Físico-química de variedades de acerola em dois estádios de maturação

Area with acerola plantations for commercial purposes have been increasing with the use of acerola by food industries and pharmaceutical companies. The objective of the present work was to characterize physically and chemically acerola varieties at two maturation stages. Acerola fruits of five varieties (BV1, BV2, BV4, BV6, and C6P3) grown in an experimental orchard of the Teaching, Research and Extension Unit of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceara (IFCE) were harvested at the green and ripe stages for evaluation. These fruits were taken to the Food Chemistry Laboratory of the IFCE and subjected to selection (green and ripe) for physical and chemical analyses. The fruits were placed in polystyrene trays. A complete randomized experimental design was used, with five treatments (five acerola varieties), five replications, and 10 fruits per plot. The fresh weight, length, diameter, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), pH, SS/TA ratio, and ascorbic acid content of the fruits were evaluated. The fruits presented adequate physical characteristics for industrialization. The acerola fruits of the BV2 variety at green stage, and BV1 and BV4 varieties at ripe stage had higher ascorbic acid contents. The varieties BV4 (green stage) and BV2 (ripe stage) had higher SS content and SS/TA ratio.