Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Figsprovidemoreiberthananyothercommonfruitorvegetableandhaveahighquantityof
polyphenolantioxidants.Theycontainnofat,nosodium,andnocholesterol.Figshavethehigh-
estoverallmineralcontentofallcommonfruits.A40-gservingprovides244mgofpotassium,
alongwithcalcium,iron,andzinc.Figsarealsoanaturalsourceofserotonin,whichstimulatesthe
pinealgland.FigscontainvitaminB6,whichisresponsibleforproducingmood-boostingserotonin,
whichhasbeenshowntolowercholesterolandpreventwaterretention.Recentresearchhasdeter-
minedthatdriedigscontainomega-3andomega-6essentialfattyacids,aswellasphytosterols.
Phytosterolsarecreditedwithdecreasingnaturalcholesterolsynthesisinthebody,thuslowering
overallcholesterolcounts.
FigsareoneofthemostabundantfruitsintheMediterraneandiet(Solomonetal.2006),and
an artisan derivative of this fruit is ig syrup, a typical Calabrian food product made by boiling
and concentrating fresh igs (generally, the cultivar is
Ficus carica
, also known as
ico dottato
Calabrese
) in water without adding any other ingredient. The obtained product is a dense syrup
characterizedbyitsbrowncolorandsweettasteandsmell.ItiswidelyfoundintheMediterranean
region,andinItaly,theproductionareamatchestheoldKingdomoftheTwoSicilies.Foralong
timeinCalabria,igsyruphasbeenacommoningredientinthepreparationoftypicalfoodsand
cakesinparticular.
The eficacy of ig syrup, a Mediterranean ig derivative, as a nutraceutical supplement was
demonstratedbyPuocietal.(2011).Figsyrupisafruitconcentrateusedasacommoningredient
inthepreparationoftypicalfoods,particularlycakes.
In vitro
assayswereperformedtodetermine
theamountofnutraceuticalingredients,suchasphenoliccompounds(3.92-mgequivalentofgallic
acid per gram) and lavonoids (0.35-mg equivalent of catechin per gram), and high-performance
liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses provided speciic information about the composition of
antioxidants in the syrup. Furthermore, total antioxidant activity, scavenging properties against
2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazylandperoxylradicals,andanticholinesteraseactivityclearlyshowed
theeficacyofthesyrupinpreventingdamageinducedbyfreeradicalsand,thus,theapplicability
ofthisfoodderivativeasanutraceuticalsupplement.
Figsyrupconcentrateisproducedinthesamewayasstaidin.
7.3 prUNe JUICe CONCeNtrate
Prunejuiceconcentrateissimilartoraisinandigjuiceconcentrates.Itisextractedfromdry
prunesusingosmoticpressureandevaporatedat70°Bx(70%sugars).Itisdarkbrownincolorand
hassolublesolidsof30%,ofwhichreducingsugarsare85%-95%.
Prunejuiceconcentratecanbedilutedtoprunejuice.Thisjuiceinlowdoses(1%-5%)increases
theproductshelflifeandisusedagainststalingofbakeryproducts,asasweetener,forcoloringof
foodproducts,andasanaturalpreservativeindifferentproducts.Itcanbeusedasfollows:
•
Sugarsubstitute
•
Binder,toholduphumidityincakesandcookies
•
Preservativeagentincerealbars
•
Naturalsyrupinyogurtandicecream
•
Flavorandtasteenhancer
Someoftheadvantagesattributedtotheproductarethefollowing:
•
Naturalproduct
•
Nutritionalbeneits
•
Naturalsweetener
•
Naturalpreservative
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