adequate astringency were identified. In the cocoa obtained with the best treatment, 64 volatile compounds from the families of aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, esters, acids and pyrazines were identified by gas chromatography coupled to a mass detector with solid-phase microextraction (GC-MS-SPME-HS). In conclusion, it was possible to optimize the fermentation process of cacao criollo to obtain cocoa with high functional and sensory properties.