Evaluación de los atributos químicos y la capacidad antioxidante de pulpa fresca y liofilizada de pitahaya roja (Hylocereus undatus)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70577/cieninter.v4i3.126Keywords:
Food Technology, Food Composition, Antioxidants, Tropical Fruits, Food Chemistry, Food Processing.Abstract
Red pitahaya (Hylocereus undatus) contains bioactive compounds and has antioxidant capacity, but its high perishability limits its post-harvest use. Although freeze-drying is a promising technology for stabilizing pulps, there is limited evidence comparing pH, titratable acidity, and antioxidant capacity between fresh and freeze-dried pulp under the same experimental conditions. The objective of this study is to evaluate the chemical attributes and antioxidant capacity of fresh and freeze-dried red pitahaya (Hylocereus undatus) pulp. A quantitative, experimental approach was used, with two treatments: fresh pulp and freeze-dried pulp, each in triplicate. pH, titratable acidity, and antioxidant capacity were determined. Normality was verified using the Shapiro-Wilk test and homogeneity of variances using Levene’s test; means were compared using Student’s t-test for paired samples (p ≤ 0.05) in SPSS v27. The fresh pulp had a pH of 5.070 and an acidity of 0.710% malic acid; the freeze-dried pulp had a pH of 3.316 and an acidity of 0.933%. The antioxidant capacity was 33.740 mg TEAC/100 mL in fresh pulp and 526.540 mg TEAC/100 mL in freeze-dried pulp. Statistically significant differences were found in pH (p = 0.003), titratable acidity (p = 0.008), and antioxidant capacity (p < 0.001). Freeze-drying altered the chemical attributes and antioxidant potential of the pulp. The study provides quantitative evidence to evaluate freeze-drying as an alternative method for the preservation and agroindustrial utilization of red pitahaya, and lays the groundwork for future research on stability, scale-up, and food applications.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Diego Andrés Nájera Campos , Katherine Lissette Romero Vasquez
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