ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Lychee fruit has been studied owing to the presence of several bioactive compounds that can contribute to weight loss in obese individuals. However, the anti-obese potential of the fruit has not been explored yet. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different parts of lychee in reducing the adipose tissue mass of cafeteria diet-fed rats. Phenolic compounds and scavenging capacities were quantified. The food intake, apparent digestibility, weight of the body and liver, body mass, Lee Index, and the mass of epididymal and visceral adipose tissues were evaluated. The results were estimated by Tukey's Test at 5% probability. A higher amount of phenolic compounds and scavenging capacity were observed in the peel of lychee as compared to the other parts of the fruit. The hypercaloric diet with lychee flour resulted in a higher apparent digestibility. There was no difference between groups control (C), hypercaloric (H), hypercaloric with lychee flour - 50.00% peel and 50.00% seeds (H2F), and hypercaloric with lychee flour - 33.33% peel, 33.33% pulp and 33.34% seeds (H3F) with respect to body and liver weight, corporal mass, and Lee Index. The hypercaloric diet-fed group exhibited an increase in visceral and epididymal adipose tissue mass, whereas the group fed with hypercaloric diets and flour made from the peel and seed of lychee presented a lower visceral adipose tissue mass. In conclusion, the use of lychee flour was considered viable because it decreased visceral adipose tissue mass in rats.
ABSTRACT
O queijo parmesão é um produto bastante consumido no país, principalmente na forma ralada e existem poucos trabalhos científicos disponíveis na literatura, abordando a qualidade do produto comercializado. Assim, torna-se necessário, avaliar as diferentes marcas de queijo parmesão ralado disponíveis no mercado. Desta forma, o objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar a qualidade físico-química de queijo parmesão ralado de oito diferentes marcas comercializadas nos estados de Minas Gerais e do Espírito Santo, verificando se os produtos atendem aos padrões estabelecidos pela legislação vigente. Foram realizadas as análises físico-químicas de umidade, cinzas e cloretos, análise qualitativa de amido e análise microbiológica de bolores e leveduras, em três repetições. A metade das marcas avaliadas apresentou teor de umidade fora do padrão estabelecido pelo regulamento técnico para fixação de identidade e qualidade de queijo ralado, onde o valor máximo de umidade é de 20,0% para o queijo parmesão ralado. Dentre as quatro marcas irregulares, a umidade variou de 20,69% a 33,28%, indicando uma elevada variação acima do limite estabelecido. Na análise de cloretos foram encontrados teores entre 3,32% e 8,17%, bem como a análise de cinzas apresentou resultados variando entre 6,62% e 10,31%, indicando a ocorrência de uma elevada variação nos processos tecnológicos de produção, principalmente na etapa de salga, a qual influencia no teor de cinzas. Em nenhuma amostra foi detectada a presença de amido, indicando que não houve a adição indevida do mesmo aos produtos. Em relação à presença de bolores e leveduras, 12,5% das amostras avaliadas apresentaram contagens acima do limite estabelecido pela legislação, inconformidade que pode estar relacionada às condições de processamento e armazenamento inadequadas.
Parmesan is widely consumed in Brazil, mainly in the shredded form and few studies are available on literature about the commercial product quality. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate different brands available in the market. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physical-chemical quality of parmesan shredded cheese from eight different brands available in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo State, Brazil, markets, evaluating their accordance to food legislation. Moisture content, chloride, minerals, starch qualitative analysis and microbiological analysis for yeasts and molds were the physical-chemical evaluations, carried out in three replications. Half of the evaluated brands presented moisture content outside the established standard for the identity and quality of the shredded cheese, in which the maximum moisture content is 20.0% for the shredded parmesan cheese. Between the four brands outside the standard, the moisture content varied from 20.69 to 33.28%, indicating a high variation above the established standard. For chlorides, contents from 3.32 to 8.17% were observed and for total minerals the results varied from 6.62 to 10.31%, indicating a high variation in the steps of production, mainly on cheese salting, which can influence the minerals content. No starch was observed in the samples, indicating that no starch addition was made in the products. For the yeasts and molds evaluations, 12.5% of the samples presented the counting above the legislation established limit, which could be related to the processing and storage conditions.