Corante de Pitaia vermelho-púrpura natural: perfil metabolômico, aspectos tecnológicos e aplicação em alimentos

Abstract

The pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) has been developing very well in Brazil, in states like São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Ceará, thus facilitating the cultivation and commercialization throughout the country. Some characteristics of this fruit have been attracting the attention of consumers and researchers, such as the mineral content, presence of antioxidant compounds and mainly its attractive coloring, this being linked to the high content of betalains. Thus, we can consider its potential use as a natural dye in order to replace artificial dyes used commercially, which when used above the allowed value has been causing problems to the health of consumers. Thus, this study aimed to characterize dye of pitaia, from the species Hylocereus polyrhizus, to evaluate its storage stability through chemical, physical-chemical, microbiological analyzes and using UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MSE techniques combined with statistical tools, in addition to verify their potential application in yoghurts by means of sensory tests and compare them with commercial products that use carmine or beet dye as food coloring in their formulations. The results showed that UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MSE was effective for the simultaneous determination of twenty metabolites, putatively identified as carbohydrates, flavonoids, and betalains. The MRPPC was shown to have microbiological and physicochemical stability through twelve weeks of storage, and chemometric analyses efficiently distinguished the metabolic profile in each storage period. Sensory analysis revealed that the MRPPC was effective as a food colorant in yogurt, where it improved color