Proximate composition and antioxidant activity in fruits of jurubeba

The fruit of jurubeba ( Solanum paniculatum ) is a bitter spherical green berry, which is yellowish when ripe. The fruits are used for cooking in some regions of Brazil. The plant is considered an official drug in the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia. It can be used in various ways, such as infusion of leaves, fruits, stems, and roots. Its fruits can be found canned or "in natura". There are only few studies on this plant. The crops are still not of selected species that are in need of both agronomic and physico-chemical composition studies of their fruits, leaves and roots. This study aimed to verify the percent composition, quantify phenolic compounds, and determine the antioxidant activity in dried and canned fruits of this plant. The fruits were harvested during the months of July and August 2012 and samples were prepared, dried and canned with one and three bleaching processes, a total of 18 samples, consisting of 3 treatments and 6 repetitions. There was no significant difference in the moisture content, lipids, fibers and carbohydrates of the samples in the different treatments, whereas for ash and protein there was significant difference between treatments. Both for the antioxidant activity and for phenolic compounds, there was no significant difference (p<0.05) between treatments.