The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition of two chickpea varieties, ‘Costa 2004’ and ‘El Patrón’, and to characterize their proteins to determine their technological potential for the food industry. For this purpose, chickpea samples of both varieties from the 2019 harvest region of Guanajuato, Mexico, were obtained and chemically characterized to determine the protein fractions using electrophoretic and amino acid profiling. The chickpea variety ‘Costa 2004’ contained 3% less protein and 7% less dietary fiber content than the variety ‘El Patrón’; whereas, the carbohydrate content of ‘Costa 2004’ was 4% greater. Additionally, the chickpeas demonstrated an antioxidant capacity ranging from 319 to 387 µMET/g and total phenol levels exceeding 500 mg/g. Among the protein fractions, globulins represented the highest proportion in both varieties of chickpea, at approximately 8.73 g/100 g (‘Costa 2004’) and 10.42 g/100 g (‘El Patrón’), followed by albumin, at approximately 1.24 g/100 g and 1.47 g/100 g, respectively. The chickpea proteins ranged in molecular weight between 100 and 25 kDa, with particularly strong signals in the albumin and globulin bands. Regarding the amino acid profile, histidine was predominant in both varieties. In conclusion, both varieties of chickpea have high nutritional value and broad potential for technological use in the food industry.

Since Mexico is the second largest exporter of mangoes, its safety assurance is essential. Research in microbial ecology and knowledge of complex interactions among microbes must be better understood to achieve maximal control of pathogens. Therefore, we investigated the effect of UV-C treatments on bacterial diversity of the Ataulfo mangoes surface using PCR-DGGE analysis of variable region V3 of 16S rRNA genes, and the survival of E. coli, by plate counting. The UV-C irradiation reduced the microbial load on the surface of mangoes immediately after treatment and the structure of bacterial communities was modified during storage. We identified the key members of the bacterial communities on the surface of fruits, predominating Enterobacter genus. Genera as Lactococcus and Pantoea were only detected on the surface of non-treated (control) mangoes. This could indicate that these genera were affected by the UV-C treatment. On the other hand, the treatment did not have a significant effect on survival of E. coli. However, genera that have been recognized as antagonists against foodborne pathogens, were identified in the bands patterns. Also, phenolic compounds were determined by HPLC and antimicrobial activity was assayed according to the agar diffusion method. The main phenolic compounds were chlorogenic, gallic and caffeic acids. Mango peel methanol extracts (UV-C treated and control mangoes) showed antimicrobial activity against strains previously isolated from mango, detecting significant differences (P<0.05) among treated and control mangoes after 4 and 12 days of storage. Ps. fluorescens and Ps. stutszeri were the most sensitive.

La fibra es un componente complejo de origen vegetal que incluye polisacáridos de plantas está constituida por los componentes estructurales de las paredes celulares como: la celulosa, la hemicelulosa, las pectinas y la lignina; los cuales son resistentes a la hidrólisis de las enzimas digestivas del intestino delgado y llegan al intestino grueso y son atacados por la microflora colónica, dando como resultado ácidos grasos de cadena corta, hidrógeno, dióxido de carbono y metano. La fibra dietética se puede clasificar según diferentes criterios: origen botánico, naturaleza química de sus componentes, relación con la estructura de las paredes celulares, por las distintas características que las definen, por su composición química, por su situación en la planta o sus propiedades físico-químicas. Los métodos de extracción y la diversificación de las fuentes utilizadas para obtener fibras ha sido uno de los temas de investigación de los últimos años. Los desechos de frutas, hortalizas y otros vegetales se han estudiado como fuentes alternas de fibra dietética. La fibra ha sido muy estudiada ya que ofrece diversos beneficios a la salud como prevenir la diabetes, cardiopatía o neoplasias del estómago, aligeramiento del tránsito intestinal, eliminación de grasas, entre otras. Además al presentar propiedades funcionales como: la capacidad de hinchamiento, la capacidad de retención de agua y la capacidad de retención de aceite, puede ser explotadas para el desarrollo de nuevos productos alimenticios, brindándole nuevas y mejores características al producto final.