Cerrado fruits as sources of bioactive extracts: functional food applications and emerging technologies for sustainable extraction

Abstract

Cerrado fruits, adapted to dry/rainy seasons and nutrient-poor soils, are rich sources of diverse bioactive phytochemicals, including phenolics, carotenoids, and alkaloids. These fruits, such as buriti, cagaita, pequi, and baru, possess unique phytochemical and nutritional profiles, making them promising functional food ingredients. This review highlights their biochemical composition and associated bioactivities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial effects. It also addresses advanced extraction techniques like supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), and enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE), focusing on their efficiency, selectivity, and environmental impact. Key challenges include incomplete quantification and structural elucidation of phytochemicals, suboptimal solvent–matrix interactions, and insufficient knowledge of bioactive stability during processing and storage. Encapsulation technologies, such as nanoemulsions and biopolymeric carriers, are suggested to improve bioavailability and protect bioactives from degradation. Future research should emphasize metabolomic profiling using advanced chromatographic and spectrometric methods, optimization of extraction parameters according to fruit matrices, and scaling up extraction protocols supported by techno-economic and life-cycle assessments. Collaborations among researchers and local producers are essential for sustainable bioprospecting, enabling the valorization of Cerrado fruits as high-value bioactive ingredients for functional food, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical sectors.