A formação da COOPERCONLAR: A perspectiva dos cooperados na constituição da cooperativa da construção civil de Laranjeiras do Sul

 O cooperativismo é a união dos trabalhadores, visando o desenvolvimento econômico e social, pautado na participação democrática, na solidariedade, na independência e autonomia. O presente trabalho apresenta os resultados de pesquisa realizada com os membros da Cooperativa dos Profissionais da Construção Civil de Laranjeiras do Sul- COOPERCONLAR que trouxe como objetivo identificar o perfil do associado, e quais as aspirações dos mesmos em relação à formação da cooperativa. Assim como, expor informações que possibilitem uma reflexão se o cooperativismo torna-se uma alternativa viável em um setor que se caracteriza como altamente individualizante (rendimento normalmente é referente a produção por eficiência individual). A metodologia de pesquisa escolhida constituiu-se em uma investigação exploratória, descritiva com levantamento de dados. O instrumento utilizado na coleta de dados foi o questionário estruturado, com questões objetivas e semi-estruturadas, aplicadas com todos os membros da cooperativa, ou seja, os 21 trabalhadores associados. Dessa forma, pode-se perceber que os trabalhadores são, em geral: 1º. jovens; 2º. Casados; 3º. tem um baixo nível de escolaridade; e 4º. dispunham de uma baixa renda. Sendo predominantemente pedreiros, com alguns anos de experiência no setor da construção civil, e normalmente gostam da profissão, estando satisfeitos com a mesma. Observou-se que esses profissionais decidiram participar da cooperativa, pois acreditam no sucesso dessa organização, compreendendo que o cooperativismo consiste na união dos trabalhadores organizados com objetivos comuns. Dessa forma, identificou-se que há uma expectativa de ampliação em seus ganhos financeiros, assim como, objetivam ampliar o grau de formalização de suas atividades profissionais. A cooperativa se encontra em fase inicial e busca se consolidar dentro do segmento no município. Os profissionais esperam, ainda, ter acesso e participar de cursos e treinamentos que ocasionarão em um aprimoramento técnico e uma melhoria nas condições de trabalho

Comparison between different extraction methods in the recovery of bioactive molecules from Melissa officinalis L. under sustainable cultivation: chemical and bioactive characterization

Melissa officinalis L., from the Lamiaceae family, is one of the most important medicinal and aromatic plants with potential in the market. With the passing of time, the use of medicinal plants in the treatment of some illness has gone from the simplest forms of local treatment to the industrial manufacture of phytotherapics. In addition to their medicinal effect, they can also be used in the form of infusions and decoctions and in various food preparations. In this sense, the objective of this work was to compare three different extraction methods: infusion (100% water), maceration (80:20 ethanol: water v:v) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) under previous optimized extraction conditions (33.0 +- 3.2 min, 371.7 +- 19.3Wand 39.9 +- 1.4% ethanol), in plants grown under sustainable cultivation under full irrigation in June. The parameters studied included bioactive evaluation by antioxidant (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances—TBARS), cytotoxicity (sulforhodamine B) and anti-inflammatory (RAWcells) assays. The composition of phenolic compounds and organic acids was also studied by GC-MS and HPLC-DAD, respectively. According to the obtained results, eight phenolic compounds were identified and quantified, being rosmarinic acid the main one for the three extraction methods (infusion: 107.1 +- 0.9 mg/g extract; maceration: 155.7 +- 0.3 mg/g extract; UAE: 118.7 0.6 mg/g extract). For Lithospermic acid A isomer (25.25 +- 0.01 mg/g) and Hydroxylsalvianolic E (111.70 +- 2.20 mg/g), the UAE revealed the lowest content of individual polyphenols, whereas maceration recorded the highest extractability. On the other hand, the content of six of the eight polyphenols detected for the ultrasound-assisted extraction was similar to the infusion and maceration methods. In terms of antioxidant activity, the infusions showed the highest capacity (3.00 +- 0.14 +-g/mL), followed by maceration (5.33 +- 0.30 +-g/mL) and UAE (12 +- 0.15 +-g/mL). The highest anti-inflammatory activity was verified for the infusion (244 +- 11 +-g/mL), followed by UAE (305 +- 9 +-g/mL), with no activity recorded for the maceration extract (>400 +-g/mL). The