Relevant physicochemical properties and metabolites with functional properties of two commercial varieties of PeruvianPouteria lucuma

Abstract

Two commercial varieties of Peruvian Pouteria lucuma fruits namely “Seda” and “Beltrán” were characterized in terms of their physicochemical properties as well as their primary and secondary metabolites content and profile. Free sugars, dietary fiber, and starch comprise the main components in both varieties. Phenolic compounds derived from flavanoids (flavan‐3‐ols), gallic acid, and their derivatives were identified. Xanthophylls were tentatively identified based on their UV‐vis spectra and enclosed the majority of the carotenoids found in lucuma. Additionally, both varieties showed to be sources of lipophilic compounds such as tocopherols (α, β, and γ) and triterpenoids. The triterpenoid α‐amyrin was identified in a Pouteria fruit for the first time. The in vitro antioxidant capacity (AoxC) of the lipophilic fraction represented approximately 30% of the total AoxC. These results show that both lucuma varieties are rich sources of compounds with technological and functional properties with potential application in the food industry. Practical applications Lucuma is a characteristic Peruvian fruit. To date, it is mainly used by the regional ice cream industry and it has been included recently in some confectionery products. Due to its high dietary fiber, carotenoids and sugar content it could be used as an alternative to the use of refined sugars and artificial colorants in the dairy and bakery industry.

Pouteria lucuma Pulp and Skin: In Depth Chemical Profile and Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity

“…n-BuOH extract was fractionated directly by HPLC-UV (Figure S1) to afford pure compounds, of which the structures were elucidated by 1D-and 2D-NMR experiments (Figure 2 16), eriodictyol (17), p-hydroxy benzoic acid (18), quercetin (19) and salycilic acid (20) were identified by comparison of their spectroscopic data with those reported in the literature [15][16][17][18][19][20]. In previous reports, some derivatives of gallocatechin, epigallocatechin, catechin and epicatechin, gallic acid, ellagic acid and derivative of hesperetin were only tentatively identified in lucuma on the basis of their UV spectra [3,5], thus this is the first report of their exact structures by isolation and structural elucidation. Eriodictyol (17) and quercetin (19) were reported in lucuma seeds [10].…”

“…Pouteria lucuma Ruiz and Pav. (Sapotaceae) is a subtropical fruit known as the ‘Gold of the Incas’ or ‘lucuma’ which is native to the Andean region and is found in Peru, Chile and Ecuador [ 3 , 4 ]. P. lucuma was a food of ancient cultivation [ 5 ], as suggested by ceramic representations of lucuma dating back to the Nazca and Moche pre-Inca civilizations.…”

“…In Peru and Chile, ‘lucuma’ flavor ice cream is very popular. Recently, lucuma has attracted the attention of researchers because it constitutes a source of various compounds of interest for their antioxidant properties such as carotenoids and phenolic compounds [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]. Therefore, the taste along with its beneficial properties gained the attention of consumers and increased the trade of lucuma, which is widely distributed also in online markets.…”

“…Therefore, the taste along with its beneficial properties gained the attention of consumers and increased the trade of lucuma, which is widely distributed also in online markets. There are few studies focused on the content of this fruit [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 ], and no studies have been reported on its skin, which represents an important agricultural waste due to the high demand for lucuma.…”

“…Compounds tentatively identified as aminoacids, organic acids, nucleosides, phenolic acids, phenolic alcohols, flavonoids, and lipids along with some unknown compounds were reported [ 10 ]. Previous investigations on lucuma mainly reported the identification of primary metabolites [ 3 , 5 , 6 ] and the analysis of different biotypes, highlighting differences in the content of sugars, organic acids, total phenolics, total carotenoids while few phenolic compounds were identified by HPLC-DAD [ 3 , 5 ]. Moreover, volatile compounds responsible for the lucuma aroma were identified [ 6 , 11 ].…”