Frutos tropicales mínimamente procesados: Potencial antioxidante y su impacto en la salud

The development of non-thermal and effective technologies or its combination can allow offering consumers fresh-cut tropical fruit, microbiologically safe and with a nutritional value and sensorial quality, similar to that of the intact product. Tropical fruits like mango, papaya, pineapple and banana stored at low temperature in controlled and/or modified atmosphere can preserve its commercial quality for up 10 days in the case of mangoes and by 8 y 7 days for pineapple and papaya, respectively. Very few studies exist concerning the effects of minimal processing on their nutritional properties and antioxidant potential, the latter being related to bioactive compounds such as vitamin C and E, carotenoids and phenolics, which have been strongly associated with the prevention of certain chronic-degenerative diseases. These bioactive compounds are present in significant amounts in tropical fruits and to date its antioxidant activity has been measured as oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) in whole fruits, reporting values from 7 to 11μm ET/g. However, changes of these bioactive compounds taking place upon processing and storage have not been reported. Several aspects related to the effect of minimal processing of tropical fruits on their antioxidant components are reviewed and discussed. In addition the importance of measuring total antioxidant activity and its biological action in vivo is emphasized.