antitumor properties were evaluated in five cell lines, with the best results being recorded for infusion, except AGS (24 +- 1 +-g/mL) whereThe authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). L. Barros and M.I. Dias thank the national funding by FCT through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for her contract, while M. Carocho and S. Heleno thank FCT through the indiviual scientific employment program-contracts (CEECIND/00831/2018 and CEECIND/03040/2017). I. Oliveira thanks FCT for her PhD grant (BD/06017/2020). To FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal programme for financial support through the project TRANSCoLAB 0612_TRANS_CO_LAB_2_P; to ERDF through the Regional Operational ProgramNorth 2020, within the scope of Project GreenHealth— Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Perfil nutricional e actividade antioxidante da polpa de 29 batatas coloridas

Neste trabalho realizou-se um estudo de 29 variedades de batatas coloridas através das análises do pH e perfil nutricional (humidade, gordura, proteínas, hidratos de carbono, cinzas), e ainda a sua atividade antioxidante através do ensaio de inibição da peroxidação lipídica de substâncias reativas ao ácido tiobarbitúrico (TBARS).Os autores agradecem à FCT, Portugal pelo apoio financeiro através de fundos nacionais FCT/MCTES à CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). L. Barros agradece o financiamento nacional da FCT através do programa de emprego científico contrato - institucional para o seu contrato, enquanto M. Carocho e S. Heleno agradecem à FCT através do programa de emprego contrato - científico individuais (CEECIND/00831/2018 e CEECIND/03040/2017). I. Oliveira agradece à FCT pela sua bolsa de doutoramento (BD/06017/2020). Ao FEDER-Interreg Espanha-Portugal programa de apoio financeiro através do projecto TRANSCoLAB 0612_TRANS_CO_LAB_2_P; ao FEDER através do Programa Operacional Regional Norte 2020, no âmbito do Projecto GreenHealth - - Estratégias digitais em activos biológicos para melhorar o bem-estar e promover a saúde verde, Norte-01-0145-FEDER- 000042, e Projecto Mobilizador Norte-01-0247-FEDER-024479: ValorNatural®. Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042. Ao Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) através do Programa Operacional Regional Norte 2020, no âmbito do Projecto GreenHealthinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nutritional profile of papaya peels, pulp, and seeds (Carica papaya L.)

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is native to tropical America and is one of the most widely cultivated fruit plant in the world, especially in tropical areas where the average annual temperature is 25 °C. Due to its sensory characteristics, nutritional value, and functional properties (digestive and laxative), papaya is a very acceptable fruit. Nevertheless, after industrial processing peels and seeds are discarded generating waste that could be reused in the recovering of important molecules. Thus, the objective of this work was to determine the nutritional composition of papaya comparing the differences in the nutritional profile of the peels, pulp, and seeds. To achieve these results, the crude fat (Soxhlet extractor), protein (Macro-Kjedahl), ash (AOAC methodology 923.03), soluble sugars (HPLC-RI), fatty acids (GC-FID) and organic acids (HPLC-DAD) were determined. Regarding the results, for protein the values were relatively higher in seeds (43.6 ± 0.1 g/100 g dw) when compared to the peels (15.8 ± 0.3 g/100 g dw) and pulp (4.6 ± 0.2 g/100 g dw). Regarding fat, the values were also higher in the seeds (23.5 ± 0.9g/100 g dw) in comparison to the peels (1.46 ± 0.02 g/100 g dw) and pulp (0.78 ± 0.05 g/100 g dw). As for ash content, the values were higher for peels (10.6 ± 0.1 g/100 g dw), followed by seeds (8.0 ± 0.8 g/100 g dw) and pulp (4.7 ± 0.4 g/100 g dw). The carbohydrate content was higher in the pulp (89.9 ± 0.7 kcal) followed by the peel (72.2 ± 0.5 kcal) and seeds (25.0 ± 0.3 kcal). Three sugars, fructose, glucose, and sucrose were found, except for seeds that did not show the presence of sucrose. Glucose was the most abundant sugar in all fruit parts (56 ± 3 g/100 g dw for pulp; 21±1g/100 g dw for peels; 10±1 g/100 g dw for seeds). A total of 20 fatty acids were found, where linolenic acid (20.3 ± 0.4%) was the most abundant in the peels, palmitic acid (54.69 ± 0.02%) in the pulp and oleic acid (68.5 ± 0.1%) in the seeds. Four organic acids were quantified, where citric acid