Introduction. Different cultivars of lychee are produced all around theworld and to date no information has been published on the nutritional value ofcv. Tailandes, which is a new lychee cultivar introduced into Brazil and other tropicalcountries. Our study performed a pioneering evaluation of the physical and chemicalcharacteristics, carotenoids, vitamins, and minerals in pulp of fruit of this cultivar.Materials and methods. Titratable acidity was determined by volumetricneutralization, pH by potentiometry, soluble solids by refractometry, moisture bygravimetry after oven drying, ash by calcination in a muffle furnace, proteins by themicro-Kjeldahl method, dietary fibers by the gravimetric non-enzymatic method and lipidsby gravimetry after extraction in ethyl ether. Vitamin C (ascorbic and dehydroascorbicacids) and carotenoids (a-carotene, b-carotene, b-cryptoxanthin and lycopene) wereanalyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection,vitamin E (a-, b-, g- and d-tocopherols and tocotrienols) was analyzed by HPLC withfluorescence detection, and fourteen minerals were analyzed by atomic absorptionspectrometry in inductively coupled plasma. Results and discussion. Thelychee cv. Tailandes showed high pulp yield (59.0%), moisture (80.7 mg×100 g–1) anddietary fiber (2.2 g×100 g–1), and a low total energy value (70.2 kcal×100 g–1). Itpresented no carotenoids, but was an excellent source of vitamin C (34.7 mg×100 g–1). Thetotal vitamin E content was 117.0 g×100 g–1. Pulp of lychee cv. Tailandes was shown to bea source of iron (0.86 mg×100 g–1) and magnesium (12.90 mg×100 g–1), a good source ofcopper (0.12 mg×100 g–1) and an excellent source of potassium (1067.33 mg×100 g–1).Conclusion. The lychee cv. Tailandes showed high pulp yield and low totalenergy. The pulp is a source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, iron, magnesium, copper andpotassium.

Introduction. Several studies reveal the important role played by‘lesser-known’ wild fruits since they contain nutritional and functional compounds whichhave biological properties. Materials and methods. Our work studied thepresence of bioactive compounds such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid and dehydroascorbicacid), total phenolic content, phenolic acids, flavonols, anthocyanins and the antioxidantcapacity (FRAP, ABTS•+ and DPPH• in vitro tests) in wild fruits ofArbutus unedo L. and Rubus ulmifolius Schott ofSpanish origin, including samples from different seasons and locations. Results anddiscussion. A wide variability was found in the composition of fruits of the samespecies, which substantiates the importance of analyzing several batches of wild fruits,to achieve representative results, taking into account the natural variability.Arbustus unedo fruits showed higher vitamin C, mainly in the ascorbicacid form, and phenolic content than R. ulmifolius [(172–419) mg ascorbicacid×100 g–1 fw vs. (5.99–26.83) mg ascorbic acid×100 g–1 fw, and(773–1621) mg total phenolic compounds×100 g–1 fw vs. (376–1326) mg totalphenolic compounds×100 g–1 fw, respectively]; phenolic acids and anthocyanins are themajor groups of phenolic compounds found in both species, with gallic acid and cyanidin3-glucoside as the main compounds. Arbustus unedo fruits showedsignificantly higher Folin-Ciocalteu values than those of R. ulmifolius.These values are higher than those reported for the majority of berries. The significantcorrelations found among different antioxidant compounds (r > 0.6300,P < 0.001) may reveal a protective effect between ascorbic acid andphenolic acids or anthocyanins in the fruits. Therefore, Arbutus unedoand R. ulmifolius fruits should be considered as new importantsources of safe antioxidants.

Introduction. The jabuticaba tree (Myrciariajabuticaba) belongs to the Myrtaceae family and produces a small fruit, nativeto central, southern and southeastern Brazil. Materials and methods. Fruitsof 25 progenies of the jabuticaba tree, grown in a tropical highland climate, wereevaluated as to physical, physicochemical and chemical characteristics: weight,longitudinal and transverse diameters, pulp and peel yields, seed mass, number of seedsper fruit, pulp and peel moisture, soluble solids, titratable acidity, [solublesolids/titratable acidity] ratio, pH, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds. The experimentaldesign was completely randomized, the treatments being the 25 jabuticaba tree progenies.Results. A significant effect among progenies was observed for allcharacteristics evaluated. The chemical composition showed that the jabuticaba peel has ahigh phenolic compound content, and considerable flavonoid content. These results indicatethat there is variability for the characteristics analyzed, enabling the economicexploitation of jabuticaba tree fruits for in natura consumption andprocessing. Conclusions. The physical and chemical characteristics combinedcan be proposed as excellent tools to select superior progenies. The fruits of fiveprogenies showed desirable characteristics for the in natura market,while fruits of five other progenies hold high concentrations of natural antioxidants andmay be listed as excellent options for the food industry.

