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.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are one of the most active classes for cardiovascular diseases and hypertension treatment. In this regard, developing active and non-toxic ACE inhibitors is still a continuous challenge. Furthermore, the literature survey shows that oxidative stress plays a significant role in the development of hypertension. Herein, glutathione’s molecular structure and supramolecular arrangements are evaluated as a potential ACE inhibitor. The tripeptide molecular modeling by density functional theory, the electronic structure by the frontier molecular orbitals, and the molecular electrostatic potential map to understand the biochemical processes inside the cell were analyzed. The supramolecular arrangements were studied by Hirshfeld surfaces, quantum theory of atoms in molecules, and natural bond orbital analyses. They showed distinct patterns of intermolecular interactions in each polymorph, as well as distinct stabilizations of these. Additionally, the molecular docking study presented the interactions between the active site residues of the ACE and glutathione via seven hydrogen bonds. The pharmacophore design indicated that the hydrogen bond acceptors are necessary for the interaction of this ligand with the binding site. The results provide useful information for the development of GSH analogs with higher ACE inhibitor activity.

A amêndoa de baru contém um alto teor de nutrientes e fitoquímicos, como ácidos graxos monoinsaturados, fibra dietética, vitamina E, zinco e compostos fenólicos. Este estudo otimizou as condições de extração de fenólicos da amêndoa de baru (com e sem película) e da película da amêndoa usando os delineamentos fatorial fracionado 2^4-1 e Box-Behnken, e analisou a influência dos fatores de extração no conteúdo de fenólicos e na capacidade antioxidante (pelos ensaios ABTS, DPPH e FRAP) nos extratos obtidos. As condições otimizadas de extração foram: para amêndoa de baru integral (com película) - etanol a 79% e razão sólido-solvente de 2 mg mL^-1 a 85 °C; para amêndoa sem película - etanol a 68% e razão sólido-solvente de 20 mg mL^-1 durante 34 min; e para a película da amêndoa - etanol a 40% e razão sólido-solvente 0,2 mg mL^-1 a 66 °C. Nessas condições, a amêndoa de baru integral teve alto conteúdo de fenólicos e capacidade antioxidante, e a película apresentou cerca de 10% de fenólicos e capacidade antioxidante muito alta. O desenho experimental usado revelou a película como uma fonte abundante de compostos antioxidantes. Recomendamos o consumo da amêndoa de baru integral e o uso de sua película em diferentes sistemas alimentares.