Physicochemical and Antioxidant Properties of Anacardium humile A. St.-Hil, an Underexploited Fruit from the Brazilian Cerrado.

Anacardium humile, popularly known as cajuzinho-do-cerrado or cajuí, is a native fruit from the Brazilian Cerrado biome that shares similarities with Anacardium occidentale. This study aimed to characterize the nutritional elements, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant activity of yellow- and red-peeled A. humile pseudofruits grown in Bonito de Minas, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The fruits were analyzed for centesimal composition, pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, color parameters, total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, carotenoids, vitamin C, phenolic acids, and antioxidant activity by DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and phosphomolybdenum complex methods. The pseudofruits did not differ in moisture, ashes, carbohydrates, soluble solids, titratable acidity, total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, carotenoids, and vitamin C (p > 0.05). The fruits with red-peeled color exhibited higher protein content (3.40% ± 0.33) and lower pH (3.44 ± 0.02) (p < 0.05) than yellow-peeled fruits (2.16% ± 0.34 and 3.61 ± 0.06, respectively). Gallic acid was the most abundant phenolic acid, especially in the red-peeled fruits (111.0 ± 33.00 µg/g). Furthermore, the red-peeled pseudofruits showed higher antioxidant activity by DPPH and FRAP assays (41.97 ± 4.51 and 25.20 ± 1.70 mg TE/g, respectively), while the yellow-peeled pseudofruits had slightly higher total antioxidant capacity by phosphomolybdenum assay (57.47 ± 1.61 mg AAE/g) (p < 0.05). The results suggest that A. humile pseudofruits are rich in functional compounds, particularly phenolic compounds and vitamin C. These findings can enhance the understanding of this nutrient-rich species and encourage its potential applications in the development of agro-industrial products.