Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 23.7.
Fatty acids profile of US-grown avocados and avocado oil (g/100 g).
Fatty Acids
Raw (Average, all US Varieties)
Raw (California Grown)
Avocado Oil
Saturated (total)
2.126
2.126
11.56
16:00
2.075
2.075
10.9
18:00
0.049
0.049
0.66
Monounsaturated (total)
9.799
9.799
70.554
16:1 undifferentiated
0.698
0.698
2.665
18:1 undifferentiated
9.066
9.066
67.889
Polyunsaturated (total)
1.816
1.816
13.486
18:2 undifferentiated
1.674
1.674
12.53
18:3 undifferentiated
0.125
0.125
0.957
18:3 n-3 c,c,c (ALA)
0.111
0.111
nd
18:3 n-6 c,c,c
0.015
0.015
nd
20:3 undifferentiated
0.016
0.016
nd
Source: (USDA, 2010).
Health-beneficial compounds
Alvizouri and Rodrıguez (2009) reported the beneficial ef-
fects of consuming avocado such as lowering cholesterol
levels. This may be because in addition to the fatty acids
profile, avocados provide more phytosterols than other
fruits. Avocados contain 7 times more
β
-sitosterol than
apples, bananas, and strawberries and more than 4 times
that found in oranges, which are typically reported as the
richest known fruit source (Duester, 2001).
Plant phytosterols are the plant analogs of cholesterol.
There are three predominant phytosterols:
apoptosis in precancerous and cancer cell lines. Lu et al.
(2005) reported that an acetone extract of avocado contain-
ing carotenoids and tocopherols was shown to inhibit the
growth prostate cancer lines in vitro.
It may be concluded from these studies that avocado
contains, besides a good profile of fatty acids, various lipid-
soluble phytochemicals that are considered important in
preventing some diseases. Particularly, including avocado
in the diet may provide health-beneficial effects, such as
the reduction of cardiovascular risk and the prevention of
some types of cancer.
-sitosterol,
campesterol, and stigmasterol, all of which function as
anticholesterolemic agents. The mechanism for the serum
cholesterol lowering effect of phytosterols involves inhi-
bition of intestinal cholesterol absorption and decreased
hepatic cholesterol synthesis (Moghadasian et al., 1999).
Fassbender et al. (2008) evaluated the association be-
tween plant sterols and coronary heart disease in a cohort
of 1,242 subjects older than 65 years. Plan sterol concentra-
tions and their ratios to cholesterol were significantly lower
in patients with coronary heart disease. They concluded that
high plasma concentrations of sitosterol were associated
with a markedly reduced risk for coronary heart disease.
Other health benefits of avocado may be due to the con-
tent of various phytochemicals. Ding et al. (2007) gave
examples of the major secondary metabolite constituents
of the various plant parts of avocado and mentioned several
group
−
alkanols, terpenoid glycosides, various furan ring-
containing derivatives, flavonoids, and coumarin. Some
phytochemicals extracted from the avocado fruit selec-
tively induce cell cycle arrest, inhibit growth, and induce
β
INNOVATIVE PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES
As mentioned before, the challenges to preserve avocado
are the high browning potential of the pulp and changes in
sensorial properties such as texture, color, and flavor. In ad-
dition, the relatively high pH of this fruit (6.5-6.7) makes its
paste vulnerable to microbial risk. Processing technologies
in recent years have mainly focused on the development of
innovative processes to produce guacamole-type products
and avocado oils. Also sliced and half avocados have been
studied, but still the most important preservation process
applied to these products is freezing.
The concept of hurdle technology is often applied when
producing pastes or guacamole because to inactivate en-
zymes and micro-organisms, it is better to combine and
apply moderate levels of different treatments than using a
single severe one, as the latter can be detrimental to the
physicochemical and sensory properties.
Some examples of successful or promising innovative
technologies are briefly described as follows: high-pressure
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