Effects of thermal process in bioactive compounds of mixed Brazilian cerrado fruit jam

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of thermal vacuum processing and thermal processing without vacuum on the content of bioactive compounds and the antioxidant activity of low-calorie mixed Brazilian cerrado fruit jam. The mixed jam consisted of 60% of mixed pulp of Marolo, soursop and sweet passion fruit, and 40% other ingredients. This jam was utilized a completely randomized design to evaluate the antioxidant activity, total phenolic profile and content, carotenoid profile, and ascorbic acid content. The results showed that there was a reduction in bioactive compounds in the jam of 44.37% for total phenolics, 50.56% for ascorbic acid, 78.40% total carotenoids, and 65.14% for antioxidant activity when compared with the mixed pulps. In the carotenoid profile, reduction was observed for all compounds in relation to the mixed pulps, especially β-carotene (average loss of 81.89%). Independent of the processing, there was a significant increase in m-coumaric acid in the jam compared with the mixed pulp. The concentrations of other phenolic compounds decreased after processing. These results suggest that thermal vacuum processing is most suitable for the production of jam with higher nutritional value.