Caracterização físico-química de um hidrogel composto de Guaraná (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis) e Cará-de-espinho (Dioscorea altíssima Lam) com potencial Antioxidante

Abstract

The development of products with raw material derived from plants for human consumption is of great relevance, mainly for the food industry, for which biotechnology is constituted as a primordial tool in this process. In this context, the proposal for the elaboration of a food in a gelatinous state for food consumption using natural polymers that allow mechanisms for the delivery of different bioactives, such as polyphenols and carbohydrates, was the objective of this research, whose proposal was to develop a hydrogel composed of guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis) and yam (Dioscorea altissima Lam.) with antioxidant potential. Samples of guarana extract and yam starch were analyzed for: physical-chemical characterization, cytotoxic activity, antioxidant activity, development of a composite hydrogel and rheological analyses. The analysis of the rheological properties of the hydrogel samples showed that the 5ACE10GL formulation had the highest flow rate with the greatest impact on apparent viscosity in addition to better consistency and performance, showing greater energy storage, better performance and good flow properties, stronger behavior, structured and compact, with an average value of apparent viscosity, less pressure and structure loss during flow, low deformation, characterizing a hydrogel structure that is more viscous than elastic and better structured. The results allowed inferring that the yield of the thorn yam extraction process (8.28%) points to a great source of starch when compared to other tubers in the Amazon region, standing out with great potential for the food industry. Both the lyophilized guarana and the hydrogel formulation showed relevant antioxidant potential in the DPPH radical inhibition test 80.9 µg/mL and 56.3 µg/mL, respectively. After 72 hours of exposure to MRC5 human fibroblast cells, the cell viability of guarana, yam-de-thorn starch and hydrogel formulations ranged between 70-85%, giving the product an absence of cytotoxicity. It can be concluded that the recognition of the functional capacity of the formulation will allow the production and commercialization of a food supplement with plants of Amazonian origin with latent bioactives, putting into perspective the need for continued research, especially with regard to valuing the potential of yam-de-thorn as an Amazonian raw material, of high yield as a source of starch to be used in food production, moving the local economy.