Effect of the Type of Thermal Treatment on the Nutritional and Nutraceutical Characteristics of Pacaya Inflorescences (Chamaedorea tepejilote Liebm)

• Published in: Biology and life sciences forum 2022-09, Vol.18 (1), p.36
• Main Authors: Pedro Mancera-Castro, Aurea Bernardino-Nicanor, José Mayolo Simitrio Juárez-Goiz, Gerardo Teniente-Martínez, Leopoldo González-Cruz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: antioxidant activity; nutraceutical characteristics; Pacaya; thermal treatment
• ISSN: 2673-9976
• DOI: 10.3390/Foods2022-13015

Chamaedorea tepejilote Liebm is a palm native to the south of Mexico and Central America. In Mexico, the male inflorescences are roasted, fried, boiled, or accompanied by other ingredients to decrease their bitter aftertaste, and they can be consumed by the inhabitants. However, it has been observed that raw inflorescences have hypoglycemic, antitussive, and antimicrobial potentials, but the thermal treatment effect in these activities has not been studied; for this reason, this study evaluated the impact of three thermal treatments (hydrothermal (HP), steaming at elevated pressure (SEP), and microwave (MW)) on the nutritional and nutraceutical characteristics of Pacaya inflorescences; inflorescences without thermal treatment (WTT) were considered as the control. In the nutritional characterization, only the protein content was the fraction that increased significantly (p < 0.05) when thermal treatment was applied. On the other hand, all thermal treatments significantly modified (p < 0.05) the chlorophyll “a” content (HP reduced 0.59-fold; SEP and MW increased 0.07-0.25-fold), and chlorophyll “b” decreased. A significant (p < 0.05) carotenoids content increase in all thermally treated samples (between 0.80-fold and 8.73-fold) and total phenolic compounds (between 7.75-fold and 8.16-fold) compared to the WTT samples was observed. Microwave cooking was the only thermal treatment that significantly (p < 0.05) increased (0.97-fold) the antioxidant activity in the DPPH radical. HP (14.11%) and SEP (18.20%) significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the dipeptidyl peptidase-IV enzyme inhibition when compared to WTT (24.42%). These changes have been associated with the partial loss, destruction, or denaturalization of cell walls’ proteins, lipids, or cellulose, causing the liberating or creation of compounds with nutritional and nutraceutical activity.