Nutritional and functional properties of native fruits of Argentina: Revalorization use in the design of functional foods

Abstract

The aim of this project is the study of nutritional and functional benefits of fruits from Argentinean Northwestern as well as its relation with the chemical composition. The fruits of some native Leguminosae such as Prosopis species were used as food by native people and the flour of such fruits was introduced into the Argentinian Food Code). Other attractive fruits of our region due to their potential applications in the food industry are "mistol " (Ziziphus mistol) that recently joined the list of edible fruits of the Argentinian Food Code, " tree tomato" (Solanum betaceum ), "mato" (Myrcianthes pungens), "chañar" (Geoffroea decorticans), fruits of some cactus (Opuntia, Rhipsalis), among others. All of them are used in the local cuisine in fruit salads, juices, as candy, jellies, preserves and other regional products by different aboriginal and rural communities and are now being rediscovered as potential new crops. Recently, we demonstrated that somefruits from plants native toNOA have nutritional and functional properties and can be exploited for designing functional food as such or minimally processed.