had the highest values in the seeds (8.0 ± 0.3 g/100 g dw), peels (3.88 ± 0.04 g/100 g dw) and pulp (2.00 ± 0.01 g/100 g dw), respectively. In general, it can be concluded that papaya has higher nutritional content in the seeds and peels when compared to the pulp, which is normally the consumable part, justified by its sweet taste and sensory aspects. However, the use of the residues of the peels and seeds would be of great value, since it has a significant nutritional potential reducing waste and enabling the creation of new products. In addition, future studies will be carried out testing its antimicrobial, ant-proliferative and antioxidant properties in cell-based assays, in order to further improve the bioactive quality of this fruit.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). L. Barros thanks the national funding by FCT through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for her contract, while M. Carocho and S. Heleno thank FCT through the individual scientific employment program-contracts (CEECIND/00831/2018 and CEECIND/03040/2017). I. Oliveira thanks FCT for her PhD grant (BD/06017/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Euterpe Oleracea M. fruit as a source of natural pigments

Color is an attribute that decisively influences consumer preference when purchasing a particular food. In this sense, interest in the use of natural dyes is growing every day, in addition to studies on sources that allow the use of these compounds in detriment to the use of artificial dyes, especially in the food industry, in bakery and pastry products, making them more natural, colorful, and attractive. In recent years, Euterpe oleracea M., has gained importance due to its health benefits, associated with its phytochemical composition and antioxidant capacity. This fruit is found in abundance in northern Brazil and has a high content in anthocyanins, besides being a highly nutritious fruit. The great interest in anthocyanins as food ingredients has advantages because they have a strong coloration and are water soluble, which simplifies their incorporation into aqueous food systems. Therefore, the aim of this work was to perform the determination of anthocyanin and non-anthocyanin compounds extracted in an 80% hydroethanolic solution (v/v) through the maceration technique. The anthocyanins were identified and quantified by LC-DAD-ESI/MSn, with results expressed in mg/g extract. According to the obtained results, five compounds were obtained, being cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (4.7 ± 0.2 mg/g) the most abundant one, followed by cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside (4.54 ± 0.03 mg/g), compounds thar are described as strong antioxidant molecules. The less abundant compounds were the cyanidin-3,5-O-hexoside-pentoside (1.12 ± 0.01 mg/g), followed by peonidin-3-O-rutinoside (1.01 ± 0.02 mg/g) and pelargonidin-3-O-rutinoside (0.60 ± 0.01 mg/g), counting for a total content of 12.0 ± 0.2 mg/g of anthocyanins. For the non-anthocyanin compounds, four peaks were quantified, being taxifolin-O-deoxyhexosylhexoside obtained in higher amounts (4.34 ± 0.03 mg/g), followed by sinapoyl hexoside (2.27 ± 0.04 mg/g), quercetin-3-O-rutinoside (2.21 ± 0. 06 mg/g) and finally isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside (0.54 ± 0.02 mg/g), in a total of 9.4 ± 0.2 mg/g phenolic compounds (TPC) of which 7.1 ± 0.1 mg/g are total flavonoids (TF) and 2.27 ± 0.04 mg/g are phenolic acid (TFA). Overall, it is possible to conclude that this fruit can be a possible candidate to be used in the bakery industry as a natural colorant, adding value in replacing synthetic additives and increasing the attractiveness of the products given its richness in natural pigments that are responsible for its purple color.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). L. Barros thanks the national funding by FCT through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for her contract, while M. Carocho and S. Heleno thank FCT through the individual scientific employment program-contracts (CEECIND/00831/2018 and CEECIND/03040/2017). I. Oliveira thanks FCT for her PhD grant (BD/06017/2020). To ERDF through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project GreenHealth - Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042 and Project Mobilizador Norte-01-0247-FEDER-024479: ValorNatural®.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

New challenges and opportunities from secondary metabolites

