Bioactive Compounds Found in Brazilian Cerrado Fruits

• Main Authors: Elisa Flávia Luiz Cardoso Bailão, Ivano Alessandro Devilla, Edemilson Cardoso da Conceição, Leonardo Luiz Borges
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2015-10-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: Brazilian savanna; functional foods; phenolic compounds; secondary metabolites
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/16/10/23760

Functional foods include any natural product that presents health-promoting effects, thereby reducing the risk of chronic diseases. Cerrado fruits are considered a source of bioactive substances, mainly phenolic compounds, making them important functional foods. Despite this, the losses of natural vegetation in the Cerrado are progressive. Hence, the knowledge propagation about the importance of the species found in Cerrado could contribute to the preservation of this biome. This review provides information about Cerrado fruits and highlights the structures and pharmacologic potential of functional compounds found in these fruits. Compounds detected in Caryocar brasiliense Camb. (pequi), Dipteryx alata Vog. (baru), Eugenia dysenterica DC. (cagaita), Eugenia uniflora L. (pitanga), Genipa americana L. (jenipapo), Hancornia speciosa Gomes (mangaba), Mauritia flexuosa L.f. (buriti), Myrciaria cauliflora (DC) Berg (jabuticaba), Psidium guajava L. (goiaba), Psidium spp. (araçá), Solanum lycocarpum St. Hill (lobeira), Spondias mombin L. (cajá), Annona crassiflora Mart. (araticum), among others are reported here.