Physical-chemical characterization, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant activity of pulp and peel of the Jamelão

ABSTRACT The high production of jamelão (Syzygium cumini) during harvest and the lack of information about it emphasize the development of new processing technologies for this fruit since it has been proven that its different parts have functional properties. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the physical-chemical characteristics and to determine the content of bioactive compounds and the antioxidant activity present in the pulp and peel of the jamelão in order to assess which one has the greatest industrial potential. For this, the fruit was pulped and separated into peel and pulp. The peel was subsequently dehydrated, resulting in three samples: pulp, fresh peel, and dried peel. It was observed that drying the peel provided an increase in the values of ash, lipids, acidity, and soluble solids to a higher or equal level to those of the pulp. In addition, total phenolic compounds, total flavonoids, total monomeric anthocyanins, and total antioxidant activity of the fresh peel were found to be ten times higher than those of the pulp. Thus, the peel, a by-product of jamelão, has great potential to be used in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.