Huang Yanyi, Brennan Margaret Anne, Kasapis Stefan, Richardson Samantha J, Brennan Charles Stephen
School of Science, Bundoora West Campus, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3083, Australia.
Department of Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch 7647, New Zealand.
Foods. 2021 Nov 18;10(11):2862. doi: 10.3390/foods10112862.
Red pitaya (, red pulp with pink peel), also known as dragon fruit, is a well-known species of pitaya fruit. Pitaya seeds and peels have been reported to exhibit higher concentrations of total polyphenols, beta-cyanins and amino acid than pulp, while anthocyanins (i.e., cyanidin 3-glucoside, delphinidin 3-glucoside and pelargonidin 3-glucoside) were only detected in the pulp extracts. Beta-cyanins, phenolics and flavonoids were found to increase gradually during fruit maturation and pigmentation appeared earlier in the pulp than peel. The phytochemicals were extracted and purified by various techniques and broadly used as natural, low-cost, and beneficial healthy compounds in foods, including bakery, wine, dairy, meat and confectionery products. These bioactive components also exhibit regulative influences on the human gut microbiota, glycaemic response, lipid accumulation, inflammation, growth of microbials and mutagenicity, but the mechanisms are yet to be understood. The objective of this study was to systematically summarise the effect of red pitaya's maturation process on the nutritional profile and techno-functionality in a variety of food products. The findings of this review provide valuable suggestions for the red pitaya fruit processing industry, leading to novel formulations supported by molecular research.
红肉火龙果（果肉呈红色，果皮为粉红色），也被称为火龙果，是一种广为人知的火龙果品种。据报道，火龙果的种子和果皮中总多酚、β-花青素和氨基酸的浓度高于果肉，而花青素（即矢车菊素 3-葡萄糖苷、飞燕草素 3-葡萄糖苷和天竺葵素 3-葡萄糖苷）仅在果肉提取物中被检测到。发现β-花青素、酚类和黄酮类物质在果实成熟过程中逐渐增加，且果肉中的色素沉着比果皮出现得更早。这些植物化学物质通过各种技术进行提取和纯化，并广泛用作食品中的天然、低成本且有益健康的化合物，包括烘焙食品、葡萄酒、乳制品、肉类和糖果产品。这些生物活性成分还对人体肠道微生物群、血糖反应、脂质积累、脂质积累、炎症、微生物生长和致突变性具有调节作用，但其机制尚待了解。本研究的目的是系统总结红肉火龙果成熟过程对各种食品的营养成分和技术功能性的影响。本综述的结果为红肉火龙果加工行业提供了有价值的建议，从而产生由分子研究支持的新型配方。
