Frutos de umbuzeiro (Spondias tuberosa Arruda): características físico-químicas durante seu desenvolvimento e na pós-colheita

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Superação de dormência de sementes e crescimento inicial de plântulas de umbuzeiro

Pre-germination treatments such as scarification and the use of growth regulators can provide the overcoming of dormancy in seeds and enhance the emergence and development of seedlings. The aim of this study was to determine appropriate treatments to overcoming seed dormancy and enhance the initial growth of seedlings of Spondias tuberosa. We used a randomized design in factorial 2 x 4, with the following factors: seeds scarified or not scarified and then soaked in water or aqueous solutions of gibberellin, cytokinin and ethylene, with 4 replicates and 15 seeds. There was no significant interaction between scarification treatments and use of growth regulators. Mechanical scarification and soaking of seed of umbuzeiro in solutions containing growth regulators does not increase the percentage of seedling emergence, however soaking in a solution of Ethrel at 100 ppm provides higher speed of emergence and root development.

Antioxidant properties of brazilian tropical fruits by correlation between different assays

Four different assays (the Folin-Ciocalteu, DPPH, enzymatic method, and inhibitory activity on lipid peroxidation) based on radically different physicochemical principles and normally used to determine the antioxidant activity of food have been confronted and utilized to investigate the antioxidant activity of fruits originated from Brazil, with particular attention to more exotic and less-studied species (jurubeba, Solanum paniculatum; pequi, Caryocar brasiliense; pitaya, Hylocereus undatus; siriguela, Spondias purpurea; umbu, Spondias tuberosa) in order to (i) verify the correlations between results obtained by the different assays, with the final purpose to obtain more reliable results avoiding possible measuring-method linked mistakes and (ii) individuate the more active fruit species. As expected, the different methods give different responses, depending on the specific assay reaction. Anyhow all results indicate high antioxidant properties for siriguela and jurubeba and poor values for pitaya, umbu, and pequi. Considering that no marked difference of ascorbic acid content has been detected among the different fruits, experimental data suggest that antioxidant activities of the investigated Brazilian fruits are poorly correlated with this molecule, principally depending on their total polyphenolic content. © 2013 Elena Gregoris et al.