Secondary metabolites (SMs), usually of complex structure and low molecular weight, have remarkable biological activities and, unlike the primary metabolites, are presented in low concentrations and in certain groups of plants. These, in turn, arouse great interest, not only for the biological activities exerted by plants in response to environmental stimuli, but also for the immense pharmacological activity they possess. Many are of commercial importance, not only in the pharmaceutical area, but also in the food, agronomy, perfumery, and other important sectors. In general, secondary metabolites are natural compounds produced in plants with the main objective of protection against abiotic and biotic stresses, besides having important nutritional and pharmacological aspects in human nutrition, they are also sources of aromatic additives, dyes, antioxidants and exert numerous functions. There are many ways to extract these compounds, but green chemistry can generate economic benefits in industrial chemical processes, such as reducing the need for investments in storage and effluent treatment, as well as the payment of compensation for any environmental damage. In addition, the use of bioresidues as promising sources of secondary metabolites is a promising way to promote the circular economy and take advantage of these by-products through bioactive compounds and their application as additives in new food sources. Currently one of the challenges is to produce sources of secondary metabolites from domesticated plants, since these have differences from wild ones, and the domestication process could preserve defense traits, such as changing the significantly, in addition to domestication-related climate changes, which may also attribute other characteristics to the secondary metabolites. Moreover, another interesting biotechnology applied to obtain large-scale SMs naturally produced by fungi is heterologous expression, which consists in the transcription of one or more genes from the cluster data gene of the fungi producing the target compound in a secondary host, which in most studies are yeasts or filamentous fungi. The use of these compounds in turn must be in force within the parameters allowed by legislation for food incorporation and in the industry in general, since they differ according to the sources, uses, toxicological levels, and the regulations regarding their certifications. However, secondary metabolites emerge as a promising source for new opportunities of application, emphasizing their potential to act as strong and natural additives for several industrial purposes.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). L. Barros thanks the national funding by FCT through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for her contract, while S. A. Heleno thanks FCT through the individual scientific employment program-contracts (CEECIND/03040/2017). I. Oliveira and B. Albuquerque also thank FCT for their PhD grants (BD/06017/2020 and BD/136370/2018, respectively).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nutritional characterization, ph and antioxidant activity of the pulp of 29 color-fleshed potatoes

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important food sources for humans due to their high production and nutritional quality, allowing various culinary uses, from domestic cooking to processing into chips and other ready-to-eat snacks. In this work, 29 color-fleshed varieties of potatoes were studied by analyzing their pH, nutritional profile (moisture, nutritional contents of fat, protein, carbohydrates and ash) and antioxidant activity through the thiobarbituric reactive acid substances (TBARS) assay. The samples were classified by a one-way analysis of variance using Tukey's test as post-hoc analysis for homoscedastic samples and Tamhane T2 for no homoscedastic ones, using a significance of 0.05 in both cases. According to the results obtained for nutritional values, protein showed statistically significant differences, with the Lilly Rose variety having the lowest content (1.173 g/100 g) and Highland Burgundy Red having the highest protein content (2.813 g/100 g). Considering crude fat, no significant differences were sought between the 29 varieties. The ash content showed significant differences among varieties, with Lilly Rose having the lowest content (0.509g /100 g) and Highland Burgundy Red having the highest content (1.9 g/100 g). For total carbohydrates few significant differences were detected, with variations being sought only for Blaue Ajanhuiri (13.835 