干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

Phenolic antioxidants act as radical scavengers and sometimes as metal chelators, acting both in the initiation and propagation step of oxidative processes. This study aimed to quantify the phenolic compounds present in fruits of the genus Spondias: red mombin fruit (Spondias purpurea L.) and umbu (Spondias tuberosa Arr. Cam.) in the semi-arid region of Paraiba, during the post-harvest storage in three maturity stages of the fruits stored at two temperatures. The following stages of maturation were considered: fruit with light green - Breaker stage I (B); stage II - fruit with yellow pigmentation (IP); stage III - fruit with predominance of yellow color (PA). The storage conditions used were BOD incubator chambers, using a temperature of 12 and 8 degrees C. The quantification of total polyphenols extracted -(PET) was done every four days (0, 4, 8 and 12 days). There was a decrease in polyphenol content in fruits stored at both temperatures, however, at the storage temperature of 12 degrees C there was a sharp decline in these values. The content of total extractable polyphenols ranged from 115.77 to 198.84 mg 100 g(-1) for fruit stored at a temperature of 8 degrees C and from 54.50 to 198.84 mg 100 g(-1) for the fruits of red mombin stored at temperature of 12 degrees C. It was also observed that the total extractable polyphenols content ranged from 16.64 to 40.64 mg 100 g(-1) for the fruits of red mombin for both temperatures evaluated. According to the observed results it is concluded that the storage temperature of 8 degrees C retained better the polyphenol content of fruits during storage.