Introduction. The Cerrado is the largest biome in the state ofMinas Gerais, Brazil; it presents an enormous biodiversity represented by fruit species,highlighting murici (Byrsonima verbascifolia). The objective of our studywas to investigate the physical and physicochemical characteristics, occurrence andconcentration of carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin E and folates in murici fruits from theCerrado of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Materials and methods. Titratable aciditywas determined by volumetric neutralization, pH by potentiometry, soluble solids byrefractometry, moisture using an oven, ash using a muffle furnace, protein by themicro-Kjeldahl method, total dietary fiber by the non-enzymatic gravimetric method andlipids by Soxhlet extraction; carotenoids and vitamin C were analyzed by HPLC-DAD, andvitamin E and folates by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Results anddiscussion. The murici pulp contained 7.47 g·100 g–1 carbohydrates,5.13 g·100 g–1 lipids, 13.58 g·100 g–1 fibers and 71.58 g·100 g–1 moisture. The pH,titratable acidity and soluble solids were 3.93, 0.77 g citric acid·100 g–1 and10.73 °Brix, respectively. The results indicated that the fruit is an excellent source offiber and vitamin C (27.24 mg·100 g–1), a good source of vitamin E (1819.72 μg·100 g–1)for children and a source for adults and pregnant women. Folates were not found in murici.Conclusion. Murici stands out with regard to its nutritional value and cancontribute significantly to the supply of nutrients, especially fiber and vitamin C. Thus,consumption of these fruits should be encouraged among families residing in the Cerradoand in other regions of Brazil.

Introduction. Timing of management practices requires anunderstanding of pest population dynamics in given cropping systems. Our study wasdesigned to establish the population trends of B. invadens in mangoorchards and to determine if population fluctuations were reflected in fruit infestationlevels during changes in mango phenology. Materials andmethods. Bactrocera invadens flies were trapped weekly fromFebruary 2011 to November 2012, using methyl eugenol and DDVP (dichlorvos) insecticidalstrips. Trapping was done in three mango orchards in the Luweero district of Uganda’s LakeVictoria Crescent. Mango fruit samples were incubated for the retrieval of puparia tocalculate positivity (proportion of fruits infested) and fruit infestation indices (numberof puparia per kg of fruit) for each stage of fruit maturity. Results. Meantrap catches of adult B. invadens varied significantly over the months(range : ~11 flies per trap per day (FTD) to over 590 FTD; P £ 0.0001).During each year, infestations peaked during June-July and January-February. Trap catcheswere higher in the major fruiting season compared with the minor fruiting season and werethe highest when mango was at the physiological maturity and ripe stages. Fruitinfestation and positivity were highest for fruit at the physiological maturity and ripestages and lowest at the fruit set stage. Discussion. Our findings show thatB. invadens is present year-round and all stages of mango fruitdevelopment are susceptible to attack. Thus, control measures should be implementedthroughout the year and preferably started at fruit set to lessen fruit fly populationbuild-up and damage to fruits.

Introduction. Polyphenols have received significant attention inrecent years due to their antioxidant capacity and their significant role in diseaseprevention. Cocoa is one of the major naturally occurring sources of antioxidants,particularly of polyphenolic compounds. Materials and methods. Gelatinnanoparticles loaded with a cocoa-derived polyphenolic extract were synthesized bynanoprecipitation. The nanoparticle synthesis was performed using a central compositeexperimental design that allowed for the assessment of how gelatin concentration andsurfactant concentration (Tween 80) affected the hydrodynamic diameter and polydispersityof the particles. The nanoparticles were characterized using dynamic light scattering(DLS), assessments of zeta potential, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Results. The analyses demonstratedthat the nanoparticles examined exhibited hydrodynamic diameters of (100 to 400) nm,polydispersity indices of less than 0.2 and average zeta potential values of 29–33 mV. SEMimages revealed that most nanoparticles were spherical and uniform in morphology, withaverage sizes less than 250 nm. In vitro experiments in which the2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method was used to assess the prevalence of freeradical-scavenging ability among these nanoparticles indicated that the loading efficiencyfor the nanoparticles was approximately 77.56%. Conclusion. Nanoparticlesloaded with polyphenolic extract were obtained with average sizes ranging from (120 to250) nm and largely spheroidal morphologies. Polymer and surfactant concentrationssignificantly influenced the hydrodynamic diameters and polydispersity indices of theparticles. The incorporation of the polyphenolic extract into the polymer matrix enabledthe preservation of the antiradical activity of the bioactive compound.