Dados do Trabalho

Título

THE COMBINED ACTION PROTEASES INCREASE THE RELEASE OF ANTIOXIDANT COMPOUNDS FROM THE PEELS OF DIFFERENT PUMPKIN SPECIES

Introdução

Peels can be considered a little explored by-product generated from the processing of pumpkins. It was reported that their composition contains bioactive compounds, such as phenolics, which when recovered by an appropriate process can be applied for health promotion purposes.

Material e Métodos

Three proteases (Alcalase® 2.4L, Flavourzyme® 500L and Neutrase® 0.8L) was used to verify the effect of enzymatic hydrolysis on the recovery of total phenolic compounds (TPC) and antioxidant activity (ABTS, DPPH and FRAP) from pumpkin peel of Cucurbita moschata D (Cmos) and Cucurbita maxima (Cmax). The enzymes were applied singly or in binary/ternary mixtures. Suspensions (50 mL) containing 5% (w/v) pumpkin peel flour were dispersed in phosphate buffer (100 mmol L-1, pH 7) and the final concentration of the proteolytic enzymes was adjusted to 100 U mL-1. The mixture was incubated at 50°C under shaking at 100 rpm for 120 min. A control assay was prepared without enzymes.

Resultados e Discussão

The results showed that the enzymatic hydrolysis was efficient in the recovery of phenolic compounds, in which Cmax showed increases ranging from 51 to 78%, while Cmos had increases ranging from 23% to 38%. in TPC compared to control (non-hydrolyzed sample). Antioxidant activity, however, did not show notable increases comparable to the observed in TPC. The most prominent results include: i) ABTS radical scavenging, in which Cmax hydrolysates demonstrated increases ranging from 11 to 16% compared to the control; and ii) DPPH radical scavenging, in which Cmos hydrolysates showing increases ranging from 6 to 38% compared to the control. In general, assays containing mixtures of enzymes (binary/ternary) positively affected the recovery of bioactive compounds, an indication of the synergistic effects between them. The pumpkins treated with Alcalase® 2.4L and Flavourzyme® 500L in equal proportions resulted in hydrolysates with high values of TPC and antioxidant activity for both species.

Conclusão

In general, assays containing mixtures of enzymes (binary/ternary) positively affected the recovery of bioactive compounds, an indication of the synergistic effects between them. The pumpkins treated with Alcalase® 2.4L and Flavourzyme® 500L in equal proportions resulted in hydrolysates with high values of TPC and antioxidant activity for both species.