Tumbo, an Andean fruit: Uses, nutrition, processing, and biomolecules

Abstract

Tumbo fruit has potential for industrialization due to its nutritional and functional properties, but scientific knowledge of this species is still limited compared to other species of the same genus, Passiflora. This review compiles the latest scientific advances on Tumbo, which cover the food technological aspects of Tumbo fruit, its uses and its potential as a source of bioactives for different industries, especially food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics. The products (nectar, jellies, jams, wines, others) and by-products of the processing of the Tumbo fruit have various nutritional, sensory, and composition attributes for developing new food and non-food products. The potential applications of the fruit and its derivatives are broad, such as cosmetics, drugs, functional foods, and additives; these applications are due to its technological properties and its content of bioactive molecules. The Tumbo biorefinery presents an important perspective, especially for its bioactivity of high biological value for different industries.

Keywords: Andean fruits; Bioactive compounds; Functional foods; Genus Passiflora; Novel foods.

Fig. 1

Flowers and fruits of Tumbo. Photo by Lobato Calderon.

Fig. 2

Tumbo fruit (A), longitudinal cut of the fruit (B), and seeds (C). Photo by Lobato Calderon.

Fig. 3

Structural representation of some compounds identified in the fruit of P. mollissima (Kunth), catechin (1), quercetin (2), 1,8-cineole (3), linalool (4), cis-β-ocimene (5), vanillic acid (6), Gallic acid (7), Caffeic acid (8), luteolin-7-O-sophoroside (9), and luteolin-7-O-hexoside-6-C-(2-rhamnosyl) hexoside (10) [34]; [17]; [14].