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Lipophilic phytochemicals from banana fruits of several Musa species

Publication . Vilela, Carla; Santos, Sónia A. O.; Villaverde, Juan J.; Oliveira, Lúcia; Nunes, Alberto; Cordeiro, Nereida; Freire, Carmen S. R.; Silvestre, Armando J.D.

The chemical composition of the lipophilic extract of ripe pulp of banana fruit from several banana cultivars belonging to the Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana species (namely 'Chinese Cavendish', 'Giant Cavendish', 'Dwarf Red', 'Grand Nain', 'Eilon', 'Gruesa', 'Silver', 'Ricasa', 'Williams' and 'Zelig') was studied by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the first time. The banana cultivars showed similar amounts of lipophilic extractives (ca. 0.4% of dry material weight) as well as qualitative chemical compositions. The major groups of compounds identified in these fractions were fatty acids and sterols making up 68.6-84.3% and 11.1-28.0%, respectively, of the total amount of lipophilic components. Smaller amounts of long chain aliphatic alcohols and α-tocopherol were also identified. These results are a relevant contribution for the valorisation of these banana cultivars as sources of valuable phytochemicals (ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids, and sterols) with well-established beneficial nutritional and health effects.

2014Journal article

Open access

The ripe pulp of Mangifera indica L.: a rich source of phytosterols and other lipophilic phytochemicals

Publication . Vilela, Carla; Santos, Sónia A. O.; Oliveira, Lúcia; Camacho, João F.; Cordeiro, Nereida; Freire, Carmen S. R.; Silvestre, Armando J.D.

The chemical composition of the lipophilic extracts of the ripe pulp of mangoes from twelve cultivars of Mangifera indica L. from Madeira Island was investigated by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) for the first time. The ripe pulp of these mango cultivars showed analogous amounts of lipophilic extractives, as well as sim ilar qualitative chemical compositions. The predominant compounds were free and glycosylated sterols and fatty acids, representing 44.8–70.7% and 22.6–41.9%, respectively, of the total amount of lipophilic components. Small er amounts of long chain aliphatic alcohols and α-tocopherol were also identified. These data indicate that the investigated mango cultivars are a rich source of valuable phytochemicals, contributing to the intake of at least 9.5–38.2 mg of phytosterols (free and glycosylated) and 0.7–3.9 mg of fatty acids (ω−3 and ω−6) per 100 g of fresh mango, with recognizable beneficial effects on human nutrition and health.

2013Journal article

Open access