Preliminary Study on Bioactive Compounds of Citrus × myrtifolia Rafinesque (Chinotto) to Its Potential Application in Food Industry

The present study investigated for the first time some physical quality attributes of unripe Citrus × myrtifolia Rafinesque which is the ingredient of the popular soft drink Chinotto. Samples for analysis were processed to better reproduce the crude materials used for industrial chinotto extract, discarding part of the juice. Fruit bioactive compounds such as ascorbic acid, carotenoids, chlorophylls, flavonoids and antioxidant capacity were estimated. An important nutritional aspect arose from the data presented was the high concentration of flavonoids (780 mg/100g FW) and vitamin C (42 mg/100g FW). A good antioxidant capacity (5872 μM Trolox equivalents/100g FW) was estimated by oxygen radical absorbing capacity (ORAC). This matrix could be considered as a good nutraceutical source, giving new opportunity to citrus industry.