g/100 g) and Highland Burgundy Red (23.302 g/100 g). Moisture was classified in three significantly different groups with Highland Burgundy Red showing the lowest moisture content at 71.86 g/100 g and Lilly Rose the highest, at 83.163 g/100 g. The pH analysis showed statistical variations among the varieties, with the Blaue Neuseeländer having the lowest pH value (pH=5.839) and the Blaue St. Galler the highest (pH=6.331). For the TBARS assay, only the five potatoes (pulp) with highest antioxidant activity were selected for analysis, and, apart from Schwarzer Teufel, the rest of the four potatoes cultivars showed no significant differences among each other. The antioxidant activity (EC50) of Schwarzer Teufel was 0.37 mg/mL Overall, the results showed a similarity in nutritional values among the tested potato varieties, indicating that beyond their interesting and appealing colors, they also possess valuable nutritional parameters with low variations among the varieties. Furthermore, the Schwarzer Teufel variety showed a very high antioxidant activity compared to the rest of the tested cultivars. Further studies are being performed to analyze the color of these potatoes, as well as bioactivities and chemical composition analyses of their pulp and skin.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). L. Barros thanks the national funding by FCT through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for her contract, while M. Carocho and S. Heleno thank FCT through the individual scientific employment program-contracts (CEECIND/00831/2018 and CEECIND/03040/2017). I. Oliveira thanks FCT for her PhD grant (BD/06017/2020). To FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal programme for financial support through the project TRANSCoLAB 0612_TRANS_CO_LAB_2_P; to ERDF through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project GreenHealth - Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nutritional and antioxidant characterization of the peel of 10 species of coloured potatoes

The use of by-products from the food agro-industry reduces production costs, increases the total use of food and reduces the impact that these by-products may cause when disposed of in the environment. In this way, some potato by-products are used and transformed into food ingredients, such as peelings. Thus, innovative measures are needed to stimulate the full reuse of these foodstuffs, since, whenever possible, the final waste should become raw material for a new process, constituting a second transformation, leading to the reuse of all the raw materials of the potato industry. In this sense, the aim of this work was to carry out a study aimed at peeling ten potato species to which the nutritional parameters were carried out. The samples were from different countries, grown in Greece and obtained under optimal consumption conditions. A total nutritional characterization of the twenty-nine potato peels was performed, as well as of the individual organic acids and soluble sugars. The antioxidant activity was carried out using the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay. According to the results obtained, the sample Peru Blue (1.57 ± 0.05 g/100g) obtained the highest value for crude fat, followed by Blaue Hindelbank (1.12 ± 0.13 g/100g); while the sample Blaue Hermans Blaue presented the lowest value (0.33 ± 0.01 g/100g). For protein, Fleuer Bleue (9.5 ± 0.2 g/100g), Blaue Hindelbank (8.9 ± 0.1 g/100g), Pink of Bolivia (9.3 ± 0.5 g/100g), Purple from Congo or Congo (8.9 ± 0.6 g/100g) and Blue from Peru (9.1 ± 0.3 g/100g) were not significantly different from each other and showed the lowest value, while Highland Burgundy Red (12.6 ± 0.1 g/100g) showed the highest value. The ash content showed statistical differences among the results, with the highest content found in Pink of Bolivia (8.0 ± 0.2 g/100g) and the lowest for Fleuer Bleue (1.3 ± 0.1 g/100g). In terms of energy there was also a difference between the results with lower values for Pink of Bolivia (373 ± 1 Kcal) and Purple from Congo (375.8 ± 0.4 Kcal) and higher for Fleuer Bleue (398 ± 1 Kcal). Two soluble sugars were identified and quantified, namely fructose and glucose. For fructose the values were highest for Fleuer Bleue (3.29 ± 0.11 g/100g) and lowest for Highland Burgundy Red (0.04 ± 0.02 g/100g), also, glucose showed lower values compared to fructose, the lowest content being quantified for Purple Fiesta (0.516 ± 0.052 g/100g) and the highest for Blue from Peru (1.07 ± 0.07 g/100g). Three organic acids