Natural compounds and their potential use in stored grain treatment: A review /Compostos naturais e seu potencial emprego no tratamento de graos armazenados: Uma revisao

Grain production is steadily increasing; however, the static storage capacity remains inadequate in Brazil. The lack of proper facilities and the precarious and inadequate storage conditions lead to post-harvest losses due to factors interacting with the grains, causing their deterioration. Chemical treatments are commonly used to reverse these effects; however, their replacement with natural substances has been sought due to environmental and human health concerns. The objective of this review was to discuss a sustainable strategy for treating stored grains, focusing on the use of natural compounds with bioactive properties, such as antifungal, antioxidant, and insecticidal activities, with potential for further studies. Natural compounds with useful properties for application in grain storage were outlined. Research on the use of natural compounds in grain treatment is still in its early stages, requiring progress in identifying new promising compounds, understanding the mechanisms of action, and developing and optimizing effective extraction, application, and formulation processes to make the use of these substances viable. Key words: sustainability, bioactives, storage, natural products A producao de graos apresenta crescimento constante, entretanto, a capacidade estatistica de armazenamento permanece deficitaria no Brasil. A falta de estruturas e a precariedade e inadequacao no armazenamento ocasionam perdas na pos-colheita, devido acao de fatores que interagem com os graos, culminando na sua deterioracao. Para reversao desses efeitos, o tratamento quimico e realizado, contudo, busca-se por sua substituicao por substancias naturais devido a implicacoes ambientais e medicinais. Objetivou-se com esta revisao, a discussao de uma potencial estrategia sustentavel para o tratamento de graos armazenados, com foco no uso de compostos naturais com propriedades bioativas como antifungica, antioxidante e inseticida, que os torna potenciais para serem estudados. Foram delineados compostos naturais que possuem propriedades uteis para aplicacao no armazenamento de graos. Pesquisas a respeito do emprego dos compostos naturais no tratamento de graos sao incipientes, carecendo de avancos na identificacao de novos compostos promissores, melhor compreensao dos mecanismos de acao e otimizacao/desenvolvimento de processos de extracao, aplicacao e formulacao eficazes que viabilizem o futuro uso das substancias. Palavras-chave: sustentabilidade, bioativos, armazenamento, pr