AVALIAÇÃO DA QUALIDADE PÓS-COLHEITA EM HORTALIÇA NÃO CONVENCIONAL CAXI: (Lagenaria siceraria)

Abstract

The caxi (Lagenaria siceraria) is an unconventional vegetable little known by most of the population. Studies on its functional and nutritional properties are scarce. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the physicochemical composition during storage in function of time and temperature, as well as to determine the phenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity of the fruit and the husk flour. The physicochemical parameters were evaluated at 0, 2, 4 and 6 days and at temperatures of -8, 5 and 25°C. The antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds were evaluated after 2 days. The total acidity found ranged from 0.17 to 0.04% in flour and fruit (harvest day), respectively. The content of phenolic compounds varied from 3.39 to 0.37 mg/100g, in flour and in stored fruits, respectively. The production of husk flour increased the antioxidant activity through the DPPH method in hydroethanolic extract. In the ABTS method, there was a significant difference at 5% probability in all samples. The fruit has great potential to enrich the diet of the population.