were quantified, namely oxalic, malic and citric acids. Oxalic acid was highest for Hermans Blaue (2.394 ± 0.015 g/100g) and lowest for Purple Fiesta (0.91 ± 0.02 g/100g). Malic content was found highest for Purple Fiesta (3.12 ± 0.017 g/100g) and lowest for Purple from Congo or Congo (0.213 ± 0.003 g/100g DW). For citric acid, two potato samples showed higher values, namely Purple Fiesta (2.8 ± 0.2 g/100g) and Blaue Hindelbank (2.9 ± 0.1 g/100g) and two other potato samples showed lower values, namely Highland Red Fiesta (1.53 ± 0.03 g/100g) and Blaue Hermans (1.57 ± 0.01 g/100g). The antioxidant activity carried out using TBARS showed similar values for five of the 10 potatoes analysed, Highland Burgundy Red (343.4 ± 8.7 μg/mL), Violet Queen (328.4 ± 11.9 μg/mL), Purple Fiesta (305.7 ± 8.0 μg/mL), Blaue Hindelbank (366. 7 ± 12. 7 μg/mL), Pink of Bolivia (369.5 ± 12.7 μg/mL) and Blue from Peru (323.7 ± 3.5 μg/mL) showed the lowest EC50 concentrations while Blue Star (740.9 ± 33.9 μg/mL) and Fleuer Bleue (692.1 ± 13.3 μg/mL) showed the highest concentrations. This work showed that potato peel has an interesting nutritional profile and can be used to enrich other foods. Furthermore, future work will be carried out on antimicrobial activities, and cytotoxicity.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). L. Barros thanks the national funding by FCT through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for her contract, while M. Carocho and S. Heleno thank FCT through the individual scientific employment program-contracts (CEECIND/00831/2018 and CEECIND/03040/2017). I. Oliveira thanks FCT for her PhD grant (BD/06017/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chemical and bioactive characterization of Euterpe oleracea Mart

Besides the economic factor, açaí has been highlighted for its nutritional value, but also for its richness in α-tocopherol (vitamin E), phenolic compounds and for having interesting bioactive potential1. Therefore, the objective of this work was to perform the chemical and bioactive characterization of freeze-dried açaí pulp. Organic acids were determined by HPLC-DAD, tocopherols by HPLC-fluorescence, and phenolic compounds using HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS. The antioxidant potential was assessed through cellular antioxidant activity (CAA), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and radical scavenging activity (DPPH) assays; the antimicrobial capacity was evaluated using the microdilution method against pathogenic microorganisms, cytotoxicity against tumoral and non-tumoral cell lines by the sulphorhodamine B assay, and the anti-inflammatory potential using RAW cells. Citric acid (3.36 ± 0.07 g/100 g DW) was the most abundant organic acid, being fumaric acid found in the lowest concentrations (0.0117 ± 0.0001 g/100 g DW). Alpha and beta tocopherols were identified, with contents of 0.046 ± 0.001 mg/100 g DW and 0.17 ± 0.12 mg/100 g DW, respectively. Regarding the phenolic composition, taxifolin-O-deoxyhexylhexoside was the main compound (4.34 ± 0.03 mg/g of extract), followed by sinapoyl hexoside (2.27 ± 0.04 mg/g), quercetin-3-O-rutinoside (2.21 ± 0.06 mg/g) and finally isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside (0.54 ± 0.02 mg/g), presenting a total of non-anthocyanin phenolic content of 9.36 ± 0.15 mg/g of extract. Also, five anthocyanin compounds were identified, totaling 11.99 ± 0.22 mg/g of extract, where the compounds cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (4.72 ± 0.20 mg/g) and cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside (4.54 ± 0.03 mg/g) presented the highest levels, with lower, but significant, contents for pelargonidin-3-O-rutinoside (0.60 ± 0.01 mg/g). For the antioxidant potential, EC50 values of 270 ± 5 μg/mL in the DPPH and 61 ± 2 μg/mL in the TBARS assays, and 61% of oxidation inhibition at 2000 μg/mL in the CAA assay were obtained. Concerning the antimicrobial capacity, tested against food borne and clinical pathogens, the açaí extract was more active against Gram positive bacteria, with inhibition concentrations ranging from 1.25 to 10 mg/mL. As for cytotoxicity, the extract revealed activity against breast carcinoma cells (MFC-7) with IC50 values of 255 ± 22 μg/mL, while no significant effect was found against lung carcinoma cells (NCI-H460) and the normal cell culture (PLP2), for which values above the maximum concentration tested were found (>400 μg/mL). The extract also revealed anti-inflammatory activity with EC50 values of 384 ± 11 μg/mL. Taking in consideration the results obtained in the range of analyses performed, it can be concluded that the açaí pulp is an interesting source of bioactive molecules, highlighting its the antioxidant activity. Therefore, this fruit could be exploited for the development of functional formulations, besides being a candidate to explore as a natural source of colouring or preservative agents.