Five Underutilized Ecuadorian Fruits and Their Bioactive Potential as Functional Foods and in Metabolic Syndrome: A Review

The Ecuadorian Amazon harbors numerous wild and cultivated species used as food, many of which are underutilized. This review explores the bioactive potential of five such fruits-Borojó (Alibertia patinoi); Chonta (Bactris gasipaes); Arazá (Eugenia stipitata); Amazon grape (Pourouma cecropiifolia), a wild edible plant; and Cocona (Solanum sessiliflorum)-and their applications against metabolic syndrome. This study highlights their health-promoting ingredients and validates traditional medicinal properties, emphasizing their significance in improving health and mitigating the effects of the Western diet. These fruits, integral to Ecuadorian cuisine, are consumed fresh and processed. Chonta is widely cultivated but less prominent than in pre-Hispanic times, Borojó is known for its aphrodisiac properties, Cocona is traditional in northern provinces, Arazá is economically significant in food products, and Amazon grape is the least utilized and researched. The fruits are rich in phenolics (A. patinoi, E. stipitata) and carotenoids (B. gasipaes, E. stipitata), which are beneficial in controlling metabolic syndrome. This study advocates for more research and product development, especially for lesser-known species with high phenolic and anthocyanin content. This research underscores the economic, cultural, and nutritional value of these fruits, promoting their integration into modern diets and contributing to sustainable agriculture, cultural preservation, and public health through functional foods and nutraceuticals.

Peach Palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth.): Ancestral Tropical Staple with Future Potential

A pre-Columbian staple, Bactris gasipaes Kunth. is a palm tree domesticated around 4000 years ago, so appreciated that a Spanish chronicler wrote in 1545, "only their wives and children were held in higher regard" by the Mesoamerican natives. The peach palm is an integral part of the foodways and gastronomy of Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, and other tropical American countries; meanwhile, it is almost unknown in the rest of the world, except for hearts of palm. Although abundant, the species faces anthropogenic threats. The purpose of this study is to describe and summarize the physicochemical, nutritional, and bioactive characteristics of the peach palm and its two main alimentary products: hearts of palm and fruits, highlighting the functional and antioxidant potential of the latter, showing both ancestral and modern uses. There is active research on peach palm products and coproducts that aim for better, more sustainable uses of its traditional and recently found properties. The review and presentation of studies on this strategically relevant species can motivate the protection of endangered populations and stimulate new lines of research to advance development in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries, with fair trade, sustainable development goals, and adaptation to climate change in mind.

Current Ethanol Production Requirements for the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

An increase in global energy demand has caused oil prices to reach record levels in recent times. High oil prices together with concerns over CO₂ emissions have resulted in renewed interest in renewable energy. Nowadays, ethanol is the principal renewable biofuel. However, the industrial need for increased productivity, wider substrate range utilization, and the production of novel compounds leads to renewed interest in further extending the use of current industrial strains by exploiting the immense, and still unknown, potential of natural yeast strains. This review seeks to answer the following questions: (a) which characteristics should S. cerevisiae have for the current production of first- and second-generation ethanol? (b) Why are alcohol-tolerance and thermo-tolerance characteristics required? (c) Which genes are related to these characteristics? (d) What are the advances that can be achieved with the isolation of new organisms from the environment?