Estudo da funcionalidade de espécies comestíveis do semiárido nordestino e estratégias para sua utilização como ingredientes para fins alimentícios

The Brazilian caatinga is characterized by low annual rainfall and arid soils. Several cactaceae, either native or adapted species, grow in this semi-arid region, including the prickly pear (Opuntia fícus indica) and facheiro ((Philosocereus pachycladus Ritter) which produce underexploited edible fruits. In addition to these species, the algaroba is a leguminous with little studied technological applications and bioactive potential so far. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the physicochemical, bioactive and functional attributes of the prickly pear and facheiro fruit pulps and the algaroba flour. Specifically, this study approaches the physicochemical characterization, total phenolic compounds (TPC) and the betalain identification and quantification by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS. It is also investigated the DPPH antioxidant capacity and the antienzymatic activities against alpha-amylase and alphaglucosidase of water and ethanolic extracts of these food material. In order to address their potential to be used as food ingredients, juice blends prepared with mixtures of cajá and prickly pear, biofilms with facheiro and cereal bars with algaroba flour were elaborated and analyzed. The prickly pear fruits presented low acidity and high sugar content when compared to facheiro. The Philosocereus pachycladus Ritter fruits had higher protein and ash content, but the algaroba flour was the species with higher protein and sugar content among all. The algaroba flour also presented outstanding food fiber content, which reveals its potentiality to be used as a natural intestinal regulator. The TPC of water and ethanol extracts ranged from 3.87 to 16.21 mg GAE/100g for algaroba flour, 79.24 to 110.20 GAE/ 100g for prickly pear and 412.23 to 539.14 mg GAE/100g for facheiro. The 70% (w/v) ethanol extract reached the highest DPPH antioxidant activity, which was linearly correlated to its high TPC content. In regard to the enzymatic inhibitory activities, the best performance was observed for the prickly pear extracts which presented a moderate inhibition for both investigated enzymes, but interestingly, no alpha-glucosidase inhibition was observed for facheiro extracts. This work shows, for the first time in the literature, the functional attributes of facheiro fruits, as well as the presence of betacianins and isobetanin in the pulp of this exotic fruit. When it comes to the food products developed here, the sensory attributes that better described the juice blend cajá-prickly pear were sweetness, acidity, color yellow-orange, body, turbidity and cajá flavor. The discriminative test applied for cereal bars produced with and without algaroba revealed that the texture was the only sensory attribute that differed (p<0.05) between these two samples. It was also observed that the addition of facheiro extracts did not influence the visual characteristics of the biofilms. Overall, this work unveils the physicochemical and bioactive attributes of these commercial and technologically underexploited species widely found in the Brazilian caatinga and presents alternatives for their rational use

Amélia Duarte Machado, a Viúva Machado: a esposa, a viúva e a lenda na Cidade do Natal (1900-1930)

The research project examines representations elaborated about Amelia Duarte Machado, images that were built in a particular space: the Natal City. Amelia, one mossoroense that has a simple life, stated a luxurious life after marrying with a rich Portuguese merchant Manuel Machado, in 1904. She led a life of society lady, lived in a sumptuous residence, traveled to Europe, attending the Theatre the city and took care of the social image of her husband, opening the doors of your home to promote dinners and receptions. Experienced the changes occurring in Natal in the first three decades of the twentieth century, when the initiative of a political and intellectual elite of the city began to incorporate bourgeois values and to provide a technical framework focused on the improvements brought by the Industrial Revolution. In 1934, with her husband's death, took over the family business. Besides the widow, also became an enterprising woman. The widow Amelia Machado also became the target of suspicion of the population, rumors about his life. From there emerges a frightening figure in Natal, a being that captured and ate the liver of children, the papa-figo of Natal City, the Widow Machado. In this research, we relate different images that circulated about this woman, who was society lady, dashing widow and papa-figo, articulating these representations with the discourse on female circulating in Natal from 1900 to 1930 yet will raise hypotheses about the creation of the Legend of the Widow Machado