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). L. Barros thanks the national funding by FCT through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for her contract, while M. Carocho and S. Heleno thank FCT through the individual scientific employment program-contracts (CEECIND/00831/2018 and CEECIND/03040/2017). I. Oliveira thanks FCT for her PhD grant (BD/06017/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Physical properties of 29 colored potato varieties

The use of different varieties of potatoes ( Solanum tuberosum L.) with different colors may be appealing to consumers, namely in terms of their visual appearance, allowing their use as “chips” and other ready-to-eat snacks. This work studied the physical properties of 29 varieties of colored potatoes, analyzing their external color and the different dimensions of texture. The external color was measured with a portable colorimeter, analyzing the CIELab color space according to the L* (lightness), a* (red-green) and b* (blue-yellow) coordinates. The texture was determined using a “texture profile analysis” assay allowing the classification of their hardness, adhesiveness, springiness, cohesiveness and resilience. The samples were classified through an analysis of variance using Tukey’s test as a post-hoc, and finally were subjected to a linear discriminant analysis for further discrimination based on the studied parameters. According to the obtained results, the color of the potatoes showed significant statistical differences, although many of the samples were related to each other. The sample with the darkest color was “Blaue veltlin” variety, with an L* of 27.8, whereas the sample with the lightest colour was “Blaue ajanhuiri” variety. In terms of the values of parameter a* the cultivar with the greenest tone was also the “Blaue ajanhuiri”, while the one closer to the red quadrant was "Purple from Peru”. Finally, the analysis of parameter b* showed that “Blaue Neuseeländer” sample was the one with the highest blue tone and “Purple fiesta” the one with the highest intensity of yellow. Regarding the different texture dimensions, the samples showed homogenous values. All samples revealed no statistical difference for springiness, whereas regarding adhesiveness, the sample “Purple from Congo” was the most adhesive at -144 g/sec and “Linzer blaue” the less adhesive at -15 g/sec. Concerning the hardness parameter, “Blaue Anneliese” and “Blaue neuseeländer” were the samples with the hardest and softest texture, respectively. In addition, the most cohesive sample was “Pink from Bolivia”, whereas the least cohesive one was “Linzer blaue”. Chewiness had three different levels of significant difference with “Blaue Anneliese” being the least chewy and “Black princess” the most, while for resilience, the least resilient were “Pink from Bolivia” and “Hermanns blaue” and the most resilient was “Linzer blaue”. In terms of the linear discriminant analysis, the first two of five functions described 84.8% of variability (function 1 – 72.0%, function 2 – 12.8%), while the varieties that presented the highest variability were “Lilly rose”, “Red salad potato”, “Purple from Peru”, “Königspurpur” and “Highland burgundy”. In conclusion, the presented results showed a great variability among the tested potato varieties indicating that these could dictate the different uses of the final food product.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). L. Barros thanks the national funding by FCT through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for her contract, while M. Carocho and S. Heleno thank FCT through the individual scientific employment program-contracts (CEECIND/00831/2018 and CEECIND/03040/2017). I. Oliveira thanks FCT for her PhD grant (BD/06017/ 2020 ). This work is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project GreenHealth - Digital strategies in biological assets to improve well-being and promote green health, Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042, and Project Mobilizador Norte-01-0247-FEDER-024479: ValorNatural®.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio