Industrial biotechnology is a continuously expanding field focused on the application of microorganisms to produce chemicals using renewable sources as substrates. Currently, an increasing interest in new versatile processes, able to utilize a variety of substrates to obtain diverse products, can be observed. A robust microbial strain is critical in the creation of such processes. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are used to produce a wide variety of chemicals with high commercial interest. Lactic acid (LA) is the most predominant industrial product obtained from LAB fermentations, and its production is forecasted to rise as the result of the increasing demand of polylactic acid. Hence, the creation of new ways to revalorize LA production processes is of high interest and could further enhance its economic value. Therefore, this review explores some co-products of LA fermentations, derived from LAB, with special focus on bacteriocins, lipoteichoic acid, and probiotics. Finally, a multi-product process involving LA and the other compounds of interest is proposed.

Introduction. Several studies have demonstrated that food processing affects nutrients such as bioactive compounds, protein, starch, fat, fiber, minerals and antioxidant capacity. Our study examined how heat changes the physicochemical composition and antioxidant capacity of peach-palm fruit (Bactris gasipaes H.B.K.) during flour production. Materials and methods. Five commercial batches of fruit were assessed for total contents of phenolic compounds and carotenoids, and hydrophilic oxygen radical absorbance capacity (H-ORAC). The fruit was then cooked and eventually processed into flour. Results and discussion. No significant changes were found for contents of fat, protein, starch and dietary fiber during flour production. Cooked peach-palm fruit is a source of Mg, Mn, Cu and K, with 100 g of fruit containing between 5% and 13.5% of the recommended daily intake. Cooking also increased carotenoids by 17%, thus helping to compensate for the 28% loss during drying. No stage of processing affected polyphenol contents or H-ORAC. Conclusion. Because of its high bioactive compound content, peach-palm flour shows potential for use in the development of functional foods.

The variability of the physicochemical composition, carotenoid and polyphenol contents and hydrophilic antioxidant capacity of fresh peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) fruit was studied with a view to its exploitation as a potential source of bioactive compounds. The variability present in five batches of peach palm fruit obtained from two regions in Costa Rica: Tucurrique (T) and Pérez Zeledón (PZ), was studied. Significant differences were found for fruit weight, length and width amongst the batches studied. The moisture, fat and protein contents of the Tucurrique fruit were significantly lower than those from Pérez Zeledón. No significant difference in starch content was found between any of the batches of peach palm fruit studied. In terms of antioxidant compounds, the total carotenoid content ranged between 109 and 202 µg β-carotene equivalents/g dry weight (dw), while the total polyphenol content varied from 54 to 106 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE) /100 g (dw). Both these components presented variability amongst the five batches. The antioxidant capacity was determined by the ORAC method and only the PZ 3 sample presented significant differences from the other four batches. The average hydrophilic antioxidant capacity was 37 ± 7 µmol of Trolox equivalents (TE)/g (dw). Overall, the peach palm fruit showed potential to be used in the development of functional foods since the variability of the raw peach-palm fruit, determined by applying a principal component analysis, showed that some characteristics of this fruit were not affected by harvest time and showed no differences between the batches from the two areas.

Introduction. The consumption of fruits and vegetables inversely correlates with the incidence of degenerative diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancer, and cataracts associated with aging, due to the action of bioactive compounds including vitamin C, polyphenols, and carotenoids. Objective. To evaluate the nutritional profile of eleven fruits grown in Costa Rica. Materials and methods. This study was carried out at the National Center for Food Science and Technology of the Universidad de Costa Rica, in 2010. The content of total dietary fiber, total polyphenols, reported as gallic acid equivalents (GAE), total carotenoids expressed as µg β-carotene, and the hydrophilic capacity for oxygen radical absorbance (H-ORACFL) of eleven traditional or underutilized fruits were determined: banana (Musa AAA subgroup Cavendish cv. ‘Grand Naine’), high altitude tropical blackberry (Rubus adenotrichos cv. ‘wine with red thorns’), melon (Cucumis melo cv. ‘Veracruz’), fig (Ficus carica cv. ‘Brown-Turkey’), mango (Mangifera indica cv. ‘Tommy Atkins’), papaya (Carica papaya hybrid ‘Pococí’), pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes HBK), pineapple (Ananas comosus cv hybrid MD-2 ‘Gold’), quince (Cydonia oblonga), jocote (Spondias purpurea cv. Tronador), and red tree tomato (Solanum betaceum). The fruits were collected in different locations in San Jose, Cartago, Alajuela, Guanacaste and Limon. Results. Six of the fruits studied presented dietary fiber contents between 4.2 and 6.6 g 100 g-1. The highland tropical blackberry presented the highest content of total phenolic compounds (538 ± 97 mg GAE 100 g-1) and the highest antioxidant activity (62.1 ± 4.0 μmol Trolox equivalents g-1) and the cooked pejibaye presented the highest content of carotenoids (72 ± 4 µg β-caroteno g-¹). Conclusion. The values of dietary fiber and bioactive compounds in the eleven fruits grown in Costa Rica represent valuable nutritional characteristics given the associated health benefits supported by clinical and epidemiological studies.