title: Characterization of fruit development and potential health benefits of arrayan (Luma apiculata), a native berry of South America.
abstract: The arrayan berry (Luma apiculata) is a native fruit from South America that belongs to the Myrtaceae family. To elucidate and characterize the developmental process and the potential health benefits of this edible fruit, quality and physiological parameters, along with antioxidant capacity, were evaluated during four clearly defined developmental stages of the fruit in two seasons. Fruit firmness slowly decreases during fruit development, whereas the solid soluble content/titratable acidity ratio (SSC/TA) increases significantly in the final stages of development. The measurement of low respiration rates and low ethylene production during growth and ripening suggested that the arrayan berry should be classified as a non-climacteric fruit. Arrayan berries show a significant increase in their antioxidant capacity from small green to black ripe fruit. FRAP and TEAC assays showed high correlations with total polyphenolic content (TPC) during ripening and high antioxidant capacity at all fruit stages, showing greater values in ripe fruit (FRAP: 24 ± 2 and 28 ± 3 μM FeSO4/gFW; TEAC: 18 ± 2 and 20 ± 1 Eq. Trolox/gFW for each season, respectively) than those observed in the blueberry (FRAP: 10 ± 2 and 19 ± 3 μM FeSO4/gFW; TEAC: 10 ± 2 and 17 ± 3). In addition, bioactive assays using ripe fruit extracts show presence of flavonol and anthocyanins, a high ORAC value (62,500 ± 7000 μmol/gDW) and a concentration-dependent vascular protection under high glucose conditions. The results obtained show that these endemic berry fruits have a promising potential as functional food.
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Estudios en Alimentos Saludables (CREAS), CONICYT-Regional GORE Valparaíso Proyecto R12C1001, Avenida Universidad 330, Placilla, Curauma, Valparaíso, Chile; Laboratorio de Fisiología Vegetal, INIA-La Cruz, Chorrillos 86, La Cruz, Chile. Electronic address: lfuentes@creas.cl.
authors.forename: Lida
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fuentes
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Estudios en Alimentos Saludables (CREAS), CONICYT-Regional GORE Valparaíso Proyecto R12C1001, Avenida Universidad 330, Placilla, Curauma, Valparaíso, Chile; Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Ambiental, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Avenida España 1680, Valparaíso, Chile.
authors.forename: Mónika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valdenegro
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Ambiental, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Avenida España 1680, Valparaíso, Chile.
authors.forename: María-Graciela
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Estadística, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Gran Bretaña 1093, Valparaíso, Chile.
authors.forename: Aníbal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ayala-Raso
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Estudios en Alimentos Saludables (CREAS), CONICYT-Regional GORE Valparaíso Proyecto R12C1001, Avenida Universidad 330, Placilla, Curauma, Valparaíso, Chile; Laboratorio de Fisiología Vegetal, INIA-La Cruz, Chorrillos 86, La Cruz, Chile.
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Quiroga
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Fisiología Vegetal, INIA-La Cruz, Chorrillos 86, La Cruz, Chile; Centro Regional de Estudios en Alimentos Saludables (CREAS), CONICYT-Regional GORE Valparaíso Proyecto R12C1001, Avenida Universidad 330, Placilla, Curauma, Valparaíso, Chile.
authors.forename: Juan-Pablo
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Farmacología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Valparaíso, Gran Bretaña 1093, Valparaíso, Chile; Centro Regional de Estudios en Alimentos Saludables (CREAS), CONICYT-Regional GORE Valparaíso Proyecto R12C1001, Avenida Universidad 330, Placilla, Curauma, Valparaíso, Chile.
authors.forename: Raúl
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vinet
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Estudios en Alimentos Saludables (CREAS), CONICYT-Regional GORE Valparaíso Proyecto R12C1001, Avenida Universidad 330, Placilla, Curauma, Valparaíso, Chile; Escuela de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Caballero
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Talca, Casilla 747, Talca, Chile.
authors.forename: Carlos R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Figueroa
mesh_terms: D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000032:analysis; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry*; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D055951:Functional Food; D027822:Myrtaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D013020:South America
chemical_list: D000872:Anthocyanins; D000975:Antioxidants
keywords: Antioxidant capacity; Arrayan berry; Bioactivity assays; Fruit development; Functional food; Vascular protection