LAUSR

Brazil is known for the wide biological diversity of its flora and is considered to be one of the main centers of genetic diversity of fruit species in the world. Researchers have associated the consumption of fruit with beneficial effects on human health, such as the decreased incidence of chronic degenerative diseases and even cancer (Leong & Shui, 2002; Vasco et al., 2008). These beneficial effects result from the protective effects of physiologically active substances such as minerals, carotenoids, vitamins, and phenolic compounds, which interfere with specific targets and modulate the antioxidant defenses against the inflammatory and mutagenic processes that occur in several diseases (Rufino et al., 2010).