Physicochemical Characterization and Bioactive Value of Tropical Berry Pomaces after Spouted Bed Drying

This study addressed the physicochemical characteristics and selected bioactive compounds of tropical fruit pomaces acerola ( M alpighia glabra L .), red pitanga ( E ugenia uniflora ) and jambolan ( S yzygium cumini ) obtained by spouted bed drying. The dried pomaces presented attractive colors, acidic pH , moisture between 8.3 and 9.7 g/100g, water activity lower than 0.5 and solubility around 40%. The water and ethanol extracts of these fruit powder samples showed high concentration of phenolics (10.1–30.7 mg GAE /g) with relevant DPPH (2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl) antioxidant activity (30.1–36.3 μmol Trolox equivalent/g). Dried jambolan also proved to be an outstanding anthocyanin‐rich product (377.0–478.7 mg cyanidin 3‐glycoside equivalent/100g). In addition, all extracts presented intermediate α ‐amylase inhibitory activity (23.9–76.6%) and remarkable in vitro effect against α ‐glucosidase (up to 99.3%). Overall, our results show the bioactive and technological potentials of dried acerola, red pitanga and jambolan pomaces as high quality food ingredients with functional attributes. Practical Applications Acerola, red pitanga and jambolan are bioactive‐rich tropical fruits. The fruit processing generates a considerable amount of low‐value fruit pomaces. The motivation for this research was to propose the spouted bed drying as an appropriate strategy to produce food ingredients using the abundant residues of these selected fruits. A relevant concentration of residual bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity and inhibitory activities against key enzymes relevant to the management of early stages of type 2 diabetes were detected in the final dried products. Overall, our results present the spouted bed drying as a promising eco‐friendly process that can be successfully applied to produce value‐added fruit co‐products with potential health benefits. The data presented here constitute the biochemical rationale for the better exploitation of these tropical fruit pomaces.