Potencial das favas peruanas na promoção da longevidade: Bioacessibilidade de compostos fenólicos

Abstract

Human beings incessantly seek longevity, as it is already known that longevity is directly influenced by lifestyle, epigenetics and the prevalence of diseases. Healthy eating has proven to have a major impact on the longevity and quality of life of the population. Due to the growing increase in the world population, climate change and impacts on the environment will make it necessary to reduce the consumption of foods of animal origin, with foods of plant origin being a great ally, both in improving nutritional quality and sustainability. Legumes are great contributors to this transition, as they are rich in macro and micronutrients essential for maintaining human health, such as carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds. An excellent alternative for increasing the consumption of legumes is their use in the manufacture of bakery products. A very promising legume for this purpose is the Peruvian broad bean (Vicia faba L), due to its complete nutritional profile. Peruvian bean flour is rich in carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, high protein and bioactive compounds. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the preservation of phenolic compounds and the antioxidant potential in breads produced with raw Peruvian bean flour (Vicia faba L.) from different cultivars. To this end, breads were produced with partial replacement of wheat flour with raw Peruvian bean flour from different cultivars. Using spectrophotometric methodologies, the total content of phenolic compounds and antioxidants were evaluated in raw Peruvian broad bean flours of the Verde, Quelcão and Peruanita types and in breads produced by replacing wheat flour in different percentages (10 and 20%). The results showed that Peruvian bean flour from the Peruanita cultivar presented greater antioxidant potential compared to wheat flour, approximately 19 times by the ABTS method. Using the DPPH method, flours from the Quelcão and Peruanita cultivars were approximately 4 times more antioxidant than wheat flour. When compared to each other, Peruvian flour has greater antioxidant potential (both ABTS and DPPH methods), total phenolics and flavonoids. Replacing wheat flour with fava bean flour did not change the ash content of the breads but increased the total phenolic content. After the in vitro digestion process of both flour and bread, there was an increase in the antioxidant potential (both ABTS and DPPH methods) and an increase in the total phenolic content.