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Physicochemical Characterization and Antioxidant Activity of Refined and Unrefined Sugarcane Products from Southern Brazil

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate commercial sugarcane products from southern Brazil, including refined, crystal, demerara, brown sugars, rapadura and molasses. The physicochemical parameters (ash, pH, color, moisture); nutritional parameters (sugar composition and minerals) were assessed; bioactive (phenolic compounds, flavonoids and carotenoids) and the antioxidant activity were also evaluated. Variation in the physicochemical parameters was observed according to the type of sample and depending on the sample's processing degree. The sugar composition of the samples varied from 0.13 to 20.14% of fructose, 1.13–29.78% of glucose and 29.47–98.85% of sucrose. The content of phenolic compounds ranged from 3.01 to 279.56 (mg EAG 100 g−1), flavonoids from 0.63 to 28.33 (mg EQ 100 g−1) and carotenoids from 0.18 to 4.37 (µg g−1 of β-carotene). The antioxidant activities in the samples showed variations both for DPPH (9.99–275.33 µM Trolox g−1) and ABTS (14.03–1263.46 µM Trolox g−1) methods. The highest bioactive content, minerals and antioxidant capacity were observed in the brown sugars, rapadura and molasses samples, confirming the loss of these compounds in more processed sugars.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for the productivity scholarships (Process n. 311575/2018-8 and 420339/2018-3) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS) for their financial support. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES) Finance Code 001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of Pelotas, Capão Do Leão, RS, CEP 96160-000, Brazil

    Maicon Renato Ferreira Sampaio, Mariana Caminha Machado, Meibel Teixeira Lisboa, Mariana Antunes Vieira, Tailise Beatriz Roll Zimmer & Rui Carlos Zambiazi

  2. Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, BA, CEP 40110-970, Brazil

    Deborah Murowaniecki Otero

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  1. Maicon Renato Ferreira Sampaio
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Correspondence to Deborah Murowaniecki Otero.

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Sampaio, M.R.F., Machado, M.C., Lisboa, M.T. et al. Physicochemical Characterization and Antioxidant Activity of Refined and Unrefined Sugarcane Products from Southern Brazil. Sugar Tech 25, 295–307 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-022-01146-y

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