Açaí, lychee, mamey, passion fruit and jackfruit are some lesser-consumed tropical fruits due to their low commercial production. In 2018, approximately 6.8 million tons of these fruits were harvested, representing about 6.35% of the total world production of tropical fruits. The present work reviews the nutritional content, profile of bioactive compounds, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity of these fruits and their by-products, and their ability to modulate oxidative stress due to the content of phenolic compounds, carotenoids and dietary fiber. Açaí pulp is an excellent source of anthocyanins (587 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents/100 g dry weight, dw), mamey pulp is rich in carotenoids (36.12 mg β-carotene/100 g fresh weight, fw), passion fruit peel is rich in dietary fiber (61.16 g/100 dw). At the same time, jackfruit contains unique compounds such as moracin C, artocarpesin, norartocarpetin and oxyresveratrol. These molecules play an important role in the regulation of inflammation via activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (including p38, ERK and JNK) and nuclear factor κB pathways. The properties of the bioactive compounds found in these fruits make them a good source for use as food ingredients for nutritional purposes or alternative therapies. Research is needed to confirm their health benefits that can increase their marketability, which can benefit the primary producers, processing industries (particularly smaller ones) and the final consumer, while an integral use of their by-products will allow their incorporation into the circular bioeconomy.

Guava and mamey are phenolic- and carotenoid-rich fruits with potential health benefits, but are minimally used as ingredients in functional beverages. The objectives of the present work are to optimize the content of guava and mamey pulps and a stevia solution in the formulation of a functional beverage with high content of bioactive compounds and sensory acceptability using a mixture design analysis, and to analyze its composition after in vitro digestion. The optimized formulation (17.77 and 19.23 g of guava and mamey pulps, respectively; 1% stevia solution) yielded a beverage with 418.21 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 mL and 0.20 mg β-carotene/100 mL, and an antioxidant capacity of 213.58, 78.90 and 234.03 mg Trolox equivalents (TE)/100 mL using three methodologies. The mathematical model developed was significant (p < 0.05), according to R² values between 0.70 and 0.75. α- and β-carotene were quantified during the oral phase of in vitro digestion. Gallic, p-coumaric, ferulic and chlorogenic acids were also identified. The beverage had a general acceptability of 6.72. We conclude that the mathematical model developed was a good predictor of the experimental data and that the optimized beverage contained high bioactive concentrations (phenolics and carotenoids) and was well-accepted by potential consumers.

Freshly made, fruit-based beverages may be healthy alternatives to traditional sugar-rich soft drinks due to their reported health benefits. Fruits in general have been reported to promote satiety, but the effects of guava and mamey are yet to be thoroughly studied. The aim of the present work was to document changes in the subjective satiety exerted by a freshly prepared beverage made from guava and mamey pulps in healthy adults, and to compare them with those of a commercial beverage. Eighteen apparently healthy, normoweight, 25–30-year-old individuals (nine men, nine women) participated in this study; their subjective hunger/satiety profile was assessed using 10 cm visual analogue scales. Hunger and prospective food consumption decreased in response to consuming both beverages, while fullness and satisfaction increased. There were no significant differences in any variable analyzed, when comparing the guava and mamey beverage with the control during 120 min following their intake. Likewise, when individually analyzing the responses of men and women, the aforementioned variables remained similar. The participants’ body composition (body fat in particular) appears to be the main anthropometric variable that was significantly associated with their various hunger/satiety responses when consuming both beverages, for both men and women. Our findings therefore suggest that the subjective satiety responses of consuming a freshly prepared guava and mamey beverage are significantly associated with the consumers’ body composition, mainly body fat percentage. More research is needed to determine the precise mechanism by which guava, mamey, and/or their combination can alter satiety in healthy human subjects.